bobtail44

It is such a shame, I have a feeling that it would have been a very beautiful sword before it left for the war. Definitely a lot of care went into the blade carving. Id keep that in the family if it were me. Thanks for the photos you emailed as well. Trent Spencer

That is pretty awesome, thanks for taking the time to do that. It will help me learn because I have the high res pics in my email for it now so I can compare it to what you did. Cheers, Trent Spencer

I agree with everyone else. It is a sword made for ww2 using mass production techniques to some degree. It is worth around 3-400 USD in its current condition to a militaria collector if you're lucky. It is also not worth restoring. Trent Spencer

I shotgun it btw Trent Spencer

Yeah that is correct and matches up to the part of the nagako that I can read. There seems to be either a school or line of these smiths and it could be one of a few of them. Im more interested in seeing the rest f what hes got when he gets around to it. I ordered some books but they are taking sooo long to get here xD Trent Spencer

He sent better photos: I still don't think it will be easy to translate but im a newby. Trent Spencer

thanks, very interesting read. Trent Spencer

Why is that? Hes prob thinking 500. I asked for better pics to see the condition. Trent Spencer

Hi people Someone is trying to sell me this ww2 bring back. Im still learning to read kanji and he says his camera isnt very good. With the pics he sent me I don't have a hope of reading it or figuring out if its gimei. Im good at finding the swords just not reading them :D. Anyway, its a few hours away from me, but its dirt cheap so if you feel like attempting to translate the saya or the blurry mei go for it. Any insight into it would be fascinating or as to if its worth buying to study. Thanks and much appreciated. Trent Spencer

Amazon and all of the websites that I contacted wouldn't ship it to Australia. So frustrating. I had to win it then ask really nicely for them to change their shipping policy to send it to me xD. I was surprised, but prob shouldn't have been, that someone from here was competing for it. Both had a win I guess. Trent Spencer

The winning bidder won it for $177.50 way cheaper than he could get it for anywhere else. Trent (the sniper) Spencer

Thanks for all your help, im happy that it is all real now. Ill translate it and post the translation next week when I get home cheers for all the great help! Trent Spencer

Ive been reading through all the links, ive got hawley and Im waiting for con guide to jap swords in the mail so that will help Trent Spencer

Ive seen that page before, the problem is that it misses out a section of papers between the old oshigata type and the newest photo type. Trent S

Thanks for the advice I mainly wanted to know if it was fake paperwork because I couldn't find any from the same year. For the price I paid it could have been fake but apparently it isn't. If I got it translated then its a bonus so I have a reference to see if im right as I go myself. You point is very good though I should post my attempts as I go. thanks for the links ill check them out when I get back from camping all weekend Trent Spencer

I was hoping someone could type it out for me so I didn't have to kanji match ;D I just managed to get hold of papers from the same years and it is authentic paperwork. Thanks for the help im stoked with this sword Isnt sue bizen a place and time period? Who was the smith? Trent Spencer

part two of the pics Trent Spencer

Hi fellow collectors Just bought this sword off someone and was wondering what the nbthk papers said. Im still learning to read kanji but I need a translation to see if its real. They seem to be real but it is hard to tell against the ones I have there are subtle differences but they were produced quite a few years apart. One difference is that there are no stamped numbers on it. Anyway Love to hear your opinions/translations of what it says. I don't have any that were dated around the same time as this but im sure others here do. Thank you, Trent Spencer

Jean, I believe if someone was in battle with a tachi and the tip flew off they could easily continue to kill enemies with it. It might not be ideal but it will still work. That's a fatal flaw but the sword can still serve its intended purpose. (Also it can be repaired) What I'm saying is that the term fatal flaw isn't as cut an dry as some think. It might be cut and dry by its definition but in its use it is quite flexible. Its almost like a prediction of the future in many cases. The only example where a flaw could be considered fatal every time by definition is a crack through the temper line near the base of the blade. So that when the sword is used for its intended purpose of killing/cutting it will snap at the tsuba and cease to function. Shinsa is judging the sword by more than its original, primary purpose so isn't really relevant to the point. Trent Spencer

when we say break, Trent, we are talking about the tempered edge, the feature which differences a sword from a club. If the tip is broken off it is a fatal flaw, but its still a blade Bidding is over $3000 :lol: Trent Spencer

But some fatal flaws won't cause the blade to break. They just devalue it. I figured it was something that was based on value as well as practical usability? http://japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm Trent Spencer

If this sellers items don't bid high enough he just cancels the sale from personal experience If the flaw affects the final sale value drastically then its fatal. Imo. Considering what the biddings at id say people don't mind it. Fatal I suppose comes from a couple of different points of view. Its either so badly damaged or flawed that it has no monetary value or it is unusable in a combat context. Eg it might break under impact. Trent Spencer

thanks for that, it gives me an idea of what has value as far as the koshire goes. I downloaded the pdf very interesting, I have never seen a whole sword made into the form of an animal. On a side note Aoi art seems very overpriced. Cheers, Trent Spencer

Didn't some phoenix/chicken headed katana(s) go missing after WW2? Surely it wasn't like this one, which has very poor looking koshire. The second one looks better but I wouldn't know what to look for if buying one. Is there a recommend text on these or other missing swords? I like treasure hunting. :D http://www.ebay.com/itm/Signed-Japanese ... 3f353b1966 http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Japanese-SAMURAI ... 1071335830? Trent Spencer

He says he sometimes overlooks things. Well it was a pretty specific and detailed description to overlook. It just cost me 101 dollars plus fuel and time to go to the post office to send it back. I don't know what some peoples income is but id have rather spent the 101 dollars on something useful. It wasn't just bends the overall condition as per my photos was rubbish, if it was one thing then fine but it wasn't. If you sum it up he outright lied which cost me 100 dollars. It is very poor behavior and he should have to refund my return shipping as well in this case. I thought he was an established dealer and had good feedback but you live and learn. I hope this thread saves someone else the disappointment and hassle. Trent Spencer