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My first Japanese sword


Cookie4Monstah

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Hi everyone,

 

I woke-up this morning and decided to take a few pictures of my first Japanese sword restoration project.

This sword is a wakazashi of some sort that was shipped back to the United States from somewhere in the pacific during WWII. Purchased from a local auction house for a nominal sum of $500 the blade was in a tired condition, and the fittings were dirty as it was stored in a wooden box with hay padding. I decided to roll the dice on the restoration of my 1st Japanese sword simply because I liked the war mounts and the hamon. It came out decent I'd say. Moses Becerra who is based out of Florida did the restoration work. It was not cheap to do. After about a years wait and 10 days of polishing this is what I got back. Let us know what you think.

 

Best,

Khalid

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Nice job - you must be pleased

You give no details of the maker or is it unsigned?

 

Top guys are expensive and you are paying for their skill and as they are in demand you have to wait

Mine was in Japan for 2 years and that isn't long

Other NMB members have horror stories on how long they have waited for a polish

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Hi Kissakai,

 

There is no signature on the blade nor has one been removed. I haven't decided if I should get papers for it or not. I may end up selling it at some point. Papers would help determine what the blade could potentially be though. I've attached a few photos of the mounts. The purple and violet combination was of my choosing. I did get a earful from a few local collectors on having a unsigned blade restored.

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Hi Winchester,

 

I hope to have a few professional photos of it taken soon. Is there anything you'd like to see in particular? If I remember correctly this wakazashi is attributed to the smiths of the Bizen province made during the 1600 to 1700 timeframe. It is unsigned with no evidence of it ever being. 

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Khalid wrote:

>  I did get a earful from a few local collectors on having a unsigned blade restored.

 

Congratulations on following your own path.  It is the best way in the long run to learn about Nihonto - i.e., make your own mistakes.  It took me many years of 'doing it on my own' and I've written about it before. 

 

Here are some sayings I give credence to:  "To thine own self be true", "The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten".  And my own "Never shell out money on a Japanese sword unless you can afford to lose it totally".  You do learn quickly this way!!!

 

Khalid, I have been collecting for 55 years on a shoe-string budget and am never going to get back all the money I've put into it - BUT - the journey has been priceless!!

 

BaZZa.

 

Oh, and some unsigned swords may turn out to be o-suriage mumei blades from the Kamakura or Nambokuchou period - I have two of them!!

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@ the OP, thanks for the reply. I would have interest in seeing the blade closer (hada???).

 

If you do decide to sell, I am interested. I am not an expert, just a novice, but buy what I personally find interesting. You can PM or direct message me should you wish to sell with your number; otherwise, I do have an item or two I can trade if you'd rather that.

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I sent out the wakazashi to be photographed. Once that's done I'll do my best to post the photos in this thread. There are some details in the blade itself that I cannot explain with words (due to my limited vocabulary in Japanese terminology) but demonstrate the artistic taste of the forger. I'd like to share them with you and everyone else. Also I did purchase my 2nd blade some time ago that is also of wakazashi length and is believed to be made by a Bizen smith. It is "older" (1400 to 1500 timeframe) but in "poorer" condition being subjected what seems to be a polishing wheel (evident by left over grind marks). It can still be restored.

 

On 1/7/2022 at 3:07 PM, Winchester said:

@ the OP, thanks for the reply. I would have interest in seeing the blade closer (hada???).

 

If you do decide to sell, I am interested. I am not an expert, just a novice, but buy what I personally find interesting. You can PM or direct message me should you wish to sell with your number; otherwise, I do have an item or two I can trade if you'd rather that.

 

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