BenVK

What do you mean by "up to date on that" ? I just want to know if arizonaskiesmeteorites is legit? simple question.

Err ok, so my alarm bells are already going off. Why would a website in Arizona that deals mostly in fossils be selling Nihonto that are on a different Japanese site?

Has anyone had experience of buying from these guys? www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.com They have a sword I'm interested in. Thanks Ben

I bought a tsuba from Frederic at edoantiques a few months ago. Can definitely recommend him.

Thanks guys!

My intention is to place this WWII Gendaito for sale on this forum but I can't remember what the signature says and I can't read kanji. I was told it's Takai Sadatsugu. Thanks Ben

Well I think it's only right to warn others of this ebay seller who pissed me off further by recently sending me this message in regards to this tsuba. Check out his feedback, he's done this before. Dear sir On last ebay, we can not sell it due to out of stock I bothered the trouble. I am really sorry. If possible we would like to pay an apology fee of $ 20USD at paypal. In doing so, negative feedbacks I would like you to change to positive feedback. Please consider. arcadia*japon

I recently requested that jauce unblock a sword auction for me so that I could bid. Here is the email I received from them. Due to "Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties" (1950), this kind of items usually need special handling and documentation before they are shipped internationally. So that an additional handling fee of 20,000¥ maybe required to process this auction. Please kindly send us a confirmation in order we can unblock this auction. Best regards, Jauce Team

​29.46% buyer's ​premium plus if bidding via Invaluable, that's a further 5%. Oh and an extra 2% on top if paying with your credit card. That's not even factoring in the P&P charge which no doubt will be extortionate too. I once got charged £95 to ship a sword from Dover to North London! And the best you can hope for from these auction houses are a few lousy photos to go on. I know they're running a business and have make a profit but all these fees are getting out of hand nowadays and you have to really careful in deciding how much to bid, especially if doing it online and not in person. There, rant over! lol

To see some General Grade swords with rock solid provenance would make for a fascinating forum thread. Unless one already exists?

Apart from the tassel, which let's face it, could have been added by anyone at anytime, what identifies a General's grade shin gunto? I know it's different for kyu gunto because of the addition of tortoise shell grip.

Thanks for the tip!

Unfortunately not Matt, it went for ¥181,000 which is about $1650. Plus I'd planed to bid via jauce.com but they want ¥400 per auction + 8% of the closing price plus ¥20,000 if it's a sword. Must be a cheaper way to bid on Japan yahoo?

I'll be well pleased to get it for only $800! I think it will go for a lot more than that...regardless of how it was forged, WWII era blades with Hi are hard to find.

I'm interested in bidding on this sword which I believe is by the smith Kojima Kanenori. Auction ends tomorrow so I haven't got much time to decide. I think it could be a traditionally forged blade judging by the amount of ji-nie but I'm not 100% sure. Obviously the showa stamp casts some doubts that it is but we know some Gendai blades have them. What do you think guys? It will be my first attempt at buying anything from Yahoo auctions in Japan. I'm a bit nervous but no risk, no reward as they say. Thanks Ben

Bruce, I think you did a great job which involved craftsmen who are your friends. Personally, being a modeller myself, I would have added some washes and other techniques to tone down the newly applied paint. That takes skill and effort though. Much easier to let time and handling take it's course!

Julian, do you really expect these blades that are being sold for, on average $500 a piece on ebay and elsewhere to have $2000 polishes?

Interesting subject. A few years ago, I did a lot of research on how much it cost a German Officer in WWII to kit himself out with uniforms and kit. Officers had to buy their own items but could pay a yearly sum to the "Kleiderkasse" which was and still is a means of buying military kit for a discounted rate or on credit from official outlets. I wonder if Samurai ever had similar set up?

I'm curious as to what this plaque (for want of a better word) would have been made for? Apparently it's 22" x 16 and weighs over 20lbs. I have the same mon embossed on the saya of one of my swords.

Fancy filework?

Maybe there was more to the mei? above what's left now.

As I wrote in this thread, I don't believe these particular blades that Komonjo and others sell were made in China. More likely Japan. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22104-gendai-questions-about-blade-for-sale/?hl=komonjo&do=findComment&comment=224614 Why do I suspect that? because I own a couple of swords that were made this year by one of the best forges in China. Did a lot of research first as well before ordering. Chinese forged blades just look...err, different!

It's a bit too much money for me.

Ah, so you mean like gaku mei but just forge welded on top instead of inlaid into the nakago?

Has anyone encountered a nakago like this before? Would the purpose be to keep some weight at the end to aid balance?