Lewis B

I guess I must have missed the 'Kinju' bit in your post. The statement was still incorrect and misleading.

You should know better. Another example =. Juyo token Rai Kunimitsu tanto dated 1288

Nice jiba activity. Gimei Kinju is not hard to find. Here is one you probably saw during your research. https://www.kinghous...l-tanto-gimei-signed

Never happen, way too much tax revenue.

Anyone who thinks the idea that de-tipping a knife is an effective solution is kidding themselves. The dedicated perp will just invest in an angle grinder and put a point on it themeselves. Its just crazy some of these knee jerk reactions that will have no bearing on knife crime per se. The problems are far deeper and embedded in the communities where these crimes are being committed.

Blade shows some very nice activity. Would be worth looking into getting a fresh polish IMO.

I saw this daisho set a few days ago and thought about posting it here. There are some Naotane fanbois on NMB. He is a well regarded smith from that period and his blades often command eye watering prices. The site in question frequently posts blades have kitae ware and you would be wise to followup as requested. It's like a get out of jail statement in case the blade is rejected. These 2 blades have been reported here before. The Wakizashi in koshirae for 2.5mil yen gives you an idea of prices. https://katanahanbai...tana/naotane-katana/ https://katanahanbai...naotane-wakizashi-e/

Unless the kissaki is damaged.

This is probably not a kodachi, more likely a Wakizashi. I believe generally speaking Kodachi were worn like Tachi (edge down) and the Mei on this blade is on the wrong side for tachi-style wear. This blade would have been worn edge up like a katana.

Unfortunately shipping from USA is uneconomical, and then there are the taxes. Or course buying new is an option but I was hoping to find a used one, again due to price.

Yes, it's there but as Chris says it's very close to the edge. The jigane activity through the hamon is very Norishige-esque. Love it. Polish looks good too which can't always be said.

Beak is too long for Swans. I'm with Jean, Cranes or Storks

Perhaps because its a Consignment piece, in which case the buyer protections go out the window. How would they know it papered Ko Bizen Tomoyasu without having the papers in hand? Word of mouth? 7 bids now and price has hit 1mil yen

Not even close. $295K

I'm curious to see where the market lands for these highend TJ blades. I often hear dealers quote past sales at Bonhams et al as the benchmark for a particular smith eg Norishige. But as Colin says the hammer prices bare only a passing semblance to the real world Nihonto market and I believe a correction is due after the craziness of the Covid years. That said anyone care to guess the consigners asking price for this TJ Norishige Tanto?

I think you missed the laughing emoji.

$300k? Its not even ChinChin ChoCho Seriously though $300K for a TJ is not crazy if it was a big name. Mumei Yoshioka Ichimonji not so much.

Yes the Yoshioka Ichimonji is a beaut. Whats the estimate?

I'm sure the catalog will be released in due course. Here are a few images from Facebook. Niji Kunitoshi Chu Aoe School Rai Kunitoshi Tanto

Some top quality pieces going under the hammer in 2 months. https://www.sothebys...-davidson-collection

Personally speaking the retempering would put me off at that price. It's no longer what the original smith intended. I would compare it to an old master that has had large areas overpainted by a second hand. Sort of related, but when a dealer sells something on consignment does it suggest they are not convinced either for some reason or another. It seems many of the these consignment pieces have a 'story'.

And the Vikings don't want to be left out. A pattern welded damascus-style Ulfbehrt

agreed

Some words of wisdom from Mr Sesko and appears to have been one of the Goban-kaji if Bizen Nobufusa. NOBUFUSA (信房), Genryaku (元暦, 1184-1185), Bizen – “Nobufusa saku” (信房作), Ko-Bizen school, he is known as father of the so-called Bizen san-hira (備前三平, the “Three Hira from Bizen”), i.e. Sukehira (助平), Kanehira (包平), and Takahira (高平), the Kotō Mei Zukushi Taizen (古刀銘尽大全) says that the niji-mei “Nobufusa” belongs to the Ko-Bizen smith and the sanji-mei “Nobufusa saku” to the Ko-Ichimonji smith of the same name, but such a distinct differentation is from today´s perspective no longer sustainable, Fujishiro gives Nobufusa the rank of a saijō-saku but dates him to the Ei´en era (永延, 987-989) – some sources even say Kanna-era (寛和, 985-987) – and says that the more – 786 – nie-laden ko-midare interpretations with a classically elegant sugata are probably works of the Ko-Bizen Nobufusa, but at the same time, he lists the other Nobufusa too as with a classically elegant sugata and a ko-midare, so between the lines we read that Fujishiro follows the amount of nie when distinguishing between these two smiths, incidentally, he lists the later Nobufusa not as Ko-Ichimonji but as Ichimonji smith ⦿ NOBUFUSA (信房), Jōgen (承元, 1207-1211), Bizen – “Nobufusa” (信房), according to tradition the son of Fukuoka-Ichimonji Nobuzane (延真), he was on the goban-kaji list of Gotoba that consisted of 24 smiths, according to this list he worked with Kanesue (包末) in the ninth month, real name Nagahara Gonnokami (長原権守), it is said that he bore the honorary title Nihon-kaji-sōshō (日本鍛冶 惣匠), about “greatest smith of Japan,” a title which was later adopted by Tokugawa Ieyasu and granted to the lineage of Iga no Kami Kinmichi (伊賀守金道), it seems that continued the nie-laden workmanship of Ko-Bizen Nobufusa and hardened a ko-midare but which got later a noticeable amount of ko-chōji, incidentally, Fujishiro dates him around Genryaku (元暦, 1184-1185) and ranks him jōjō-saku NOBUFUSA (信房), Kenmu (建武, 1334-1338), Bizen – “Bishū Osafune Nobufusa” (備州長船