Alex A

Cant remember ever seeing a Koto tanto with NBTHK Hozen for that price. Great deal.

If NBTHK couldn't come to a decision, then what chance have you guys got here? I hope it all works out for you Lewis.

Nice job, got bit of a similar scenario in the making. Only for display, so not going to get pedantic about them being a perfect match. Will never find Daisho tsuba that will fit.

Thats got be the worst fake ever, not sure why the handle looks like its covered in honey. Probably why you need gloves pick it up.

Hello again Edward, had a bit of spare time today so thought i would spend a bit of time on it. Im not familiar with that Boshi so had a quick read through Connoisseurs to see what it mentions. I have added a pic below so i don't have to go through it all. With the hada mentioned and taking into consideration what it states about the boshi, would kind of start looking towards Yamato related schools, though thats not really my ball park. Hers the info from Markus and the image, just looking for links. As said, mumei blades can be difficult. Sometimes even differing Shinsa teams come up with differing opinions. Note, not much mentioned about that Boshi with Shinshinto swords in Connoisseurs Its not an exact science. "itame mixed with masame (板目に柾目まじり): Well, some kind of nagare is seen at many schools and if the running structures tend to appear in a more linear manner, we usually speak no longer of nagare but of “mixed with masame.” So the above mentioned northern and southern schools are typical for a conspicuous itame-nagare that is the dominating forging structure of the entire blade. A mixed-in masame in turn is typical for all Yamato and Yamato-related schools (e.h. Mihara [三原] and Niô [二王]), but also for early Mino-mono (Kaneuji [兼氏], Kinjû [金重], Kaneyuki [金行]) and the Yamashiro Hasebe (長谷部) school where the masame appears towards the mune and towards the ha. At Sue-Seki schools that are not classically inspired and densely forged, the nagare towards the mune often appears as masame and this feature goes back to the same approach in forging as the aforementioned masame in the shinogi-ji. So what is nagare-masame towards the mune at a hira-zukuri blade is masame in the shinogi-ji at a shinogi-zukuri blade, to put it in a nutshell."

Edward, you have something to go off now. Pretty sure you can come up with some swordsmith schools yourself, have a look about which schools used that boshi style etc etc. Off the top of my head and what i see, late Muromachi Bizen is not the first thing i think of. Only this week i saw a similar boshi on a tanto but cant remember who it was. No doubt others will chime in, it can be time consuming and lead to a few conclusions, especially from images. Unsigned swords often leave you with questions that still need answering, in other words nothing is fact. That can also happen with a lot of signed swords with generations of swordsmiths.

When i saw the pic i thought its very curved and thought it could be the images, then read 1.75" (4.44cm) and thought that's very curved, like a banana, If in the past someone was struck by that sword, there's a good chance it missed and they got away.

Thanks Jussi, very kind, very impressive and progressive thinking to assist us all and is very much appreciated.

Nice tsuba, at that price surprised no one has snapped it up.

Was speaking with a Japanese dealer just this week about a koshirae with similar issues. Said over time the Same shrinks and cracks. Personally, like stuff being left alone as much as possible, i think the tsuka above should be preserved the best you can. I kind of get a bit obsessed with koshirae/tsuka being original from the Edo period, a sword hanging on to its history. As the dealer pointed out, that was 150 years ago, so even if you come across one that appears a little tired and has some age about it, there is still no guarantee it hadn't been rewrapped since. Maybe, maybe not. I dont mind new Ito if necessary, what i cant stand is new whiteish same on an old sword. Saw a sword in koshirae for sale the other day at Aoi, liked the sword but could not live with the koshirae, just on that note. A bad rewrap and then it needs to be done again.

Hello Edward, a few observations that you need to check as your pics are not great. It does not appear to be Mokume hada, as you point out. To me it looks like kind of an Itame mixed with masame (see it near the mune) with the odd burl that is probably making you think its mokume. Also see masame near the hamon in one pic. A good read KANTEI 2 – JIGANE & JIHADA #2 | Markus Sesko KANTEI 2 – JIGANE & JIHADA #1 | Markus Sesko You state the boshi is "Ko-maru". It may be the images but im struggling see the turn back, is it not Yakizumi (no turn back)? Common Styles of Boshi If tired and still has a thickness of 7mm, it was an hefty blade. Hope that helps, always willing to make a fool of myself in the hope it can help someone., in one way or another.

I bought this book not so long ago from Malcolm, he is great to deal with. Been after it for a long time and had never been able to get it, so get it whilst you can. Lots of info, actually found out more about about a Mino tanto i own, which was good. A signed copy too, so will thank Brian for that idea.

I do actually own a "Ninja sword" (obviously not a ninja sword). owned it since i was a kid. Inspired by movies. Looks like i will have to take a grinder to the blade, ww2 chop style. Will keep it though, as a keepsake Colin is correct, Britain is an embarrassment, to say the least. Ran by morons. If you want to find out more about what a shambles we are, watch Dominic Cummings spill the beans in his latest talk via the power of youtube.

Delete what i said if comes across as disrespectful, no probs Something Brano said touched a nerve, there are dealers willing to rip folks off on a daily basis, just wanted make that clear. Its not a rarity. Again, it had nothing do with the firm mentioned at the start. Jacques is right, blades ideally should be seen in hand, but that's not always possible, for many reasons.

Im not talking about the dealer mentioned here. There are dealers that specifically target wealthy individuals that lack the necessary knowledge, in fact do very well from it. You could say the same about many antiquity dealers of all kinds of antiques. Those that know what I'm referring to will know the dealer/dealers in question. Just a point that i felt needed a mention.