nihonto1001

Hi: That maroon color cloth looks familiar. Were the pics of the real one from Darcy's site archives? If so, incredible blade. Jon

Hi: My advice: Be patient, a better deal will come along, without a crack. Ebay is not a good place to buy a sword. Check out some of the sites in the vendor sections of the entery page. It is a buyers market. Jon

Hi Chris: Is it then safe to assume that if it is Ubu-ba that it is Gendaito? Thanks, Jon

Thanks Chris. Jon

Hi Chris: Without the sword in hand I cannot tell. Let's assume that it is not ubu-ba, would that be indicative of Showato? Thanks, Jon

Hi Chris: Here is a better pic: There is no date, only the mei shown. Not sure about the ubu-ba, I am assuming it is original polish though. Is such a sword worth restoring? Jon

Hi: David-There is no stamp. There does look to be the remnants of black lacquer. Chris- Here is a pic of the whole sword. The hamon is not visable. Thanks, Jon

Hi Chris: Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, the blade is in rough shape. The pics I have will not tell much other than that. I noticed there are many variations of "Kanetada" during the 20th century. Just wondering if the mei looks good, and to which Kanetada it could be attributed to. Jon

Hi: Need some help with this one. Looks like Kanetada. Anyone know if it looks legitimate. Is it Gendaito? Thanks, Jon

Hi Henry: Cloudy, very cloudy. But, at least in good health, so far as I know. Thanks for asking. Jon

Sooo Henry, how is the weather over there? Jon

Simon: It is important to note the correct pronunciation of these names: The letter A is pronounced "ah" phonetically; E, "ay"; I, "ee"; O, "oh"; U, "oo". For example Masahide would be pronounced "Mah-sah-he-day"; Kiyomaro, "kee-yoh-mah-roh". Jon

Matus: If you click the link, you will see some nice pics of the blade. One of these days I will get some of the Juyo blade. There is also a nice one in the Compton Collection catalog. Glad you found an interesting piece of history. If you get me some nice pics (in the same form as the others shown) I see no reason why we cannot add it to the article. Jon

Matus: I am glad you liked the write up. Wakimono generally means "off the path", it does not mean "bad". I wonder if this term was even used to describe such swords during the time they were made. Some of my favorite swords are considered Wakimono. I have two Sadamori daitos, one of which is Juyo Token, and other very nice pieces that fall outside of, or are amalgamations of, the main schools. I like their uniquness and have developed quite an appreciation for such smiths. This form of collecting allows me to possess some high quality swords without the price premium. I would like to see a book dedicated to Wakimono one day. That I would buy. Jon.

Nice sword for sure. Hawley has him rated at 100 by the way. I had my eye on that one. Here is a link to my Reisen Sadamori:http://www.onihonto.com/Nihonto.html In it you will find another link to a write up I did about the smith. It has pictures of other Sadamori works. All The Best, Jon

Thanks Grey. Does anyone know how I can reach Gordon Robson? Jon

Thanks for your responses... How about for the NTHK Shinsa in Tampa? That is the Japanese Division correct? Do they typically view nioigire as an inexusable flaw in a mid level muromachi piece? Because I live near Tampa, I plan on attending this Shinsa. Thanks, Jon

To whomever would like to answer: Will the NTHK fail a sword, that is otherwise fine, for an interuption of the nie line (nioigire I believe it's called)? I have a late muromachi period sword with a deep carbon inclusion going through the nie line of a wide suguha based hamon. Thanks, ahead of time. Jon

In any circumstance, it is absolutely a beautiful sword, regardless of the beautiful attribution. Nice find. Congrats! Jon

Hi Ted: Are they still having the NTHK Shinsa in Tampa? Jon

Can anybody put a school on this tsuba? Any thoughts, or info, would be appreciated. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/jhealy@cxcxc/Other/sword_end.jpg Thanks, Jon

What I don't understand is why so many would bid on the sword this early on. Logic would dictate waiting until the end of the auction. I am not saying the bids are not legit, but why bid up the price if you are looking out for your own best interest? Jon

This sword has a lot of sori. Was it normal for Nidai Tadatsuna to work with so much sori? I thought the general rule was for Shinto swords to be less curvey. Jon

Here is a real one to compare it to: http://www.nihonto.ca/tegai-kanenaga/ Enjoy, Jon

Great to see this type of thing. Jon