Alex A

Id also be tempted leave it as my thoughts are they wont pass it if stands out as an oddball from the norm. Also points others have made. Looks a real nice blade though, the hamon very much reminds me of an Hizen Tadakuni blade, as mentioned. This is the trouble with buying unpapered blades. One always owns it with questions and a demand for authentification. A lot of Mumei blades can have the same issues, even with papers. As in narrowing it down to one smith. So long as you paid gimei money for it then i guess most here would be happy to own it. Would suggest assuming gimei, look at the work and see if anything else fits better. See what else comes up. Still, i cant get away from thinking its maybe a oddball Hizen with a ? If you do send it to Shinsa then i hope you prove us doubters wrong but the odds are not in your favour. Maybe try NTHK if your going to do it.

On a side note, there were smiths working at the Hizen forge that you have likely never heard of. Came across a yari on Aoi a while ago, described as Hizen. It was signed Tadasada, worked along side the bigger names. A nobody, Aoi described him as an apprentice That wasn't Konuka hada either. Point being, with such folks learning the trade and what not then there must be an array of swords knocking about made at the Hizen forge that come with ????????? Many other reasons.

Yes, i suppose so, likely once sat on a single handed Uchigatana. Cheers

How early i dont know. Its Muromachi, Utilitarian, 2mm thickness. Like the design and also attracted to nakago ana that show changes in use. Just adds a bit more appeal, for me.

Looks like a yari to me, nice, polish looks good.

Was only joking, sometimes forget humour isn't universal but at least a few laughed. Like all Japanese sword threads, even ones about rivets/fixings. Particularly like the tsuka.

Must admit, this is a riveting thread, Boo, get him off.

I have a bunch of Samurai era coins but doubt they are what you are looking for, they were not expensive. Just old coins, think maybe one small silver coin. Had a phase of buying them many years ago, think maybe several. A few of them

Parcelforce here made you declare the value so everyone could see, which was annoying. Recently used UPS online to send a knife to the US, the only way someone could have seen a price was if they opened the plastic wallet with the invoices for customs (which i suppose is easy enough) Though the package left my home without any visible price, which was kind of reassuring for a change. I guess all the info available could be pulled up via the barcode by UPS, as it was booked online.

UPS have their own customs, they will deal with it. If i were you i would remove the invoice above with your details.

Looks good, What you need to remember Ronen is that what you are doing is perfectly legal and owning them is perfectly legal. The **** with Royal mail seems to have everyone over panicky. Chill out.

Ronen, should be ok, UPS are pretty good Cheers.

That's what i was thinking.

To be honest, I'm unsure about how much the police would take into account any evidence involving air tags. Maybe I'm disillusioned by police efforts in the UK, they don't even turn up for burglaries. So im already at the "they will do nothing" stage. Hope things are better elsewhere, just wouldn't expect air tag evidence to be any kind of Sherlock Holmes miracle reveal. Good thieves will check anyways. Bad thieves, maybe seeing an alert to air tags on the box will put them off. Sending stuff abroad, your dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.

Yeh, get that, it was just a thought. If someone was in two minds and a bit nervous about making a theft, just thought it may put them off. Maybe i overthink stuff. PS, the biggest attraction i think would be the declaration price, so its already attractive.

Maybe wrong, dunno, but looking at what you point out sent me off on a personal debate as to whether its possibly cast?. Just something about it, the way the waves are not crisply carved. Folks will know better than me.

Seems they have and will upset many a newbie. Ive had 2 buying experiences with them, the first ok, the 2nd not so ok. As you say , you live and learn. Spoke to one guy on the phone about a sword i was interested in. The pictures were bad so i asked him to get it out and check for flaws. His exact words on the phone with sword in hand were "its flawless". It turned up with an opening, an obvious one. Anyways, that was then, we have all done daft stuff as beginners. Thinking about it, does show how ruthless dealers can be to make a sale and keep the wheels of cashflow turning.

Was thinking of stating "air tag attached" on last package, i didn't but it was just a thought. Seems a lot of bad news lately with USPS, would a better choice for you guys be UPS?

Seen 2 described as "Christian" here, make of them what you will. The Lanes Armoury | A Stunning Edo Period Tettsu {iron Plate} Krishitan {Christian.} Tsuba, Of The Holy Cross, Heavenly Eight Pointed Stars in Gold, & The River Of Life in Silver. In Superb Condition & From A Very Fine Collection of Tsuba. The Lanes Armoury | An Edo Tettsu Krishitan {Christian} Tsuba Of Twin Symbols of The Rope And The Cross. In Superb Condition & Traditionally Boxed For Display. From A Very Fine Collection Of Beautiful Antique Tsuba

I have noticed that they have branched off over recent years, apart from militaria, other stuff like ancient relics, jewelry etc. Some of those write-ups no doubt will raise some eyebrows. As a dealer and descriptions. Wonder if they sell some stuff on commission and just accept descriptions from sellers without doing the research. They are not the only ones that have descriptions that come with lots of questions. Seems to be a tactic for all types of dealers in antique and militaria stuff, though no other comes close, by a long way. The ideal customer needs to be ignorant, and there is no shortage. Its bad though, to sell so confidently with puzzling attributions. Did see an Omori style Fuchi on a sword several years ago and it was far better than this tsuba. Could have been Omori, though it had a fake signature "Teruhide", though it was beautiful and convincing.

Hi Brian There's no comparison in the quality of carving of the waves between those 2 tsuba. Would love to know what makes them so confident with the description. Otherwise would have expected something like "in the style of" Would be expecting those guys to have a £2500 price tag for a genuine Omori wave tsuba

A bold claim, along with the statement regarding a similar Tsuba in the Boston museum. "A closely related shibuichi tsuba with waves {omitting the crane and turtle} by Omori Teruhide is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.5454." The tsuba. The Lanes Armoury | A Beautiful Omori School Tsuba Turbulant Sea With Crashing Waves and A Crane Swooping Over Turtle Below.. Edo Period Boston tsuba.....Tsuba with design of waves and spray – Results – Advanced Search Objects – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org)

I think maybe someone from the Museum has led a rather sheltered life on the subject, judging from statements like this. "Who could have imagined that at a time when Japan was isolated and hardly any European travelers came to the country, such a long-used and richly decorated weapon would end up here in Berlin?" Matthias Wemhoff, state archaeologist of Berlin and director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, said in the statement.

That's a great idea Mark

I dont know. In the past i have used fine/very fine grit sandpaper to remove stains and cello tape marks from shirasaya Tape marks seem very common, some folks are unawares of the stains they cause. Anyways, if you go this route you need to be ultra careful nothing goes into the shirasaya, Again, carefully does it, vacuum as you go.