ChrisW

The mei area of the nakago looks like it had been struck with a small diameter rounded flat of some kind, like a blunt punch almost, several times to obscure the gimei.

Yup. Definitely walk, not even remotely Japanese.

Right here...

The only solution to any financial security of a collecting hobby is to keep bringing in new collectors and moving shows to more accessible areas. Just look at stamp collecting as a prime example (or so I would think).

There are a lot of knife makers here in the US that do buy scrap tamahagane for that very purpose, its pretty desirable for forging if you know how to use it correctly.

Oh jeez, you're right... that's basically the entire hardened martensite edge peeling off there. If allowed to progress, it looks to have the potential to separate the entire blade. Yup. Definitely garbage unfortunately. It'd take far more skill to fix than its worth. The only thing I can think of would be to redefine the tip geometry entirely by redoing the kissaki's curve... that's only if there's enough hardened steel to keep as a suitable tip, but doesn't look like it.

I love the shape of this blade! Way too pricey for me though.

I can see a chip in the kissaki but no kagire. Or am I just blind?

Regardless of that,this sword is complete and utter fantasy as the even the keel of the Yamato wasn't laid down until 1937. Funny when people don't even know basic history that is freely available on such public sites as Wikipedia and ship registrars.

I saw this too. A real head scratcher. Sometimes his stuff is good... other times its super duper spurious or outlandish. I am inclined to believe that its a very cleverly made gimei. But the resident experts will know more. Please respond guys, I was curious about this one too! The Yamato, if its referring to the actual battleship, was laid down in 1937.... And it probably wasn't even a plan on paper until 1932ish at the earliest. So that alone makes me chuckle.

I would go ahead and share a picture of the full length of the blade so that it can be more accurately assessed by the pros here.

Top right in particular is interesting to me.

Can we get a list of makers and dates of manufacture for them?

Thanks Brian!

Is it? What do you suggest? I can ask Brian to move it if need be. Admin - done long ago

I'd love more opinions guys!

I thought initially it was gold too, but it has some purple-ish tarnish/oxidation which makes me think some kind of alloy like shakudo. I'll try to get a picture of that soon.

Nice to finally hear from you! I am relatively new to nihonto, but I am not particularly new to swords themselves. I've got a decently sized collection of American/European blades and about a year ago, I felt comfortable enough to branch out into Japanese blades. I really admire the craftsmanship that goes into each blade and I find the history of the smith school lines to be pretty fascinating. I read over the information you found (I found nothing thanks to Google) and this is definitely some good information to have! Its interesting to see how little is known, but I am sure that is not too unusual. The quality of the blade is EXTREMELY nice and every bit as nice as my Sukesada wakizashi. One of the main reasons I got the blade was the very high quality habaki, that is one of the first things that made me think it was indeed high quality. Its very affirming to see another board member say so. Thanks a lot Bazza! ~Chris

Hey all! I have a very lovely wakizashi here that is supposedly signed by 'Taira Shigeyuki,' I'd like to hear any specificities on it that you guys might know, especially age/era. I'd love opinions on it and perhaps a general sense of rarity/value here. I do not plan to sell it, but seeing as its so very nice looking, I was considering doing more than just having a shirasaya made for it. Some information on this blade: Nagasa: 53.4cm Sori: 1.5cm It also has a very lovely (what appears to be) Shakudo-plated habaki with a chrysanthemum or sunburst motif to it. Looking forward to your guys' opinions!

Affirmative!

Wise words to live by and apply for any situation really.

For those of us that are less educated. Besides the obvious 'mintiness' of the piece, what else is a tip off that this is a modern reproduction? I know I'd love to learn more about sword knots.

This is the exact kind of tanto I'd want: slender, elegant, and well-built. The horimono is definite gravy.

These are some gorgeous antique firearms! I'm afraid the best I boast is not even remotely Japanese, just a Walther Autoreloader .22 rifle from the 1890's to 1920's ish.

^What they said.