bone

Grey! Good to see you again!

I've compared his signature with the few I've found online.They look the same. The blade is woefully out of polish and I've never seen an example of his work in any case. I don't really want to sell and can't afford to have him polished. Is it worth polishing a window for such a little known name?

Now Ive sent it all to you and just waiting for your reply to get it to you and then to get it back to my mother. There are many here as kind as you. The thing is very few of us know it until... Meah I dont want to embarrass you. You're a good person. A kind person. I wish.... I wish I were like you and the person who looked at and sent me back my wak that I'll soon send to you Love you both frineds!

Thank you so much Stephen! You've been a good friend throughout all this mess.

Thank you Steve. This is a HUGE relief. The person buying my Hawleys backed out. I still need to sell it and when it arrives my wak. Too late for me to get the money and after this soap opera I wouldn't even bring it up but these items could really help my Mom until I get my first check.

Sword sent. Hah!

And it gets better! I still have a koto wak signed Tsunaei saku that I need to sell as well. THIS time I'm looking for someone on the board to either ebay it or sell it here, for a fee of course. Unless of course you'd like to see another train wreck like this one...

Thank you guys. Getting this all straightened out has certainly taken a load off my mind.

Grey, the email I sent you is still sitting in my drafts. When I got the better offer before midnight I felt bad about it but the extra cash almost pays for my visa by itself. And that's still not an excuse for not letting you know immediately. If you guys look back I've never ripped anyone off either here or on ebay. I owe everyone here an apology for this whole nightmare but especially to Grey who has always been a stand up guy and of course to Brian who has had to deal with this whole, sad mess. I have some personal problems that are coming to a head and I've been pretty whacked out on diazapam and while that contributed to all this it isn't an excuse. There IS no excuse. I'll have my phone next to me all day if anyone still has any questions. Once again my deepest and sincerest apologies. Worse thread ever. Grey has been called. And Stephen has been called.

And with Brians suggestion I'll do just that. No comments. The pics are what they are. I'm not qualified to blah blah blah and I'm not gonna. Thank you Brian.

Brian. Please cxl this thread. I'll repost the hawleys. The Wak? I trust Stephen but I have someone who's going to go to ebay the wak and I'm sending him the Katana as well. I'll send you a 10 percent donation to the board just because this whole, horrifying situation should give everyone SOMETHING. And this, at least, will give a little something back to a place that has given me so much. I'm angry, humiliated and desperate. If you want to yell at me or, buy the Hawleys iamstevebone@gmail.com or my phone: 479-790-5125. I know I have some demonstrative un-happiness coming. Brian, in the end I know this can't hurt this great creation of yours but I can't help but believe I let you down. Please let me stay.

Wish I could do that Brian but I made a promise to the person who bid 650.00 and unless he withdraws it will be his. Oh! And no fatal flaws, no hagire, etc. I haven't heard any confirmation on the Hawleys. It is the old, dark blue one (volume 1 1966) but does have some extra info I believe the brown one doesn't have. In any event I promised to end this at midnight tonight. I have one more sword I'm going to have to sell but don't worry. I wouldn't even THINK of doing this again! Thank you Brian et al. Sincerely,

And this is the reason I'm selling at all. As you can see my representative is getting more than a little antsy. I wish I knew more but thankfully the people on the board who know a lot more than me are helping me. The big question now, will I be able to make it in time? Right now it depends on selling this sword. I hate asking for help. I never do. But I have to now. I've set my deadline for less than two days from now. Please guys. Please help. Steve Thanks for the photos. No problem! But what's the earliest date you can arrive China right now? It seems you have to fly to school directly right now. So you can fly to Guangzhou. As school wants you to arrive ASAP. But we can confirm this later. Also what time are you free to talk with school? They want to talk with you before you arrive school. And they want to know a little bit about you first. They can add your skype. Talk soon!

I don't know guys. Wish I did.

I just talked to the person who sold this blade to me. Probably Mino NOT soshu. Still Koto. Still a katana but not what I thought it was. There is no minimum bid anymore. It would be unfair for me to sell this as a Soshu blade when it certainly isn't. It IS Koto. It's healthy. It's ancient. I wouldn't even continue to try to sell it but as I said its koto. You've seen the pics. I can't take less than 600.00 for it. I just can't. Please don't tell me how much I suck. I'm sorry but I never intended any deception. This is still a great blade and you know it. Brian? I do owe you my deepest apologies and I extend them. In the end it's not this blades fault that I'm an idiot. I'd completely cancel this whole thing but I really do need it to get to china. Besides, this is a wonderful sword!

The hlgh bidder is 650.00

And thank you Ed! I wouldn't want anyone to think I was, for whatever reason, trying to "get something" over on anyone. I'm not the brightest guy on the board. Been given the best treatment ever though. Two days and eight hours. Good luck to you all. And I sincerely hope you love this blade as much as I have!

Found the perfect sub. A cigarette filter. Eh. Who knew? Actually fits better than the pin that was in it.

Ok. I was going to simply package everything seperately. I'm glad I mentioned it. I'll fashion a new pin instead.

You were not alone in your opinion Ed. I'd rather make less money and have everything be on the up and up. So I'm going with total out in the open bidding. This is an awesome sword. I want it to go to a new home where it will be appreciated. In the interest of full honesty... I've lost the bamboo pin. I realize this may lower the value by the dozens of cents a new one will cost but I don't want anyone dissapointed. *laugh* C'mon guys. You've seen some decent images. This is a Soshu school, koto era katana and they just don't show up in good condition for less than a zillion very often anymore. I WILL sell this blade for what I'm offered. I'd rather not sell it all. Cause even if it sells for what I paid I'll never be able to replace it for that. Remember if I can't make my way to China... *evil look* I'll still be able to post here. And no one (but me) wants that, right?

*laugh* You ain't kiddin' Brian! Next time I'll just send it to a member and offer them a percentage to make sure it gets done the right way! How bout this? From here on all bids should be posted here. No whispers or emails accepted. I mean I sure hope it goes up from here!

I'm leaving it up to the individuals involved. I'd prefer they post here but if someone is uncomfortable doing that I'll not insist. As far as fairness goes I HAVE to sell this sword for the highest price. There will be no discounts and schill bidding would be stupid in my case as if it doesn't sell I'm going to miss my window to leave. All that having been said I'll defer to the moderators. Is Ed right about this? To anyone who has bid please post here if you would. I don't like anyone getting the idea something shady is going on. But as I said before I'll not insist and if the mods decide it should be done out loud and you wish to withdraw I'll certainly understand and still not post your name. This auction will end midnight October 5th CDT USA time. High bid as of this writing is 650.00. Thank you.

New High Bid: 650.00 Hudson, If you're looking for images they're on page 2 and the top of this one. Not sure what you're looking for.

The current bid is 630.00 US. This is a nice koto blade that will take a polish with no problems.

The nagasa is 26.5 inches.