Alex A

Sometimes cheap certified swords appear in the sales section, keep an eye on it, but be quick. Your doing the right thing trying to avoid Ebay as a beginner, I see gimei (with hozen) quite regularly. ps, not talking about any sellers you have presented, not looked at them.

To me, a difficult question to answer as not seen enough. Recently though, ive become interested in works by Enomoto Sadayoshi from the Gassan school.

Yes, thanks Robert, ive corrected it, cheers!

Thought id crack this in an hour whilst the Misses was at the shops, that was Saturday, anyways dont laugh. 1) Bizen Suke Fujiwara Munetsugu, Shinshinto (circa 1860). Originally thought one of the Suishinshi school pupils, Naotane or Naokatsu maybe. 2) Inoue Shinkai, Edo (mid to late 1600,s). Difficult from pics, but sure I see Masame in the Shinogi-ji, originally was thinking Hizen. 3) Rai Kunitoshi, Kamakura (1300). This one was the most difficult. The hamon is interesting, seen it before but cant remember where. looked at everything from Awataguchi to Naoe Shizu, but finally settled on Rai, mainly because I read of the mix between midare and suguha.. Wish I could give a better explanation as to the answers, but the reality is 4 hours of muddling through internet and books

Only just noticed all this, when does entering close?

No worries Stephen

Your right Greg, first pic, just looked like a bo-hi, give up judging from pictures. Would still go with 1700,s onwards though As for the markings Roman, im clueless

Don't get to carried away, I know I said £3k, but what they ask for and what we ask for are two completely different things. You did ok though.

Just observations Stephen, as I pointed out, not critical Your right though, a true carried Samurai sword. I know a place that would polish this up and put a £3000 price tag on it.

Hi Roman, your sword is out of polish, which makes things difficult. These are just observations. Antique koshirae, good start. Nakago dont look too old, mekugi-ana clearly drilled, and the Bo-hi stops where it should do, so im suspecting its perhaps a late Mumei sword, 1700,s onwards. I find it difficult to see grain in the sword, which is a concern, but maybe just tightly forged?, think I see a little open grain. Bit of a nasty rust spot, otherwise seems ok. Nice Seppa Asi said, just observations from pictures which isn't necessarily fact , sorry cant be of more use.

I was just thinking about this, I will only ever scratch the surface and never have in-depth knowledge, been making me feel im p----- in the wind for quite some time now.

I was thinking maybe its just the quality, I don't know. From Shibui "The later tachi-kanagushi show influence by the ko-kinko to such an extent that the two styles have completely merged in some cases." http://www.shibuiswords.com/tachikanagushischool.html Nothing ever seems straightforward in this hobby, im confused on a regular basis.

These always seem get thrown into the Ko Kinko bracket, but they obviously found something special about this particular example, be good to know what? Is there anything that stands out to you Grev? Would they be wrong?, having seen so many....

I couldnt be sure what the metal was, but thought yamagane late Muromachi/Kokinko Spent 5 minutes wondering about the shinsa result, size?, nakago ana size?, mass produced, perhaps they feel there is no evidence to suggest it wasnt sat on a Tachi at some time

Now i look at the nakago on an HD screen, i see what you mean Ray.

Difficult judging just from those pictures, but maybe your right. Its a gamble buying blades out of polish (as you know), hope it works out for you.

My quick wishful thinking at 5.30am is thinking Koto, whats your wishful thinking?

Naomitsu (Kajihei) was the most famous forger, same line of smiths

Briefly looked at the Aoi sales page, the flaw does not stand out like it does in your pic, sunlight maybe? Signed and dated, Tokubetsu Hozen. Id leave alone, but see what the polisher has to say.

Hi ? If you read Rice crackers restoration info it says they use a variety of levels of polishers. Whether or not they use polishers from the US, I don't know. Someone else will hopefully chime in, but from memory there are only a few, the name Bob Benson springs up occasionally. Japan route can take a long time and be expensive, I suppose that goes for the experienced and few US guys too. On a few occasions ive been surprised at what an experienced polisher can IMPROVE, be interesting to hear what they have to say Remember, there are long waiting times for the top guys and they don't come cheap. No doubt you will eventually ask yourself, is it worth it?, or perhaps that's what the polisher will point out to you, as regards risk. Ps, is this the blade from the other thread?, just to make sure https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-bizen-koku-osafune-kiyomitsueiroku-jyuni-nen-hachigatsuhi/

You would need speak to a polisher about improving it, although im ASSUMING a polisher will tell you that all the blade must be polished too, which wont be cheap. Id leave it.

Hi, not a fatal flaw, https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm

Aye, must be tarnish/lighting, always difficult from pics. Also assuming its a later sword.

Anyone else see Hitatsura?

Hi Curran, I hate buying anything these days unless there is peace of mind. Whilst the buyer of the tsuba above may be dazzled for a month or two with its beauty, sooner or later that crack will stick out like a sore thumb, would for me anyway. The price would have to be rock bottom, for me. It is beautiful though, a pity.