blekk

Hi Ken Thanks for the reply. Yes I can see the sori is very much inline with the Muromuchi period as Ray has suggested. I will try to get some better photos of tge nakago so is there any other details that might help? Also I was pointed in this direction, but if it does turn out to be a Naganori I'll literally eat my hat!

Back again and sorry if I'm bothering any one with my newbieness just looking for confirmation I'm on the right path. Looking at the yasurime would I be correct in saying these are katte agari with possible sen suki yasuri toward the nakagojiri? Also would this be an example of midare-utsuri?

Ok best of the 100 or so pics I took which made me realised my sword photo skills leave a lot to be desired! Im still trying to build the swords profile so please correct any of the below details which maybe wrong. Nagasa length: 58cm; 22.83in Sori: Koshi-sori Mune: Lori-mune Shinogi: low shinogi 6mm Kasane: 5.2mm Nakaga: standard shape Nakagojiri: Ha agari kurijiri

Hi Ken The first of the 3 pics is a full length shot just not the best due to the light reflection and distance. Ill try and get some more shots tonight.

Thanks for the replies gents. Couple more pictures as mentioned. Not the clearest full length shot sorry.

Hi all Bit of an interesting one (or not?!?!). This wakizashi has the regular bo-hi kaki-toshi, but there also seems to be a soe-bi that only runs through the nakago. Any clue as to why this could be? I thought at first the soe-bi could have been polished out but there's no indication anywhere along the hi of a soe-bi except on the nakago.

Hi all I know this has probably been covered a million times before but I thought I would recommend the book - Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords a Collector's Guide, Nobuo Nakahara Translated by Paul Martin for any noobs out there; Great read and reference book

Eric anything wrong with this particular dealer? Or is it more one should learn what to look for and know what they're buying before parting with any money as seen here so many times before ?

Perhaps off a snuff box??

May be of some use for someone unfortunately I don't have the $$$ at the moment CUTTING TEST KUBIKIRI ASAEMON Japanese SWORD BOOK - ebay link

Is that nioi gire towards the kissaki or is it that just the hamon runs VERY close to the ha at the yokote? EDIT: Makes more sense now

Holy Doolies....... Well played sir Jacques may I ask what book this is from?

So....... "Is this sword real or fake and is it good???"

Yes Keith I think I can see the 2 points you are talking about. Ive attached the rest of the shots along the blade of the hamon but can't seem to see any other similar marks, maybe just a coincidence? - Please do correct me if I'm wrong

Overall length - 84cm (33.1") Nagasa - 58cm (22.8") Sori (koshi sori??) - 1.7cm (0.7") Kasane - 2.8cm (1.1") Attached full shot of the blade, as well a close up of the hamon

Franco please see attached pic of the other side (not the best but better profile). Not trying to waste anyone's time, just wanting to learn more and create discussions from some educated people

Interesting...... Franco please see the attached image of bohsi/kissaki for comment Blair

Thanks all I was honestly just looking for some clarification as I was puzzled about the soe hi because there doesn't seem to be much evidence that it has been polished out (must have been a great togi). Yes Franco I am a newbie in the nihonto world with many more books to be added to my collection! But don't we all have something new we can learn from others who have more knowledge then us? Blair

Ok more ideas fantastic thanks for the possibilities so far - Process of elimination! Looking at the mune there doesn't seem to be any tapering (see pic 1). Although I can see that the tsuri hi groove or soe hi or what ever it may be could have continued a little further up but I cant see any evidence it has been polished away (see pic 2 & 3), but then again you guys would know a LOT more then me Reading up on the possibility that it could be a kodachi and these are usually a set length around 59-60cm with more of a sori than a wakizashi is that correct? Can someone point me towards maybe a side by side comparison on the two as there is very little hard info on the kodachi apart from "it was shorter than the tachi but longer than a wakizashi". Blair

Thanks all, Im glad we cleared that up One thing that is now puzzling me (for my own reference) is the blade in question is 58cm - or 22.8" for the yanks and anyone else who uses the outdated measurement systems - This is just short of the typical katana length, but 20cm short of a typical tachi length which could explain the possible koshi bi being below the habaki due to o suriage (or a smith that can't count properly). If this was the case tho and it originally was a tachi, wouldn't the blade have one hell of a koshi sori and throw everything out of proportion? (see first attachment in first post for image of whole blade) Also looking at the hamon it seems to finish right at the Habaki-moto and doesn't appear to continue into the nakago; this usually a tell tale sign that there has been some form of suriage when the hamon continues into the nakago??? AND just to keep rambling...... I remember reading somewhere that koshi sori (and other notch designs) were a form of writing prayers on a blade, could this just be a simple prayer that is hidden by the tsuke? Blair

Thanks Sanjuro. Doing a little research I did come across the possibility of kaki toshi, but searching here and the WWW turns up very little on the subject/examples. Blair

Hi all, Just been doing some reading and searching and have a quick question about bo-hi/so-hi. How common is it to have the bo-hi continue through the nakago with out it being suriage? Also as you see in picture 2, there is a so-hi (possible called something else??) as well that sits below the habaki on the nakago; Would that indicate it to be suriage? Just looking for a possible answer from someone more educated then me Cheers Blair EDIT: Added bo-hi in opening sentence to make more sense

I might only be a newbie when it comes to Nihonto, but definitely no newbie when it comes to ebay! Trawling thru as I often do I have seen multiples of all of these Imperial Japanese Warrior Sword for sale from the same and from different sellers ALL based in the "Land of the long Production Line" - China. So from one newbie to another, and please don't take this the wrong way but there are NO cheap short cuts, so when in doubt research! As another member has posted somewhere here on the message boards before; A seller will always tell you it's genuine, and a buyer will always say it's a fake! EDIT: Unless they are from this Message board Blair

Thanks Jean, I found it right after I posted here Blair

Thanks for the warm welcome