Very interesting Ebay post

[Bridges]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134359115492?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=chq2eSgTQOG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=5b5Igx0HQ7e&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

the tsuba looks very old and the tsuka is destroyed. Check out the sellers description

[Brian]

The fittings and history are irrelevant in this case. You are buying the blade. An older blade for sure. Can't tell anything without seeing the tang. The shape is nice, it could be a decent find, and it could be fatally flawed. No way to know at this stage.

[ChrisW]

Brian is right. You're taking a pretty big assumption on if there are flaws or not. If this guy lives near you, you ought to see if you can just see it in person. As any blade-buying should be done.

 

No pictures of the nakago is a dealbreaker for me!

[francois2605]

The seller must be in dire straits to sell a katana his grandfather reportedly took from a Japanese soldier. I can't think of any other reason why someone would sell such heirloom.

 

That or the story is fake.

[Sansei]

Regarding the seller's item description. My father brought back a sword from the Philippines taken from a Japanese officer and the blade portion, at least, looks similar to this one. Cannot tell much for sure without clear detailed photos. I think it deserves a closer look. Better closeup pictures and pictures of both sides of the tang portion as Brian suggests. If the photos are promising, then make a visit if the seller is close by and examine before buying.

[Bridges]

@Brian seems like a gamble

[Bridges]

@francois2605couldnt agree more, although the shadow box it’s in is nice. Still a gamble

[Ed Harbulak]

It's hard to tell from the poor pictures, but it looks like the tip or the blade might be missing. Might just be the lighting, but without more and definitely better pictures, it's a big gamble.  

[Baba Yaga]

It even comes in the original box which makes it more valuable, 

[Tensho]

I have never seen a sword taken off a soldier that had a Kozuka and Kogai.. One of the ribbons looks like an Occupational Badge which would make more sense in that it was picked up in Japan after the surrender.  

 

Either way, bidding seems really high already based off the bad photos. 

[Ian B3HR2UH]

You all pile onto this sword however it is clearly a superior item and way better than most of the stuff that is posted here . Did anyone look at the quality of the lacquer or notice that it had a kogai with it . When did you last see a katana with a kogai ?. This is usually a good sign . The fittings look to be of good quality . Buying this sword would be a really intelligent gamble . If the Aussie dollar was not so low I would shut up about the sword and have a bid myself .

Ian brooks

[Okan]

I can assure you that a soldier wasn't "wearing" this sword. Also the sageo(cord) is tied in samurai fashion. Nice fittings, late edo tsuba. Koshirae seems broken. But I would gamble this if I was living in the states..

 

 

[Bridges]

Update, I asked the seller yesterday for pictures of the tang. I even explained how to go about it but he never responded :/

[vajo]

I will never understand where the value is to take something from a dead soldier after 80 years.

Maybe it was relevant for the soldier who kills his opponent but i doubt it.

[Bridges]

@vajoSome people value stories whether they are true or not, who knows

[Okan]

5 hours ago, Bridges said:

@vajoSome people value stories whether they are true or not, who knows

 

There is no value in wanting something looted(stolen) from a dead body. I'm sure seller is an idiot who thought adding a line like this make it worth more. But as I said, there is no way the story is true so bidding for it wouldn't hurt. 

 

[Curran]

On 12/12/2022 at 10:28 AM, francois2605 said:

The seller must be in dire straits to sell a katana his grandfather reportedly took from a Japanese soldier. I can't think of any other reason why someone would sell such heirloom.

 

That or the story is fake.

 

"Japanese WW2 Sword, taken by my grandfather, from dead Japanese soldier in the Philippines. "

 

With post WW2 silver cat-scratch habaki.

I thought those were more a product of the 1990s-2000s (?)

 

[Utopianarian]

Only sword worth bidding on in a great while. Of course it’s now gone off eBay ended bidding early with 5 days still left. Some snake got it… I guess bidders got screwed… 

[Bridges]

@Utopianarianthat blade was roughly 1500 with several days left. Someone made that seller an offer he could not refuse.

[noneed2hate]

 He answered my inquiry with the following Nakago pictures just a few hours ago:

Ura:
大慶直胤 - Taikei Naotane allegedly 
Omote:
Made in the 10th Year of Tempo - 天保
Wasn't really able to work out the rest grammatically in a way that made sense to me- 伊藤昌盛因好作之

Kind of frustrating they can't seem to take good pictures of the sword itself. Good to know it went as high as $1500 at auction before they cancelled, because now I know they think it's worth much more and that I'm priced out haha

[Brian]

Lol.
Made yesterday and VERY gimei.
Just my opinion!

[Utopianarian]

I think Brian is Right

[Bruce Pennington]

I only have 1 on file for comparison.  You can see, among other things, the difference in the kao.  The one above tried to make the bottom loop in 1 stroke, whereas the one I'm posting used a large straight line at the bottom.

[Bridges]

And the plot thickens 

[Seth]

Amateur opinion incoming....

 

I agree with Brian the mei looks sloppy both in strokes and placement compared to what I have seen on the web. My mind does wander to what this blade would look like in polish, it very well could be a nice mumei blade.  

[noneed2hate]

It's back up on ebay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/134375920654

Seems the seller in their grand "wisdom" cleaned the Nakago.... In any case, the sword seems spurious to me in terms of being even a legitimate Nihonto, something about the way the sword appears in the photos leads me to believe it is of Chinese production but I could be wrong.

Seems many folks are willing to shell out for this sword sadly, it's already at $1300 with 8 days left to go. 

[Utopianarian]

Yep a nice new cleaned nakago and I’m sure a little sandpaper and a final turn on the buffing wheel for good measure. Nothing a good squirt of

WD-40 and Brillo pad can’t fix. If I ever have a headache I’ll be sure to hire the closest Neanderthal with a blunt rock to fix my ailment 🙈🗡 R.I.P. Naotane!!

[Utopianarian]

[Bridges]

I can see trace amounts of rust on the nakago, they did a bad job of doing a bad job lol people on eBay throw their money at anything  (sometimes I’m included)

[Seth]

OMG, wait, you mean the seller took the listing down cleaned the nakago, and then listed it again... I don't understand the mindset behind that. I wonder what caused them to end the previous auction? I wish it would have escaped now even though gimei. Justice will be semi-served if it doesn't make it back up to $1500 now.

 

Edit: saw the rest of the pictures did he hit the blade with the polishing wheel also?