What Is This, Really?

[Ed]

Great to hear it ended in your favor. 

 

There was never a doubt in my mind the openings in the kissaki were not hagire. 

 

Best news to me, is a better opinion than my own, has acknowledged the legitimacy of the mei.  

[Tom Darling]

Didn't the team acknowledge seeing (hagire) it on one side, saying polish may take it out? In other words, the width would be thinner, correct?

 

Tom D.

[Brian]

No, if it would polish out then it was either a ware or not through the hamon and not fatal.

[Lingonberry]

It was mixed. Of the people in the panel, only one could see anything and only on one side. One person, not on the panel, said he saw on both sides. A polisher who was there said it could probably polish out, assuming it wasn't hagire.

 

To clarify, the 2x maybe-hagire Bob found weren't in the kissaki but rather in some areas in the middle of the blade that had been scuffed up. The general consensus from the more experienced people I've spoken to is that one can't really know for certain without getting a window polish in those areas but I'm hesitant to spend any more money on this blade.

 

Once the papers come in I may sell this sword since my tastes have changed - I'm really keen on Kamakura/Nambokucho Yamato blades, especially Hosho, but those suckers aren't cheap and I'll need every penny I can to get a decent one...

[Ed]

Adam,

I get the feeling that you are unhappy with the results of the shinsa and that is difficult for me to comprehend.  It is as though you wanted confirmation that you “made a bad buy”.

 

The rationale for my hypothesis of your unhappiness stems from the following statements throughout your post:

1. “It's time I come to grips with the fact that I made a bad buy a few years back”.
2. “several knowledgeable people told me it is gimei and more likely than not has hagiri”.
3. “100% hagire, right? I’m fairly certain it is”.
4. “Since there is no point sending to shinsa since it will auto fail”
5. “I thought I would ask for some help on here to identify it.”
6. “I just want to clear up my own confusion as I keep hearing different things from different people”.
7. “My main question is mostly about the mei”.
8. “some people said "gimei" so that got me wondering what the sword really is if not dotanuki”.
9. “I showed it to someone at the show who pointed out it looks like there are two possible hagire in the middle of the blade which were hidden with some scuff marks. They're also so super tiny that you have to take out a loupe to see them and know where they are but they're there.
10. “It was mixed. Of the people in the panel, only one could see anything and only on one side.”

 

Instead, you received confirmation of the sword’s legitimacy, yet you still seem unhappy. Let’s answer your pre-shinsa statements from above:

1. No, it was not a bad buy! Now you have a signed, papered Dotonuki at approximately 1/3-1/4 what they sell for today.
2. How knowledgeable do you think they are now?  Not as much, right?
3. 100% wrong!
4. Really??  I hope this has been a positive learning experience for you. Forget listening to those (less than) knowledgeable people that you seemed to rely on so heavily.
5. Several people here gave you sound advice, but Franco’s post summed it up the best: “While Shinsa may doom it, a positive outcome will assure and lay to rest any doubt should you decide to sell.” 
6. Can’t answer that one.
7. 100% confirmed opinion of shinsa team, mei is good!!
8. Some people, several knowledgeable people, were WRONG!
9. Upon reexamination, shinsa team stands by their original decision and reiterate “they (no, one person) could only see them on one side and that they were extremely small, even suggesting they might polish out. I take that to mean they don't agree that they're hagire after all. They're sticking with the decision to issue papers for this sword”.
10. Then it wasn’t hagiri!!!

 

** Let’s be clear for you and anyone else with a lack of knowledge or any doubt: 

1. Hagiri is a crack in the edge of a blade.
2. A crack goes completely through the blade! 
3. There is no “one sided” crack! Those are scratches or ware.
4. A crack/hagiri will not polish out, unless it is so short (couple of mm) that when polished, enough of the edge is removed to result in the edge being moved past that point, back into healthy steel.

You finish with you may sell it as your tastes have changed, but it seems you are still not satisfied. Yet, that is merely my opinion based on gut feeling and maybe I am wrong.

 

Regardless, if you want to sell it, write me via e-mail, I may buy it back.