The Other Komonjo

[drjoe]

This is the other guy on ebay that sells blades that seem to be gimei or otherwise funny looking.  Similar to komonjo blades, but not quite.
 

Check out this one -- manic hamon, coarse hadori, thick lamination line...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Japanese-Samurai-Sword/232651766892

 

 

[Wim V]

The patina on the nakago looks very unnatural to me. The hada and "hamon" also look somewhat strange. If you ask me, I would say this is a modern made blade, which has been treated to look like an older blade. Oite Chugoku Saku maybe?

[Brian]

If you look at the bidders, and the bid retractions over the past few months, there is more than just a little shilling going on there.
I can't even remember ever retracting a bid. Yet these guys have 20 or 25 bid retractions?
The quagmire that is eBay.

[TheGermanBastard]

Well, I must take on the topic and say that my dealings with the realKomonjo have always been satisfying. Mike Yamaguchi stands up to his word and is reliable seller.

[Stephen]

We already have a post on this and his other sale

[drjoe]

i don't see another post about this (but didn't look very hard).

 

and i'm not maligning mike yamaguichi, though certainly you could make an argument that his sale of "grey market" gimei swords stretches ethical behavior.  i'm just starting another post about some odd looking swords on the market that appear to be similar to the ones mike sells, but are coming from another seller.

 

as for the topic at hand, I agree that this one is almost certainly a modern made blade with an artificially aged nakago and extra mekugi ana to make it appear as if old.

the ken currently listed by the same seller is another head scratcher.  suriage with signature, but he recently sold a very similar looking ken that was obviously modern.




 

[tokashikibob]

Nice bohi work on this one,  whomever is making these is putting in the effort.

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Japanese-Samurai-Sword/232661686328?_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D44039%26meid%3D0d587438937b4f6bb5406005b37f7bc5%26pid%3D100037%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D232651766892%26itm%3D232661686328&_trksid=p2047675.c100037.m2107

[vajo]

That smith is very good, very talented.

[PNSSHOGUN]

To make Choji hamon that looks like flames is impressive, I'd be happy to have a sword made by this fellow at the prices we've seen.

[J Reid]

It looks good in theory.. but if you look closer you will see the nioguchi is very weak. Not a good hamon to my eyes.

[Stephen]

if hed just leave nakago as is, to age it is a take away

[drjoe]

in my opinion, that hamon is "all over the place," poorly formed, and ugly, but to each his own.

but the plot thickens... here's another seller who, like the topic of this thread, was selling a shinsakuto ken with a patinated nakago.  he claims his swords are located in rockville md, except when you click on his ebay membership page, it says he's in china.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Samurai-Sword-Ken/292446327785?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D49917%26meid%3D38b311f535ba4b1e927be6125d7091d7%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D232651766892%26itm%3D292446327785&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

 

[Surfson]

I would be very worried if I was a gendaito collector.  These Chinese fakes are getting better and better and it's just a matter of time before they start putting fake meis of mukansa and ningen kokuho smiths to pump up the market value.  

[vajo]

I dont worry. The prices for nihonto goes down and down. You got a Koto papered Waki in Handachi Koshirae here in the board for 1900 EUR. Why you should buy a fake sword for 600 Dollar without anything?

[Greg F]

If they were honest and didnt age the nakago and try to decieve as old blades they could make sales with the martial arts guys. Well with a hamon that over enthusiastic atleast a lot of beginners will be suspicious, i hope. The colors of the steel and hamon remind me of 1095 steal knives i make with hamon and dip in nitric acid.

 

Greg