Lareon

Another time, I've got three swords in Japan for polish and shinsa and just bought a beautiful sword. My wallet needs a rest

I understand the desire kantaro. There was a sword I missed out on purchasing a while back due to a technical issue on a platform. The sword was something very desirable to me and my study. That sword sits rent free in my mind. I've been tempted before to post to see if one of our members purchased it so I could offer on it.

Luckily I travel a lot for work so I've managed to pick stuff up on business trips.

Well I had a day in New York. Got to inspect the blade. Chatted with the seller all for the same price as delivery. Travelled to Germany a few times to collect too (more expensive as I drove) It's more fun. It's cheaper usually and customs is easier than a delivery. If someone wants to pay my ticket I'll happily travel the world picking up swords for them!

As a beginners book i also recommend Alfred Dobree - Japanese Sword Blades It's a really small book and i ended up buying a couple of copies of it and carrying one around with me to study the kanji etc in it. The book(s) i regret buying the most was probably Hawley - Japanese Swordsmiths

I've gone and collected a few from other countries to bring them in myself in recent times. This year i was in new york simply to meet up with a NMB member to buy a ko-gassan blade which i brought back to the uk on the plane with me. shipping fees on imports are high £300-£400 A return flight to new york £300

for me the san is the biggest indicator. It's missing a strike on the left, the middle is horizontal instead of angled and the right hand stroke is vertical isntead of a curve

I agree with Bryce, the mei is close enough to warrant a deeper look or at least better pictures, the remnants of the kokuin of Sadakazu is also a good indicator in my eye although i have also seen gimei kokuin for Sadakazu multiple times. As for what is left of the blade. It is damaged but if it was mine and real i would still send for shinsa and polish (easy to spend someone elses money though) As for the negatives on the mei, there are definitely some discrepencies. The san kanji is definitely not typical Sadakazu. If i was a betting man i'd probably go gimei

Leather Cord wrapped around the Saya, is old and probably of the era. blade inside is Kozori Hidekage, the kabutogane also has a silver decoration

Higo No Kami Kuniyasu blade one side has the typical gunto menuki but the other side has a fly, whether this was post war i have no idea.

maybe includes export certificate too?

yeah £300 or 350 euro, It's not far from UPS pack and ship costs i've paid before

saw someone (AlexA) mention they used OCS shipping for a katana to the uk. I've also used these and I know Pablo from Unique Japan uses them (he was who recommended them to me) Just wanted everyone to know they are trustworthy and fast. (feel free to move this topic if online sales is more appropriate)

Very Nice, Let us know if there are any others. I'm in the area often. couldn't of made this one but would be keen

1743 Namamugi chō, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama City? terashima denai ? Name and address

can you give us a close up shot of the decoration?

I've not seen the Release button filled before. Interesting

so far, two of the blades are wakizashi and one katana. I've seen the one you posted piers but didn't include it in my list. I own one of the wakizashi and it's a fine sword with a kaneiye tsuba

yeah, I'm very curious as to what this stamp is for. I'll keep digging

Asked Markus directly and he hadn't seen before but did unearth one more with papers

I started my collecting based entirely on collecting gunto, I wanted one of each type ,95, nco etc then it got more refined the more i learnt. Gendaito, Copper nco etc etc Then i learnt more and moved closer to nihonto, collecting good smiths in gunto koshirae now i collect nihonto, more specifically ko-gassan. I went from £500 to £2000 then to £10,000 plus Would i have spent the higher end at the start of my collection? no. now i know what I do and don't know to a much higher degree and can be more confident in a purchase. Not just that; now I am closer to being able to appreciate what that price is getting me. But the final thing really is, even at the start of my collection , i loved the swords i had then, swords others would dismiss now as junk, they still sit there and are cleaned, oiled and kept well looked after. each one is a piece of my journey to where i am now in my knowledge and also while it may sound a little silly, those swords were crafted with care and sweat and deserve to be preserved.

Thanks, this one came from a nice sword find, I'm still researching the whole package but my knowledge of tsuba is almost zero. very beautiful to me, subtle spots of kin-zogan.

I'm struggling to read this. I believe the fuchi Reads Kosuiken and motoyoshi the tusba i've got echizen and then i'm doubting myself after that