10thRoyal

Do you know the names of any Florida collectors who might be good to talk to off the top of your head? And any of my blades stand out as having potential?

Ah, that would explain why I was stuck trying to identify the stamp in #15. I'll graciously accept the L for that one, hahaha. That was the least painful Chinese fake I've ever purchased. #2 has some great koi ones too.

For the sake of completeness and to have my own repository of info here are the rest of what I got: Number 11: http://imgur.com/gallery/MdXPkTp Number 12: http://imgur.com/gallery/co1sMga Number 13: http://imgur.com/gallery/eGS2LQV Number 14: http://imgur.com/gallery/N8xbshr Number 15: http://imgur.com/gallery/9APqgKh Number 16: http://imgur.com/gallery/YgZddEA Number 17: Forgot to add this one to the last batch! The blade is nice but the matching kashira and fuchi are my favorites of the ones I have. http://imgur.com/gallery/qWmdWTj

That is good to know. I hadn't read anything outright negative regarding Renaissance Wax but I'll avoid using it on anything decent. Luckily nothing is in good enough polish for anything that fine to harm the finish. Not everything came out to $11 a piece but it wasn't bad. I think I paid $2,500 for 15 wakizashi/katana, a naginata with pole, and a yari with a pole. Not a bad day's work I don't think. You do raise a question I have though. Is any of this actually worth getting polished? I'm aware of the very large financial and time commitment of professional polishing. Add on top of that getting anything papered. How do I know what increases the value more than what I am putting into it? Do I get a professional to appraise them?

Thank you for the welcome! And I am very happy with my hoard. My only regret is that I didn't go for more stuff at the auction. My unfamiliarity with fukuro, or socket, yari made me skip the chance to buy two of them! They went for something like $11 a piece. The items I posted here are actually only a little over half of what I got, though the other half is largely more unmarked blades and those sweet, sweet shin-guntos that fund my hobbies. I thought I was just a bad translator when I kept getting Sukesada as an answer for these and my other blade. But it does look like several are from the same lineage for sure. And yes! I love number 8! The kissaki is almost imperceptible because the angle is so shallow due to the length. Quite elegant! And you missed the part where it also needs three tsubas apparently! As for the dimensions on number 7, the blades is about 22 inches long but feels longer. The blade is surprisingly hefty for it's size. I never considered that number 6 might be more than just a franken-katana. It makes sense though, the handle is surprisingly snug and feels quite useable. Don't worry, already blocked that guy. I haven't touched them with anything but oil and Renaissance Wax.

I've been curious about nihonto for a while now but hadn't wanted to invest the amount of capital necessary for an extensive collection. A couple of weeks ago I came across a small auction service selling the estate of a man who appeared to be assembling loose blades to random furniture. Prices were amazingly low so I got a bit enthusiastic. I think I've identified several swordsmiths but have hit more dead ends than clues. Since I am still learning the hallmarks of different smiths, eras, and regions I felt like this would be place to ask for help. Any and all help or information would be great appreciated. I know that many of the blades are in the rough and destined to be eBay fodder but there are a few that might have been good finds. Bare with me and sorry for the flood. Let the parade of swords begin! Number 1: Izumi ??? Kunimitsu http://imgur.com/gallery/uRTxUca Number 2: Unmarked wakizashi http://imgur.com/gallery/xpzbt2y Number 3: Naginata signed Yoshishige or Yoshinao? http://imgur.com/gallery/v3t6noB Number 4: Sukesada? http://imgur.com/gallery/U6SB4VH Number 5: No luck on this one http://imgur.com/gallery/658n2Ae Number 6: Another Sukesada? I have no clue who's idea it was to put the saber handle on there... http://imgur.com/gallery/n97U4go Number 7: My personal favorite. Unsigned but beautiful hamon. Saya once had a some sort of identification, illegible now. http://imgur.com/gallery/aLtwf4n Number 8: O-kissaki wakizashi. Unsigned. http://imgur.com/gallery/ox1WvEu Number 9: Rough condition. Signed. Three parallel lines and one diagonal on reverse of tang. http://imgur.com/gallery/cjDh3vX Number 10: Osaka based Yoshimichi? http://imgur.com/gallery/qEItMB0 Have pity on me for the long post, this thing took too long to put together. Any info at all would be appreciated!