NewB

These deals show up but not so often and if they do most of the folks that buy and resell are usually on top of it. 3k for papered mumei in koshirae could happen if you are patient. I have to agree with Katsujinken though. Cheers J&U

Budget?

As Franco D mentioned below reaching out and conversing with the project would let you know whether they'll take on the task. Some of them refuse katana and wakizashi should they feel the outcome isn't in the best of the interest in both parties. Lovely detail of his polish Awesome J&U

Hello Research 'Togishi in the US'. I've heard of Robert Benson out of Hawai, Ted Tenold (here on the forum) and Woody Hall (Bob Benson's student, out of Vegas). There are few more names that my mind can't reproduce at the moment. Japanese blades HAVE TO BE polished by traditionally trained polisher. Any other attempt will ruin the blade - period. Until then keep it lightly oiled (the forum has info on that) and do not attempt to do anything to the steel whatsoever (no touching, swinging, hitting etc)! Cheers J&U

I agree Alex. I was referring to how a blade should be presented in a traditional manner. It's great that you bring up 'how to handle a nihonto' (in a sense) so folks without experience are aware of how to ask about looking at one and how to handle it. Cheers J&U

Hello In my opinion the kissaki is one of the most important parts of a blade as most say the 'life' of the sword is in the first 7-8" from the tip. The kissaki on a recently polished blade has to be as the tip of a needle and sharp as a razor. Clearly in these photos the tip is out of its traditional shape either due to cutting or shoving into a strong object. Also, considering the small area, it is usually the hardest one to polish as far as effort and time consumption from the togishi and then their skill. I hope others share their opinions also but if you were to watch any online documentary about how togishi training you'd see that the biggest focus goes on the kissaki. Cheers J&U

Just lock him up 😝🤭 J.

Uzumaki hada = mokume Per old papers/descriptions Cheers J&U

Your money, your choice. I wanted to give you the voice of experience. No pun intended Cheers P.S. I hope you get it polished so we could see the new, true appearance J.

Hello You purchased this from seller showa22 it appears. Usually he gives an approximate jidai of what the blade's characteristics point to. From there you could use www.sho-shin.com to narrow down and research what generation this might be based on sugata, jihada, hamon, boshi etc. As I agree with Jacques the most important question is whether it is sho shin or gimei and that takes a lot of research and knowledge! As I am still trying to wrap my head around the abyss of nihonto (and I hope others will agree) and I made similar purchases, I strongly advise investing in books, reading and understanding the terminology, asking questions (as you did). We all started somewhere.. That would allow you to know what to purchase and what not to. While this may appear too blunt and harsh it is definitely not intended to by any means and I'm sure will serve you well as a guiding light on the long run. Also, the forum consists of reputable and knowledgeable members that have plenty of inventory to choose from. Buying a nihonto in polish, without flaws in healthy status and with reliable papers should always be a priority. That is my take on the subject! Cheers. P.S. if you check showa22 sold listings you'd find another Kanesada niji mei you might want to compare yours to. J.

I agree on the Shitahara Here's an amateur photo of Uzumaki hada by shodai Yasushige Cheers J.

The description says - attributed to shinto.. 😁 J.

If I were to be 20 and familiar with the language - most certainly! Cheers. J.

That's what matters. Keep in mind there are few strokes that are missing in your signature however based on the Jacques example I'd say it looks pretty close - hamon and hada.. Cheers J.

A picture of the hada will answer all questions... J

The fact that he was the most prolific smith of the Shinto era, I believe, was because he could work in many of the 'old' styles. Older works did have midare with togari-ba and later his signature chu-suguha. I've seen some notare examples also and mine is a total Shizu utsushi! Needless to say - personally - my most favorite Shinto smith. As for your blade, my gut tells me gimei but I'm hoping I'm wrong. Cheers. J.

Hello See attached. The black and white photo is my Gojo Tadayoshi. Cheers http://www.sho-shin.com/shinto-hizen.html J

I hope I'm not seeing hagire.. otherwise tough to say but seems real from such limited resources I'd pass J.

I take it. Love me some Kiyomaro imitations J

Uma midare hamon? What school are you thinking @Rivkin Thanks in advance J.

Thank you Sir. Yes. 😊 John

Thank you Ray. Always there for everyone! 💯 🙏 J.

👋 Folks, Please tell me what is written there. I can make out Jumyo but that's that. Thank you in advance. J.

Hello The blade you've posted is probably from the Aoi Art Museum. They are experts in the field and they are very straight forward (with very few exceptions). If the blade is signed and papered then you have no worries. If not, they usually say - we don't guarantee or they say - we believe it will pass hozon paper. So be it as it may - yes, there are gunome midare blades and there are suguha blades (consider that Sukesada swordsmiths have gazillion generations). The period when the blade was made along with all the other characteristics usually help immensely to have a thorough answer. One picture doesn't help much but that's what i think in the nutshell. Others will probably chime in also. Cheers J.