Bruno

The first one seems to be a....gendaito(mil steel?)....maybe previously mounted in the Type 3 koshirae due to the 2 holes at the extremities of the nakago. The price is quite high and the shirasaya/blade are in rougth condition, I am sure you can find better for that budget.

Well, the togishi simply said that (most of)gendaito are not made with true tamahagane so cannot be considered as true nihonto. It is just his point of view, not mine...

Yes that would be a good start. Do we have NMB members who are also NBTHK members? It would be nice also if Morita and Moriyama san could enlight us about this interesting question. For sure star stamped swords are better done than mass produced gunto but I have been told by a very serious french togishi and swords restorateur that gendaito were not(in many cases) made with tamahagane. I suspect he is a purist mainly focused on shinto swords but his knowledge is very impressive. So when he told me that I was a bit surprised(deceived to).

Agree with Stephen but I dare to add that menuki look guenine.

Thanks Ted, you made me laugth today!!!

Yes AMAHIDE but certainly signed by IDETOSHI OR KANEMUNE. 80% of AMAHIDE'swords were not signed by himself. Compare the mei with KANEMUNE and HIDETOSHI's ones to see which one it could be.

Hi everyone! I finaly found the message the Ebay book seller sent me, his name is TSUBADUBA. According to him John does working on a new one. "Hi Bruno, There are more than seven hundred smiths listed and 280 oshigata. I have Slough's book and it is a great book. Some of the swords illustrated in that book are mine, and I have contributed additional oshigata for a second book John is working on. This Fuller and Gregory book is much rarer and was published almost two decades earlier; the osigata are not as large and clear as in Slough's book but the translations are character by character and very helpful if you are trying to learn to read the nakago of swords. Also, with the quantity of Chinese fakes out there and the expense of making a mistake buying a fake or altered sword, books are very wise investment. Every single book I am selling is a duplicate that I am selling because over a period of many years I have managed to find a mint copy. The other thing I've observed about the books is they hold their value or increase in value. The two volume Fujishiro translation by Harry Watson is so rare that that set has gone for more than nine hundred dollars on ebay. I don't know if mine will bring that, but they may. The Fuller book offers good bang for the buck, and I feel confident whoever buys it won't loose any money if they just run it again on ebay. These books don't come up very often. Thanks for your email and good luck on adding to your library and finding some nice swords. Happy New Year, Ray" - tsubaduba

Is there any tiny tiny stamp on the nakago that you have maybe missed? There is a little mark on the nakago mune, may we see a big close up of it?

A Mantetsuto without any inscription on nakago, and in 44 mount? I agree that it looks like a WW2 blade, yes maybe a Mantetsuto.

It would be so nice if someone could confirm that he is working on a new oshigata book.

Hi everyone, Few weeks ago, I have told by a Japanese book seller on Ebay that John SLOUGH is working on a new oshigata book. This seller is a John's buddy but I do not remember whose seller is it. I was planing to buy the version already avaible, but if a new one will be available, I would rather purchase this updated one. That is why I decided to post here to know if some you, fellow members, have heard about this new book, or not. If yes, I would be glad to know when this book will be releash. Furthermore,(if the information is correct) I thougth that many members would be happy to know that a new version of this great book is on the way. Thank you very much for your comments.

600$ and 8 hours remaining.....

I fully agree with you Tom, what a great group! :lol:

Hi, Check this topic: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5953&p=52282 Regards

I do not think you have missed anything about it. It has nothing particular to me except its good condition. It is a good piece for a military collector but not for nihonto collectors.IMHO

I would say the minty general condition could explain why the final price is so high. But I will never understand why people can spend so much money in a machine-made sword. For this price or even a bit less you can buy a fair gendaito or mantetsuto.Still a mistery for me....

Brian, Maybe as a mod you could modify "something" in order to that every unsigned thread would be automaticaly not posted....do not know if I am clear here.

HOOP!!!! Sorry guys! I meant "I am NOT interested in buying it, just curious to read your opinions about it." Not interested at all in buying it, of course!!!! :D Thanks for your comments.

Personnaly every katana from China have no interest ot close to, whatever some are of better quality than others. I just would like to show that repros are getting better.

Probably a better sword than what we are used to see fom China, but selling it as a gendaito is not really fair.

One of his feedback(only one): "gendaito is a fake - beware of this thief - selling chinese copies as jap swords"

Hi everyone, Please have a look to this "gendaito" from a Chinese Ebay seller. Probably a copy but if so they are starting to produce better repro than we are used to see. No mount, mumei sounds weird to me. BTW, I am interested in buying it, just curious to read your opinions about it. Any comments? Thanks http://cgi.ebay.com/auth-beautiful-japa ... 4839509bc9

Do yu have more pics? Id like to see them.

Is it in freh new polish?