bobtail44

That is a very fair and honest conclusion thanks Trent Spencer

Id love to, but I already packaged the sword back up and taped it in the tube so I can post it tomorrow. The bend starts about 150mm from the end and when the sword is laid flat or on a ruler in goes about 2-3mm approx. You notice it straight away when you draw the sword and look down it. Trent Spencer

I, like Art, have dealt with Eric multiple times and all transactions have gone smoothly. It's up to Brian on whether this gets taken down, but I am confident that most dealers and collectors have had poor transactions at some time. My suggestion - take it for what it's worth - is that until you REALLY know what you're looking at, I'd avoid eBay for all purchasing. When i started, I liked to use it as translation practice and was a great place to develop an eye for a fake. Buy books, go to shows, participate here. You'll find in the long run, it will be time and money WELL spent - rather than your current guess-and-check method. You've more than likely got the nihonto "bug" and will completely disregard this advice and will wind up with a dozen swords and realize your collection has no direction. If you're really lucky, you'll not make any major mistakes and be able to shift your collection to a more focused area and not lose too much money. I speak from experience! Eitherway, it's your money, do with it what you will and this place is a great site to bounce swords off of BEFORE you buy. Good luck in your journey! Thank you

Thank you for your reply I agree with all of it. Except I apologize if anyone felt like I was accusing anyone of anything. This is an enjoyable hobby and I just didn't like the idea of censorship and I wanted to get to the bottom of why it might occur.

He said: Strong robust & flawless signed & dated Shinshinto Katana, Blade condition : generally very clean old polish very thick & healthy with no hagire/crack, no kizu/flaw, no chip, no bend, no blister, solid & sound beautiful strong thick blade mix with minor light surface scuffs/scratches/stains here & there otherwise there is nothing further, & absolutely nothing major at all ! I didn't realize that flawless, no chip and no bend was open to interpretation. Flawless is pretty similar to perfect wouldn't you say. The mistake was not with me, I presented the facts. This should be a cautionary example for him that people don't like wasting time and money. They can read this thread and take it for what it is. Id let it go if he paid me the return shipping as I would do if I were in his situation. I would be ashamed of my error and fully repair the situation. Not try to get out of even paying for any shipping. I appreciate your opinion but you make it sound like I made a newby mistake by buying from him at all as if I should have known he was a shark. Trent Spencer

thanks at least that gives me piece of mind.

This story is getting better now, hes asking me to cancel the transaction and he will give me a refund when he gets the item. That will remove my buyer protection and ebay said underneath don't do it BEFORE you get refunded . I don't know what to say..... :? seems like a real scam getting worried :/ Trent Spencer

Why are you guys so keen to delete the thread? Why not let it die, is he a friend of yours? I didn't even know the mei had significance. I bought the sword because I liked the hamon and the koshire. But most of all because it was described as being in perfect condition as well. Im no expert but the flaws are very obvious, so it was a deceptive description. He is out a sale? so what, he gets the sword back to scam someone else but I lose $100 because of his dishonesty and have to wait 2 weeks to get my money back... Id have really appreciated a thread like this before I bid on it. I even searched here first because there are so many valuable opinions here. How is censoring factual information ever good for anything. Trent Spencer

Unfortunately I am still out the $100 dollars it will cost to send it back. Simple honesty would have saved me a lot of time and hassle. If I had seen a thread like this before my purchase it would have never occurred. Why do you feel the need to delete it? Just because he has to return my money doesn't mean I am happy with the transaction.

Well said! :D thanks for the info as well ill try and find an example I can compare. Hes giving me a full refund, all good

Why do you say that? its a very long signature to fake. Im interested to learn, are you comparing it to a oshigata you have or a blade? Trent Spencer

:lol: hahaha I didn't talk to him first I just sniped his auction xD wish I had of asked. I usually do, you know how it is the one time you don't. btw if anyone here can help out with that mei id appreciate it. Its in the online auction section. Trent Spencer

Yes but that isn't how buyer protection works. You get refunded if you don't receive it and his account goes into debt. Paypal pays you then chases him for the money. Ive had is happen before. Id never send $2000 through a system I didn't understand. Plus I spoke to the guy, he was going to keep the sword. I talked him into selling it through paypal and showed him step by step how to do it. Ill post pics of the sword when I get it He seemed like a very honest person as well, I was happy to buy from him. Trent Spencer

Hopefully these pictures from my phone in a badly lit room are sufficient to allow you to make a judgement on the authenticity of the mei and help me make a decision Thanks Trent Spencer

I honestly bought the sword because I liked the look of it. If it is worth the money to restore id look down that line, but id need help deciding. Trent Spencer

Im not enough of an expert to tell tbh. The description was a lie so I don't have much faith in the mei. Ill upload detailed pics of it and you guys can tell me. What is this smith worth if the blade is in good condition and the mei is correct? Trent Spencer

I am, still $100 shipping T Spencer

Just got this sword in the mail http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1329707244 Very disappointing, nothing like the description, mostly blunt and bends to the right a few inchs back from the tip. Nics all along the edge. I thought: http://www.ebay.com/usr/ericowazamono?_ ... 7675.l2559 had good feedback and wouldn't lie all the way through a description. Beware people, it definitely was not a flawless blade as he described I cleaned the blade after touching it, I was just illustrating that it was so blunt I could push my hand up and down it. Very sad, second worst ebay experience ever xP Images below if you think you can authenticate the mei or inform me of its value Trent Spencer

You don't pay ebay fees as the buyer but the seller will lower the price by $250 (in this case) that you would pay through ebay to avoid the fees. Also you have exactly the same protection when you pay a paypal invoice as you do on ebay. The buyer protection is the same. Ive done it before, claimed it and got my money back. The only thing im doing wrong is cheating ebay out of their fee, which doesn't really make me lose any sleep. Trent Spencer

Yeah because I bought it outside ebay ill post pictures when I get it. No way im paying ebays fees

Thanks very much for your help everyone Trent Spencer

So it goes in kanji symbol order: First half of showa Second half of showa Jyu 10 roku 6 Nen Year hachi 8 Next symbol im going to say month because day doesn't have the long bits at the bottom but it is really badly drawn. kichi lucky day I think thats right. So 16th year of 8th month showa period on a lucky day? Even though this is scribble cmpared to the actual symbols the bit that worries me in trying to match kanji on some of my swords that are 2, 3 ,400 years old xD I mean this is reasonably modern. Its good though ive found another way to enjoy the hobby, like code breaking Trent Spencer

Hi, Im looking at it on a 50 inch lcd screen the second hole is much clearer, it is definitely there in the photo. The hole is in the camera glare. This isn't my first sword either, I have a few. T Spencer

Ive read through your links and this is really hard to learn T Spencer

Im trying to see what you mean but the holes and the nakago look exactly the same as in the photos on the nbthk paper. I'm just a beginner, what is it precisely that you are looking at that may be a problem? Thanks for the help Trent Spencer