Jussi Ekholm

Nakamura san is a member of NMB and I think he sometimes has interesting items for sale. I would recommend improving the photography, as it's very easy to take good high quality pictures. High quality pictures make judging of the item a lot easier and I think they are needed when shopping online. I don't use eBay so I don't know if they have limitations for pic size. But there is always option for smaller sized quality pictures. I am not in the buying position but I'll still look at items every day. I would not generally buy items based on poor pictures unless the deal would be amazing.Window shopping is a lot cheaper than actual shopping. Maybe I'm starting to have peculiar taste as I tend to find fewer and fewer swords in my theoretically possible price range that I'm looking. There are lots and lots of swords for sale but only selected few that light my fire. Of course when you go above my budgets there is lot of great stuff... One reason why I might suggest "reasonably" priced sword as a first purchase for someone is the fact that something like 3000$'s is a lot of money to be investing on a sword in the first place. And most likely they wont be able to sell it onwards for 5000$ but when the time for selling it comes 2000-2500$'s will be a reasonable estimate if you can't manage to get your own investment back. I can say that I have never got my full investment back on any of the swords I've sold so far but I think I have gotten a reasonable amount of it back everytime. I might have gotten closer to my investment if I would have taken more time to sell them so it's always decisions decisions. I agree with your statement that it is better to wait and study more before buying but there is a big but. People want to have samurai swords. I know I had to get one when I started even though I didn't have enough knowledge to know what I was buying. You have to start somewhere. Valuation of a sword is a tricky thing. I know I value both of my tachi way higher what I paid for them. Very few would probably pay the price I would value them at. Similarily I see some items that are in my opinion way overpriced for what they are. And if an item doesn't sell in multiple years it probably is, and it's hard to find a buyer for it at that asking price. Of course there is also the other side of things when an item is priced so low that the right buyer comes within few hours. If you have the swords you currently want it's great. You can enjoy them and slowly save up money in case you someday find something you want.

I think you are quite correct Grev. Here is my novice translation 鍔 tsuba 輪宝透 Rinpo sukashi 無銘 Mumei 山銅地 Yamagane ji 極 kyoku 古金工 ko Kinko 時代 Jidai 桃山 Momoyama Then you have the measurements followed by comments. Forgive the errors in comments section, more experienced ones will hopefully correct them. Hon saku yamagane ji wo mochii = This was made in yamagane Ju ni ma no rinpo wo sukashi shite iru = In between 12 rinpo sukashi Kaku kan no sukashi shiga hizumi de aji ga aru = In sukashi there is distortion/warping? Jidai wo kanji sasera waru = Feeling of age (something)? Then there is line which I believe says I would appraise as so, followed by date and then NTK.

I checked with Wayback machine and it was listed for 850,000 yen when it was on hold.

Just my personal opinion but I think Lanes Armoury is sometimes quite optimistic with their descriptions. I have made no dealings with them (other than asked if they might be interested in buying an old sword of mine - for the reason I stated on the left I tried to be optimistic). They have a lot of marketing speech on their selling descriptions instead of listing important information about the current item. Funny how they said Edo period to you, yet they list it as Koto circa 1500 on their site. It's quite hard to say anything on some of the pics they have provided on items. I would rather save up that 1500£'s. Or at least ask for better pictures and accurate information about the item.

Perhaps hinting something? But I agree with that.

I have not seen that before. Funny enough none of my terminology bibles seem to have that term, or I am looking from the wrong places as I don't know the correct term. Could this be called mune bori?

Udenuki ana, there would be a cord through the holes that would allow you to put you hand through and around your wrist. I think udenuki was used mostly pre-Edo period in battles. I'm not a tsuba guy so I can't even begin to guess the age of that tsuba.

Congrats guys.

I can't help with dating help but if you can get Uchigatana-goshirae book by Tokyo National Museum it's a gold mine of information for old koshirae. I can probably dig a few general tips from that book tomorrow.

I think your column 3 reads: 板目柾流れ交じり - which I believe would mean mix up of itame and masame-nagare. So you should be able to see both itame forging pattern and "running masame" on the blade.

Dang I'm a noob as I can't make a spoiler tag... Column 4 正真 Shoshin (genuine) 長さNagasa (length) Column 3 your blanks are the smith 近江守継平 Omi no Kami Tsuguhira. Sandai means 3rd generation. You can find him from Seskos Swordsmith index for example. I'm at my parents so I can't give you the detailed information of the smith. It's great that you have tried translating the origami by yourself, it's always a good learning experience. Now you know how this side of the paper usually reads out and where to look for the attribution.

In the brackets it reads (Kuni Fumei Jidai Muromachi Makki) Province unknown period end of the Muromachi. I think you did well with this purchase as it was well priced and papered. I think that is a good affordable addition to your collection, it was priced so nicely I almost went for it few times. :D

I must confess I am horrible in understanding the art in tsuba, and I often don't understand the designs. Here are few tsuba that I think have moon in them. This moon & sun is actually pretty nice: http://yushindou.com/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%88%E5%9B%B3%E3%80%80%E9%89%84%E5%9C%B0%E3%80%80%E6%92%AB%E8%A7%92%E5%BD%A2/ I think this has large moon (not my taste in design): http://www.e-sword.jp/tsuba/1510-6002.htm I think this one has small moon: http://yushindou.com/%E5%8D%81%E6%89%8B%E5%9B%B3%E3%80%80%E9%89%84%E5%9C%B0%E3%80%80%E6%9C%A8%E7%93%9C%E5%BD%A2/

Very nice one James. I have to confess I used much more than 2 hours on this kantei guess. These online kantei quizzes are always very fun to try out. Maybe we could have an ongoing thread for Aoi Arts kantei quizzes? I've been trying to guess them when I have free time but doing them in group would be more fun than doing them alone.

Welcome Henry, I think you'll enjoy this forum too.

I'm going to go with Period: Late Kamakura - Early Nanbokucho School: Yamato - Tegai Smith: Kane X (not skilled enough to differentiate smiths)

Here is my reading of the paper, if it helps. Mumei, Kyo sukashi (Edo jidai) Marugata, tetsuji, ji sukashi, marumimi

I'll let Hans answer himself to all the questions pointed at him. However I'm not sure if you guys know that he won a nyusen award in 66th craftsman competition in tsukamaki series. Look for コが ハンス in nyusen category of tsukamaki. http://www.touken.or.jp/pdf/66kenma_nyusyou.pdf I'm pretty sure I saw a picture of that award paper of his somewhere online. If this information I posted is incorrect I'm sure Hans or someone else that knows better will correct me. I've never met him personally but I've seen his work at NBTHK meetings and to my eye it's very good.

I'd guess 彦根 Hikone would be logical. More advanced tsuba guys will surely correct if that reading is wrong.

I just saw that koshirae yesterday while I was browsing and I thought that is a great and classy koshirae... until I saw the tsuba. I just don't like that tsuba at all, too loud for my taste. Hopefully more experienced folks will chime in and correct if I'm wrong, as I'm so slow it'll take me too long to get whole translation figured out... Here is what I see on the first line. Fuchi, kashira, seme, kojiri - shakudoji 素紋 (I am thinking these 2 would mean plain design without mon) mumei.

Jason finding a club would be a very good thing. I'll keep my thumbs up so you'll find one near you. Maybe Usagiyas information section will be of assistance as they have pics of blades instead of drawings: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/poetical%20terms.html

You can also find 2 examples (1 of them is the Fujishiro one) on Koto-meikan by Sesko. 1 mei also in Mino-to by Cox.

I guess you could call the ones with shorter shaft a nagamaki. Generally nagamaki will have quite long blade in relation to the shorter shaft. You'll find many debates about nagamaki vs. naginata definitions if you search. Here you can see Owarikan-ryu Sojutsu demonstration. Look at c. 2:00 mark for odachi, nagamaki and naginata

My guess is 福岡住守次 行宗作之 Fukuoka ju Moritsugu Yukimune saku kore

That was pretty excellent post Darcy. On behalf of Strebel I can say by personal experience that I was very impressed how they treated me when I visited them. I was 17, had bit ragged look, just appeared to their store with quite limited German skills. I was not the potential buyer for their high end stock. However we had very nice discussion about nihonto in general and I checked few of their lower end swords. I'll remember how nice experience that was. It will be quite easy for us Europeans to go and see that particular Juyo Shikkake in person if potentially thinking about buying a sword of that level.