Nickupero

The Rai Kuniyuki won't disappoint, hataraki in general is amazing from this smith. I just got a hold of one, ubu Kijimono-gata Nakago but seems a good friend snatched it up before I could bring it home.

Good one Jean I was going to say maybe it was a magnetic charge port or something of that nature

Hi Friends, have this handachi Koshirae and I feel silly for asking this but does anyone know the purpose of the silver dot? A marking point? I'm sure I knew this at one point in time so I figured posting here would be good or everyones knowledge.

Hi Friends, As the title indicates I have this splendid Ko Shoami sukashi crane theme tsuba, with Tokubetsu papers by the NTBHK. Late Muromachi period. measures 8.1cm high by 8cm wide. Priced for members at $2500 USD plus shipping. I also have this second Edo period well detailed crane tsuba (with out papers) also available 8.3cm high by 8.2 cm wide, price for members is $650USD. Shipping and pp fees separate plz.

I have a nice yet rare example, utsushi by Suishinshi Masatsugu, signed with gold inlay Kao, as well as the Habaki and tsuba. its very interesting as the tsuba and other hardware is permanently affixed. First time I saw the NBTHK certify all the fittings and blade onto one paper.

Touched back down home in Montreal after having spent some time in Europe and wanted to take a moment to recap the show after having exhibited. Just want to give a shout out to Eddy and Henk for organizing such an event. It ran very smoothly from my point of view, we had amazing dealers there, several from Japan and Europe, as well as the Samurai Museum in Berlin with a nice setup. I was the only one to attend from North America. Great attendance and lectures and most of all thank you to those who popped in to say hello! The last time I was there was at the very first event pre-covid so was nice to see so many familiar faces. Was unfortunate to not be able to see a few faces (Jussi, Francesco and a few others). My wife was there to help out and a big thank you to her for helping with my setup and entertaining some of the guests questions. And thanks to her sister who kept our children at bay for the weekend. A very important event for Europe I think, already successful but it also has the potential to be even bigger with everyones support so hopefully we see you there next year!

What news... Indeed a monumental loss, he's contributed so much over the decades. Thank you Rich and RIP.

Hi Guys, I hope all is well. Have this motif where the dragon is holding a shoe. I was told that the story has something to do with the Warrior (on the Kozuka) throws his shoe at the dragon and the dragon then allows the warrior to ride him.... something along those lines. Any takers? Belongs to my recently acquired Muramasa.

Michael is right, a lot is going into this show.... the educational portion of the event alone is worth the trip over. Both Katchu and nihonto related, and where else can one handle so many nice items under one roof. I was supposed to attend, with my booth next to Giuseppe but unfortunately due to logistics issues I am unable to get all of my inventory there on time. The previous show I had a Juyo armor that was stuck in Dutch customs for over 2 weeks, so if there were any similar delays I would have been there with only a smile to offer . Just seeing you all would have been worth it but it doesn't pay the bills for a transatlantic trip. So for the guys attending please take a lot of pics so I can somewhat feel as if I was with you. And Enjoy!

Pending sale

Hi Friends, offering up this eboshi. The weight and dimensions are accurate to an old piece but it is a modern repro. Good for general display maybe in a more traffic area or also for reenactment wear, etc. I assume the hachi is made of resin as it doesn’t hold a magnet, but the shikoro is metal lacquered. overall is very pleasant visually price is $185 usd, plus shipping. Please pay any transfer fees like PayPal. I highly recommend Wise if you’ve never used it before.

I'm sorry to hear this Tony, maybe it is because you were flagged as previous have mentioned. I just sent a tanto (quite expensive one) 2 weeks ago and it seemed to have cleared quite fast. Isn't Pablo in the UK, I'm sure he brings a reasonable amount, maybe you should reach out to him or just pay him a fee to import them?

I heard about this and my immediate instinct was to come here which I know he always had a place, I know he was loved by many here, and with good reason. Darcy was no doubt a special guy with a vast amount of Knowledge, and he did contribute so much to the sword community. My deepest condolences to his loved ones and everyone who knew him!!! The funniest and most recent conversation I remember having with him was how he managed to fly where he wanted in 1st class without ever actually paying for it. Darcy was someone where if he put his mind and energy to it he could solve virtually anything. He will be missed, Rest In Peace my fellow Canadian and Nihonto brother.

Thanks Ken, always good to hear from you. Admittedly covid has put a damper on sourcing my normal pieces, hope this year looks up and I can start traveling again. I'll be able to ramp up my listings.

Ah Jean, you are one of a kind my friend... the world needs more people like you! We missed you last summer in Holland, hopefully this summer will be different. Thank you for the praise, I stick to one rule, buy and sell what I like

Thanks Chris, always a great pleasure to cross paths. Take care and Happy 2021!

Greetings from Montreal Canada, most of you know me here from posting over the years and for those of you who don't here it goes; Welcome to Nihonto Art. Although we live for all aspects of the art of the Samurai, the word Nihonto itself means "Japanese sword" (as you all know by now), which is our specialty. Founder Nick Ricupero has fostered this lifelong passion as both a collector and dealer. His high regard for such a timeless art means that each piece is hand picked and carefully selected. We make an effort to search out the most interesting and unique items we can find and as a result have a very diverse inventory spanning the past eight centuries. He uses his personal taste as a means to choose items and all of our artifacts are directly sourced from Japan. Come and check in with us from time to time to see what antique Japanese swords for sale have been recently added, if there is a particular item that you would like to acquire and does not appear on Nihonto Art please let us know and we will seek it out for you. "I truly believe I have the best job in the world, connecting collectors with these pieces brings me great joy and to be a part of finding a caring home for each item we sell is extremely fulfilling." Thank you in advance to all who take the time to check me out. Warmest regards, Nick Ricupero www.nihontoart.com www.nihontoart.ca www.facebook.com/nihonto.art/.

I bough mine on amazon for $40 and works like a charm, has a light at the end.

I'm not so knowledgable with WW2 Era work but at a quick glance I immediately see Chinese replica. That Nakago is painful to look at.

Thanks Hamfish for your input, it is welcome so absolutely no problem with me... Actually I was going to write in my initial posting that I welcome interpretations because I could very well be off, but forgot to do so. I saw the water waves at the base of the tsuba and assumed waterwheel. Anyone else who would like to chime in no problem with me.

Its been a little while I've offered something up for sale here, I'll dive back in with this nice three dimensional Preying Mantis and waterwheel Tsuba. It is actually far more nice in hand and the patina is even and pleasant. The upper wheel is recessed on both Ura and Omote. Also has some nice gold overlays. Measures 8.5cm x 8.5 cm Offered price for members is $585 plus shipping and PP fees unless another form of payments used. Thanks for watching!

Not at all Jussi, it was a good observation and thank you for pointing it out. In this case its't probably patina, I noticed blades with tameshi that were kept in original mounts had varying patina, also the inlay is scratched along the shinogi, this probably throws them off. I've seen kinzogan ga aru many many times on test cut swords especially. Also I think depends who's judging, time of the year, etc. perfect example was a client that got result of Horiyu, Tanobe wrote his opinion and it was then resubmitted and pass Tokubetsu hozon..... its an annoying and time consuming exercise. funny thing is the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon you posted above is a piece that currently belongs to me

Hi Jussi, I could PM it to you but out of respect to the new owner I won't post it publicly. A couple years ago I was fortunate to own another superb Tameshi with the same tester a couple years back (which I am able to post the Hozon so have done so below), was a 2 body, same writing on the Hozon... kinzogan ga aru. My guess is not many examples to go by as he was not a famous tester like the many available examples of the Yamato school? Having handled many cutting test blades I've felt with my experiences the NBTHK was being overly cautious sometimes, kinzogan ga aru my guess is a way to cover their angles? One example I've seen a few times was the gold portion being repaired, which probably triggered doubt because of the varying patina of the Nakago. I don't know what was the case for this 2 body below. Maybe others will chime in with similar experiences or reasoning to this.

Thanks for starting the thread Stuart, I've been out for a little while, was in Japan up until the beginning of this month (got out at a good time). I don't doubt this blade could have accomplished this, not because it is my piece but the blade already is uber heavy, probably 30%+ more than the average katana. So with Stephen's diagram (thanks Stephen) and the weight of the piece it would have had a good chance.

Sorry, saw the title and thought I was being called out Agree with Brian, I've seen some very large ones, some spaced out some closer together.