jungle88

Ok great, thanks for looking over it again guys. Dave

Hi guys, I have just received a private message from someone saying that they respectfully disagree with the statement that it is Chinese made. There have been more people say it is Chinese than say it is authentic so I tend to lean that way but I just ask if you pass an eye over these photos again just to be sure, and if possible could somebody provide me with a translation of the mei. I would hate to not bid on this (expect it to only see for a couple of hundred) and find out later it was authentic. I have no experience identifying katana but here are my observations that may help: -It seemed odd that the 'damascus' pattern continued right up to the spine in one place towards the middle of the sword. from my understanding the yakiba should be even along the blade. -The saya looked of poor craftsmanship however it may not have been original and there was a little piece of red fiber on the tang indicating that it may have had another kind of home once. -I could barely see a hamon in the correct light and it was not very pronounced all down the blade however the blade did have some surface rust and lots of patina, i know with my knives that makes the hamon hard to see. I was surprised by how dark the rust was on the tang and had hoped this was an indicator of its age. -The rust colour and buildup on the tang seemed very dark and I assumed this meant the sword was old, it did not look unnatural or applied and looked like it had built up naturally. -The sword was a little banged up with a couple of dings along the edge -There was no information provided with the item description other than "samurai sword blade - possibly meijii" telling me the seller did not know anything about it and is reflected in the low reserve for this piece. The auction is tomorrow morning so I would greatly appreciate any more information you could provide. I hope not to offend anybody, while I believe your opinion that it is Chinese I just wish for double check to be safe. This is a furniture auction so I can't imagine there being many people bidding against me if it is worth anything. Kind regards, David Esber

Thanks, I guess the signs were there but I was hoping for a gem in the rough (have bought a few stupidly expensive carpets at this auction house for penuts). I will start the learning process, Thanks to everyone for your help

Great thanks for the heads up. Will steer clear of this one. Cheers guys David

Hi there, I hate to ask for help so soon to signing up but I hope that this is the beginning of a long journey that will result in me being able to contribute back to this awesome forum. A katana blade is being sold at the antique auction house I frequent in two days and I was hoping somebody could help me with identifying it and translating the engraving. It would be even more help if you could give me a very rough idea to the value of this piece but I understand if that values are not talked about in this forum. As a Japanese kitchen knife enthusiast and hobby knife maker I was drawn to this piece and now I am hungry to learn more about it and Nihonto. I hope that this turns out to be a nice piece that can become the beginning of a collection. There is no information provided but I was lucky enough to be allowed to take it out of the shirasaya for some photos. Here is a link to the photos and a rubbing of the engraving. http://s292.photobucket.com/user/esber_88/library/katana Thanks for any help or comment you can contribute. Kind regards, Jungle

Hi there, My name is Jungle. I am a hobby knife maker and Japanese kitchen knife enthusiast. I have recently taken a great interest in Nihonto and would love to learn more. I attend a lot of auctions and there are occasionally Katana so I hope to learn a thing or two to help in identification and appreciation. Hope to be able to contribute in the future, Jungle