Pika007

I'll ask in the nihonto forum then Thanks for helping me recognzie the signature. the "masa" is rather squashed here, didn't manage to read it

A friend of mine just popped out of nowhere with a blade, and asked me to help him recognize it- I can't read this mei, nor do i have an idea what this stamp is, never seen anything like it before even in the books. I'm guessing shinshinto at the earliest, to meiji/modern, by the shape of the stamp (very precise and symetric, looks machine made) and how the blade itself looks. The nakago looks like it's a lot older though, so that's really throwing me off Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

I bought a blade and a tsuba from him in the past, i can't say he has amazing prices or anything- but i can say he consistently doesn't dabble in junk or intentional fakes. As far as ebay goes, he's the better side of it.

bump from the abyss- Unfortunately, this tale has a sad ending. Hearing the costs and required time of a polish, the owner decided to skimp on it, and had some amateur use a sanding/buffing wheel to polish it. Wakizashi is currently in a mirror polish, no hamon visible, yokote erased out of existence, geometry utterly ruined. Don't be surprised if this pops up on ebay soon for 1500$+, As said here before, some people look at good craftsmanship only as a way to turn a quick dime. I shouldn't have mentioned the option to polish, and thrown out a higher offer to save this one from destruction.

It's like every few months there's a new, even more astounding story with this guy. Searching "show22" here in the forum shows past dealings of members with him, i actually bid on one of his blades but was lucky enough to be able to retract my bid before the auction was over. .....as it is repeated here, always better to steer clear of ebay if there are other options. Pains me to see an antique treated like this. It's not going to be pretty when the "winner" sees what he payed 3000$ for...

I should have added in my previous message- though there are some "ok" dealers on ebay, there is really no reason to risk there while there are sometimes good things, even on a budget, in reputable galleries. I highly recommend frequently checking aoi-art and the dealers on the nmb complied list, searching for said post right now.

I don't think you'll find some amazing deals there, but for example, Hitendo (Mr Onishi) is reliable enough http://www.ebay.com/usr/hitendo Though recently he has a lot more gendai and shinsakuto, sometimes decent condition antiques come through, you'd do better to focus on the ones with shinsa. If you ask prior to offering, usually he will also help you verify the hozon papers are legit. Again- didn't see any amazing deals there, but sometimes nice things flow through.

Another tip- except for exceedingly rare finds/critically flawed blades/pitted and rusty as hell blades, a sword is not going to cost 300$. You came out cheap, keep that sword as a lesson. I bought my first sword at 17 with almost zero knowledge and way too much excitement, and had someone rip me off, only i payed almost twice as much. Said blade is still on my table to remind me. Start with buying books- it's the first thing every collection should have. Also, lurk around here and other blade forums, you'll be able to see examples of good blades, and study from the mistakes of others.

That's a nice idea, I'm going to try looking at confirmed signatures and see if there's a good resemblance. Still can't figure if this is a traditionally made blade or not, I'll have a magnifying glass and good adjustable lighting tomorrow to see if I can fish out any more details. Other opinions welcome,and thanks for the help so far, everyone!

I think the correct reading of 小野木 would be onogi, no? and 米治 can be read as either Yoneharu or Yoneji.... the net shows zero results for all possibilities, currently searching all available books for pieces of info. Does this look like an actual nihonto to you guys or one of the oil-quenched half assed pieces? on one hand i can't see any hada, but on the other, the hamon looks good, not like other wartime blades i had before. Can't make up my mind

Better picture of the signature+picture of the now clean blade incoming. Can't see any hada with my room lighting, and seems like sandpaper was used at some point, so the surface details are a bit obscured. Hamon is visible though, and looks pretty good. edit, here are the pictures- To not make the thread too heavy, the rest of the pictures are in a gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/3ud1Y

Seen this blade at a blade owner/trade meeting, and it caught my eye. Arrived in a saya with combat leather cover, The blade is currently hevily covered in dark thick grease, and I'm working on cleaning it. There is a mei as you can see, I would much appreciate help properly translating it. Thanks Picture attached

So, two blades have found their way into my hands, and both received some.... unfavorable treatment. Someone did a lengthwise grinding on a very soft stone to remove rust, and acid etched the hell out of the blades, no hada is visible from what i see. Still, i'd be glad to get some help at least putting a date and area on those.... Number 1- a very, VERY thick tanto in very high quality mounts Fuchi/kashira are blackened thick shakudo with gold highlights, so is the kojiri saya is in excellent condition wrap on the tsuka seems rather new- but it's 100% guaranteed to have been done before 1930, the saya is older, i'm thinking late edo. has a small crack in the lacquer that seems to have come from inside due to time passage, temperature differences etc. The blade itself- (edge down) hamon seems suguha-midare with ko-nie, i didn't manage to catch them on camera, and if that's not the acid playing tricks- there's pretty extensive mune-yaki Better nakago details here: (link so i don't overload the thread with huge pictures) http://i.imgur.com/SZmvLn2.jpg insane thickness of the blade can be seen here- http://i.imgur.com/hF4mmH8.jpg This is thicker than any katana i have owned. about 1CM thick. Kogatana has a signature which i can't read properly- http://i.imgur.com/UgR1SNY.jpg Only similar things i have seen were muromachi, but i'm not sure about this one, seems much newer to me. Too bad the acid etch is so strong and is obscuring so many details. Blade number 2: Wakizashi, seems like it was a naginata before. Nakago shows signs of suriage, and from the patination i'm thinking this blade is very, very old. Has filing marks on the nakago And the kogatana has a signature, yamaguchi something, signature is rough styled, generally the kosirae seems showa to me, leather tsukamaki is old- but still feels like leather. Any help with those will be much appreciated. The tanto interests me a lot more, i'll be happy to get any information or estimates someone has Thanks

nope, not the photo. here are more- I don't want to start imagining what this wakizashi went through.

seen this one before. Beware- in closer pictures, the nakago seems to be welded back after being broken or cut incorrectly. Steer clear.

It's a new regulation which is causing tons of trouble. One workaround is to send it as "antique/art work", this is how i recently got my tanto from there. Huge pain in the butt, i actually forward swords to the U.S and then here because some sellers won't go the extra mile to alter the declaration a bit, though it's still 100% accurate and legal.

Even not for a little more, he can do much better for the same price. Iv'e seen very nice stuff for 1650$~ish on ebay recently, including a good condition sukemitsu that slipped between my fingers (for 10$ bid difference...)

guessing this is one of daimyou's sales? Usually they notice and clearly state if there is hagire, weird they didn't put a notice on such an obvious one like this

Picture of the nakago as promised- And a second picture gallery, more of the koshirae and some extra pictures of the blade itself- http://imgur.com/a/wtW5f

The only non abrasive non oxidizing agent i know to partially disolve rust is white benzine (that's how it's called locally at least) but i'm very reluctant using chemicals on anitques like this. You should probably wait for more answers. The best thing would be to send it to someone who knows how to properly take care of it, AKA a togishi. Until then, follow the rust and keep it in a dry and cold place so it doesn't dig down further.

Hey everyone just sharing an acquisition i recently made for a friend, he gave me the impossible task of "find me a fully mounted healthy blade with nice koshirae for a minimal budget" aaaand there actually was one, some of you may have seen it not long ago where it was up for the taking. Anyway, i'll let the pictures do the talking: Both blade and koshirae are late edo, hamon is niedeki gunome-midare, has some ashi, hada (not really evident in the pictures) is pretty tight mokume. Aside from 2 light scratches that i doubt anyone would see unless told where to look, blade is in new polish and perfect health. And in my opinion, pretty attractive looking. Nothing spectacular, just plain "nice" Blade is signed "Bizen Osafune Kanemitsu", picture of the signature soon- the style is not like any other kanemitsu i had a chance to see, so it's a pretty obvious gimei. picture gallery- http://imgur.com/a/dkKwA Have to say i feel pretty stupid about parting with it now, since it was an excellent deal and i find myself really liking this new little friend. the negoro saya is to my liking as well. Opinions welcome, i'm likely to make a thread with every new blade i stumble upon, for us all (and especially me...) to see and learn more

What is the going rate for kidneys today? I mean, i DO have two.....

2000$? correct me if i'm wrong, a 47cm-ish blade shouldn't pass the 1200$ mark if i'm up to date on the prices.... either way, i sent kunitaro a PM, and we'll see where this goes.

PLOT TWIST! the original owner decided to send it to get polished after i told him of the option, he thinks it'll be worth a bajillion kajillion dollars once it's back to presentable condition. I advised against polishing for sale purposes but he won't listen. oh well, at least i can supply kunitaro-san with some work and support a member. Will update once this tale unfolds further.

papered osafune morimitsu full koshirae muromachi sword for 150K... i'd be surprised if they actually managed to fool someone with these obvious baits