neo1022

Guido, Thanks for the quick reply! Good to know that the nakago has indeed been cut down. Any other thoughts on the blade? Does it look consistent with the mei and the era (Kanbun)? And from your comments, it sounds like you think the tsuka and saya may not be an original pairing--could you say more about that? Thanks, Kevin Groark

Hi All, I'm new to the forum, and am considering the purchase of a largish wakizashi (NBTHK Hozon Kanteisho; Mei: Chikugo no kami Fujiwara Kane(nori), Shinto circa Kanbun 1661-1673). One concern I have is that the saya is significantly longer than the blade (by about 7 inches)--but the tsuka and saya are both said to fit the blade perfectly. The nagasa is about 21 inches, but the saya is almost 30 inches. Looks like a nice uchigatana koshirae that was later paired with a wakizashi. The blade does not appear to have been cut down. Any opinion on this? Were waks ever mounted in katana koshirae? I've read about this, but the likelihood of this being an example of such a practice (rather than a later matchup) seems slim. Does this affect the value? Any thoughts on the blade and koshirae in general would be much appreciated. I'm especially interested in getting a translation for the sayagaki... Asking ~2600 - fair value? Follow the links to see the images: Pics of the koshirae http://www.ethnografica.com/pics/1.JPG Pics of the blade http://www.ethnografica.com/pics/2.JPG Pics of the blade and koshirae together http://www.ethnografica.com/pics/3.JPG Thanks!