francantolin

Hello, here some ''better'' pics of the mei, for the blade. I will post the pictures in another forum categorie I think. Kind regards !!

Hello and thank you both really really much !!! I will post closer-better pictures of the mei today. Kind regards Franco

Pieces...

The blade ...

Hello everybody, I bought an old Japanese sword without scabbard in really bad conditions for few money ( reaaally bad conditions ! ) I started to clean it and found a mei on both side of the basis of the blade. Is it a genuine old sword ? Is it possible to translate ? I don't know what to do with the blade, ( and what they have done before !!! ) Is it possible to save-restore it ? Mei Pictures:

Hello Sylvain, Thank you for the informations & the link sur leboncoin, For the ''Otomo'' armour, I asked the seller to send me some ''zoomed'' pictures + less blurry, He confirm me that for him it's an original one and that he paid it more than 5000€ and that he got a Bill ( from a shop,not an Auction house ... ) He can make a last price ( I can believe him but so why selling it half price , hum hum, ) So waiting for pictures, I'll post them... Bonne soirée et merci encore à tous !

Hello, Thanks a lot guys for all precious comments, specially about the kamon, I think I will not buy it, maybe make an offer. What can be a correct price for this kind of reproduction? ( seems good quality !...) Thank you

No kamon like found on other armours will it necessarily mean recent reproduction?

Hello, Thank you all !! The name is OTOMO and not Omoto !! Dyslexic problem ?!grrr I found the same Kamon with this name but nothing about Edo yoroi or sword with this family crest. Yes, blurry pictures make old but we can'nt really see the (bad) stuff !!!

''Fair'' strange balanced '' very correct'' price ?! : 3000 euros ? Not expensive at all I think if it is a real nice old piece / wasting lot of money if it's a composite armor or mixed with reproduction fake pieces ...

Hello everybody, I interested by this set-yoroi samurai armor, it has the Omoto family crest and is said to be original Edo period. Really nice but for me, the kabuto and the mempo seems too ''clean'' for be old genuine pieces. Any advice ? Thank you Kind regards Franco

OK sure !! Thank you !!

Hello, thank you all !! Now I'll find a good ''traditional'' polisher, I found in France a polisher who asks only 500$ for a manual polish but he isn't expert on nihonto blade and works usually on iaito ...

Hello, Thank you Chris, what do you ( glad other members ) think of the value of this sword ? I paid it 2000 CHF + tax ( CHF approximately $ ) , the estimation in the auction house was of 3000-3500 CHF, but nobody made a bid... so I don't really know what to think ! I wonder if it's a correct price or if the sword price was basically overestimated ?!! ( I know that, in auctions, the price is often the one that people is ready to give and so subjective... ) I know I have to pay a lot for a genuine polish and make it clean again. but for koshirae ( I found the shape of the tachi irresistible !) and the blade with the nice horimonos I found it's a fair price. What about you ? Best wishes Franco

Grazie Giuseppe ! Yes, the polish is sadly no good anymore ( that's why I caught it for not that much money ) With uchiko powder, I already succeed to take of some rust and mini scratches, for the rest, I need to find a good sword polisher and save money $$$ ) ( maybe has someone a good adress in France or Switzerland... ? ) What do you think of the other in the auction ? ( I put the url adress ) http://www.icollector.com/Superb-Tachi-Length-Sukesada-Signed-16th-Century-Japanese-Sword-with-Elaborate-Tsuba-and-Tokugawa_i17061691 Kind Regards Franco

No worry, thank you ! Maybe somebody else ?!

Hello, Thank you Stephen, Looking for look-like mounted tachi on internet, I found this one on icollector, really similar but the blade was made in the 16th century ( and in really good state !!!) Do you think the horimono on the blade can be so old ? What about the koshirae ? Meiji period ? Older ?

Hello thank you, what do you mean when you say suriage ? Yes the base of the nagako is bent . Maybe trying to remove an old tsuka, with barbarian methods !

Hello, thank you Joe ! here other pictures of the blade and of the tang. The hamon runs into the nagako and stops half centimeter before the tang. The blade is nice but with lot of scratches and rust points ! the precedent owner wasn't meticulous at all !

Hello, I have bought this tachi in an auction, hoo bird ''model'', shitogi tsuba, tokugawa mon, with nice horimono ( a dragon and an akala sword on the other side ) the tang is unsigned ( nothing at all !) The specialist of the auction talked about bakumatsu period, for the koshirae ok ( or later Meiji ? ) but not sure about the blade age. Can it be older ? What do you think ? I put a picture of the kissaki. Thank you Franco

Hello, Thank you for precision about the year ! Yes I was surprised and sceptical when I first saw the ''plastic'' same...

I guess I was lucky: I paid it less: 450 $, but I was not sure if it was real, the seller told me he thought but maybe not and I'm no specialist It could be a fake paid really toooo much !!... The blade too has too many spots and rust cf pictures in my other post in translation assistance: WWii Gunto special thanks... I think the last owner cleaned it with abrasive ''european'' products who damaged the blade, I'll try to gently ''clean'' it with uchiko powder... Franco

Hello, I don't want to sell it but what do you think is the current/correct price for this sword: (Complet scabbard and hilt, tang with signature, matching serial numbers on pieces but no gendai blade, no visible hamon and some rust ..... ) Best wishes Franco

Hello, tank you, yes, sad treatment for a blade ! I will try the uchiko powder ( got some in a maintenance kit ) ( uchiko powder, not talc !! )

Hello, I couldn't add more pictures on my last post ?!? So I add here some more pictures of the blade of my gunto, still no visible hamon for me... THANKS EVERYBODY FOR TRANSLATION HELP AND ALL PRECIOUS COMMENTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Franco