DirkO

While I was drooling away on Ebay on tsubas I can't afford anyway, I found the following two who are too similar to be coincidence (+what are the chances that both of them are on offer on Ebay at the same time ?) Is it my oversuspicious mind that's playing tricks on Halloween or is this all above board ? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250180850619&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290176052806&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019

Well, a friend got me hooked to be honest. First I was only into Japan and it's culture (my friend studied Japanese and Japanology and we got talking, his enthousiasm was contagious to say the least). But I've always been very interested in finely crafted antiques, so one thing led to another. At one time I happened by this forum and bang ! Now I'm hooked I read and learn loads on this forum, and there's a lot of info out there on the web. The great thing about this forum is that you can follow discussions so you can see how people come to certain conclusions, which helps you learn a lot faster. Also bought me a stack of books, and I thought "this will quench my thirst for knowledge" but alas, I was mistaken. The more you learn about it, the more you want to add to that knowledge...

I'm only 27 But although I've been studying for more than 6 months now, I'm still waiting for my first blade. It's ordered though !!! (nice Tango no Kami Naomichi wak from Zenon Van Damme - cosignation, he's making me a nice shirasaya to put it in, should be ready in a few weeks) I learn about it every day, and strangely enough, besides books and websites, I learn from ebay. I watch the prices and if something goes for a huge sum, i try to figure out why someone would spend so much money on such an item.

yep it looks indestructable, basically that's what won me over :-) I look at nihonto as follows : first it has to fullfill it's purpose and within that frame it can be art

Thx Rich, The seller thought it was a momoyama piece, and not from the 1800's. Any Kuni Hiro from that era ? I don't have my Haynes with me right now and it'll be days before I can check some things at home in my books...

Hey all, I just got this tsuba. It's really 'plain' but it's very skillfull in it's plainness. Basically I just loved the shape of it, and isn't that what collecting is all about ? I was wondering if someone could tell me more about Kuni Hiro ? Dark patina. Kakugata form and kaku mimi. Kozuka itsu ana and kogai itsu ana are open. Size: 78mm×72mm Nakago ana 28mm×9mm

:-) nice discussion here, I must admit i hadn't considered the sturdiness of the thing, seeing it would be used to relieve the bloodpressure of the horses ankles after a long ride. Seeing an umabari usually replaced the kogai, that would explain the end-bit. @ Rich : I don't know if the blade comes out or not, I found it on a website, seeing I'm looking for a bashin ( a few days ago there was a beautifull piece on Ebay, but it got snatched from me in the last min, i was outsniped and that at 350$ : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260166701681)

Hmmm, I'm somewhat puzzled by this piece : It has the end usually found on kogai, it has the heartshaped opening of an umabari and also the blad seems triangular which is also something found in umabari. But it's not made of one piece, so a seperate handle does suggest it being a kozuka. Can someone help me with this ?

nothing to give seeing i'm pretty new at all this, but i'm really gratefull that this forum exists (it's my first stop every day!) and I'll make it up by buying tickets !!!!

Yep, great advice, thx a lot Darcy !!!! The info you provided will go a long way for me

Canada is always related I have some good friends in Ontario. But besides that I also sent a mail to the customs here, coz their website was somewhat unclear about what percentage needs to be paid...

It helps a lot Stephan, danke schön :-) At least now I have a general idea about what i can expect. Isn't it also possible to warn customs upfront about your package ?

This is a Wakizashi with white sheath. It has a signature of Kanenobu. With Paper of NBTHK (The society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) And Toensya paper. Both Nakago(tang) and blade are old and genuine. The age seems in the Edo era. It seems good signature. According to the Sword Directory, Kanenobu is for Enpo(About 335 years ago) in Mino(Gifu prefecture). His sword lank is $55000 ~ $45000. There are cracks(kizu) but the condition seems good. Size : Whole Length about 24.0"(61cm) , Blade Length about 15.7"(40cm) : Carve about 0.4"(0.9cm) : Width(motohaba) about 1.2"(3.1cm) : Weight about 600g The above is what’s stated in Ebay by daimyou54eb Now I’ve checked this seller on this site and his reputation is somewhat iffy. But he does provide NTBHK and Toen Sha papers for this wakizashi. Looking at the signature doesn’t really help me, it looks like Kanenobu, but they’re loads of them. Even Enpo and Mino group doesn’t narrow it down. About 5 left. (some help with the mei would be much appreciated!!!) Sori : Torii-Zori Kissaki : O-kissaki with rounded fukura Mune : Iori-Mune Shinogi : Hira-Niku-Tsuku Nakagojiri : Ha agari kurijiri Yasurime : Kesho Yasuri or Higaki (not quite sure) Horimono : Suken Hada : Mokume Hada Hamon : Gunome Choiji (could be wrong here though) Boshi : Jizo A few questions I’d like to ask you all (being experts as opposed to my novice self) : Can anyone give me more info about the mei ??? Is it really a mino group item (all the above point to that direction) Is it a good enough item to pay something in the lines of 1200USD for ? All pics at http://daimyoubugu.web.infoseek.co.jp/A2-114/index.htm

Hi, I know there are some Belgians on the forum here as well. I was wondering what the best way is to import nihonto into Belgium as far as customs is concerned. Any info would be greatly appreciated !!! kr, Dirk

OK teach me here I'm still in a learning process. I've ordered some extra books, have a meeting next week with two real collectors. Real friendly people you guys are, I must admit. About the tanto: I mean, this guys shop could be called Fake LTD. The fact that he's from China doesn't help either. The fact that a tanto like that would cost a considerable amount of real cash neither. In my humble opinion the mekugi should be more convex and made from bamboo. The mekugi-ana is too much on the side ? The tsuka-ito looks brandnew and the tsuba is way too flashy. Also the saya is really poorly finished. You probably have far better reasons, so oshiete kudasai !

You've won me over Bernie and Darcy But when I tried to buy it, the lulu shop wouldn't let me, it kept crashing. Tried everything, but once I get to the payment bit, it kept crashing on me Ah well, I'll try later on. Together with Grey's Hawleys this should make some nice reference work... Update : finally able to order the book

Thx Sencho Although the blades are somewhat out of my reach, he also have a lot of nice books, and the one about the Edo exhibit is especially interesting to me. I'll try to go with Jean's view, that you have to look at a lot of Katanas before you can assess their true value I saw our esteemed site admin, Brian, made a post about books for beginners. I had a look at it and to my surprise I have those exact books :D Well except one, but still ... I must say, I almost struck out with the chinese repro swindler, but now my learning and passion for the katana is growing exponentially thx you guys !!!

I contacted Zénon and he was just back from a trip to France, where he was supposed to appraise someone's collection. Turned out every single one of them was a chinese knock off. Well at least I'm not the only one this happens to Zénon invited me over to have a look at his collection, and his site sure does look 100% authentic. He also asked me what kind of Katana I was looking for (end Edo, start of Meiji era) and what I was looking to spend on it. So I think I'll try to meet up at his house and learn as much as I can. Apparently he has quite the collection at home :D http://www.japaneseart.be

Aaah the Belgians are coming out of the woodwork I'm from Hoeselt, near Hasselt in Limburg. Another question I have for you guys is : Is it easy to import something like a katana through customs ? I mean, I use japanauctioncenter for loads of things, but a katana seems a bit risky, no ? Something else I was thinking about : Jean told me to stay clear of Ebay auctions, except the ones from members. But how do i spot those. If you guys would use something like "NMB" in the description on Ebay, it would be very easy for everyone to spot the auctions from NMB members.

Merci Jean, I think that this was a lesson I was due to learn, thank god it didn't cost me any money. On a bright note, I found this forum and there seems to be an overwhelming amount of expertise and info on it. This will help me gain experience and knowledge, and hopefully avoid mistakes in the future.

hmmmm Looking at the hefty reactions, I think I'll reconsider. Thx a lot guys for not making me spend a lot of money on something that isn't genuine. It's like one of you said : there's no hurry, a real katana is worth the wait. Trouble is, I'm from Belgium and there aren't too many collectors around, so it's hard to gain experience with the real deal except from books. Good thing I found these forums Saves me around 800€ !!!!

Hi all, This is my first post here Like most of you I've been intruiged with katanas for some time now. I've read some books about it (the more i read about it, the more interesting it gets) and I've finally decided to take the step to buy one. Now the one I'm interested in, is the following : Length (+ saya) : 108,5cm Length (-saya) : 105,5cm Length of saya : 79cm Length of tsuka : 29cm Length of blade : 76,3cm (blade is signed, but i can just make out the date and not the signature) Length of katana without tsuka : 93cm Length of Kozuka and Kogai : about 20cm's each (10cm blade) Now if it is authentic and the tang hasn't been added on later, it should be from the 3rd year of Meiji, being 1871. The fact that the kozuka and kogai are included is also a nice feat. Bearing in mind that I still need to go onsite to have a close inspection of the item, I'd like to ask you, as people who are more experienced with these kind of things, the following : What should I be paying particular attention to when inspecting it onsite ? What would be a fair price to pay for this katana ? thx a lot for your help !!!!