klee

Good evening I know it s common knowledge that the green papers ( Tokubetsu kicho ) have pretty much zero value now but where the blue papers ( Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho ) affected as well ? Havent really come across these and I know they are uncommon

I am biased bc I enjoy sue bizen but there is a papered, signed, dated Sukesada for under 3000 usd in the for sale section if you want muromachi I would never in million years spend $2000+ on a green paperer wak over something like that

Nice photos ! hard to tell but personally I would be concerned about the kissaki/Boshi more than the nakago. Looks like It s been tampered by someone unqualified. The mitzukado and yokote looks way off

1st sword : Ko Mihara ? 2nd sword : Tegai ?

Wouldnt Acetone work if it s lacquer ? And I know for a fact acetone is safe on steel

Oh No worries Lewis lol I thought I was going crazy. And yes very unique and beautiful work. Also very expensive esp for the early generation whenever they become available so it will remain a collecting dream for now ( sigh )

yes , I ve noticed that despite the proximity and family ties, their wormanship is very different

@Rivkin, Is the deviation from Kyushu mono by Samonji and other Sa smiths solely due to the soshu/ Masamune's influence ? I try to follow them closely when ever any material comes up since they are close family connections to Kongo Hyoe, a school I like to collect

Ah my mistake lewis. I thought for some reason Samonji was the name of the school but it should have been corrected to "Sa"

Just like when photographing people, it s very hard to beat a good natural light on and overcast day

I did like that samonji as well when they posted it. Such amazing hamon and jigane. It does however pain me to see a once magnificent tachi get shortened to such a massive degree lol

Would love to know what was missing for the NBTHK to go win " Den" instead of just Go

Speaking of Go Yoshihiro ! https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-：mumei-unsigned-den-gonbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/ Beautiful blade

Great to know @Rivkin ! I will try some long exposure next time. The blade is the signed Moritaka ( kongo hyoe ) from the other post.

Thank you @Jussi Ekholm ! I am unfamiliar with the science part of it myself but it seems a regular incandescent will show every small hada honestly while LED hides most of it. There are parts in some of my swords that almost looks muji under LED while incandescent will show a very clear itame hada. LED does however excell in showing hardening and hamon hataraki. Especially, utsuri can be seen very easily angling it with LED while it s almost impossible with incandescent. Love to test out other lightsources but I ve noticed that natural sunlight gives very pleasing results

I was thinking the same as well . The last character def looks cut. And wouldnt that disqualify from Juyo for muromachi blades ? Or would this be an exception due to name and quality

As a sue bizen lover , never seen anything like it come up anywhere https://www.aoijapan.com/katana：bizen-kuni-ju-osafune-yosazaemon-no-jo-sukesada-dated-august-1522-daiei-2-juyo-token-63rd-designation/

The shape looks very Ko Mihara to me as well. Although the hamon looks a bit on the wide side but this is of course just rough eyeballing with much of the detail not visible. Love that Tsuka tho !

Always love when a Sue Bizen sword sneaks in bc I know it must be a magnificent Zokumei Sukesada sample to make it that high to Juyo

Thank you @Hector I kinda had the same feeling as well so this one will be a hard pass

Been a photographer for 10 years and only recently tried to take pictures of Nihonto for Lloyd Flemmings book. I think this is one of if not the most extreem case of how light affects what gets captured. White LED vs plain incandescant bulb Same blade, about the the same spot, about the same light position and brightness. No enhancement or sharpening LED seems to hide much of the ko hada present. This is also very noticable on hand as well.

My bad @Lewis B should be fixed now

Hello Been looking for a tsuka here and there and came across this one. I only know enough to spot blatant fakes so I was wondering if anyone could definitively say if this was was authentic or not. The ito wrap looks authentic ( albeit not very well done ) but the fuchi / kashira looks kinda suspect Thank you in advance Kevin

Would love to hear from the experienced, knowledgeable soshu den members what you think made the NBTHK lean Den Masamune over other attributions. It certainly must have been big decision @Rivkin @Tsuku @Hoshi @eternal_newbie @Gakusee @Lewis B and anyone I missed

just saw this on Aoi https://www.aoijapan.com/katanamumei-attributed-to-den-masamune-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token-consignment-sale/ very thin and lots of ware but still cool to see anything related to Masamune / Den Masamune come up