Schneeds

There are a large number of reputable sellers listed under the Info/Links section on the menu. Also check the members For Sale section here. Lots of good blades to be found there, and there have been some excellent deals lately.

Congrats to the new owner. I didn't think it would last long at that price

Need a special title/librarian rank just for Jussi

That might be a good candidate for a Tanobe Sensei sayagaki if it's still in Japan

Some information from the Darci: "The whole Shizu thing is a bit of a mess but I would rank them like this 1. Shizu Kaneuji 2. Yamato Shizu Kaneuji 3. Naoe Shizu 4. Yamato Shizu Yamato Shizu may just be a synonym for Nanbokucho Tegai in many ways. There is no bias against it but we always have to remember that the attribution on a mumei blade is the first form of quality assessment. Kaneuji is a first tier swordsmith. As you progress down some of those blades are so confusingly similar in construction that the list of features could be pegged to any of the four. So if it is best of all Yamato Shizu school it goes to 2. If it is not it goes to 4. The weakest of 1 will overlap with the best of 3. The weakest of 1 will be below the best of 2. Some of the weakness can be ascribed to condition and it may be factor in it passing juyo or not. With Yamato Shizu you need to assume it is a school attribution unless it's indicated somehow otherwise. Either it's said to be Kamakura which is a quiet nod to Kaneuji or someone disambiguates by adding Kaneuji to the description. As you shift down lower in the reputation tree you need the work to burn brighter to make up for it. One of the most beautiful tanto I know of (very flashy style) is 2nd generation Yamato Shizu Kaneuji and signed. It is Tokuju. So the work needs to particularly elevate as a masterpiece and that it is signed removes some of the attribution as quality assessment indications. It always needs to be thought of like this: A Shizu is almost a Masamune but not quite. That not quite is what makes it Shizu. Not because we have a time portal and know the truth. The best Shizu have always been mixed into Masamune and are very hard to extract. The same logic applies at Naoe Shizu to Shizu. Not quite good enough. Yamato Shizu is like what side of the 50% line does it stand for Yamato features and/or quality? Some you can argue for one or the other and your opinion is ok. A Suriage Masamune wak can be Juyo Bunkazai but a suriage Yamato Shizu school attribution can't. Not because there is bias against Yamato Shizu school but if it was better it would be Kaneuji as mumei. Even better it could be Masamune and then qualify. So the attribution is returning a judgment already. Yamato Shizu ... best can pass Tokuju. But there is a high bar. The bar for Juyo is high as seen. There are three Tokuju all good length katana. First says Kamakura period (so is Kaneuji). Ne t two say beginning of Nanbokucho but the maker is additionally said to be Kaneuji specifically. So, no school blades. 2 of 3 from famous daimyo which helps. Not because the daimyo had it. But the daimyo had it because it was outstanding. So again have to key on the right bit of info and know which is cart and which is horse. Compare to Shizu himself after Masamune and now there are 14 Tokuju, 9 jubi and 6 Juyo Bunkazai. So you can see the difference in what the attribution means. Those best of Yamato Kaneuji may be better than a conventional Shizu. But in general all other things factored out a Shizu attribution is just that half to full notch better than even Yamato Shizu." I know very little, but agree with Lewis. Perhaps Naoe Shizu could be a candidate? I like it either way though.

Of course, but if they were the same quality and characteristics, how could you ever be certain?

The quality of the work generally serves to confirm the mei. In the case of a very high level smith such as this, the work would need to be outstanding for the signature to be considered. It would be extremely apparent to Japanese sellers. Additionally, as Brian and Kirill pointed out, it is consistent with later period work (more than a hundred years later than the signature). I assume that is based on the sugata and quality of jigane; they are much more knowledgeable than I. I don't in any way mean that to diminish your blade, I am a novice as well, but to the experienced it would immediately obvious. So I just use deductive reasoning as has been mentioned: high level smith with no papers = gimei.

Could it be the lighting set up they use? It's always looked to me like that dealer uses extremely warm light tones (3000k-ish) and over exposure that is blowing out the hamon detail.

What was the point of placing it on a filthy cloth on top of a filthy rubber mat? I can't even get past that.

Do you have the pictures prior to the sale? Pretty hard to say for sure from that video given the light and angle with how small that is. Almost no chance that happened in transport.

One thing I've always wondered, let's say an unthinkable number of stars aligned and a savy collector actually managed to find a Masamune from an estate sale of wartime bring backs here in the States, and sent it in for papers.... would they get it back? Lol.

Personally, as a novice collector and English speaker, I really appreciate efforts like this by our members. Fundamentals are always valuable and no one is forcing anyone to read anything.

Yep. The question becomes how common place and to what degree. I didn't realize it was happening this much. When you have a finite supply and an economic incentive to award papers, one of two scenarios eventually has to happen: You either stop awarding papers, or you move the goal posts and keep making money/stay relevant.

Generally speaking, the criteria is as follows below. The nature of the criteria lends itself to more value as it rises, however as has been pointed out, it is no guarantee of and vast ranges of value exist within any given paper level. Hozon Token 1) Edo and earlier blades with correct mei, or mumei blades on which the time period, kuni and group can be identified, may receive Hozon paper. 2) Blades that meet the criteria given above can receive Hozon paper even if they are slightly tired or have kizu, as long as those may be permissible in their appreciation. 3) Repair on jiba is permissible, unless it significantly impairs the beauty of the blade. 4) Blades made in the Meiji period and later can receive Hozon paper only when the blade is well made and zaimei. 5) For Nambokucho and earlier zaimei blades by famous smiths, re-temper can be permissible if the blade is valuable as a reference, and if the jiba and nakago are sufficiently well preserved. However, this will be documented as "yaki-naoshi" in the paper. 6) Blades are put to "reservation" (horyu) if a decision could not easily be made on the authenticity of the mei. This also applies to mumei blades in which an attribution is difficult to make. Tokubetsu Hozon Token 1) Blades with Hozon papers, good workmanship and state of preservation can receive Tokubetsu Hozon paper. 2) Blades with the following conditions are excluded from point 1. a. Re-tempered blades may not receive a Tokubetsu Hozon paper, as a rule, unless they date not later than Nanbokucho, are zaimei, by famous smiths, if the blade is valuable as a reference, and if the jiba and nakago are sufficiently well preserved. However, this will be documented as "yaki-naoshi" in the paper. b. Muromachi and Edo period mumei blades may not receive a Tokubetsu Hozon paper, as a rule. However, if a blade is attributable to a famous smith and in excellent condition it may receive Tokubetsu Hozon paper. Juyo Token Blades with Tokubetsu Hozon paper can receive Juyo if one of the following points is true: 1) Blades of extremely high quality workmanship and state of preservation, and judged as close to Juyo Bijutsuhin, may receive Juyo Token paper. 2) Blades that meet the criteria given above and made in or before Nambokucho may receive Juyo Token paper even if they are mumei. Blades made in the Muromachi period have to be zaimei and blades from the Edo period and later, as a rule, have to be ubu and zaimei to receive Juyo Token paper. Tokubetsu Juyo Token Among Juyo Token, the ones of excellent quality and superior condition, judged as the same as the top level Juyo Bijutsuhin, or conceivable as equivalent value as Juyo Bunkazai, may receive Tokubetsu Juyo Token paper.

In my uneducated, yet philosophical opinion; if you have to ask when it's that level of money, you should probably wait. Once you know precisely what you want, you'll know it when you see it.