Eric Santucci

Thank you Yoon and Tom, I appreciate the information.

Greetings, Hoping to get some identification assistance for Horikawa Kunitoki – supposedly an early Edo period sword student of Horikawa Kunihiro. I am unable to find any reference to this smith in Sesko’s Masters of Keicho Shinto amongst the Kunihiro information, nor the e-Index of Japanese Swordsmiths. I do see other Kunitoki smiths, but those do not reference Kunihiro nor the proper early Edo time period (assuming early 1600s – 1620 or thereabout). There is one online sales source I have been able to hit for him (Wakeidou), but not much to go on there. I am either getting too old or missing something obvious amongst the research. 😊 Either way, I extend my request to each of you for any assistance. Many thanks, Eric

@admins - this thread can be archived now. Many thanks!

Thanks all, it has been a journey with this one. USPS dropped the ball on this one multiple times. In fact shipping status still shows as undelievered even though it was. Airtags arrived the other day and will be used for future shipping. If I use USPS ever again, I will be returning to Registered Mail service, since that is tracked via a secured process. However, Fedex Overnight will likely be the preferred choice now.

Thanks Brian, that is an excellent idea about the AirTag and I will definitely be doing that from now on for future items. Hope to have another update by Tuesday once USPS reopens after the Federal holiday.

Hi all, The special order anti-rust Morimichi sword for the Maeda Family with horimono I had posted for sale was successfully sold this week and shipped on Thurs. Upon shipping via USPS 2-Day Express Mail, the package status stopped updating after leaving the Dulles VA Distribution Center hub on Thurs evening; it had been on its way to a buyer in Norfolk, VA. Reference link: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/45989-for-sale-1938-special-order-maeda-family-sword/ I’ve never had a lost or stolen package via USPS in 25 years of collecting antiques, but appears something is off here. I will be opening an investigation with USPS once their grace period is over. In the meantime, as this is a holiday weekend, I would greatly appreciate if everyone can please keep an eye out on Ebay, forums, etc. in case it was stolen and shows up for sale. This is me being overly cautious. Thanks all and please have a better weekend than me

And finally,…NMB donation $50 sent as promised, thanks all! (Cc @Brian)

Sold

On hold, pending payment

Interesting sword, thanks for posting. I always recommend accessing the auction site directly (in this case Dan Morphy Auctions) instead of Invaluable as you can see bids direct on the auction house site. Fees are typically lower too if you go directly thru the auction house. https://auctions.mor...RINE_-LOT566497.aspx

Greetings Mal, many thanks for these details; this is fantastic information! The relationship with Kanenaga was something that another forum member and I were discussing over messages as well due to the similiarities noted. Very fascinating information and thank you very much for taking the time to post these details and the additional details on the nakago of my sword, I greatly appreciate all of this and enjoyed reading it!

By the way, I will accept reasonable offers on this sword and still uphold free shipping, cover Paypal fees, and donate to the NMB too. Feel free to reach out, just be kind! 😁

I am not aware of the historical details of these experimental steel swords compared to the anti-rust; it is not really my area of expertise, since my focus has always been on traditional pieces. When I purchased it, the hada was described by the dealer selling it as tight ko-itame and it does look as such to me on close observation. I’ve seen Japanese style monosteel blades (e.g. Howard Clark’s L6) give the appearance of fine itame even though it is monosteel. Keep in mind the surface has a lot of scratches, blemishes as well so that can obscure appearance. For most, I would think the appeal of this piece is the history contained within the nakago and the nice looking horimono. It was obviously a very special request by the Maeda family when originally ordered. This may appeal more to militaria collectors rather than Nihonto collectors though.

Horimono - Yamato Damashii” “the soul/spirit of old Japan”.

More pics for here.