Matsunoki

For those who like to see fake Mei the right way up…..

Yep. Troll.

And now you also know it’s a terrible Chinese fake.

Obviously not🙂

It doesn’t matter what the inscription says. This is not a Japanese sword. It is a modern Chinese fake. The calligraphy is not Japanese, the koshirae is not Japanese, the blade is not Japanese. It is quite common for the fakers to attempt a Mei (signature) on a sword but it is irrelevant. It is fake. I’m sorry….hope you haven’t paid much for it.

Sorry to break bad news but this is a Chinese fake and the inscription is meaningless.

Get what?

The bird is the Ho-o also sometimes referred to as a Phoenix and sometimes wrongly as a bird of paradise Tachi with Ho-o fittings were very popular in and after Meiji period as “tourist pieces”. Some however are still very fine quality https://www.onmarkpr.../ho-oo-phoenix.shtml

I cannot see any boundless enthusiasm nor any complacency in Neil’s comments or description. I can however see some ill-considered and bizarrely unjustified comments elsewhere.

Catalin, as I said on your other post, this is fake. The calligraphy is wrong, the geometry is wrong especially the nakago, the habaki is wrong……. I really hope you didn’t pay a lot for it. Could you get your money back? It is basically worthless.

No you didn’t. Separate sale….🙂 https://www.bonhams....tion-of-inro/?page=2

Sorry to say this looks like a Chinese fake.

Russ, No, didn’t know that shop. And he never showed me the Muramasa☹️. London was a major outing/adventure for a country boy like me back then. (Still is🙂)

Yep, I bought from Mike Dean. Lovely little shop he had. I think he was a “lacquer man” and I believe his collection was sold a few years ago?

So did I Jean. Can’t remember how I found out about him! Anyone new to this subject nowadays will have no idea what it was like back then…..but it was extremely exciting! I once (or twice) just put an advert in our local newspaper for “Japanese swords wanted”. No fakes around back then so everything was genuine…..must have bought over 50 swords just via that route!

Michael, just to be clear, are you referring to the tsuba or the swords/blades?

To quote Talking Heads…..”same as it ever was”….

The koshirae looks as if it could be a Meiji tourist item?

Michael, I would like to know what you were comparing the tsuba to if you didn’t see them as “top quality”. They are just about the finest examples of Bakumatsu and Meiji period mixed metal tsuba etc that we are ever likely to encounter including in Japan. In what way did they fall short “in hand”? Maybe the subjects are not your thing? Certainly they are not to everyone’s taste aesthetically but quality??

Trip down memory lane ……this tiny little book was the first book that I managed to discover way back in the dark ages. A local book dealer tracked it down for me. There was no internet back then (1978) and I can still remember feeling that I had discovered the answer to all my prayers. Knowledge from Japan! A couple of years later I found Robinson. The excitement was immense🙂 (I was living in the middle of nowhere back then as well) Compare that to what we have at our fingertips today Anyone else got this one in their library? Or interesting recollections of early enlightenment?

Vice or clamp marks?

Bonhams billed it as Hartman Collection. Wonder if that is the same family as the wonderful Hartman collection sold many many years ago? I still enjoy that hardback catalogue. Still annoyed at them for this time lotting so many things together especially the superb tanto but as said elsewhere Bonhams don’t give a damn.

Check out the tsuba and Tanto prices! https://www.bonhams....-art-part-ii/?page=6

Trick you? How on earth am I trying to trick you? I asked some simple questions. I’m merely asking you to explain your assertion for the benefit of all of us because I and others on here don’t quite see it the same way. I’m not saying the blade isn’t suriage but I can’t quite see how the evidence you offer supports it. Filing on an area with Hi will cause unavoidable predictable geometric distortions to both the Hi and the Chiri - yes? The Hi will get narrower yet if anything they appear to get wider -yes? The Chiri will get wider yet they appear to get narrower and develop mysterious gaps- yes? The Chiri between the Hi has obvious corrosion gaps in that area -yes? The Chiri between the Hi appears intact at the jiri end -yes? Although the images are not ideal, the area in question does appear to be more heavily corroded and thus the explanation could simply be that the Hi nearest the mune has eroded away? If what I say above is factually inaccurate please correct me. You are a scientist and will doubtless welcome views and opinions being challenged. …. and yes I understand the various suriage options (there isn’t just one option…it depends on many factors) so please don’t ask me to read the article again.

Thank you, I have. Let me ask you a couple of direct questions in the hope of getting an actual answer rather than a “go away and read this”. I’m simply asking you to explain your assertion in relation to this actual nakago. If you are not happy to do that why bother to create the topic? 1. you are inferring the nakago kasane has been reduced yes?…or no? 2. Which side of the nakago are you inferring has been reduced? (Or is it both?) 3. Please highlight the actual physical evidence on this nakago bearing in mind the likely effect on both chiri and hi width and depth ……then we will all learn. Thank you.