Marius

This guy has various hijacked auctions, one from Hiroshi-san (kanetoyo), others from other sellers like daimyou54eb... How should we stop this bastard? I have notified Hiroshi-san and daimyou54eb already. Here is the seller: http://myworld.ebay.com/yanzot1/ Best regards

Or you may want to use this tool - probably safer for you and the sword (although you must be careful not to hit too hard): http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/tools.html

Very nice. You have done very well, IMHO (I would definitely buy it for more than $1400). If it has no fatal flaws you really should get it polished.

I am not an expert, but I am almost sure that in order to make a proper tsunagi, you would have to have either the blade or the saya would have to be disassembled, which, of course, you don't want to do. I guess that one could make a short, makeshift tsunagi with a wooden habaki. This could do the job. Question is: is it worth it?

Brian, many thanks, that explains everything. I would say that the puzzle is solved :D The buyre will have to find a solution (pun not intended ) to remove this lacquer from the nakago.

Hi Grey, I do not intend to bid, I ask only in order to learn what may be wrong with this nakago. I don't think it has been welded (or glued) to the blade - in such a case one could expect an authentic, valuable mei. I simply do not know what to make of this makago and I wanted to ask the experts. Is it bad repatination? Is it welded? Is it tsuba wear? What is it?

Hi Brian, IMHO it could be just a tired sword, with coarse masame grain. What really puzzles me, though is the part where the patina of the nakago ends and the polished part begins. I did not want to describe what I think about it in order to have an unbiased opinion from the NMB members. Have a look, please :-)

Dear Koichi-san, yes, sorry about the confusion.

Hi Steve, this has been to some degree discussed in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2686&p=19060&hilit=bidders#p19060

Dear All, please have a look at this auction. Could you tell me what your impressions are regarding the nakago of this tanto? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... ink:top:us

Hi Jos, thanks a bunch for the pics :-) I presume that due top hagiri this sword does not have any NBTHK or NTHK papres? I would love to compare the mei on my sword with some authentic Sukenaga mei. So far I have two pictures of Sukenaga's mei from the Compton catalogues...

Thank you, Jacques :-)

second picture here, sorry...

Dear All, I have recently bought a sword with the mei of a Bizen Yokoyama smith, Sukenaga. Would you please help to decipher the mei? Many thanks :-)

I should really leve this to Brian, our Admin here, but I am so delighted to see your first post here that I cannot help it: Welcome, Hiroshi-san, It is so nice to see you here :-)

Dear All, I know that quite a few of you detest eBay for its fakes, fraudulent sellers, badly worn swords etc.. Still, I wanted to ask you a question: do you think that you can get better prices for nihonto than on eBay? I have browsed JSA and my impression is that some items are being offered at significantly lower prices than on eBay. OK, the auctions are not over, but would you find a naginata http://www.bidders.co.jp/item/100446786 in full polish w. new shirasaya being offered for $350 ??? Some entry-level swords really look like they could be a good deal... What seems to have been a good deal has been discussed in another thread as well: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2673 What do you think?

Dear Reinhard, I have actually learned a lot from your remarks. To me, a newbie, it is amazing. You are right about the sloppiniess of the tsuka elements. Thanks a bunch :-) It is always good to have a discussion and to be able to learn.

Dear All, I have found this wakizashi on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Japanese-Sa ... dZViewItem What strikes me is the very dark yakiba, which usually looks much brighter in photographs than the ji-hada. What is the reason for this in your opinion? Is it the quality of the picture? The type of polish?

Koichi-san, we have apparently discussed the SAME BLADE in the thread you have posted.

Brian, I have the impression that you can contact any other eBay user, provided that you are a user yourself. Just give me your eBay nick and I shall contact you (my nick is macmarius) best

Inhave dug out some more information on this ken. It was the blades description on eBay by Mike Yamaguchi (historian333): " Nagasa: 8.75". Moto-haba: 1.0". Moto-kasane: 0.6". _Toko taikan_ lists 4 koto smiths and 1 shinto smith who signed "Kuniyuki." I don't know which one this blade is attributable to. The koshirae (aikuchi) appears to be fairly new. Unlike ordinary ken which is usually entirely symmetrical from the blade through the nakago, this one is made asymmetical toward the bottom of the blade with slight "sori" given to the nakago. The nakago is considerably thicker (0.75") than the thickness measured at the shinogi line, so the saya is designed to house the blade without a habaki. I believe this is the way the blade was constructed and not a result of togi-heri. Ken were often made as an offering to shrines and temples (rather than as a weapon), and this might have been such a blade." Maybe this will help? I am still puzzled as much as you are.... Best regards

My friend who owns the blade says it is around 5 mm thick. So this is the thickness of a tanto blade. I asked my friend for some close-ups. He is not a good photographer though... so maybe there will be no pictures... best regards

Remy, have a look at the sugata then. What do you make of the sori? BTW, the ken did not feel or looked tired at all. Have a look at these pics: http://web.mac.com/mariuszk/iWeb/Site/ken.html Best regards

Dear all, what do you make of this ken? It has been offered on eBay by Mike Yamaguchi a few years ago (I used to own it then I decided to sell it off). It has no habaki, the upper part of the nakago holds the blade firmly in the saya. Most puzzling - the nakago is at a mild angle to the nagasa. What is it? A shrine offering? A reshaped tanto? Some pics attached. Best regards

Brian, Lazy bum that I am, I have not searched the NMB for this topic. Sorry about that. I shall be more diligent in the future. I shall also look for discussions about the impact of a signature removal on the nakago. On the other hand, if Darcy says I might want to consider doing it, I should be more confident that it won't hurt the nakago. My apologies to Darcy. Best regards