Alex A

More often than not, when i come across o-suriage/mumei Uda, all that is written is Ko-Uda/Uda school. Was wondering and i know this is not an easy question to answer, but how rare are mumei Uda with attributions to a specific smith name ? Just a thought, sometimes answers can be enlightening.

Hi Mark, everything about this sword you want to stay away from.

Don't forget, there are some excellent swords by chu-jo rated smiths too

Only just noticed this. All i can say Bruce is they get here eventually.

Chris, if you can buy what you like and what you can afford, you will never be disappointed.

A later Shinshinto blade that harks back to Shimada Sukemune, im no expert either by the way

Very nice and interesting sword, makes me start thinking about Kajihei.

Well said Paul.

Not something I can get my head around, as when you take it home it wont have the same sparkle, and the sparkle wears of fast.. Horses for courses.

Back to Pauls original post, are there actually EXPERIENCED collectors that will buy a sword just because its JUYO ? or is this just INEXPERIENCE ?

Swords and provenance so intertwined, like most art. When a sword meets a certain criteria that all experienced collectors know about, then one way or another it has to have papers, otherwise you wont be able to sell it, simple There are swords that don't need papers, either because its blatantly obvious what they are, low price end, or the owner does not care and is happy with his own assessment and its beauty. Sometimes a questionable sword may come along with such a fantastic old koshirae that makes ownership worth while without papers. Newbies need to gain experience and know what something is worth, with or without papers. This is all about personal opinion and what a collector is willing to live with.

Ian/Paul, your discussion about Bungo Takada and Bizen reminds me of a sword I saw online a while ago, and its short write-up. https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A090819.html As for papers, most of mine are not papered, because I know what they are

Ive had a few blades stuck in shirasaya. With the tsuka stuck, I just put a towel around the blade and gently tap backwards on the bottom of an heavy square table leg, never fails. Obviously, gentle and handle carefully.

Hi Reggie, i was just about to suggest some thin type of oil, but solder is a new one to me.

Limited info available but looks interesting. Could you take some pics of the full blade please, without the habaki, and clear pic of the nakago. Bo-hi suggests a decent blade, long, Kiri yasurime by the looks of it. Ps, in one of the shots there appears to be a bit of rust under the habaki, that needs looking at.

As long as there are no black holes Chris.

I think if you get to study a certain smith for a while and follow values online with sales, you will gradually see why some blades are more expensive than others. Lots of variables as mentioned and some swords more sought after than others. As an example, you may find that a sword with an early mei is cheaper to buy than that of a later mei (Edo period lots of changes to how some smiths signed), no doubt down to the level of skill and experience and the mei that confirms that. Ive seen this with a number of smiths ive looked at. It depends though, you might find one sword on the market by a certain smith and the price is high, then other times when there is three by the same smith on the same site with a significant price difference, this then lets you work out why one is better than the other. Top notch swords with top notch prices are swords where everything is has it should be for that particular smith, without flaws, mei discrepancies, ubu, etc etc..

Great to read and see that they were kept together, keep an eye out for matching Katana fittings Guido

Dwain, and I mean this with respect, if you need to ask you shouldn't be buying it. A purchase should be made confidently, end of, by ones own educated opinion. Dunno why this is in italics, but looks ok

Nice polish too

Nice one Chris, good to see another restored.

Very nice fittings Paul

Hi Dwain. If your happy with what you can see in the images and think its a great deal, that's all that matters

All I will say is you guys should know better.

Thanks Ken. Yes, always a balance from a monetary point of view. Originally, I had plans to restore the koshirae to a satisfactory level as well as have new shirasaya and polish depending on what the blade was like when it turned up. Difficult buying from images, the blade had a few tiny chips that kind of bugged me a little but when the blade turned up it was better than I thought. Il live with the chips because the old polish is actually really good with fine ashi, sometimes when I look at the blade it reminds me of some Kanefusa. I could have saved money and just had shirasaya made, but glad i splashed out a bit more. Goes to show you dont need to spend megabucks to enjoy the hobby. Unusual long saya, but it was made for the blade.