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Thank you @Lewis B 🙏🙏🙏 I keep trying to photograph as much as I can see having it in hand but I feel like the photos are always pale in comparison

Certainly not worthless since it is still an authentic nihonto. And depending on the blade condition/size 260,000 yen is quite resonable esp for a long blade. I wouldnt mind paying that if I loved a blade that I knew was gimei.

Bump with some additional photos https://www.kozmophotography.com/Kiyomitsu-additional-photos/n-qkttbj $6000 shipping and Insurance included for Cont. USA More than happy to answer any questions or prove any specific photos

The fittings are certainly chinese and not authentic but the nakago will definitely confirm for the blade. Id be leaning towards very likely not authentic

I know I ll be in the overwhelming minority But while the new polish gives a stunning contrast, I just prefer and love the look of the original. Beautiful, honest and calm. And while modern polishing has it s beauty, I notice that much of the ko hada is inevitably subdued when the steel is darkened and the hadori becomes harsh in the background

@HoustonNihonto Thats amazing ! Id love to see photos when you have it !

Mauro, I am so sorry to hear this and I will certainly pray for a good outcome keep an eye out for it. This is always something I fear when shipping or expecting swords. And PS: Thank you again for the Moritaka blade it turned out to be a quite a unique sword for the school and I ll forever treasure it in my collection. And I also remember that one taking quite a long time by USPS from TX to NY Wishing for the best -Kevin

Quite an interesting thread this has turned into but trying to attach historical importance based only on who/when a particular sword was made is I think a bit over romanticizing. Swords were made for a thousand years. While I believe all of them are deserving of respect and preservation , 99.9% of them are not historically important. This blade in particular may or may not even be genuine since it hasnt been submitted and gimei are frequent for well known names. Add in the diy restoration and it may or may not have been rendered worthless. Yes oiling it and leaving it covered in the stable black rust is an infinitely better choice.

Some great examples @Jussi Ekholm #2 would def take the top spot for me with size and a beautiful boshi but I do agree that #3 has the best shape but Im also fairly biased towards okissaki. I havent seen many Hoju come around but they do catch my eyes whenever I see one. Has that perfect rustic feel with a wild feeling jigane. What was it that made it your favorite school ?

@Jussi Ekholm, @Hoshi Thank you so much for the insight as always 🙏🙏🙏 My interests are similar to Jussi as I favor schools that produce rustic/stout blades. The sort of blades that would be considered " lacking elegance" and "artistic value" 😅 I dont think I will ever reach the level of ever considering blades at these price levels but intricacies and nuances when evaluating such blades will always fascinate me. I am very grateful to have knowledgable forum members for whenever these questions eat away at me. Thank you again 🙏

Good Evening How do the high end collectors generally read into big names attached to mid level papers ? The 2 examples I see right now that jump out is the Den Go thats been talked about before https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-：mumei-unsigned-den-gonbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/ And a Shintogo Kunimitsu tachi https://eirakudo.shop/105943 With both big names having only TokuHo, is it reasonable to assume that both blades stayed at TokuHo due to the high probability of them being re-attributed to a lesser name if it went Juyo ? And is there definitive right or wrong path for an owner to take ? i.e try for Juyo or leave it at TokuHo Thank you for any insight as im not familiar with the general politics in the papering side when it comes to titanic names -Kevin

This a great topic As Lewis stated above, Tamahagane production/distribution became more and more centralized as time went on. This was also a gradual process throughout the koto periods but really became mainstream in shinto ( edo ) periods. While it could be argued that steel quality became more consistant , it inevitably lost all the regional characteristics of steel that once appeared in the old works. There is ( and will always be ) much great debates trying to pin down the cause for the great artistic ( not functional ) decline in swords over time and the loss of regional characteristics of steel likely has a big part in it

The green ( old ) nbthk paper doesnt really have any value today unfortunately. If resale was a concern then a new NBTHK shinsa submission would be wise but that would put this blade at well north of $4000 usd in investment which is equivalent to some very nice signed Hozon/Toku Hozon wakizashi in todays market so I personally dont think it s worth it. Plus you d be waiting about 4-6 months for the blade and paper I would just stick with the NTHK paper if you love the blade and plan on keeping it

It s all personal preference at the end of the day depending on what the buyer likes. But a mumei edo wakizashi without NBTHK papers for over $3700.00 USD is an extreme no for me personally

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