Oshy

Wow great close up shot there! In general, the beauty of martensite doesn't seem to be emphasized enough, would love to see more examples if others can share and make this a show and tell thread. I dont seem to have many shots close up like that focusing on the martensite but here are a couple that I have readily available from my recent Ko-Uda acquisition. Mainly a fine stream of sand. Additional pics available here too: https://imgur.com/gallery/VLFNouU

A few mixed in with my collection, most of which is shown here: https://imgur.com/a/KfgmGY1

Its a soft wood, not sure what it is but nothing special. Allan Lee McKelvy is the artist and they are prints of his hand painted oshigata. I buy directly from him on FB but you can also purchase at Fine art America below. I custom order my frames from Art to Frames too. https://fineartamerica.com/shop/metal+prints/allan+lee https://www.arttoframe.com/?rmsrc=1&channel=google&effort=Brand&rmatt=tsid:1049903|cid:257969082|agid:19246359642|tid:aud-347227194905:kwd-12229092428|crid:288064910786|nw:g|rnd:3444125072397866871|dvc:c|adp:|mt:e|loc:9019609&gclid=CjwKCAjw19z6BRAYEiwAmo64LYlS5lBkjYoRivXW79LJJWamPXqX0ZVW8YYSrgIukW8GiAfQpZ7GexoCDIgQAvD_BwE

Enomoto was surely one of the most talented and prevalent smiths of the century, made some exquisite soshu examples of which I recently picked up a katana by him. Would love to add this as well but finances will not allow at this time. Best of luck Alex.

Yea this blade is shot, send it my way 😀

Those cases are beautiful Daniel, especially the ones with the 3 sides of glass. I have looked at them a few times but quite pricey. Perhaps in time I may pick up one of the cheaper ones.

This past month and a half has been hectic to say the least for my family as we found our dream home, sold our old place, worked through some renovations/upgrades and a lot of refurnishing all while work remained busy and daycare remained closed! We are not quite settled completely but getting close currently working on getting everything hung. Today im working on the office, see preliminary pictures below. Parts of the collection are out for work or stuck in transit, while others are hung else ware in the house, but I would love to see how everyone else displays their collections to get some ideas. Thanks!

Yes, no surprise here. Ray always go above and far beyond.

I think we all know NBTHK papers are still just opinions but if you can't trust their full panel of experts comprised of individuals each arguably more knowledgeable than any of us here, who else are you proposing to be more authoritative? You could argue Tanobe but he is still just one individual.

https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/list?id_op=%3D&id=&name_op=starts&name=Shimosaka&kanji_op=%3D&kanji=&province=All&start_era=All&school_nid=All

Ah yes, I remember that being a good example, congrats!

I too was looking at Akamatsu blades a few months back but went with the Sadayoshi above. Someone just sold theirs here not too long ago as well. Sometimes pop up on AOI but more often here, currently 3 for sale,: https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/500000-999999/

Yes, very much so

Many thanks Robert and Jean, Enomoto Sadayoshi who passed in 2000, like most of the Gassan family was very talented even among other Mukansa smiths and one of the most active Smith's of the century. I was out to find a quality modern example of soshu and couldn't be happier. Also have to give credit to Ray for guiding me to this beauty. Currently in Japan recieving shirasaya before going off to Tanobe.

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever been given by a top art critic in the UK was, "Collect the dealer first, then make a collection" The advice came about after a trip to Japan where I met up with Darcy Brockbank. Darcy had for many years been shouting (in a kind way as he knows how) about how I should be collecting in a different way and that my pursuit of a collection from Heian to modern day needed refinement. To prove hos point he showed me swords that I had never though possible in the world of collecting, items that I could compare to museum grade. It was a shock, I had to quickly calculate in my mind how many items I had that now had no place in the collection, not because of their condition (I pay what a dealer asks, I do not ask for discounts), but because the path was not linear to my goal and needed refinement in quality rather than quantity. Raymond Singer is a good dealer to collect and keep in our list. Therefore the Uda is (for an Uda) a good sword in quality but lacks the merits of condition in size attributes and zaimei (this is acceptable given its age and period in hostory that the shortening happened). Ergo the price you paid was I am sure in line with the item you have received from Raymond. I also have a Juyo Ko-Uda with sayagaki from Tanobe Sensei who pins it to Go Yoshihiro and the Juyo paper is from session 13 attributing it to Ko-Uda, I love these swords, so much activity to admire. I do not think yours is anything to do with Yamato Shizu and nor should you wish that either. An 80cm Nagasa Ko-Uda with mei and in Ubu condition at Juyo would run the price segment of closer to 75K USD depending on the condition (which attributes to its overall quality), did you pay 75K for your item? I agree relationships, especially with such knowledgeable and trustworthy dealers such as Ray are absolutely priceless, its a small world we live in, reputation matters. I was just using my Ko-Uda above as an example but, as you point out, I fully understand its far from say a top quality 80+cm ubu with Norishige mei in perfect condition. In full transparency, and this gets to what Brian brought up, I am 31 and raising a family so my wallet and ability to collect is constrained behind many other priorities that take precedence. When it comes to quality/quantity and buying the best you can afford, I have set my collection to a limit of 5 or 6 blades with a limit on how much I want my total investment to be. The Ko-Uda above was $6k, a great deal in my opinion for what it is, and unless I decide to liquidate most of the collection in exchange for 1 blade some day, I will likely never own a juyo but thats ok, solid TH quality pieces is where I shall happily reside.

Interested to hear the details for your commission thats currently in process and the final results. I haven't but do have a recent Enomoto Sadayoshi(Mukansa) katana commissioned in 1986. It was special ordered for the prior owner Iaido master Mr. Sekiguchi to commemorate the passing of his 6th Dan (later became 10th Dan). http://www.sword-auction.jp/en/content/as18465-刀：昭和丙寅秋湧水心貞吉作無鑑査-katanashowa-hinoe-tora-yusuishin-sadayoshi-sakumukansa https://youtu.be/UvW6gXWgmQk

Congrats on your first purchase. Looks like it was just the blade, no koshirae or shirasaya? What's your plan there?

Nice sugata. Im no expert but that looks like far too much material would need be removed to bring it back to health. Wouldn't be much of a kissaki left.

Thanks for the discussion, always an interesting one, and at a high level I would have to mostly agree to the points listed above. Instead of a sheer black and white cut off after Nanbokucho, in general I see value and historical importance as a gradual slope that declines primarily based on date, length and mei or lack there of. That being said, I would say to certain individuals, there is still value and significance to mumei o-suriage Muromachi and even Shinto, albeit much less so vs Nanbokucho or Kamakura(assuming all else equal). Likewise a blade that has survived as ubu with mei from the Muromachi period should hold much lower value and significance than one from Nanbokucho or Kamakura period. Interesting questions are how do you compare value and importance between blades when several parameters vary. Take my most recent acquisition below, a mumei o-suriage TH Ko-Uda Wakizashi (59.3cm) from very early Nanbokucho period. Yamato Shizu Kaneuji is a possibility here but attribution aside considering all else equal, would an ubu katana of 80+cm with mei and date have greater value to the average collector? How about a more experienced collector? https://imgur.com/gallery/VLFNouU http://swordsofjapan.com/project/ko-uda-in-koshirae/ I would also argue that value itself can be a bit abstract from person to person. It is fleeting and correlates with someone's taste and experience as a result of study. Value by definition becomes exponentially more difficult to obtain as time passes assuming the collector continues to grow in experience.

He said it's one of a kind, total worth it!

Thanks Steve, like a school boy on Christmas I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival and it did not disappoint, not in the slightest. Both the shirasaya/sunagi by Tirado and original set of Edo period koshirae are immaculate and marry one another perfectly. I spent several hours studying the blade this afternoon, I can already tell this one will take many years to fully explore. Every inch is jam packed with so much detail, its a 700 year old masterpiece I will cherish for a very long time!

Finally arrived! More pictures posted here: https://imgur.com/gallery/VLFNouU

I live a few miles from Andy Quirt and can vouch he always seems to hold the customers interest above locking down a business deal.

Could be, not taking sides or anything but it's all one sided speculation and here say without more information, evidence, input from the other side.

Seems odd, was this not a standard AOI auction/listing? I think more details about how the backout occurred (stated reason why, timing, quotes, etc) would be needed to get a better understanding. Same info for the whole deposit situation.