Bruno

100% agree with you! I never buy signed blades except with showato, with showato you can be pretty sure they are never gimei! :D

Maybe not a so much financial consideration as now but a financial purpose anyway. The sword can be a great copy but still a copy, and even in those past times swords were sold, and sold more expensive if greatly signed.The will to sign the nakago with someone else famous name has purely for goal to lead somebody astray, it is just a greedy goal.Furthermore, a lot of false signatures were added on th enakago sometime 100 or 200 years after the sword has been forged, in that case if it not a greedy purpose I do not know what else it is? To conclude, as far I am concerned, a removed gimei sword is more respectable than a non-removed gimei one, even if a true mei one(or mumei) is the best of the tree! I do beg your pardon for my so poor english.

I would understand that gimei sword's owner'd rather sell their sword due to the high cost for making a new virgin nakago!

I 100% agree with you Guido

Hi all, By reading this topic a question came to me: If a sword is 100% sure gimei(I am not talking about the one in this topic) and as the same time it is a good quality one, is it sensible to ask a togishi to erased the fake signature and make yasurine(file marks) on the nakago?Or just erased the fake mei maybe? I know that a nakago must not be tuched, but in a gimei case I was wondering if that could be appropriate.Furthermore, if every gimei sword's owners would do that, it would solve the gimei problem definitely! I'll be glad to have your wise opinions about that.

Same bottle at 18$ Nice cost killer Stephen!

http://cgi.ebay.fr/Japanese-Sword-Tsuba ... 439b938d38

I am not so sure it is a chinese copy.....To me it could be an end of war sword. They were badly made with poor fittings as this one. IMHO

It was an US or British speaking one but I think it was a Japanese video as US and Brit guys were not very welcomed at that time in Japan. Probably a part of imperial propaganda. The tv prog I saw was more a compilation of ten to fiftenn minutes sequences, some about kamikaze, some about Japanese Navy etc....So I suppose a longer movie about Japanese swords arsenals might exists but have to be a master in Interet researsh to fing it. It was so interesting but really too short.Some SEKI swordsmiths were showed at work but I do not know who.You do undesrtand what "mass produced sword" means by watching it!There were plenty of Japanese women polishing the swords, people making the mounts etc...really nice for those who like Gunto. i will try again to fing it but with no big hope!

Thanks Klaus; No I do not remember the name. I guess this kind of video documentary might exist somewhere but not sure that it has ever been available for public .Probably too specialized.

Hi gentlemen, I recently watched an historic documentary on TV about Japan during WW2 and during few minutes they showed how arsenal swords functioned.It was quite interesting to see the huge number of people implied in this process with all the famous machines which made swords, women polishers etc.... Unfortunately it was just a small part of the program. Does anybody have ever heard about an historic video documentary which topic is all about Japanese arsenal swords? Thank you PS: My english is getting worst these days, sorry for that!

Sorry for that!

There is a SUKEHIRO in the RIKUGUN AND KAIGUN JUMEI TOSHO list. Do not know if that could help.....?

Not Kenkaku, but MORIYAMA SAN! I have made the same mistake before! BTW, I am still wondering what KENKAKU means? Regards

Yes it allowed in France, BUT postmen have the right to refuse to handle the package if they consider that what is the box can injured them.I have been told that by my post office.In that particular case you might have to pick your sword up by yourself quite far from your home which is bothering.

Definitively! :D It was a waste of time!

I should not post the other insulting answer he sent me, some NMB members could be shocked. BTW, he knows our forum, I guess he could be also a "member of NMB" as he has probably read the topic. After his so shocking and insulting answers I was not so polite with him! Even if I should not. Debate closed for me. Regards

Wooo!!! This seller is terrible!!! After looked at the sword I told him gently that his sword might be a showato and that it could have done a mistake;I was very polite. Here is answer: "Hi, you have been blocked from bidding, happy thanksgiving." I do not care coz I do not want the sword but why being so stupid! Sad seller!

Me I always wrote on the box "Japanese nihonto", Japanese sculpture" or "Japanese art piece" when I sold swords or when I purchased them I always asked the seller to write these words, just in case. It is not a very accurate description but it is voluntary vague. Furthermore, it is no a lie just a bit unaccurate. I have never had any kind of problem with customs in France, it works very well!

Sometimes even auctions marked as "US shipping only" will readily ship to Europe if you simply ask them. True!

I saw the sword of course it is a showato! http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 3D1&_rdc=1

Yes as you said John "not a simple task"! Maybe the key is more on the way the mei has been changed than whose smiths is implied?

To me it could be gimei because the nakago seems to have been just a bit shortened and I do nor see where the mei could have been engraved first on it. It appears to me that this nakago has never had any signature at first. And I always keep in my mind that" 80% of mei are gimei even more when famous smiths were implied". Of course I can be completly wrong, it is just an amateur's thought. Regards

Thanks Koichi M! Very accurate as always! Regards

Thanks Grey and Marius. I supposed that it could be gimei because of the famous name. I think it is always interesting to have new examples of gimei or not, in order to train our amateur eyes. It was more the aim of my topic to be honest. BTW, never heard about orakashi-mei before this topic, it was also one of the goal, learning a bit more on nihonto. I hope that at least few people were interested in our discussion, I was! Thanks guys.