WillFalstaff

I do think he actually does have blades that should have more attention. His new listings look more promising than prior ones in the last four months.

Mine was from Amazon for $50 a month and change ago, but worth the price for the wealth of info. A must have. https://www.amazon.com/Connoisseurs-Book-Japanese-Swords/dp/4770020716/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2THMK8V7B3TKP&keywords=The+Connoisseur's+Book+of+Japanese+Swords&qid=1646521546&sprefix=the+connoisseur's+book+of+Japanese+swords%2Caps%2C208&sr=8-1

While I have the book out.

This is in Art of the Samurai from the NY MET publication

And the other wakizashi. Very nice in the hand. Has kizu; hada-ware mostly but i can’t complain at the price point. Each time I study it the more details I see in the grain and hamon, despite the old polish.

Pics, as promised. Please excuse the quality, my iphone-photo-fu is weak. This is the wakizashi, not as moonscape-ie as DickH’s and please excuse my Hanes brand sword pillow (in the process of making one). Compared to the other wak, this thing has heft to it. Fairly full hira-niku. Hard time making out a yokote, but I think it had one just from feeling the blade through a thin cloth.

Chris - I was under the impression that NBTHK paperwork is generally called origami, that also has oshigata.

This is a great addition, Sham. I’ll add to my cheat sheet (w/attribution of course). Though I’m not looking for 95s (or 98s) I’m bound to bump into some and want to be sure I’m evaluating them correctly “if” I do decide to buy one. And if I can, I will post here before making a move.

Here’s my try at what’s suspicious (still learning 98s): The obvious newly and poorly wrapped handle. The shape of the handle. The very noticeable pattern on the blade makes it likely a Chinese manufacture. The habaki is disgusting. The scabbard throat is very poor. Probably a franken-sword made with authentic as well as fake parts.

Thanks for the feedback! Brian laid it out pretty well. I got a decent wakizashi (signed Nobukane) in old polish from him before I knew enough, but I got lucky. I’ve been using the wak as study practice and research. Got another beefy wak that is in rough shape, but signed Yasumichi from him, as well as rusted tanto I posted about on another thread. I’ll post pics. Some cheap blade porn is due here. I have not seen so many papers with blades from him for cheap (though the bidding will probably be astronomical in the end) so alarm bells rang pretty fast.

Hey Piers, I interpret this message board as a sort of fact-check site. It is to vet out sellers not on the “A list”. Almost like a caveat emptor (buyer beware) resource. If I search for “komonjo” on NMB, I get posts regarding questionable business practices, but I also get buyer experiences that were positive. So, referencing scientific principles, I want data, data, and then more data. Everyone is free to judge on their own, but I think some information is better than none. I know there are plenty of people out there who are buying, based on Ebay pics and proclamations - I was one of them - so this post is really an educational tool for the potential buyer. I post not meaning to smear a business person, but to educate, as komonjo seems to do the right thing, regarding what little I know of nihonto collecting and buying. We all know that there are a lot of bad actors out there selling s&^% for a lot of $$$, but also there are those who are trying to sell actual blades that are worth the money, here in the US, that otherwise cannot be sold in Japan due to regulations. Of course, if I’m totally wrong and off the deep end, mods can remove this posting.

Hey all you seasoned collectors! Our friend on Ebay has a new stock of blades, but this time with papers. Care to take a look (one with green papers)? I think it would be educational to have honest reviews of these Ebay offerings. Full disclosure: before joining this group I had bought blades from him. I don’t regret the buys and I think he’s a good salesman, but I haven’t seen papered stuff from him before. https://www.ebay.com/sch/komonjo/m.html?_trkparms=folent%3Akomonjo|folenttp%3A1&_trksid=p3542580.m47492.l71970

Totally new to ID-ing 95’s, but I have trouble with the termination of the hi (is it called a hi on a 95? Groove? Or fuller?) at the guard on Trystan’s Feb 11 post. Enough where it would make me step away from the buy. The stamps look a bit off too. Maybe it’s the spacing or the depth of the stamps, or that they don’t look “thick”. I think it is either a really well made replica, or a frankensword made w/real parts, or . . . 1% or 2% chance it’s real.

That looks nice, Paul. Good find. I'm newer to WWII sword identification, compared to nihonto. With the wealth of info here on NMB, as well as the interaction with the gurus, I interpreted the blade to be genuine before reading on. I am throwing together a half-finished pictorial essay on Fake v. Real 95s document and the process has educated me. Looking forward to pics of your purchases from the auction!

Ditto! ↑↑↑↑↑↑

Hi Justin, Also, get a proper stand. You don't have to go balls-deep like EastCoast did in the post I'm linking, but don't go cheap on the display stand either. Keep it oiled. If it's humid where you live, oil more than not. If you take it out to look at it, don't talk as saliva will affect the blade--absolutely no touchy with fingers! Use a cloth to support the blade incase you want to use two hands. You can barehand it on the nakago ONLY.

“Ah yes, Gandalf the Grey, that is what they used to call me. I am Gandalf the White.” (I did not bid on this auction, thought the temptation was *almost* overpowering 😈

Ouch! Someone's going to be sorry after purchasing and then researching. https://www.lloydsonline.com.au/LotDetails.aspx?smode=0&aid=29125&lid=3329832&pgn=1&pgs=100

Oh, fear not, for I am strong in constitution! I’d rather save for a papered nihonto. I don’t care enough for WWII blades, though I am learning how to spot fakes in case I come up on them around here (meaning Texas).

John - I posted excerpts from Nakahara’s book on how to ID and interpret suriage in the post below. I found it exceptionally enlightening. I think his warning about fake suriage is especially important.