Had a question about a blade I saw

[xcivicdx]

Hello

Sorry if im not posting in the right place. I had seen an auction that had the blade that is attached here. It looked to me that the blade had been changed or fixed or something along those lines. The hamon doesnt follow through to the kissaki. And when im looking at the blade it looks like a line is present, not a physical line but a clear difference in blade towards the kissaki area. Im not an expert but just a collector and was wondering your thoughts.

 

Thanks

[hxv]

Please sign every post with your name. It's a rule here on NMB. Regarding the sword, the boshi does not necessarily follow the hamon. So, I would not be concerned with this fact. I am very concerned, however, with the fact the the boshi seems to run off the edge of the kissaki. This would be a fatal flaw. It could be the lighting or the angle of the picture. If you were considering this sword, do ask the seller for close up pictures of the boshi, on both sides, and do ask him explicitly if the boshi runs off kissaki and/or any fatal flaw. Don't leave any question unasked.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[xcivicdx]

Sorry for not posting my name, I apologize. The sword to me had looked as if it had been repaired or cut down from a larger size.

 

Thanks

Bryan

[Stephen]

one cant tell from the photos if the boshi runs off, Eric, if still his, wont hide the fact.

[xcivicdx]

I had asked him, he said it was made this way and I should read my books better.

 

thanks

bryan

[hxv]

Bryan,

 

My personal motto is "ask early, ask often." It never hurts to ask sellers questions. After all, you ask because you are genuinely interested. If they have nothing to hide and want your business, it should be a breeze to knock out the answers quickly. If they don't want to take the time to answer your questions, they don't need/deserve your business. When it comes to ebay, I never trust any seller, unless the seller is also a longtime member of NMB in good standing. I have had lots of "buying from" and "selling to" with NMB membership, and have never had the slightest problem. If you are just starting out and have no experience with judging nihonto, I would recommend staying out of ebay. It's not for the inexperienced.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

 

EDIT: Our posts crossed. Personally, the answer "It was made this way, and you should read your books better" is a bit insulting. He could have said "It was made this way" and stop at that. It's your money, and you can decide what to do. But, if I were you, I wouldn't give him my business.

[xcivicdx]

heres a link to auction

http://www.ebay.com/itm/27-3-4-17th-C-S ... TQ:US:1123

 

Regards,

Bryan

 

edit: after reading above post. I had once been shown a sword that had damage to the kissaki, the polisher fixed said damage and the hamon didn't follow all the way through. I had seen this and thats why I asked, it looked like a clear line in the sand where certain features just didnt continue through the blade, thats why I asked.

[hxv]

Bryan,

 

I understand your concern, hence my post. It's what I would ask, too, if I were interested in the sword. For what it's worth, it's not such a great deal any way. The price is a too steep for a sword made by a mediocre smith (chu saku), with the seller's attitude to boot. You can do much better. For instance, there was a GREAT sword for sale here, and you missed the opportunity by just a couple of days. Compare the prices, the workmanship of the swords, and desirability of the smiths, etc., and you will see what I mean.

 

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20556

 

Do be patient! Between now and year-end, these outstanding deals will come more often. For now, I reiterate my recommendation of staying out of ebay, until you are well versed enough to make judgement calls.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Geraint]

Bryan.

 

The sword is papered and offered by a respected dealer, the description states that the boshi is all there. In one image it does look as thought he boshi runs out, which would be a problem but in the case of this seller you would be quite safe. The line you mention appears to be the yokote, which defines the length of the boshi, the polish above this line is treated differently on any sword polished properly. The sugata is unusual but not beyond the bounds of possibility, indeed some would really appreciate this.

 

The way in which the reply from the dealer in question was worded does sound abrupt, but then perhaps as the images clearly delineate the kissaki he may have thought you were asking ill informed questions and hence recommended that you study a little more before investing quite a serious sum of money in such a blade. It is of course your money and your call, if you like the blade and feel it would repay study then you could easily buy this one. If you don't like it or have any doubts then walk away.

 

Either way have fun and enjoy the learning curve.

[Stephen]

after viewing auction its quite clear of boshi turn back in photo after the one labeled camera reflection ...Eric was rude ill give you that, but study more blades , please.

[Brian]

If it is the yokote you are asking about, then more study is indeed called for. This seller knows his stuff. The kissaki polish always looks different and the hamon will look different there.

 

Brian

[xcivicdx]

I never meant to discredit the seller in any way, I had said simply in my first post I had a question, had mentioned what ive seen in other swords etc. Ive also searched the seller and saw where someone had purchased a sword that was labeled in a specific manner to which would have lead the person to believe they were getting a top notch sword to which when they got the sword it wasn't at all what was advertised.

 

So please understand when I ask a question about a particular item. I acknowledged that I was newer to the mix of identifying particular items.

 

If I offended anyone I apologize, I merely was wondering what I was seeing, maybe the pictures lead me to think the tip was reworked in some way, it just looked strange to me, if need be I can label in the photo what looked strange if need be.

 

It doesn't matter anymore, you guys have given me knowledge to which I didn't have before.

 

Thanks

Bryan

 

edit: i re read this "If it is the yokote you are asking about, then more study is indeed called for." Thats not exactly what I was asking about. But as I mentioned im learning still and something looked weird to me.

[Brian]

Bryan,

I wrote that briefly during a power outage (one of many lately) on my cellphone.

I would have elaborated.

I think this must be the line you were refering to. In this case, the sword has been created and polished to have a very large o-kissaki.

That line is indeed the yokote even though not where we normally expect it. Nothing was added or grafted on. The polish in the kissaki is very different, and doesn't have any kesho to embelish it. Therefore it appears a bit different and doesn't look like a continuation of the rest of the hamon. But it does of course.

Eric, like many of us here, is one of the grumpy "old" men who perhaps aren't always as diplomatic as we could be. Add to this list people like Guido, Ron, Stephen and others. :lol:

 

Brian

[Stephen]

hey I should be first on the list

[xcivicdx]

Lol, i appreciate your post, it really added to my knowledge and helped me better understand what i was asking.

 

Im glad to be able to post on the forum, im 30, practice kendo and am starting to study swords more, so i appreciate the knowledge you guys pass on.

 

Bryan

[drbvac]

This sale is current and the price is already pretty high - do we actually comment on e-bay sales that are on-going? Sellers may not appreciate the board telling buyers that there are better buys out there but if we are going to do that everyone better be ready to back up what they say

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2734-17th-C-SHI ... 1352033185

[Brian]

Nobody has said anything to affect the price. If anything, we have promoted the seller, and increased the views. I think the price will benefit.

This is a nice sword with a rare shape. Eric has a good eye.

 

Brian

[drbvac]

""Bryan,

 

I understand your concern, hence my post. It's what I would ask, too, if I were interested in the sword. For what it's worth, it's not such a great deal any way. The price is a too steep for a sword made by a mediocre smith (chu saku), with the seller's attitude to boot. You can do much better. For instance, there was a GREAT sword for sale here, and you missed the opportunity by just a couple of days. Compare the prices, the workmanship of the swords, and desirability of the smiths, etc., and you will see what I mean.

 

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20556

 

Do be patient! Between now and year-end, these outstanding deals will come more often. For now, I reiterate my recommendation of staying out of ebay, until you are well versed enough to make judgement calls.""

 

Not very flattering Brian.

[bobtail44]

one cant tell from the photos if the boshi runs off, Eric, if still his, wont hide the fact.

 

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19023&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

I hope this seller has learned their previous lessons about outright lying about blade condition. Id be embarrassed if I had made the "mistakes" he had in his ebay listing. He didn't care in the slightest. Cost me $100 shipping, what will it cost you.

 

Trent S