Adrian Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Yup, submitting it for tokubetsu hozon isn't a bad idea given the relativelly low tax for fail. You're lucky in the UK that you don't get to pay VAT for the antiques, makes buying from Japanese dealers much easier. Quote
Marius Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 it was shinogi zukuri ,i dont have anything against shorter blades but as i was only looking to buy 1 sword my preference was a 18" to 22" nagasa but when i noticed how beefy it was and that it was in very good condition i just went for it, heres a pic ... Again, you have done the right thing selling it. It was most likely an o-suriage shinto (?) wakizashi - not quite desirable, beefy or not. Do I see a signature on the nakago? Having said that, there is nothing wrong with such truncated blades, they are cheap and good for study... Quote
Alex A Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Hi Stu, its 5% on import duty if the item is over 100 years old. Alex Quote
eljockvis Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Posted March 18, 2013 Hi Stu, its 5% on import duty if the item is over 100 years old. Alex fantastic news ,i will ask the fellow at aoi-art to write all over the box that its 350 years old i feel for you fellows if your ordering a 10000 dollar sword ,hey send it to me and i will put it down as 50 bucks for ya haha! Quote
eljockvis Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Posted March 18, 2013 hi yes it is signed but the tang was in poor condition, here are the makers details.. Naminohira Yukichika was 61st head of the Saka-no-ue Naminohira branch of the Taniyama Naminohira school of Satsuma. The 57th generation Yasumasa begat three sons who each formed three branch families known by the locality of their locations where they settled. Thus, Yasukuni, the eldest formed the main branch as 58th Head (Honke), Yasumasa, the son of the above formed the Hori branch as 58th Head, and the third son, Yasusumi, formed the Saka-no-ue branch as the the 58th Head (Chaku-ke). Thus, Yukichika was his great-grandson. Yukichika died in Bunsei 3(1820) Quote
Marius Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 hiyes it is signed but the tang was in poor condition, here are the makers details I used to own a koto from the Naminohira school. Like several others (Mihara, Enju, Uda) they tend to be underrated. Strange that the nakago was in bad shape and the sword beefy. This and the abnormally short nagasa (for a hirazukuri blade) would indicate that there was something fishy about the blade. I can be wrong of course. Anyway, good you've sold it and bought the Bungo instead. Quote
Adrian Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 i feel for you fellows if your ordering a 10000 dollar sword ,hey send it to me and i will put it down as 50 bucks for ya haha! Actually putting it down as 50$ also helps prevent theft (some major hubs use prison inmates to handle packages during holidays for example) or even unjustified curiosity from postal workers or custom officials. I've heard more then one story about very valuable swords damaged by custom officials who were curious to see how old, genuine Japanese swords behave during cutting tests Quote
Alex A Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 The one thing that bothers me are mistakes by customs, it can obviously add up to a lot. I wouldnt want to wait 6 months to get my money back..I have an item coming in this week, im dreading the letter, and praying its correct. Alex Quote
eljockvis Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Posted March 18, 2013 The one thing that bothers me are mistakes by customs, it can obviously add up to a lot. I wouldnt want to wait 6 months to get my money back..I have an item coming in this week, im dreading the letter, and praying its correct. Alex so customs ignore the fact its antique and just charge the vat and duty anyway do you have to appeal the decision and prove its an antique? did you buy a very expensive sword? i bought a palanquin yari a while back and never got charged anything. Quote
Alex A Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Hi Stu, the letter you get from the postal service is vague to say the least, ive never recieved one of these letters with a full discription on how the customs came to the figure that you owe.The item isnt that expensive but i am going away on hol friday and the misses will kill me if im hit too hard . The last time i spent £2k on a sword from Japan, the total fees where £160, so not too bad. Its just that i know that mistakes can be made and its a pain in the ass sorting them out. Maybe im worrying too much, hopefully. Alex. Quote
eljockvis Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Posted March 18, 2013 ah! i know that feeling whe dreading the wife find out how much haha! well hope it works out for you Alex stupid question but who are the other good nihonto dealers in Japan? ,i just found aoi-art . Quote
Alex A Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Aoi art is the only Japanese dealer that i have dealt with. Im sure someone else will comment. Alex Quote
Marius Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Go to this Board's homepage: http://www.nihontomessageboard.com and check out the links on top... Loads of Japanese dealers... Quote
nihonto1001 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Posted March 18, 2013 Because of their wide variance in quality and styles, I have a suspicion that "Bungo" is a safe bet for many Shinsa, especially when finding the time to do real research is a factor. Quote
eljockvis Posted June 29, 2013 Author Report Posted June 29, 2013 well i got lucky ,no duty at all to pay =) here it is... Quote
Alex A Posted June 29, 2013 Report Posted June 29, 2013 Hi Stu, how did the papering go?, nice blade Alex Quote
eljockvis Posted June 29, 2013 Author Report Posted June 29, 2013 Hi it only got the hozon paper and not tokubetsu hozon ,i kind of expected it to fail tokubetsu hozon because the maker is chu jo saku rated and its a bungo sword,the blade is lovely though ,near flawless ,shape and curve is nice and polish is pretty good so i suspect it failed tokubetsu just because of its reputation rather than its actual quality ,i really like it and it was a decent price . Quote
Dick Tait Posted June 29, 2013 Report Posted June 29, 2013 well i got lucky ,no duty at all to pay =)here it is... Nice blade! When I got my sword back from the polisher; customs tried to charge me tax on the value of the sword, rather than the cost of the polish! Sorted it out in the end though! Quote
Tcat Posted June 30, 2013 Report Posted June 30, 2013 Very nice sword indeed! My experience is that when I use FedEx shipping to UK I never get charged for anything. The package just arrives on time every time hassle free. It's more expensive but never gets held up in customs...so far. Quote
Alex A Posted June 30, 2013 Report Posted June 30, 2013 Totally opposite for me Alex, Fedex have never completed a delivery, items always get held up,then the royal mail finishes the job with a charge for there assistance. The only time an item does not get held up is when there is a low value on the box. Stu, a good buy, now with hozen papers!, you done well. Alex. Quote
Tcat Posted June 30, 2013 Report Posted June 30, 2013 The only time an item does not get held up is when there is a low value on the box. Not from my experience shipping to London addresses. Royal Mail?? Parcel Farce??!!! Please tell me you are joking. They have never delivered anything on time for me... Quote
eljockvis Posted June 30, 2013 Author Report Posted June 30, 2013 I just had it declared as the value of the shinsa fee which is 27000 yen ,it came with a declaration that it is an antique never got charged a penny.... :D Quote
eljockvis Posted June 30, 2013 Author Report Posted June 30, 2013 oh here is the sword specs for the fellow who was asking.. here are all the details and some pics... Quote
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