I have been offered to buy

[lyoung]

Can anyone comment if a blade signed ( nidai ) Minamoto Yoshichika in good condition be worth $2000? It needs a polish.

[Stephen]

can you post the mei?

 

Yoshichika are thought to be good blades.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/yoshchik.htm

 

price out of poish is bit steep, how bad is the polish.

[Mark]

i sold a nice one in decent old polish and complete mounts for $2500 a while back, i was offered one in trade at Chicago a few weeks ago for around $2k but passed

[lyoung]

Thank You. Hum....

[Stephen]

larry sent me some pix, did a little photo shop to the mei not true color, i think the mei looks ok ,,,anyone?

 

the blade has we worried as to what someone did to it, also balck rust on the ha, yes it would be in need of a polish IMHO

 

[David Flynn]

There are two minamoto Yoshichika, Shodai and Nidai. Nidai are cheaper than Shodai. I think the one in the picture is probably Nidai.

[Stephen]

Mark was the sold one Nidai or Shodai?, the cost of polish woulld put this out of reach IHMO

[cabowen]

Mei reads "Nidai Minamoto Yoshichika saku kore" (二代源良近作之) - no doubt it is the nidai. Too bad one mekugi-ana pierces the mei....

[Stephen]

[Too bad one mekugi-ana pierces the mei....

/quote]

 

I dont have my book yet to look else where, Chris all the nidai ive seen so far have one kanji pierced.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/yoshchik.htm

[cabowen]

[Too bad one mekugi-ana pierces the mei....

/quote]

 

I dont have my book yet to look else where, Chris all the nidai ive seen so far have one kanji pierced.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/yoshchik.htm

 

 

I have seen several blades by the nidai and don't recall if they all shared this trait...

 

The shodai achieved a certain level of fame when his blades were tested and praised by Nakayama Hakudo, the famous iai master. You will often see his blades with a "cutting test" stamped into the nakago.

 

The shodai is known to have used western steel. He ran a "factory" that pumped out a lot of gunto during the war. Most are identical- light, bo-hi, gunome hamon, muji, etc. Rather average and most likely not traditionally made. The nidai's work is identical. Information on the nidai is very scare...

 

I have seen a fantastic blade made by the shodai- 29 inches long, wide, with o-gissaki. O-gunome hamon and beautiful jigane. Custom made for Nakayama Hakudo....Seeing this excellent blade and noting what Yoshichika was capable of made me quite sad as it seems he devoted all his time to making these unremarkable gunto....

 

Due perhaps to this reputation as wazamono, his blades seem to fetch prices that are well above comparable work by other smiths. If you come across his traditional work, it would be well worth the money. The cookie-cutter gunto are another story...

[lyoung]

Here is an update to all that helped discuss this blade. I purchased the blade and it is currently in polish and fitting (since May of 2010) by two of the best in the U. S. A. & Canada. The blade turned out to be very desirable making my anxiety over the purchase worthwhile. In the year+ since aquiring the blade I have been researching the smith Nidai Minamoto Yoshichika. I found it a typcial characteristic that he pierced the first (top) kanji of his signature. I am grateful to the many folk who have assisted me with this sword and I look foreward to seeing many of them at the SF Token Kai in August 2011. Larry