Matsunoki

Lee, sorry to hear of your troubles. I have experienced similar…..several times …..once nearly 2 months. The problem could lie with our own Border Force staff (who I think are now also on strike?). No matter who the carrier is, when (if) it gets to the UK it goes into the Border Force backlog. I’ve had stuff stuck for weeks and then a demand letter turns up wanting the import tax paying. I don’t know if DHL will actually handle the transit in the UK Have you tried putting the tracking ref into both Royal Mail and Parcelforce tracking systems? Also there is an independent universal parcel tracking service ,sorry can’t remember it’s name but Google it and it’ll turn up…..try that as well. Im so fed up with it all I’ve stopped buying overseas including Europe. Good luck, Imhope it turns up. Colin

Franco, the blade is an exact fit for the koshirae, ie the koshirae was made for it and is of a lovely subdued quality with its carved wood saya and tsuka…..nice little touches as well….rather “wabi sabi” in mood. I think it’s just been neglected and allowed to get damp. Sadly this is very common for swords that turn up in the UK. Thanks for looking. Regards.Colin

Also meant to say it has full length thin suguha muneyaki also with jinie flares along it. I think much hamon has been lost through polishing…..

Hi Jean, I did give the kasane info…..the nakago is 6.3mm and the blade just above habaki is 4.6mm so it has lost about 27% of its thickness.

Hello from the UK. Please can anyone tell me what these kanji on Tanto menuki say? The whole sword is posted on the Nihonto forum as “Soshu Kamakura/Nanbokucho Tanto?”Many thanks for your help. All the best. Colin.

Meant to say if you tap the image you will get a much better look at the nie etc.

Hello from the Uk. Please may I ask for opinions on this old Tanto? If you prefer to pm me rather than reply publicly that’s fine. This old Tanto is in very rough condition and is a shadow of its former self. At some point it has been very rusty but even in its current state the visible activity is fairly spectacular. Sticking my head above the parapet…..I believe it could be Soshu, late Kamakura or Nanbokucho. My reasoning is based on the overall sugata, the tanago-bara nakago (ubu but machiokuri by about 2cm), the wild almost hitatsura hamon (now very degraded especially on one side due to many many polishes), prolific nie and ji nie over most of the blade (some resemble solar flares), remnants of old sunagashi, the mune is a worn mitsumune and hamon narrowing towards the machi. Where the hamon appears to narrow to a suguha in the monouchi there is ghosting of a past much wider nie based hamon. No hada is visible in this condition. Thanking you for looking…..please forgive its current condition…..yes I’ve oiled it! Nagasa 28cm (originally about 30cm) Current motohaba 2.7 cm but greatly reduced by polishing Nakago kasane 6.3mm Motokasane 4.6mm ie very “tired”

Hi Uwe I wonder if someone is trying to create a Ninja sword? It looks a mix of real bits and pieces with some home-made “improvements”? ….just a thought. All the best.Colin.

Brian is right. Czernys have excellent things which attract very seriously rich buyers which means nothing goes cheaply. Quite the opposite. Then you add on the buyers commission plus tax which can easily add another 30% and you end up wondering why you just did that…….I’ve wondered many times! Easy to get carried away. Safest way is to buy direct from a known and trusted contact….friend, dealer, collector etc where you might be able to inspect the sword before buying and often have a period where you can change your mind and return it. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

How about these?……Ishido school.

Not sure……could just be a Hadori effect and the hi look a bit wobbly especially towards the “kissaki” and they terminate at different points in the nakago. Hmmmm……

Hello again Steve. Thank you so much. I now own the blade as an example of something a bit eccentric…..even more so given the crazy Mei! Difficult to understand what the significance is. Very grateful. All the best. Colin

Hello from the UK Can I please ask for help with the Mei on this unusual wakizashi? I will post the blade in full in the Nihonto Forum. The blade has an unusual sugata……hirazukuri on one side and Kiri ha on the other. The nakago is ubu. The Mei is cut into the actual blade rather than the nakago. The sword has masses of activity visible under a very heavy layer of either old grease or varnish! I have managed to get “Bizen Osafune Yokoyama Sukekane” but I’m lost on the preceeding inscription. Absolutely anything that you can tell me would be very gratefully received. Why signed on the blade?? Many thanks in advance. Best wishes.Colin

Stefan, if this sword was in the UK I would buy it from you. It’s a good solid shinsakuto plus I really enjoy Sumo so that would be a bonus. The trouble is we are having some problems with shipping and also with our own border force/customs people which is making some of us very cautious about importing swords. It is very annoying and I do sympathise with you. Plus of course we have +20% to pay on top now that we are out of the EU. It is very frustrating. I wish you better luck.

Hi Ken Brian is right….it’s total crap. Likely plastic, perhaps bone but not even the Chinese would waste ivory on something like this!

I’ll stick my head above the parapet! don’t think a Mei has been removed (if signed wouldn’t it have been on the other side anyway?) looks classic late muromachi period wakizashi…..Mino or Bizen? nice shape nakago, overall sugata is in my opinion attractive shame about the poorer quality hi…….but that could be caused by bad polish All the best. Colin

Hi again George, (I’m Colin…..you are George!!!🙂) I think sashikomi vs hadori(Keisho) is a very well debated topic with differing opinions! Personally I will never understand Hadori. It obscures some of the most vital features of a blade. I believe (have been told) that a hadori finish is a bit easier than sashikomi and a bit quicker but more difficult. If we are buying a sword from images and the polish is Hadori we are gambling…..unless you know and trust the seller. I have seen Hadori used to cover a hagire to such an extent that even under close scrutiny it was difficult to spot. Give me sashikomi every time no matter what the hamon/hataraki is. Just my opinion. All the best. Colin.

Hi George its only my opinion, but sashikomi polish is so beautiful when done well. You can see everything without twisting, turning, squinting and hoping!! Hadori is great if you like the dramatic contrasting effect of light/dark or if you want to make sure it’s tricky to actually see anything at all!. Hadori is also useful if you want to hide problems……..

Blimey……this thread takes me back a bit! I knew Chris and Roberta quite well and likewise visited them and bought several swords together with other Japanese works of art. We would also meet at motorway service stations on the M25. Once bought a whole collection of cloisonne from him and three wonderful large Miyao bronze samurai which I believe he bought in South America. He just seemed to disappear from the scene. Someone told me they had gone into the property market but I never heard from them again. I used to love his lists. Really miss that old fashioned way of dealing…….the days when you could buy nice things sensibly…..before the internet made it possible to find everything everywhere! That must be 40 odd years ago? Great times. All the best. Colin.

I am inclined to think that he is a Mongol Archer. His clothes are not recognisably European. See the tsuba in this link. https://www.zacke.at/auction/lot/303-nobuchika-a-fine-and-rare-silver-mito-school-tsuba-depicting-a-mongolian-archer-with-dog/?lot=16858

This “discussion” is heading in exactly the same direction as when I formed my first collection aeons ago…..and it will continue in that vein until no-one is interested anymore I guess! The old topics….. mei vs mumei, papers vs none, Koto vs Shinto, ubu vs suriage, koshirae vs shirasaya, gimei vs genuine (not that anyone really knows), long swords vs short swords, opinion vs opinion vs opinion etc etc Of course it is interesting and very challenging to build knowledge and expertise as long as it doesn’t spoil the pleasure we derive from these magnificent weapons. Way back, a very famous Japanese polisher that I was honoured to have visit me several times told me, almost in the exact words from the book quoted above - unless you stand next to the smith as he forges it you can never be sure…..it’s just opinions. That really clarified for me what I wanted to collect based on two simple questions “do I like it?” and “is it a good sword” Yes or no. Anything that you can learn about it after that (often with very kind and generous help from others) is the icing in the cake that led me to many friendships. I try to collect “good” swords in koshirae that exist largely in the condition that the last Samurai owner left it in. Not as easy as it used to be! Now we can debate what is “a good sword”🙂🙂 Just my 2p worth All the best. Colin

Hello Bob…from the somewhat gloomy UK Just my opinion…..but I think it’s a buyers market right now and likely to become moreso. With all the “issues” going on in the world I think most people will become more cautious with their cash. This has been reflected in some recent high profile auctions where a lot of “over-estimated” stuff failed to sell. On the “for sale” section of this forum we often see nice items that go through several price reductions before they sell….or maybe they don’t even sell. That’s not a criticism of the sellers, but it is an indication of current demand vs supply dynamics. There will be exceptions though……anything “sleepy” in an auction will get chased by everyone hoping for a bargain and thus end up expensive especially with the damned auctioneers commission added on. Another exception is when something seriously good comes along at a sensible price(whatever that is). The very best things usually sell well and hold their value better than “ordinary” items. There will always be some seriously wealthy buyers for top quality. ”Run of the mill” is likely to face price/value reduction maybe for a few years. But we don’t buy these wonderful things for investment do we?…unless we are crazy! Be really interested to see what others say, especially any dealers opinions. All the best Colin

Just thought I’d post this link to an auction with some beautiful tsuba in. There are several others besides this one. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/zacke-wien/catalogue-id-galeri10073/lot-e21df883-8425-4ed8-859f-af41010a9d56

Evening Michael…many thanks. I think I have an exaggerated sense of justice and fair play! This has been very enlightening to say the least. There is a lot I would like to say but I won’t…..I might get chucked out of the Forum! I just cannot see any reason nor any fairness in rejecting a sword that justifies a particular “ranking” just because there are better swords in that Shinsa session…….especially if it might pass in the next one. The sword hasn’t changed has it? Anyway, as you say, that’s how it is. I will never submit any sword to an overseas Shinsa- I’d like it back before I die! The issues with international shipping will only get worse, so for me it’s just an interesting discussion subject…..and I’m sure it’s all been said before. If ever you are in these Eastern wastelands you would be most welcome. All the best.Colin

Ray, thanks for that link. Interesting but also shocking. If that’s how it works then it reduces the process to a “pot luck” lottery that depends on what your sword is “up against” rather than how good your sword is “in its own rights”. Seems nuts that a sword that deserves Juyo doesn’t get it…..but “it might if you keep trying”..and keep waiting a few more years….and keep paying. To me, it’s plain crazy….and very difficult to logically justify. Just my uneducated opinion! All the best. Colin