Ubu and Mumei

[J Reid]

Bob, I must say you're an excellent treasure hunter! Love the sword. Ko-Mihara is a safe bet. What a find indeed. Congrats!

[Surfson]

Thanks Josh!  It would be fine with me.  It's not every day you find an ubu blade from the 13th or 14th century.... I will let you know how it does at shinsa, and because I am a bit skeptical about the opinions of "experts", it wouldn't surprise me if it papers to a different school, pitting the opinions of NTHK-NPO and NBTHK.  I have three mumei swords going through this shinsa, and at least it is reassuring that they will paper one way or another.  

[Surfson]

By the way, I have bought 17 tickets from Chris Bowen for the upcoming NTHK-NPO shinsa in Chicago.  I am always trying to find the next candidate to send to Japan for full restoration.  I know it's a conservative approach, and indicative of a certain amount of insecurity, but I don't mind having two sets of papers on a sword (It's certainly better than no sets!).  And it makes them easier to sell should I decide not to send it for one reason or another.  

 

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get a sword that has a pretty decent polish and I feel a little stuck.  I love looking at a blade that is perfectly polished, but polishing a blade that is already in decent old polish has three problems with it.  One is that it only improves the enjoyment of the blade modestly, two is that it only adds incremental economic value to the blade (and certainly less than the cost of the polish) and three, it removes steel and I feel like it violates the principal of "hozon" or preservation.  How do you approach this quandary?  

[J Reid]

I generally have similar internal conflict of thought. However, I think I stand with the Japanese in their perspective. "It's better a sword have a chip left in the edge, than remove it and leave a bad shape". I love a minty blade. But I can't bring myself to polish a sword unless it really needs a polish (bad geometry, damage, extremely rusty/ scratched & banged up) and/ or is guaranteed to increase its value 2 or 3 times afterwards. Or at least break even. If the swords polish is good but old or light issues (cloudy, scratched, a chip etc), I think it's better left alone and healthy. I don't mind an imperfect polish if I know the sword is well made and without major flaws. I'm happy with one attribution from either nthk or nbthk. I think we've all seen questionable attributions from both. I'd only consider 2 if I really disagreed with the first, or if it was a major find and big title.

[Surfson]

Thanks, Josh.  I don't particularly desire two sets of papers, it's just that I hesitate to send a sword to Japan that I am not already completely positive is shoshin, or, if koto and osuriage or mumei, was made by a school or maker worthy of the expense to send it.  

[Surfson]

A NMB reader messaged me about what happened with this sword.  

 

As I mentioned in the thread, the NTHK-NPO papered it to Ko-Mihara.  I thought it was Kamakura, and Darcy had a nice photographic demonstration of the identity of shape with a Sukezane (now gone on this very old thread).  The thread also had a lot of debate about muneyaki and other interesting topics, so I decided to go ahead and revive it, even though it got a little chippy at times.

 

When the sword was being fitted for a habaki and shirasaya, Mishina San reached out to me about the nakago.  The habaki maker suggested that the nakago be filed and restored because of the active rust, and Mishina San supported that.  I approved.  

 

When it went to NBTHK, it papered to Sue Bizen.  I don't recall whether a specific maker or sub-school was mentioned.  I was disappointed because the tang looked much more like that of a much younger sword, and I will never know, but thought that change in image might have influenced the shinsa team.

 

I have moved cross country this month, and my papers are yet to be unpacked after the move.  I will dig them up when the unpacking gets to them and see if they said more than Sue Bizen.  

Cheers, Bob

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi Bob, thank you for sending an update. After re-reading the entire thread....this seems like a somewhat ignominious end to the discussion!