Ghoul414 Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 I am once again continuing to trawl auctions and sales looking for cheap Nihonto (not just because budget is limited, but also to help save some unloved history, and I always learn so much, even from failures), and have come across a wakizashi I am personally comfortable buying, but I wanted to sense check a potential purchase first. However, there are several immediate yellow flags: 1. It is being sold with another blade which is clearly a fake acid etched sword 2. The seller describes both as 1900s+ blades with no other details 3. The seller is also selling other modern swords and fittings as part of the same sale 4. I'm 50/50 that the tsuba is completely fake (if its not, what on earth have they done to it?!) 5. The pictures are bad, incomplete, and not all in good focus It is signed, although I have not been given an image of both sides of the nakago. However, I've seen rust faked, and I've seen patina faked, but haven't come across both fake patina and fake rust on the same blade - this one looks right to me. Also, the ana seem to have the expected discolouration on the inside which is nice. The shape is good, the file marks feel right, and the signature doesn't look immediately fake to me (although whether it is gimei I have no idea): The blade itself is very much out of polish, but I can still distinguish a fairly straight hamon - I also haven't seen two bohi like this in a fake blade before. My only concern here is the shape of the kissaki - I can't make out a yokote, and the shape of it makes me think it may have been ground down/polished too much? (Although I am not familiar with all the shapes kissaki were created in). There are what look like ware in several places, again suggesting this is legitimate blade. So what do people think? Am I mad for thinking of buying this, or have I spotted a genuinely missold nihonto? It certainly feels much older than the 1900s to me... Thanks again, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 Signed Norishige. Not the famous Gofuku Norishige (not the Masamune student), but it's an authentic, early Edo period shinto wakizashi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 The kissaki seems diminished. It is not clear how healthy the boshi is. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghoul414 Posted April 15 Author Report Share Posted April 15 Yesss, thank you Ray! And with a translation too! I'm also pleased I am ever so slowly getting better at spotting these. The boshi is a concern though - would $300 be too much to pay for such a risk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 $300 is fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghoul414 Posted April 16 Author Report Share Posted April 16 Thanks again Ray! The price crept up in the auction today to nearly twice that so I decided to step away - but I am really grateful for your feedback, as I'm definitely feeling more confident at spotting both the good, bad, and ugly with the blades. Hope you have a great day, George 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swords Posted yesterday at 05:47 PM Report Share Posted yesterday at 05:47 PM Is 300 too much not ? Yes if you’re buying a fake If you’re looking for a good sword you need to dig deeper in your pocket because your wasting your time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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