Got my "Masamune" tanto -looks AWESOME

[Marius]

Chip,

 

do I see a hairline crack on the nakago mune (back of the tang)?

[cfm15]

Whatever you end up doing I really like that blade it has some age to it and some smith thought it was good enough to give it a second life with that horimono

 

Chris

[Marius]

Chris,

 

please allow me to correct your somewhat romantic and naïve statement.

 

The blade had a nasty looking flaw, an open blister (fukure yabure) perhaps, so someone decided to hide this flaw with an awful, amateurish horimono.

 

The blade has not been given a second life. It has been damaged beyond repair just to sell it to a newbie.

[sanjuro]

Agreed.

 

This blade is very tired. The horimono horribilis can only be to hide some fault that has surfaced. No one in his right mind would corrupt a Masamune blade with such a terrible carving. It was probably done because of the sacred Masamune mei to hook a buyer that is blinded by auspicious signatures and may not know enough to doubt it.

The commercial arm of the Nihonto world is a cruel place full of nasty people (except here on the NMB of course)

[shingen]

Spend money on quality, or when you are a beginner (like me) on books. Romantic collecting will not show you quality, I to have had to learn this the hard way here :D

 

I suppose it is a little like this:

 

Wanting this:

 

 

But buying this:

 

 

Just to get a visual idea.

[cfm15]

Chris,

 

please allow me to correct your somewhat romantic and naïve statement.

 

The blade had a nasty looking flaw, an open blister (fukure yabure) perhaps, so someone decided to hide this flaw with an awful, amateurish horimono.

 

The blade has not been given a second life. It has been damaged beyond repair just to sell it to a newbie.

Well you are certainly entitled to your opinion it's all subjective anyway.

[Jean]

Unfortunatelly, Christopher, it is also the opinion of advanced collectors. In fact, when you want to buy a blade, PM some people on the board and ask their advice, you will thus learn a lot of things.

 

Pm even Kunitaro sama who is Japanese and has been in the Nihonto world for decades and will give you straight answers. He says what he thinks

[cfm15]

Unfortunatelly, Christopher, it is also the opinion of advanced collectors. In fact, when you want to buy a blade, PM some people on the board and ask their advice, you will thus learn a lot of things.

 

Pm even Kunitaro sama who is Japanese and has been in the Nihonto world for decades and will give you straight answers. He says what he thinks

I have been studying nihonto with a focus on Tanto for 14Yrs.

You miss my point.

This is the most persnickity forum I have ever been on.

[sanjuro]

Here we go again............

[Jean]

I have been studying nihonto with a focus on Tanto for 14Yrs.

 

Christopher,

 

You must have missed something if your fondness for this tanto is the result of 14 years of study.

 

This is the most persnickity forum I have ever been on.

 

And you have missed the golden age with Guido, Reinhard. In fact, my policy is to be blunt. I read my first nihonto book 40 years ago. The only thing I have learnt during this time is just to recognize a good blade. Unfortunatelly, this is not your case, otherwise you would not have written these posts.

When you post a blade on this Forum, be ready to accept criticism. You have on this board at least 20 members who are what I shall call advanced students and a few that I will call experts.

 

Forget your 14 years of study and stroll along the e-bay section, the Nihonto section and the remarks done by members on posted blades, you will learn a lot.

 

Studying 14 years on your own without discussing/seeing/studying the real thing is not the best way to learn. I have learned more on this board in 6 years than by my own in 20 years.