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Real or Fake?


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Is that one of the Komonjo blades. I like the Hada, but i didnt like the shape and the nakago. Yes i have the same feeling like you. 

 

Looking on the boshi makes me think to look on a tanto.  The shape of the kissaki is very strange in my eyes. 

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10 minutes ago, vajo said:

Is that one of the Komonjo blades. I like the Hada, but i didnt like the shape and the nakago. Yes i have the same feeling like you. 

 

Looking on the boshi makes me think to look on a tanto.  The shape of the kissaki is very strange in my eyes. 

 

Surprisingly it is not one of his. And that was another strange thing I found as well - it looks like a katana-sized tanto. At first I thought it may be a shobu-zukiri but I haven't seen one like this before either. 

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Since this seller was mentioned, I just have to vent that I am getting really sick and tired of the Komonjo blades.  It just doesn't make any sense at all.  And  I don't buy the excuse that some poor apprentice or young new smith is selling them under the table with fake mei, while risking being arrested for negligible margins on blades being sold through someone else via eBay.  

 

Anyway, I think katana-length hirazukuri blades did exist but were very uncommon.  This blade has such a thick amount of hadori that it makes me think there's actually not much yakiba left and the polisher just "drew on" a plausibly thin suguha.  But that's just my shot in the dark.

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These sorts of shape existed in the late kamakura to nanbokucho period and later in the Momoyama when the smiths tried to emulate the old masters, a few more were made. And then again in Shinshinto time certainly.

 

This here reeks of made in china. Like all of Komonjo's stock. Just like John I don't buy the poor apprentice theory, but it's a theory that sells well. 

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7 hours ago, JH Lee said:

Since this seller was mentioned, I just have to vent that I am getting really sick and tired of the Komonjo blades.  It just doesn't make any sense at all.  And  I don't buy the excuse that some poor apprentice or young new smith is selling them under the table with fake mei, while risking being arrested for negligible margins on blades being sold through someone else via eBay. 

 

I didn't know Komonjo has such a poor reputation. His stuff always look somewhat decent, usually just unfinished or lower quality shinsakuto from what I assumed were relatively new or unknown smiths. 

 

Just curious but what is your opinion on daimyou54eb? He's got interesting things pop up every now and then but it seems that his reputation around here is mixed unless the blade is papered. 

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As far as I can see, and this is just my personal opinion, this is Komonjo's strategy:  have super expensive/over priced "anchor" blades with papers on his page to give the appearance legitimacy, then offer poor/questionable/rusted blades at low prices + the likely fake Chinese made "shinsakuto" (which all basically look the same and all gimei with same style of calligraphy, which tells me it's all coming from just one or two people) to attract low-information buyers.  This is just what it seems like to me.  I have no proof and people can draw their own conclusions.  But I do think they are devaluing Japanese swords and especially shinsakuto.  Not cool.

 

Anyway, I am still just a beginner in my studies of Japanese swords.  So, I really don't think I can offer any meaningful insights into the quality of Daimyou54's offerings.  Sorry.

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1 hour ago, JH Lee said:

Anyway, I am still just a beginner in my studies of Japanese swords.  So, I really don't think I can offer any meaningful insights into the quality of Daimyou54's offerings.  Sorry.

 

Me too! I know at this point that I'm not experienced enough to take a risk at buying his blade, but it was interesting to see his general reputation around here when I first joined. 

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46 minutes ago, vajo said:

I dont know if they are chinese, but the hada looks to good for the chinese work. Who ever made these swords he know what he do. 

 

I will respectfully disagree.  It's not as though Chinese people have no comparable history of using tatara and making folded steel blades.  I don't deny that those blades' general shaping is decent and sometimes the temper and hada look passable.  I will even say that the person doing it has some knowledge and talent.  But the broader context tells me that it cannot be a Japanese smith. 

 

It just does not make any sense to me, personally, that "struggling Japanese smiths" would risk being arrested and going to jail by smuggling their blades out of the country through customs inspection each time.  Would they really risk losing their license/ability to ever make swords again, becoming a hated outcast among other smiths, possibly going to prison, just to use some middleman in the US to sell blades on eBay for minimal margins, if any (after material/shipping costs, giving Komonjo his cut, after eBay fees, not to mention/time and effort to make, finish, and polish each blade)....  It simply does not make sense.  The only way any of that is even close to worth it is by 1) making a lot of them (and Komonjo certainly seems to have a steady stream of them going up for years now), and 2) if the one doing it is in a country where the conversion rate would benefit them more than USD to Yen.  

 

Anyway, I apologize for distracting from the thread.  These are just my opinions and frustrations about what I think is ultimately harming collectors and the wider JP sword market.  I'll be quiet now.

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And btw the knowledge to forge in that way is spent from Japan too. It exists tons of videos, books and sheets how to make it. From making steel to ciseling the nakago. So many non Japanese craftsman make tosogu too. Here in the board some members make tsuba and other stuff and one or to forge katana like swords.

Japanese swords are not longer a mystery.

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25 minutes ago, vajo said:

And btw the knowledge to forge in that way is spent from Japan too. It exists tons of videos, books and sheets how to make it. From making steel to ciseling the nakago. So many non Japanese craftsman make tosogu too. Here in the board some members make tsuba and other stuff and one or to forge katana like swords.

Japanese swords are not longer a mystery.

 

Right.  Exactly.  So, I think you are contradicting yourself in saying that the blades from Komonjo are too nice to be Chinese (or wherever else they are being made).

 

The problem is that they are being purchased and regarded by novice collectors as genuine Japanese made swords, which I do not believe they are.  It is harmful to the study, collection, and preservation of the real thing.  And it definitely hurts actual young Japanese smiths, who definitely do have a hard time.  Komonjo is cleverly showing just enough pictures and information so that he is not "technically" telling any overt lies, so he cannot be accused of directly participating in illegal activity, but anyone with common sense knows what is really going on.

 

Here's the bottom line for me:  IF these are really Japanese blades, then the Japanese authorities should reach out to eBay and shut this kind of crap down; that the platform is being used to violate Japanese law.  IF THEY ARE NOT, then Komonjo should make it explicit that those "shinsakuto" are NOT Japanese.  It is only ethical.

 

Ok, I'm going to leave it at that.  Really going to be quiet about this now.  Not what the thread was about.

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  • 1 month later...

This is back up, ive been watching it too, no one wants to pay more than 550 and he is refusing to let it go. When he wouldn’t let me have for 550 when i won the auction (its been up three times now🤣) I decided to have a Chinese smith make me a custom. For what i wanted with a fancier hamon and more extreme length it cost me 650. That’s including the higher quality tsuba i had him add.  Hes hammering it out as we speak. So bare minimum for something modern made an not Nihonto 525 bucks. (Folded 1095/75 with any cutomizations you want)
 

Its worth about 500 bucks IMO cause thats what it would cost me to have it made. This would be worth a great deal with the shape of it if it were actually Nihonto or antique. 
 

Heres an older hirazukuri katana one of the photos i am having the smith use as a base for what i wanted. 6709A616-5CD4-44ED-B77A-492F192E2FEA.thumb.jpeg.97fa47b136c0b92c354fe48382a22492.jpeg
 
dont flay me for watching daiymos listings. here is a real hirazukuri katana. pretty sure its gimei and not worth more than 1k bucks. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KATANA-sword-w-White-Sheath-NOBUKUNI-MUROMACHI-39-4-26-7-980g/293962319550?_trkparms=aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201018205123%26meid%3Dbba39851383e410f87660bb0c4313e59%26pid%3D101286%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26mehot%3Dnone%26itm%3D293962319550%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DWatchlistVariant&_trksid=p2380057.c101286.m47999&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab6858a8a-86cb-11eb-a268-b2ef95358c3d|parentrq%3A3e18a7111780a7b267d20d9cffe60bc0|iid%3A7


IMO this is in way too good of condition to be real. The homon shows up like a ground/etched hamon way to white and clear.  And the hint is in the name of the listing. Japanese *STYLE* You can assume anyone using that phrasing is doing it to cover themselves from someone who gets it and decides they want a refund. You cant say he was saying its Nihonto when he says style. Wont lie and say I didnt try to get it, but i was assuming it was modern and not true Nihonto so i didn’t go above 550. 

 

IMO if you want this shape and cant find it you’d do better to have a Chinese or American smith make it for you.  I use shogun sword(formerly tsunami dragon) whenever i get the hair to recreate something i cant find or want to cut with and not destroy the real thing. This guy isnt letting it go for what anyone is willing to pay for it anyways. Save your money or go have it made custom. 

 


 

 

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Daimyo54 is hit and miss. 4 years ago I found 2 really good wakizashi.  One is ubu and appears to be early Edo/Momoyama and the other osuriage that many have said is early Muromachi/Nanbokucho. They're both in good old polish with only a couple tiny spots of surface rust on the older sword. I paid less than 1000$ for both and have had offers of over 3000$ for the older one(older sword has better features but the younger sword feels better in the hand). Both are sharper than anything I've ever encountered. I think Daimyo54 buys in bulk and flips quick for a profit. I got the feeling that they aren't very knowledgable in regards to kantei.

 

  I continued to keep an eye on their Ebay store for any more "gems" in the rough. Well it's been 4 years since my discovery and I haven't found anything worth buying since. A few pieces I found were so expensive it was laughable. It's funny. I'll spend a couple hours going through their stock and see prices wildly fluctuate. Items that should have high prices are selling for low. Likewise items that should have low prices are labeled with high price tags...lol

 

Since I started looking for deals in out of the way places Daimyo54 has raised prices to such an extreme that it's kinda discouraging. I still look tho but haven't found anything. With that said, I do believe that a person could find a decent deal but buyer beware! 98% of their items are over priced and in really bad shape but once in a blue moon there's a nice piece up for sale 

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17 hours ago, Karusk said:

This is back up, ive been watching it too, no one wants to pay more than 550 and he is refusing to let it go. When he wouldn’t let me have for 550 when i won the auction (its been up three times now🤣) I decided to have a Chinese smith make me a custom. For what i wanted with a fancier hamon and more extreme length it cost me 650. That’s including the higher quality tsuba i had him add.  Hes hammering it out as we speak. So bare minimum for something modern made an not Nihonto 525 bucks. (Folded 1095/75 with any cutomizations you want)
 

Its worth about 500 bucks IMO cause thats what it would cost me to have it made. This would be worth a great deal with the shape of it if it were actually Nihonto or antique. 
 

Heres an older hirazukuri katana one of the photos i am having the smith use as a base for what i wanted. 6709A616-5CD4-44ED-B77A-492F192E2FEA.thumb.jpeg.97fa47b136c0b92c354fe48382a22492.jpeg
 
dont flay me for watching daiymos listings. here is a real hirazukuri katana. pretty sure its gimei and not worth more than 1k bucks. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KATANA-sword-w-White-Sheath-NOBUKUNI-MUROMACHI-39-4-26-7-980g/293962319550?_trkparms=aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201018205123%26meid%3Dbba39851383e410f87660bb0c4313e59%26pid%3D101286%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26mehot%3Dnone%26itm%3D293962319550%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DWatchlistVariant&_trksid=p2380057.c101286.m47999&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab6858a8a-86cb-11eb-a268-b2ef95358c3d|parentrq%3A3e18a7111780a7b267d20d9cffe60bc0|iid%3A7


IMO this is in way too good of condition to be real. The homon shows up like a ground/etched hamon way to white and clear.  And the hint is in the name of the listing. Japanese *STYLE* You can assume anyone using that phrasing is doing it to cover themselves from someone who gets it and decides they want a refund. You cant say he was saying its Nihonto when he says style. Wont lie and say I didnt try to get it, but i was assuming it was modern and not true Nihonto so i didn’t go above 550. 

 

IMO if you want this shape and cant find it you’d do better to have a Chinese or American smith make it for you.  I use shogun sword(formerly tsunami dragon) whenever i get the hair to recreate something i cant find or want to cut with and not destroy the real thing. This guy isnt letting it go for what anyone is willing to pay for it anyways. Save your money or go have it made custom. 

 


 

 

 

Lol that nihonto has been up for so long now! Seriously with that much cash a person could get something so much better. 

 

I think that Daimyo54 thinks that if something is old or has a signature or papers it's automatically worth a fortune. 

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I do agree that its over priced don’t get me wrong. Im not saying buy it🤣
 

I bet if I offered him 1000 hed let me have it though, or try to get 1500. Everyones trying to make a dollar. If you walked into a pawnshop with it you might get offered 500 bucks. You might move it at a gunshow for 1k. I never pay full price from anyone. My wife makes sure of that😑. Just figured it was relevant to this thread. 

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31 minutes ago, Blazeaglory said:

A few pieces I found were so expensive it was laughable. It's funny. I'll spend a couple hours going through their stock and see prices wildly fluctuate. Items that should have high prices are selling for low. Likewise items that should have low prices are labeled with high price tags...lol

Yeah they are definitely not super informed either. I always offer him lowball and he has always accepted. 

Caveat emptor. Im in no way saying hes a great seller. Hes just a seller and like everyone else on this spinning rock just trying to eat and live comfortably. If youre out there not trying to save a dollar by offering less than asking your just throwing away money in the first place. You really cant fault someone for trying to get as much as possible on a turnaround. 
 

 

 

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On 3/17/2021 at 4:13 AM, Karusk said:

 I decided to have a Chinese smith make me a custom.

 

Heres an older hirazukuri katana one of the photos i am having the smith use as a base for what i wanted. 6709A616-5CD4-44ED-B77A-492F192E2FEA.thumb.jpeg.97fa47b136c0b92c354fe48382a22492.jpeg
 
d

 


 

 

 

Taking a Juyo Bunkasai as an example to make a Chinese crap is slightly outrageous.

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What am I supposed to pay some Japanese smith 10000 dollars to make something without modern steel that will be inferior in actual strength? Am I supposed to pay an insane up charge for inferior steel because Japanese law dictates a smith can only make 3 swords a year? No thanks. 
Obviously i cant afford this one and the shape i want is super hard to find. My respect and love for Japanese sword smiths ends about 120 years ago.  Longbo is a master smith who has been forging his entire life. Im not buying a cheap Chinese fake im having a master smith outside of Japan make me a  modern custom blade . If you want to take your tamahagane against any one of my L6 tool steel katanas in a stress test or even one of my 1065 high carbon medieval reproductions i guarantee you’re  gonna be disappointed in what happens. 

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56 minutes ago, Karusk said:

What am I supposed to pay some Japanese smith 10000 dollars to make something without modern steel that will be inferior in actual strength? Am I supposed to pay an insane up charge for inferior steel because Japanese law dictates a smith can only make 3 swords a year? No thanks. 
 

 

 

It's 3 swords a month if they are short swords and 2 a month for katana.  

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Brian im sorry i felt it relevant cause this sword specifically is modern. Also I decided to have this custom made because the seller of this keeps refusing to let me have it. I really felt it relevant as i was trying  to get this at auction and he keeps putting it back up after i win. 
 

I was just trying to show how much I thought it would take to make this and the fact that it wont go for more than i could have it made is pointing to it being a fake. No one wants to pay more than 550 because they know its fake and they know they can have it made at high modern quality. When he said it was outrageous and crap i felt the need to share my opinion otherwise. Its not that outrageous to have something modern made. 
 

i am sorry i keep stepping on your toes senpai. 

 

 

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Yes even a nihonto will stand this abuse. Modern nbthk tamahagane has nothing to do with bad steel.
If you can tell me why any other steel should be better for swords pls educate me. I get some babu flashbacks now :D

 

To the topic the seller has sold 6-8 blades since the one in the start of this thread. And from a far they looked the same but where different. A hira; shinogi and Shobu zukuri and 2 yoroi doshi and one osuraku zukuri. I don’t even get what you talk about when you say he relisted it.

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Im already in the doghouse so i may  as well answer you. I wouldn’t dare do this with any of my Nihonto. Thats L6 bainite toolsteel. Nihonto very often have a softer core. The whole intent of the folding and tempering process is to take higher and lower quality available steel and make a better sword with lower quality available material. I guarantee if you did what i am doing in these photos with any true Nihonto they would most definitely  end up staying bent.Or snapping.  Im stepping on this and bending it severely.  I guess you cant tell but the side of that is touching the floor in the photo i am stepping on, with the tsuka on the bedframe. IPLEASE. DO NOT DO THIS WITH A NIHONTO BLADE. you will ruin it. It is widely accepted that modern steels are far superior to tamahagane. You just cant compare the shape retention and flexibility of modern steel to folded tamahagane. Steel with a number as low as 1065 will retain its shape when bent to a nearly 90 degree angle.  I have a 1075 claymore i can bend into a crescent shape. Its straight as the day it was made.  I would have bent this one further in the picture you can see the curve of, but i was unable to and take the picture as well. 
 

The reason we hold Japanese swords smiths in such high regard is that previous to modern steels they were able to make the finest blades on the planet with the very lowest quality iron. European sword makers never even developed hamon technology because they had booku amounts of iron to chose from whereas Japanese smiths have to make their tamahagane from iron sand found in rivers. They just stoped at the fold and quench. 

This is not just my opinion. Its fact. 
 


I answered your second paragraph on the next page. 


 

Please guys leave me alone he asked. 

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