Katsujinken

This is perfectly legitimate. It’s just a later generation Norimitsu, not the “famous” one, and it’s a short blade, hence the lower price. There were many smiths who used this name. Always nice to see a signed and dated piece, though.

NBTHK AB!

I’ve given this advice before, but in my opinion the $10-20k range can be something of a “danger zone” (and Darcy agreed when he was with us). You can find good blades for less than $10k that will wow you and are more likely to hold value and recoup the investment later should you ever want to “upgrade.” The same is true above $20k, generally. But in between contains a lot of variance (regardless of papers) and risk. Inflated prices due to TH papers, koshirae assembled to drive up the price, etc. It takes a good amount of experience to make good decisions in that price range.

Evan, how old is this piece?

I’ve also not heard of any issues before and know someone who has purchased from them.

Practitioners who cut regularly in Japan will simply have their swords sharpened on a stone, without proceeding to true polishing stages (see photo). This takes only a few minutes. As mentioned above, there are also some togishi who offer a “batto polish,” which is maybe around $1000 and not as extensive as an art polish. To the untrained eye a batto polish looks nice though! Not all traditionally made swords are meant to be art. But knowing and appreciating the difference is important. I train with both non-Japanese shinken and shinsakuto.

What a loss. May his memory be for a blessing.

Interesting, thank you! Wonder who Tomita is...

I've recently acquired a nice kakejiku that depicts Fudo Myoo. I'm sure it's not an important or valuable piece, but I like the image. I'm having trouble identifying the artist. The kanji here are 泰嚴謹画. I know the last two characters mean something like 'humble/sincere/respectful painting', but I'm not sure what the first two mean in this context. Might they indicate the artist? Do the hanko below provide any more insight? Thanks in advance!

99% alcohol is the way to go. No need for uchiko.

For some people that’s enough. Nothing wrong with that as long as they are informed.

If your budget is $50k USD I strongly urge you to work directly with a dealer who specializes in the upper end of the market, like Mike Yamasaki. Ginza Seiyudo is a great shop, but you will definitely be paying maximum retail prices there. With your budget you could/should be buying a Juyo blade, even if you don’t want something older than Shinto. I was also just in Japan and saw a wonderful Juyo (long and signed!) Bizen Motoshige, with koshirae, for under $50k USD. I also saw a very nice TH Awataguchi (mumei), with nice tachi koshirae, for just over $30k. Given your budget I urge you to have patience and work directly with someone like Mike.

Ah, okay, that’s good. Best of luck then! Where and what style do you train?

Hi Connor, I do not recommend using a traditionally made sword for your first cutting blade, as all tamahagane is easier to bend than modern steels. You will bend it, because everyone bends a sword at some point. Beyond that, traditionally made swords can vary widely in their feel and balance even when measurements appear the same. You really don’t want to spend thousands on a poorly balanced blade. If your budget is in shinsakuto range, then you can afford something like a sword from Evolution Blades. They are made in Korea (business is based in USA), and they make the best swords outside of Japan, fully customizable with high quality mounts, and nearly impossible to bend or damage unless you mistreat them. You might find this article helpful: https://www.brooklyn...-to-buy-a-real-sword If your mind is set on buying a shinsakuto, Brian’s advice is good, and those sites are also fine. Giheiya is another good one.

Really wonderful

I thought the first character might be Kane but I just couldn't get there... :-P

A friend sent me these photos. I've got the date, which is simple enough at Showa 18 (right?), but the two character signature stumps me because I don't know these smiths very well and struggle to read this kind of chiseling. No stamps that I can see. Thoughts?

You’re not wrong in principle John, but this blade is also traditionally made with tamahagane — the only material that can be used to make a sword in Japan. It is simply a modern blade, a shinsakuto.

My $0.02: Take a small bit of that money to buy a few books (plenty of recommendations here if you search) and save more in the meantime. By the time your budget is sufficient you’ll have a better idea of what you like and how to go about acquiring it.

No.

A bump for the week

This is a great point.

Many factors go into pricing something like this (Mumei? Condition? Quality? Overall health? Sayagaki? Koshirae? Level of paper and nuances of the attribution, etc.) , but the price you see on that old page is in the ballpark of where something like this would start. The yen was stronger then so I’d call it $5000 US to be safe. Tanto often command a premium because there are relatively fewer of them.

Given the lack of age many of the pieces could have been in better condition, and most of the work simply isn’t that skillful in my opinion, especially when compared to the work of earlier soft metal masters. The prices some of the lots achieved, especially with the premium added, were outrageous. But hey that’s the free market for you!

I saw all of these lots in person, and I would not describe any of the tsuba or koshirae lots as “top quality.” All of the koshirae had issues. I don’t know who was buying them or why, but I don’t understand the prices they were willing to spend. That said, auctions are a good route to go if you’re short on time or knowledge, but have plenty of money. I don’t think any of these lots were so unique that you couldn’t track down comparable or better pieces with a dealer and/or in Japan for the same amount of money or less. I suspect we are seeing some foreign money at work here, and I say that without a value judgment implied.