BjornLundin

Hi, can you show nr 5 on the opposing Side? Best Björn

Bizen - tick Utsuri - tick but not necessary Hamon - tick Length - tick Jigane - hmmm Auction - hmmm - personally would be more comfortable to buy from the forum or after seeing a blade live Period - tick Overall feel - half tick Koshirae is a bonus. My goal the past years have to save up to to be able to get a good quality sword, to a bit match my wakizashi, something you know "this is the one" and then the question is this one "the one" Or will I pass and then later curse myself. Though, this one. http://world.seiyudo.com/product/ka-010918/

I was trying to change the focus of other potential buyers 😤😭😬🧐

Maybe this could be linked and locked to the sales section?

https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-mumei-omiya/ - Nice shape But the last one - is smokey - I like this one also but dont polish looks a bit soapy? https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords6/NT330431.htm Wonder what price was on this one? Its hard, as always. Lot of money for a chap like me, hard when it will probably will be the more or less the blade for lots of years to come. Again thank you, know I know a bit more and that the price is not totaly out of there

Thank you all! Very tempting, if unsold on auction do they include the items in their normal cataloge? I need to brode on this one ^^

Hi everyone. Aoiart has a blade on auction that ticks a few boxes. Still it is a bit of cash the shipment, tax and custom 😬, and not all boxes are ticked but still for me it is one of the better ones I have seen in this price range. Or is it? About 1m Yen - 9k USD - 8k euro. Better to wait or is it a deal that is once in a year stuff 🧐 https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-mumei-omiya/ The blade was polished. Habaki: Gold foiled double habaki. Blade length:71.3cm or 28.07inches. Sori:1.8cm or 0.70inches. Mekugi:2 Width at the hamachi:2.81cm or 1.10inches. Width at the Kissaki:2.03cm or 0.79inches. Kasane:0.675 cm or 0.26inches. The weight of the sword:705grams. Era: The Nambokucho period, Joji era. Around 1362. Shape: Osuriage-Mumei, the blade is normally thick and broad, has deep Sori to be O-Kissaki, well-balanced shape. Jigane: Koitame-hada mixed with Mokume-hada, Jinie attached, the surface is beautiful and Utsuri appears. Shinogiji: Itame-hada mixed with Mokume-hada to be like Masa. Hamon: Koniedeki, Choji-midare works in the way of Shimari-gokoro, Ha works in Koashi brightly to be uneven Hamon. Boshi: It is Midarekomi style and the tip turns back in a small circle.

Thank you Stephen, Bob Benson uchiko powder ball is sold out As Stephen, said the main reason it to see if I can bring out the real activity of a blade that has a bad hidori "cosmetic" polish. Best Björn

Dear all, As the topic says, do anyone know where to get good quality uchiko powder in Europe? In comparision, ordering from Sanmei it cost 4400 Yen ~35 Euro - but then it will take time to get it delivered, go through customs etc etc.. Thank you! -Björn

Hi Curran, Yes, maybe the zoom in lense and lightning and photoshop is not the best to display the tsuba ^^ Feels like the thread is going in another direction than a ask for advice on fittings Would be nice with another thread, with a discussion on differences of iron from different schools, periods, and makers. Its an interesting subject. -Björn

Thank you all, Christian, my Hoan tsuba now feels angry, and offended and now stares at me. Just look at that frown. I attach a close-up for my other similar tsuba in shape, and also an example of a Nishigaki tsuba and a close-up of one of the iron buckets. This makes me a bit curious about how the iron looks like from different schools and how can one tell the difference? Anyone? Christian, don't think the price should be a guide point to what is real or not, but I see your point. As the text referred to later Hoan, I thought around the 1800 ish time period. Would that be in the ballpark in your experience? The iron looks older to me. Best Björn

Hi Chris, I am probably not the right person, but from the limited knowledge I have, I would not send this word to shinsa or not now. The kissaki is regarded as the face of the blade and I see that it has several issues it can be a turn down for many. Then the polishing, I don't know if it was done by a professional nor if the hamon is real. The nagako looks to have a drilled hole, which probably limits the age of the blade. With my limited knowledge, I would take my words with a big bag of salt. For me there are several issues, is it fake or real. I started without learning enough and still don’t know if my first blade was good or bad, then one could argue what is the threshold of knowledge you need to have for first purchase and that is probably answered what your end goal is, which is, of course, hard to know in the beginning.

Hi, thank you for all remarks! I measured a little bit, the chisel lines for the waves are at their widest a little less than 0.5mm. The "sign" has surprisingly the same length as the width ~2.3mm. The chisels for the bird right-wing are ~0.2mm at their thickest. Looking at the space between these chisels marks on the wing their sizes is between 0,42mm to 0,48mm ... so an error of 0,06mm O.O to keep the lines uniformely in between. I feel a bit evil when going in with magnification. I do hope they could work under a microscope to not strain their eyes. Mine are already watering up. I feel the "signs" to the right of the bird feel more intentional? than a random effect. Could the lower "sign" be the kanji for water, and if considering this what would the upper two signs then be combined with water. Another question, for the silver and gold paint? Is this original? or applied later and was this coloring something the artist wanted? Or was the whole piece black? Best Björn

One could almost guess that the lower one to the right of the bird is the symbol for water. If this is true is it common to put in words like this?

Close up photo, of the backside of the menuki on the middle "knob" is that gold that is centered around the knob?

Dear all, I got this menuki bird set, they were advertised as mumei goto. They are about 40mm x 15 mm in dimensions. Gold and silver dots looks to be applied over the metal. Carving looks to be done with a round chisel which if goto points to a later generation. I noticed that there were markings on the waves to the left (upper menuki) and to the right of the birds (lower menuki), is that part of a signature? Front and back of menuki Upper menuki and "markings" to the left of the head of the bird. The lower menuki and markings to the right of the bird. All the best Björn

Found one in my screen shot archive from http://www.shibuiswords.com/

Nice tsuba, from aoi? A similar one was on there auction. Would have loved to have afforded it.

HI found another one. Looks crude, modern piece? but anyway same design No, I did not "win" it from Bonhams. There were some nice items from that auction thought. https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/1018396620

Thank you Jean, I like the motif design also. Devil horns 😬 Two more photos with the right side up. I almost think the "corrosion" is intentional.

Hi, so previously I asked for advice on fittings for this Hoan tsuba. During this time I noticed a similar tsuba on sale without the gold and silver inlays. Now I have got it home and I have compared it a bit to the Hoan tsuba. They are very similar in design and dimensions. The Hoan tsuba is a little thicker. They differ also in how the iron looks but its second tsuba looks to have some sort of surface treatment. What do you all think? Both Hoan? Age? Is one older than the other? What is the coating? Any additional question or photos that is required. Does the iron tell anything, what do look for. Or just a general comment Best Björn

I would say cherry wood, but take that advice with a grain of salt.

I thought this one was reasonable and show that there is a window for not so much money for an ok blade. It all depends on what you want. Period, Signature, Smith etc... https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-mumei-yokoyama-suketada/

Hi Everyone, I found this FK set of a cute "evil" hare on Yahoo auction. Any reason to why not? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/c1016201473 Monthy Python killer rabbit ^^

Hi all, I had no intention to bid on them. Thought it was interesting how auction houses put up stuff with questionable origins. Then I reacted to the kissaki looking way of and on the poor condition of the other one. Then I noticed the skulls and interest was sparkled a bit. Anyway, for people with lesser knowledge (like me), it is a good reminder of what to not look for and take a chance on. Thank you again for knowledgable response.