YouTuber & amateur polisher (maybe) auctioning antique nihonto

[Gabriel L]

Wasn't sure whether to post this in the Izakaya or not. This YouTuber previously posted an antique katana they had purchased and announced his intention to practice polishing on it. ☹️ Apparently enough people spoke out negatively in the comments that he took down that video, but you can see in this new one that he not only purchased an even more expensive antique, but also a ~$500 Namikawa polishing kit, so... still seems like he is intent on practicing togi without traditional training. 😞 Hopefully he won't be doing so on anything valuable.

This post isn't strictly about that, however. He also announces that he might auction this blade off with no reserve - so maybe someone here will be able to rescue it from whatever followers he has? Unfortunately it seems that whatever details about the auction may exist are locked behind a Patreon paywall at https://www.patreon.com/burrfection (there is an Oct. 15 post titled "Katana Auction - anyone?"). I don't want to pay this channel just to find out if he is indeed auctioning the blade, so that's about as much as I can say.

[ChrisW]

Ugh... just another YouTuber abusing a work of art for views.


After the way he drew the blade from its shirasaya, I physically cringed. And then all the breathing over the blade. He needs an experienced person to teach him some basics; but I doubt he'd be interested. I hope the thieves come back to liberate this blade, at least then it has a chance to find a better home. I stopped after five minutes, it was too much cringe.

[SAS]

I watched the entire video out of professional necessity.....the nervous laughter, the jittery handling of the sword, the profligate spending on items he has no knowledge or experience with....the burglars can go back for round 2 with the helpful inside knowledge...basically a how NOT to video. Some people just have to jump off into the deep end of the pool without learning to swim first.

[DanielLee]

I posted some comments on the video last week on proper handling of Japanese swords and tried to get people to find out more correct info on NMB instead.

 

On another video i was told that it's just a piece of metal and it doesn't matter if you handle the blade with your hands. After i directed that person to check out NMB for some beginner handling tips, that person claimed that he has 35 years of sword collecting experience and around 20 Japanese swords.

 

I just hope the antiques can be looked after properly.

[Brian]

I lost a few minutes of my life reading the comments on that video and realizing how many absolute MORONS there are in the world.
Sigh.
It seems a lost cause sometimes. But Gabe, we can always rely on you out there to try and educate people and bring them round. Thanks again.

[BenVK]

At first I was ready to dismiss this guy as a giggling buffoon but he's actually very smart.

For some reason which I don't fully understand, sharpening kitchen knives is incredibly popular right now and there's a big market for the associated products like wet stones.

This Ryky guy has very cleverly tapped into this and got 205,000 youtube subscribers, 13,692 facebook followers and 671 patrons paying him a minimum of $4.50 each, that's over $3000 a month to make a few videos.  Let's say he attracts 1000 new patrons to watch the katana auction video, that's another $4500 and there's also a gofundme campaign to replace his "stolen" gear which has got a target of $25K and it wouldn't surprise me if he gets that.

 

[ChrisW]

He is business savvy; however he has a total lack of knowledge on the subject of nihonto/respect for the blades. Maybe I ought to take up talking about blades using correct information and terminology.. but I doubt there's an interest for that.

[BenVK]

I think that's a great idea Chris and you should do it! 

There are very few really good youtube videos which discuss Nihonto in detail. 

[Gakusee]

7 hours ago, BenVK said:

At first I was ready to dismiss this guy as a giggling buffoon but he's actually very smart.

For some reason which I don't fully understand, sharpening kitchen knives is incredibly popular right now and there's a big market for the associated products like wet stones.

This Ryky guy has very cleverly tapped into this and got 205,000 youtube subscribers, 13,692 facebook followers and 671 patrons paying him a minimum of $4.50 each, that's over $3000 a month to make a few videos.  Let's say he attracts 1000 new patrons to watch the katana auction video, that's another $4500 and there's also a gofundme campaign to replace his "stolen" gear which has got a target of $25K and it wouldn't surprise me if he gets that.

 

You are omitting his merchandise - the knives he is reselling or branding/styling himself. At $100-200 per knife, in addition to the stones, he is probably making handsome profits. Is he even a chef or something? 

[ChrisW]

I highly doubt he's a chef, just judging from the way he handles the sword. Chefs usually have a lot more respect for their blades than this guy. I know a few serious chefs and they treat their knives as the main tools to their livelihoods much as a samurai would treat their blade.