Don't pay double with 'Bladetique' and similar.

[When Necessary]

I just won a signed and dated shinshinto katana on Yahoo for its lowest asking price of about eighteen hundred dollars. Whoopee.

Details for the curious:

Mei 筑前国住源信国美直　Minamoto Nobukuni Yoshinao

Dated 慶應二年八月吉日 August 1866

Nagasa 70.7cm 

 

 

At the same time, 'Bladetique' in Japan had copied the auction and were hawking it to unwary foreigners for nearly double the price. This is rather ironic as 'Bladetique' (who has 100% feedback), states the following in their eBay profile: 

"However, I believe that the key to acquiring a good blades is to pay a reasonable price from the beginning and then rely on your own sensitivity and the opinions of people you can trust to help you make the best purchase."

 
Noble words but ignoble actions - new collectors please be warned. 

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

The banner image of that 100 million dollar wall hanger inspires complete confidence. 

[nulldevice]

10 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

The banner image of that 100 million dollar wall hanger inspires complete confidence. 

My first thought as well

[When Necessary]

I noticed that the NMB has several new people who are really champing at the bit to buy their first Nihonto and I didn't want them getting scammed by individuals like 'Bladetique' (I never get tired of typing that name; it sounds like a 1970s kung fu disco).

[Geraint]

Dear Deanna.

 

Good idea to point this out.  Looking forward to seeing the Yoshinao when it arrives.

 

All the best.

[Rawa]

Yeah but still you bought on yahoo Japan using middleman? It's blocked directly in EU.

[Brano]

17 minutes ago, Rawa said:

Yeah but still you bought on yahoo Japan using middleman? It's blocked directly in EU.

Japanese Yahoo is inaccessible for European IP addresses
You can find an identical offer on Buyee - enter the item ID in the search if you know it
Or use a VPN for Yahoo
I think Yahoo.co.jp is accessible for the US market

[Hoshi]

Hi, 

 

"Based in Japan" - very unlikely. You are probably dealing here with an associate of the infamous '100M $ tachi' swindler which you can look up on this board. 

 

No Japanese dealer in his right mind would put such a banner as visual identity for a sword shop. 

 

Even if you got it at the auction hammer price, trust me - you dodged a bullet. 

 

Avoid Ebay, avoid YJP. You will get burned. 

 

Your best bet to find a decent entry level sword is to buy from a reputable dealer on this board.

 

Best,

 

Hoshi 

 

 

[When Necessary]

6 hours ago, Hoshi said:

Hi, 

 

"Based in Japan" - very unlikely. You are probably dealing here with an associate of the infamous '100M $ tachi' swindler which you can look up on this board. 

 

No Japanese dealer in his right mind would put such a banner as visual identity for a sword shop. 

 

Even if you got it at the auction hammer price, trust me - you dodged a bullet. 

 

Avoid Ebay, avoid YJP. You will get burned. 

 

Your best bet to find a decent entry level sword is to buy from a reputable dealer on this board.

 

Best,

 

Hoshi 

 

 

Hello Hoshi,

 

In retrospect, you are probably right and this person is outside Japan, hoping to take advantage of those without easy access to the Japanese auction sites. If so, they are at least clever enough to word their statement of 'integrity and philosophy' with a smattering of grammatical errors and odd syntax,  similar what you would expect from a native Japanese.

 

Regarding buying from YJP, I will sometimes take a chance, especially with tsuba - but never eBay.

Yes, I've been burned a couple of times but I've also had success; the Suruga no Kami Kunimasa blade of mine which just passed Tokuho was from Yahoo Auctions. It had an old NBTHK green paper, which is also a widely perceived warning sign but I trusted my own judgement and, on this occasion, it paid off. 
One word of advice about Japanese auctions, avoid the dealers with dozens of swords each week. Go for private individuals who might be selling off grandpa's 'old stuff' or the 'Ma and Pa' antique shops out in the sticks. They usually don't mess about with swords to make them look 'more saleable' and only look to make a fair profit.
 

Thanks again, for pitching in on the conversation!

[When Necessary]

14 hours ago, Geraint said:

Dear Deanna.

 

Good idea to point this out.  Looking forward to seeing the Yoshinao when it arrives.

 

All the best.

Dear Geraint,

 

Thank you.

 

For what they're worth, these are the photos from the auction. (And yes, that weird, 'woven', sageo is coming straight off!)

Personally, I prefer blades in shirasaya but I can get one made for this easily enough. The koshirae looks modern but the habaki is very good quality; two piece and gold foil wrapped.

[Lewis B]

Please form an orderly line. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306451831251?_skw=kamakura&itmmeta=01K2TDMV3G8SERHG8BADAWDYC6&hash=item4759f3d9d3:g:YA8AAeSwqiZon9h7&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1f3XVxhaQUFng5L6hkj0PKcDx1KLSPpinrlDoOj5r7QigSmL9YZRq410A5dssZwHH1dSURPRnSXHQ1g3q1R3aKQPW0OeNFoV8s8fT5j%2B%2BsKycxo1nOuF4VeS7SVTDs%2BNcFhhPWKkP8BvKfa0v%2BKfeU9yeHBx5Dhz2%2F09LINnjYZ73gCOEPvLrlkX2zx6blRJ8XHFraeNNYKSjXAUOc6K3aUgkWLy1zZCTmmoH2r15cuWJ876UELnMwa7W9lJFLs%2FG3PZnuHX5HopVP3fP8AcGthz%2BVlZOY58bN%2F3ivcoU9WKw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Cy082WZg

[Sebuh]

holy hell what a steal!!! 

57 minutes ago, Lewis B said:

Please form an orderly line. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306451831251?_skw=kamakura&itmmeta=01K2TDMV3G8SERHG8BADAWDYC6&hash=item4759f3d9d3:g:YA8AAeSwqiZon9h7&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1f3XVxhaQUFng5L6hkj0PKcDx1KLSPpinrlDoOj5r7QigSmL9YZRq410A5dssZwHH1dSURPRnSXHQ1g3q1R3aKQPW0OeNFoV8s8fT5j%2B%2BsKycxo1nOuF4VeS7SVTDs%2BNcFhhPWKkP8BvKfa0v%2BKfeU9yeHBx5Dhz2%2F09LINnjYZ73gCOEPvLrlkX2zx6blRJ8XHFraeNNYKSjXAUOc6K3aUgkWLy1zZCTmmoH2r15cuWJ876UELnMwa7W9lJFLs%2FG3PZnuHX5HopVP3fP8AcGthz%2BVlZOY58bN%2F3ivcoU9WKw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Cy082WZg

 

[Rawa]

Thank good seller don't ship to Poland 

[When Necessary]

Well, the sword arrived and it's so nice that I'm going to put it in for the next Tokuho shinsa. (Who knows, if I bung them an extra few thousand yen, maybe they'll also paper my 'rocks from Sekigahara'?)

 

[Rawa]

You're impossible 

[Brian]

Seems you failed at the task anyways. You bough in good polish and condition with papers. Price has nothing to do with the conversation. Anyone currently in Japan can pick those up. 
Go back and buy out of polish...horrible condition without papers. Then do nothing and put that in for Tokuhozon. Along with some rocks.
 

[When Necessary]

4 minutes ago, Brian said:

Seems you failed at the task anyways. You bough in good polish and condition with papers. Price has nothing to do with the conversation. Anyone currently in Japan can pick those up. 
Go back and buy out of polish...horrible condition without papers. Then do nothing and put that in for Tokuhozon. Along with some rocks.
 

"If you think a rusted piece of iron is more important because of age, then maybe you should go to those old battlefields and collect a few rocks. They also have a great tale to tell.

So do the nails in old castles.If you think a rusted piece of iron is more important because of age, then maybe you should go to those old battlefields and collect a few rocks. They also have a great tale to tell.

So do the nails in old castles."

 

I'm already on it Brian - thanks for the great tips!

While I'm at it, would you like me to mail you over some Sekigahara rocks and nails from Osaka Castle? It might give you something to look at as I can't imagine that you're exactly spoiled for choice regarding good quality Nihonto in South Africa.

[Brian]

45 minutes ago, When Necessary said:

"It might give you something to look at as I can't imagine that you're exactly spoiled for choice regarding good quality Nihonto in South Africa.

 

Nope....more true than just about most places in the world. In fact almost impossible to find decent Nihonto even if you have the funds here. And with an exchange of about 18 Rands to $1, even harder to ever save for a decent sword since it would likely pay off a house mortgage or car.
Which is exactly WHY I am very comfortable collecting at the lower level, without romancing about the history of the item or treasure hunting. Knowing what you have and being happy with it is what collecting is for me. If I want to see top stuff, I've made a plan to visit overseas numerous times and seen great quality. Looking at out of polish swords and being able to recognize possible good swords, knowing you won't be able to have them polished but preserving them so that someone else down the line a generation or 2 later might be able to investigate more, is enough for me. No...I don't subscribe to the "you can only collect top stuff" mantra. But I also don't build up kazuuchimono to great levels where I think I found the Honjo Masamune either. It's all about a middle ground. I also am able to separate the militaria enthusiast in me that loves having a plainish T95, kai Gunto, Shin Gunto etc as an example of wartime swords, from the Nihonto collector in me.

[When Necessary]

51 minutes ago, Brian said:

But I also don't build up kazuuchimono to great levels where I think I found the Honjo Masamune either. 

C'mon mate, I wasn't doing that either and you must know that.

 

Everything else you said above - total respect. I hope you find more pieces that give you pleasure in your collecting.

[Brian]

I was generalizing...didn't have anyone in mind when I said that. It was literally what I try not to do...not what I'm accusing others of doing. It's more those people who know zero about swords, swoop up the most rusted gimei relic they can find that doesn't even have a boshi left, and post here for the first time expecting to have found treasure. We see it so often. Not exclusive to Nihonto, German militaria collectors have it worse. I'm betting the coin collectors too.

[When Necessary]

Just now, Brian said:

I was generalizing...didn't have anyone in mind when I said that. It was literally what I try not to do...not what I'm accusing others of doing. It's more those people who know zero about swords, swoop up the most rusted gimei relic they can find that doesn't even have a boshi left, and post here for the first time expecting to have found treasure. We see it so often. Not exclusive to Nihonto, German militaria collectors have it worse. I'm betting the coin collectors too.

Understood. 👍

[John C]

5 hours ago, Brian said:

swoop up the most rusted gimei relic they can find that doesn't even have a boshi left, and post here for the first time expecting to have found treasure

Ha. This Kunitada went for 2,510 on Goodwill. Can't wait to see it again.

 

John C.