Jim P

Hi, Posted the right way up for you, IMHO, looks like a chance for shodai but needs to be sent for shinsa to say 100% also konuka hada just tells you Hizen school but not much more

Hi Stephen, Very nice work

Rob, Nakamura lists items on more than one site at a time in my case he had 3 Auctions going, one in UK one on his site and an Auction in Japan all at different prices so you can be cut out if he get a better price also he has some interesting ideas on what a Sayagaki is he does them himself and you are lucky, I got No refund consignment sale but I had him offer to buy the blade back for 250,000Y less than what I paid all before he sent it because EMS would not send it and after a lot of emails I finally got it with the tsuba swapped out for a lower value one and just to finish off he took the shitodome I would be happy for him to explain his practices as he is on the board

Hi Rob, Brian has the best advice, do your homework folks Rob if you look on the board you will find posts on him. He's a dealer that I would Never deal with again and am not surprised that you are having problems but in the end you are better off with your $ And you are lot better off spending your time looking on the board

Hi Ben, IMHO Jean is right oil-quenched

Hi JohnTo, Its Showato, The stamp means that the sword is not traditionally made. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4333-gunto-mei/

Hi Ken, I posted The Pass Rate for 62Th Annual Juyo Examination not long ago and what it told me was they were not passing a lot of swords why? Because they were not the best examples and rightly so. Not all Kanemitsu, are equal so I always thought it was about the best examples at the top and not about $ but as Guido said it's a lot more complicated for later swords but it’s the same for koto so you may be happy with a Kanemitsu, I would be happier with the best Kanemitsu, and how do I know it’s one of the best by looking at the top of the system for other examples like Darcy does when he looks at the Juyo lists not the hozon lists

Hi Ken, Touchy subject? So are you saying that if one of your swords was able to get Tokubetsu juyo you would not jump at the chance? Arnold is stating what most collectors think when they see a big name blade yes I know that hozon is all that is needed to confirm the mei but why do think we all send in swords for shinsa above hozon ? if not to confirm what we and others think of its quality and we all collect because we love blades, why would we sink 10s of thousand’s $ in to them knowing that we will be lucky if we get the $ back if not for love of nihonto I would do all I can to improve my swords standing why because when I am gone others will not have the same understanding I have and the papers will help them understand nihonto a bit more

Hi Simon, If you want the members to comment you need to give us some more info like pics of the blade? My best guess with the very limited info would be look at later Kyoto generations maybe the 6th ? plate ll but as Darcy stated if the NBTHK is not always confident in the generations then we don't have much of a chance some more info, YOSHIMICHI TANBA NO KAMI ROKUDAI [HOREKI 1751 YAMASHIRO] SHINTO CHUJOSAKU He is called Mishina Tokichi, and he received the title of Tanba no Kami in Horeki Sannen (1753). He is said to have become an excellent smith, and he died at the beginning of the Kansei era. Even during a time when the sword industry had been crippled for a long time, the Yoshimichi Ke continued the industry of their ancestors even under bitter conditions, and moreover, he took pleasure in meeting the demand for swords until his twilight years. Signature: TANBA NO KAMI YOSHIMICHI with a KIKU MON inscribed. Plate II: TANBA NO KAMI FUJIWARA YOSHIMICHI with a KIKU MON inscribed. Caption: ROKUDAI YOSHIMICHI, Sixth generation Yoshimichi

Hi Guys I thought some of you may find this interesting, This year 888 blades were submitted to the Examination but only 149 blades were able to pass. Only 14 of the blades that passed were made after the Shinto Era. from, https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/eng/blog/2016/11/08/26th-annual-jyuyo-examination-nov-8-2016 Not easy, but that's how it should be

Thanks Ken,

Thanks Steve, but they don't ship US to Australia, from amazon (This item does not ship to melbourne, Australia)

Hi Curran, I was wondering why I was seeing wakizashi with dates like 1414, 4 in 6 months it make it a bit clearer, must have been a peek time and I too have seen that horimono at the base on 3 of the 4 I looked at, It is just about a kantei point for him all the ones I saw had current papers only this one was with old papers so had me wondering what I was missing I thought that the Dr. Walter A. Compton papers maybe one of its selling points but it does not show up in the catalogues so it’s one of those with a ? that we see in Nihonto from time to time and like you I do like his work. Being self-employed and having screwy cash flows is still better than living outside the US at the moment. I think for US buyers it a good time to collect alas I remember not too long ago the Aus $ was a lot stronger its dropped back to about 75 cents and I missed that window and like a lot of the collectors outside the 3 big markets US, Japan, and the EU we are at a bit of a disadvantage just ask Brian the SA rand does not buy what it used to and in OZ nihonto is just about nonexistent for the mid to upper range. I see you are leaning to the dark side again buying swords and not just concentrating on Tosogu but I still am not a convert of old iron so am not asking Santa for a Nobuiye Hi James, That Morimitsu Tachi is a interesting example, in that its mumei and has a ubu nakago we today wonder why no signature on a blade of that quality.

Hi Steve, Do you remember where you got the stands ? I like them

Hi Stephen, It seems that this blade is not in the three Compton catalogues or the 100 masterpieces. Much thanks to one of the members who checked for me so a bit of a ? This is the link http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords3/WK327301.htm

Hi John,Thanks my Japanese is not that good so ( Wa o ru taa A. Ko n pu to n ) translates to Dr. Walter A. Compton at least I can recognize the A I don't have 100 Masterpieces so can not check a the moment so I had a ? why it has not been submitted to a current shinsa Stephen it’s up for sale and has a price to match the name

Hi Guys, Can someone give me a hand with these papers one lists Dr. Walter A. Compton as the person who submitted the sword (you don't see western names on papers often) does the Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho paper list who submitted it ? Its coming out of Japan and no current paper ? maybe it does not need one as it has a sayagaki ?

Hi Ben, IMHO. I think Franco has it right, shin-shinto or possibly later Jitetsu looks shinshinto? and overall does not have that late koto look to me and I don't think its old koto so that leaves shin-shinto copy of older blade ? and if it was about 75cm when it was original is also in line with shin-shinto but that's just going on the pics. Carlo, I also think the kissaki has been reshaped maybe to fix a chip in the boshi ?

Hi Steve, Let us know if you do get it to Shinsa. I would bet on second

Hi Steve, I had a look at Bungo saneyuki IMHO, when you say an exact match for the 2nd saneyuki. the first has some differences the two generations of Saneyuki were active from 1615 - 1672 and if you look at the Nakago of the blade dated 1661 its seems that it would more likely be the second gen ? by the date but Steve.s link looks more like your Nakago its dated 1661 it may be the pic but the Nakago seems a tad different for the first ? they must have worked at the same time

I am with Brian on this No welded nakago it would not get a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper if that was the case maybe its, he was born in Yamagata pref. in 1750 He passed away in 1825 aged 76. should be 75 ?

Hi Lukas, You need to post some more pics if you want better info on what appears as a Kii Ishido school smith but the kanji for Yasu 安 is different ? all the mei I looked at it was 康 like this, look at pic. and could not find that mei Kii (no) Kuni Junin Yasuhiro ?

Hi Sylvain, Looks good, I would be interested to know who the smith is ? Good luck

Hi Chris, If you decide to do it, just make sure the he is a Japanese trained polisher and remember they have long waiting lists and 1 or 2 years or more is common. There is a list under Restoration in the links page

Hi Chris, I think it would look great in a new polish let us know how things go