Alex A

Looks great Paul, wish i was able to attend.

Hi Nick, my nihonto budget limits me to the title of "enthusiast", rather than that of "collector", so now i will only buy a sword if it jumps out and says "buy me". My favourite sword is my mumei/suriage Nobukuni wakizashi. The papers place it to late Nanbokucho period. If the NBTHK cant decide which smith made it, than i sure as hell cant either (Read similar quotes that amused me on the net). I think thats part of the reason i find it interesting, im looking into it at the moment. The sword, i just find interesting, its age, the horimono, and the fact the blade is packed with activities. The sword is a little worn maybe, but i think its great , il forgive due to old age.

Hi Ed, it did catch me out too, one day hopefully, i will come across something in this hobby thats straightforward. :?

Hi Ed, i had a quick look through Fujishiros this afternoon. The zen in the 3rd picture is from page 120, plate 3, Hizen Kuni Junin Fujiwara Tadayoshi.

Hi Isidro, agree with Ed. Infact, nothing seems to look right when compared to other examples in Fujishiros, have a look on the net for comparison.

Thanks for the heads up John, £7.12, now thats affordable... http://www.lulu.com/gb/en/shop/joseph-b ... 57328.html

Thank you Gabriel, you have been extremely helpful indeed

Cheers Gabriel, your write up as been very helpful, id been planning on learning something about Horimono. I have a wakizashi from the late Nanbokucho period, the horimono as diminished with polishing over the years and did have me curious. I had the horimono down as Suken previously, but i believe Hoken or Sankoken is the correct term.

"I have personally watched mumei katana which have nics and forging flaws sold for double their normal value just because they were sold through a well known dealer. When the buyer tries to resell the sword after a few people have pointed out the flaws they can't achieve half the original price" Bang on Trent, spend your money wisely Andres....

I hope im wrong, but the tsuba in question looks like it was made yesterday. It looks new, wheres the ware? and patina? (natural patina). The reverse of the seppa die especially, stands out to me as a modern attempt at an aged patina.

Hi Pete, looks like a modern chinese cast tsuba to me.

Very nice blade Jon, from a good year too

Il have me one of those, thankyou Markus.

Hi Ken, you bring up something i have thought about recently, sword size/cutting tests. Surely stouter heavier swords with wider sakihaba would have made better cutting swords. Mass x velocity= momentum. I think its fair to say that the rankings where not accurate. I suppose the attraction with these swords is the added historic value.

Interesting graph Gabriel, 1590 clunker, Dotanuki by any chance?

Thanks Guido.

I see, cheers Guido That makes me ask, if a sword with a cutting test inscription goes to get papered, is the inscription also evaluated?, aplogies ken for going off on tangent!

How do we know if a cutting test inscription is authentic?, not all come with silver or gold inlay. If it adds value then surely there must be fakes?

Must be nice to own such an amazing piece of history.

One could combat this situation by throwing in a curve ball order, Moroha-zukuri wak or something? :lol:

Hi John, i see its reserved, are you the buyer?

To go from $9000 buy now to an auction without an hefty reserve does seem a little strange.

Reminds me of a wak on here some time ago, that too had a black tarnish on the habaki/peg. Possibly the same blade.

May be the lighting in the pics, but to me, the nakago looks like it as been treated with rust cure.

Interesting seller, he sure shifts some swords!