Dr G

Yakiotoshi that one sees with retempering strikes the cutting edge. So if we were to postulate saiha, then the point at which the yakiotoshi meets the nakago must have been habakimono...or EDGE. If you try to picture that point as edge, the proportions become aberrated and the sword looks "funny." So, I DOUBT SAIHA in this blade. I think it's ubu and I think we're seeing Yakidashi. What I said about reshaping the nakago involves what would be necessary to obscure the yakiotoshi and make it appear to intersect the edge of the nakago instead of the cutting edge. Glenn

Any sword is worth what someone will pay for it, and it's obvious that several of you are expert on that issue. The daito has a Shinto or later sugata. It could very well be a Gunto. Since I'm a Kamakura-Nambokucho snob, I'd leave this sword to whoever wants it. The wakizashi, hira zukuri, substantial sori, about 35 to 38 cm, could be Nambokucho, a Sunnobe tanto. Polish on both needs to be renewed. That's at least $1000 apiece. Notice the peculiar disturbance of the curvature of the edge of the wakizashi about 1/3 up from the habaki. Looks like the blade is bent to me, but it could be just a scoop out of the edge from corrosion or reshaping after damage. The same koshirae is quite nice, quite distinctive, but likely could use some repair/restoration. Actually, it looks like a Kaigunto theme. I think, just from what I'm seeing, I might risk $400-$500 on this piece. Without better pictures, I'd guess Den is Soshu. On anything Shinto or later, Den is "chop suey." So, original question...Up to $1000 for the pair, sell the gunto undisturbed, research the wakizashi. If worthwhile, polish. Glenn

I neglected to sign my post (Dr G). Glenn

Scholarly comments all. It was I who bought the Yoshimitsu, hoping as so many times in the past, that it would turn out to be as great as I imagine. And SO MANY TIMES, I've been wrong, as I expect I'll be wrong so many times in the future. Indeed, it could be saiha, since the yakidashi seems at an obtuse angle, and does not continue into the nakago. Then again, I've seen yakidashi like this, and it terminates considerably above the Hamachi, not on the cutting edge. If the nakago were reshaped, the overall proportions (mei/ana location) would look odd, and I'm waiting until I have the sword in hand to judge that. I'll have to see if there is muneyaki and any sign of mizukage. The mei appears to have been cut with a broader chisel than the oshigata from Darcy and the kanji are more angular. I had a problem with the mei before purchase, but my resources are limited to 2 oshigata in Fujishiro. If I could see even 10 confirmed Awataguchi Yoshimitsu oshigata, then I could be certain of the counterfeit or the authenticity. On the other hand, the nakago is long and narrow (like Nagayama says), and lacking curvature and taper as pictured in Fujishiro. It is quite unlike the funagata of Tosa Yoshimitsu What is striking is the hataraki: long flowing hakikake, exuberant nie, sunagashi transitioning into inazuma. The hada looks to have konie and there is koitame, more visible near the Hamachi. Again, I need the blade in hand. Yubashiri might then be evident. The habaki is solid silver, a little sign of sorts, like my Kunzan sayagaki Rai Kunimitsu that I purchased 7 years ago from this dealer. Indeed, most of the time, you find rubbish on eBay, but then for a 50 year collector like me, it's thrilling to imagine and hope, and once in a blue moon, when you get a papered Ichimonji or a Shodai Kunimura as I have, it's reassuring. So, I hope we're looking at a Nihon Sankaku, but if we're not, I've bought a yoroi doshi with exquisite same koshirae, and from what I can see, exciting yakiire that place it a bit above, for $600. Counting on your support.