Mei and an estimation of value

[Greger]

Hi guys. I´m a new-bee here, and haven´t made my first buy yet. However, a friend of the family who has a smaller collection is ready to pass it on and since I've been showing interest I might be the one who gets to buy it. However, this friend of the family is not that sure of what it is he got, so I took a bunch of pictures of what it is he has, and am now looking for advice if this is a good starting point for a novice collector, and of course a hint of what would be a fair price...

 

The blade seems to be in quite bad shape. There were no rust, but the polish seem to have been done over a kitchen table and there is no visible hamon at all. There is one complete mounting, but the ito/braid seems very poorly done.

 

There are a couple of tsubas, two of them signed, and some additional fittings as well.

 

There are more pictures posted on https://plus.google.com/photos/100360261079405087451/albums/5905922231721806625

 

Please have a look at the attached pictures! All remarks and information are welcome. Thanks in advance. //Greger

[Geraint]

Hi Gregor.

 

As no one has replied yet here are some thoughts for you. The sword: Not good. It may be a fake altogether. At the least the nakago is badly done, it pretends to be shortened but everything about it is bad, the grooves in the blade look poor and the whole thing looks suspect, the habaki is not Japanese, though I suspect some of the hilt fittings are but they were never very good. The small ornament on the saya looks good. Bear in mind that showing the sword in hand to someone who knows what they are doing will reveal a lot more. I would walk away from this.

 

The tsuba are better, at least they are Japanese and though condition is not great they might afford you some study. One pair of fuchi kashira looks interesting but your photograph is very blurred. If you are interested then you might look at http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/about to give you some ideas about pricing.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Gregor,

I think the blade is Japanese, late WWII production, not true Nihonto, just tool steel with a sharp edge. The koshirae are either older or WWII civilian mounts, or a mixture of the 2. The tsuka has been rewrapped by someone who doesn't know how. In current condition a retail price might be about $400 or so, plus whatever the tsuba it comes with is worth.

The tsuba are all real and seem to be OK or better. I can't put a value on them without better pictures and more information. If you'd like individual advise contact me by email next week (after the San Francisco show) and I'll help if I can.

Cheers, Grey gdoffin at cpinternet.com

[Greger]

Hi Geraint and Grey,

 

thank you very much for your thoughts about my pictures. They are highly appreciated! The news about the blade was a bit disappointing, but by the look of it I'm probably happier with out it. Does anyone else have any idea about the mei?

 

Since the package will be up for sale, I still might be interested as I find some of the tsubas quite nice, so its a matter of getting the package at a fair price. I'll have a more thorough look at the japaneseswordbooksandtsubas page to get a better picture of what the tsubas might be worth. Tsubas with signatures, are the more often of interest or is it always quality and design?

 

Grey, I might take you up for some individual advice next week!

 

//Greger