Kunikane signed wakizashi questions

[edzo]

Dear Members,

I am seeking , opinions or thoughts regarding the period and or generation of this smith, assuming the sig in not gimei. The blade is out of polish and does not exhibit enough activity in the hamon or the hada, In some areas it suggests masame hada. I have included photos if they can be helpful Signed “Kunikane” (hooked variant “kane” kanji), Shinogi-zukuri, loss of yokote, Nagasa 57.7cm, Ko-kissaki , sakihaba 1.7cm, motohaba 2.7cm, iori mune, Torii sori 1cm. yasurime haagari, and takanoha jiri. The nakago looks un-altered. Thank you in advance Ed.

[Marius]

Dear Ed,

 

having posted your umpieth blade/kodogu, I think it is about time you make clear what the purpose of this exercise is. Are you a collector who has found a treasure trove of nihonto and needs help to get attributions for his newly acquired pieces, a museum curator, or are you a newbie dealer who wants to make money?

 

Please forgive me this somewhat undiplomatic question, but you will surely understand that you owe some explanation to those members who generously spend their time to share their knowledge (I am not talking about myself here).

 

No offence intended.

[chrstphr]

my eyes must be failing me, but i dont see a Bo-hi in the photos.

 

 

 

 

Chris

[edzo]

Hi chris, my mistake there my messy notes. Sorry Ill edit it Thanks Ed

[edzo]

Dear Mariuszk, I have sent you a PM, Thanks Ed.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Actually, Ed, I think the rest of us would like to know your intent of posting a multitude of blades, one at a time. Care to share?

 

Ken

[cabowen]

Guess I am not the only one curious...

[edzo]

Dear Members,

Without getting into confidential details these are the facts;

I am in no way being financially compensated or otherwise gifted anything but the knowledge and time you have so generously shared with me.

 

I have collected Asian art for years and always desired to collect Nihonto but never felt I possessed enough knowledge to make informed decisions, which in part is how I got into this position.

Almost two years ago I was approached by a person that I know and was advised that they were in need of liquidating their dads collection of Japanese swords that had been is storage for many years, since his death. They explained how they could never get-together on them for years and finally, solicited several dealers that started making offers for the whole collection ranging from 5-55,000 US$, then concluded they could not trust them, hence, me. They are financially challenged, and so I volunteered to help them for free if I could select who and where they would be sold but never expected the quantity of items they (the siblings), months later, showed up with. So, I jumped into it, had joined the forum, invested in reference materials etc. Now they wish to put the items up at auction this summer so I’ve been spending every free minute researching and cataloguing the items.

 

I’ve been careful not to cross forum guidelines and in addition, I corresponded with Brian before I began making posts. Keep in mind, I thought the postings and discussions may benefit other members, from a learning and topical standpoint as well as provide viewing pleasure for others. I also felt that it might be a good opportunity to a fellow member when and where the items will be sold in the event there was an interest, which some have expressed. I don’t believe I have ever inquired about the value of an item.

 

Well, that’s the short of it, you may elect to ignore my posts or black-ball me, I don’t know, in any event I remain indebted, and grateful for your honesty, efforts and participation Respectfully yours Ed F

[Jean]

How many remain to be posted, Ed?

[Peter Bleed]

I don't care how many more/different blades there might be. And I know what this opinion is worth since I know what you are paying for it. I am always willing to look at blades signed "Kunikane".

This does NOT look to me like a Sendai shinto. Conceivably it could be one of the niji-mei blades made by one of the middle generations that kept the line alive. But, to me, it does appear to be of that age.

Peter

[cabowen]

I don't mind sharing information and think my participation here proves that. It is nice however to know why and how that information is being used if there is some commercial purpose behind the asking....

 

In any case, better late than never.....by all means. keep posting.....

[edzo]

Dear Moderator Jean,

I did not anticipate a frack with regard to my posts and apologize for raising your eyebrow perhaps I misunderstood its mission. I’m somewhat at odds with my apparent lack of forum etiquette and protocols. My pleasure in this forum has been to quench my desire to learn, support the preservation of this art form and collect a discipline that makes my heart sing, primarily because in addition to the aesthetic aspect, it captures an important cultural and spiritual qualities. For me membership is not for money but knowledge and understanding.

How many more?

Well, I am at a bit of a disadvantage because different issues may arise but I would guess 15-20 swords some of which may include fine koshirae/Tosogu. There are many more but I am confident I have gained enough knowledge to sort through them. This leads me to the question, as I acquire pieces for my anticipated collection and hopefully, continued membership can I make a post?

I wish to apologize to the Board and any member that feels I took unfair advantage of their generous participation in my posts. That was never my intention and I thought in some cases was appreciated by members.

Respectfully, Ed F

[Peter Bleed]

Edward,

I still want to talk about this sword - which I am glad you shared and showed to us. I left a word out of my earlier post. What I MEANT to say is that this does NOT look like a Sendai shinto. In fact I think it looks older. The quality of the nakago does not look like a mid to late shinto piece. The mei also has a rustic quality. Sendai Kunikane? I wouldn't bet on it. Could it be an older Yamato sword? Well, I wouldn't bet on that either, but I think that would be an interesting shinsa question.

Thank you for allowing me to muse.

Peter

[edzo]

Dear Dr Bleed

thank you very much for your continued time and effort. I’m a bit gun shy at this point but that aside, I pleaded with the owners to submit a number of their items including this one, for shinsa this past February? In Tampa as I recall. They just didn’t have the resources. I have reviewed many of your very informative posts in the forum and had no success digging up a two character papered signature that I felt fit. I will continue my research effort with your learned comments in mind. I will keep you posted if I should turn anything up, come across another, or if you should desire see beter photos just let me know. Respectfully, Ed

[kusunokimasahige]

Edzo, I do like your posting of swords as well as your questions, but had you been up front from the start you would not have had the questions you are receiving now.

 

You write in your last post the following :

 

"Well, I am at a bit of a disadvantage because different issues may arise but I would guess 15-20 swords some of which may include fine koshirae/Tosogu. There are many more but I am confident I have gained enough knowledge to sort through them. This leads me to the question, as I acquire pieces for my anticipated collection and hopefully, continued membership can I make a post? "

 

I dont know whether you are qualified enough to sort through all swords in the collection of course, and I appreciate your work for the people who asked you to catalogue their late fathers collection. However, valueing should be done by auctioneers like Sothebys. It is commendable you do not ask for prices.

 

What disturbes me a little though is the sentence that you acquire pieces for your anticipated collection. Does this mean you sort out the ones you like to have in the collection based on your questions here and then will make an offer to the people ? Or does it just mean you learn which swords are worthwile to collect for yourself and then wil join in bidding when the entire collection is auctioned off ?

 

It might have been better to first catalogue the entire collection and then make it known on the forum that you had several questions regarding one, two, or all swords. That way the forum members would have had the possibility to browse through the entire collection and give their educated opinion. I am sure that when it comes to auction, most collectors would be informed that a large collection would be coming on the market.

 

Trust goes both ways in these matters.

 

Keep posting, but I would like to know how many swords there are exactly in this (hopefully important) collection.

 

KM

[edzo]

dear Henk-jan,

I am hoping to attend the auction and hopefully acquire something. I do not have deep pockets and would not be much of a competive threat nor do I have a back door deal with anyone or deceptive agenda beside learning about them and keeping my word. No sorting all goes on the open mkt. My business is tanking because of this enduring poor real estate market which might prevent me from bidding. My commitment was to the owners that I would provide them with a listing of what they had to the extent I could and would not make appraisal for value as I was not qualified and they were comfortable with that. A good number of the blades are post showato and easily researched and some severly damaged blades not that I am an expert, but they simply didn't present the same challenges that I encountered with the older blades. I never realized how daunting a task this would be until I got well into it. I only have a limited amount of space and try to study them in small groups and then I post a few that I have question on. Thats why they come in blasts. There are over 100 of them including other items such as armor, german weapons, sets of WW11 spotting ship models etc. They advised me that they went to several big auction houses but they just wanted to cherry pick what they would sell or purchase the collection. Thank you for your participation, I hope this answers your questions, Respectfully, Ed

[kusunokimasahige]

Hello Edward, it sure does.

 

Thank you for your thorough and candid explanation.

 

Best wishes,

 

KM

[Marius]

Dear Ed,

 

thanks for this explanation. Keep them coming :-)

[markturner]

Hey Ed, nice position to be in, having all those swords to study..!! just a thought, - if lack of funds are an issue preventing shinsa submission for some of the better or more interesting swords ( which would surely only add to the ultimate value and be a useful exercise for them/you) why don't you suggest the selling of one sword to raise the required fees?

 

Regards, Mark

[runagmc]

To be fair to Ed, I think he did mention his situation on an earlier post, but it may have been on the tosogu or translation forum. I think as long as the items are decent, I would like you to post them. I don't think anyone was trying to make you feel unwelcome, they just weren't sure what was going on as the posts kept adding up... which is understandable since some people post things for a quick appraisal, and then have nothing else to do with the forum.

[Brian]

Ed,

Don't beat yourself up over it. You have mentioned this all before, although many of us have the memory of a ...umm....where was I? :lol:

Anyways, everyone here appreciates your explanation. Carry on as before, and don't hold it against those who ask (as I am sure you don't. I think you understand what we go through sometimes here)

So anyways, we will help where we can. If you can find a collector near you, he could be of huge help. 2 Heads always better than one.

 

Brian

[Jean]

Ed,

 

I had already read in one of your post the reason of the posting and I really don't mind, it was only by curiosity that I wanted to know how many more you were keeping up your sleeves and if you had a list that you could post so that in our turn we could choose/ pick up the ones which interest us most, though I think there will be an internecine war in NMB.