Donjohn Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Epic sniper failure... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Japanes ... 7675.l2557 I'd be interested to see some examples of the one that got away. How many of you have gnashed your teeth when your bidding software has failed you and you were potentially willing to go much higher than the item actually went for. Don Quote
cabowen Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Sorry to hear this but unfortunately it seems to be part of the game... Quote
1tallsword Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 thats the wonderful world of technology .being 30 inches now, it looks like it was a super long blade at least a minimum of 34 inches at one time, judging by the 2 mekugi ana and the one on the nakago jiri. Quote
Stephen Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 think the seller is taking a big risk standing it as he did in his garden, just me i guess. Quote
ROKUJURO Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 The delivery of that blade will be a shock for the new owner because FedEx is dedicated fright service... (from the seller's description) Quote
1tallsword Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 depends on where you are, i just bought a wakizashi and ems Japan post cost was good, as this seller stated some areas is $64.00.... fed ex would be a shock though.. got a sword once from that states and by the time it got here the shipping cost was double with all these little add on fees. Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 I just started a different thread on this blade. A couple of issues that I see with it. It has almost no boshi on one side, a big concern. It has a yakidashi oddly enough, as I would expect the hamon to go into the nakago if it truly started life as a 88 cm tachi. The papers are dated in the 80s but have a stamp with a date in the 50s (I think there is an explanation for this). Check out the video if you really want to have a fright. The seller nearly drops it a couple of times and also picks it up while it was upside down - it's a miracle that the blade didn't slide right out of the saya. Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 By the way Don, I think that you did all right to miss this one, as that sword was not as nice as it looks, in my opinion. As to the sniping failure, I always do my own sniping. For one thing, I would never want to give my ebay ID and password to a fly by night sniping organization. Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Here are photos showing the apparently missing boshi and the yakidashi. Quote
cabowen Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Bob, a skilled craftsman can shorten a blade and remove the hamon as this appears. It can't be determined with certainty here from the photos but it may not be an issue. This isn't really a yaki-dashi.... As for the boshi, there are Juto, TokuJu, and higher with less....for some, it's part of an old sword's history. Like I have said before, older swords often get a pass with things like this...to some it isn't a deal breaker. Quote
Kronos Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Hard to tell the Yakidashi from the photo's. Could be as Chris says or maybe it's just a bad photo and the notare carries on? Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 I was prepared to accept the boshi issue, since there is actually a boshi on the other side, and one can see a very narrow strip on this side. As to the hamachi, I suppose when shortening a blade it would be possible to make this yakidashi appear by heating the machi area, but how common is that Chris and what is the purpose of doing it? I really debated about buying this one and came very close (assuming that my bid would have taken it down). Quote
cabowen Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 It is difficult to cut the steel if the hamon is not heated and softened; it is the usual thing to do when shortening the blade. Quote
1tallsword Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 I agree with both chris and James. first off bad pics and a lot a glare,and not so good angles makes for a lot of eye tricking pictures. second im not sure it is Yaki-dashi ? and if it is, its not really an issue. many swords have had this done. one fast example that comes to mind ...and i quote from the book (one hundred masterpieces from the collection of dr. walter A. compton ) page 70 quote.. a ko-bizen tachi Hein period dated circa 1080 I quote Tempering pattern- (hamon) small,irregular clove form (choji-midare) in fine cloudy,luminous martensite (nioi) with some bright lines (kinsuji) lightning bolt( inazuma) forms a straight short line (YAKIDASHI) at the end of cutting edge (hamachi) and yokote). end of quote. in these two pics i posted ( tilt your head and crank your neck) :lol: it appears the nie crystals go beyond the ha-machi.... seems to disappear a little then seen again just before rust on nakago.but thats my eyes and again not great pics. and ive been told im blind :lol: as to the Boshi whether its the pic or not in my eyes a blade of this age its irrelevant as chris already pointed out. Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 This certainly can modify the perspective that not having a boshi is one of the "fatal flaws". Are there any juyo blades that have a hagire or is that flaw truly fatal? How about a nioi giri? I would presume that for these things to be overlooked the blade would have to be pretty special. I'm not sure at what point age and rarity trump what most collectors adhere to as major points of imperfection of a blade. Quote
Surfson Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 Overview of flaws and their severity. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm Quote
1tallsword Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 thank you Bob.. I am quite aware of the Japanese sword flaws (kizu). im not saying that no boshi isnt an issue to some ,heck we dont even know if its thin, or the pic, could be good? who knows without holding in hand. I cant speak for others, but what im trying to say and what i feel is, i believe a person would be more inclined to except a thin boshi on a nambokucho era sword opposed to a edo period sword. Its almost a given that these early swords are going to have some issues that collectors might over look and except that they normally wouldn't in a latter sword say 1800s, after all they have had 100s of years more use,wear,polishing,ect.. this can be seen by the number of Kamakura blades we see opposed to edo blades... i cant speak for others but if your asking me would i except a thin boshi on an early tachi? heck yes... sometime you have to take what you can get, everyone has different levels of acceptance.... Quote
cabowen Posted October 5, 2014 Report Posted October 5, 2014 I would presume that for these things to be overlooked the blade would have to be pretty special. I'm not sure at what point age and rarity trump what most collectors adhere to as major points of imperfection of a blade. There are blades that are highly papered that have even been rehardened (saiha) and a number of Juyo and up even with sketchy boshi I believe but in general, yes, they need to be something pretty special to have these otherwise serious defects overlooked. At what point age, rarity, etc., trump the general guidelines is hard to say. It's a grey area. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules. We do see, in general, that the older the blade, the more can be overlooked. If you look at the NBTHK guidelines for shinsa, you will see, for example, that early koto osuriage can be TokuJu but osuriage Shinto will not even make TH as I recall. A koto with flaws that would turn one away in a later blade are tolerated in many cases. Of course, this is one organization's opinion/system, albeit the one most turn to for guidance. There are other views. I have seen highly rated/highly priced koto blades that were rather tired, with flaws, etc., that I wouldn't want at any price. To others, they are treasure. Ultimately, it is an individual decision as to what you can tolerate. Quote
Surfson Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 Your answer makes sense Chris. I guess for me, the question is whether this sword (supposedly late nambokucho) is special enough to overcome the issues I raised. I've learned a lot about the "yakidashi" and may have made an incorrect assumption about this blade based on that. My view on the boshi was that I could live with it, and at the price this blade went out at, it would have been fine. Having said that, sometimes an issue that bugs me grows over time, and other times it fades. If only I could predict which.... Quote
Surfson Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 By the way Jeremy, I do agree with you about accepting a lack of boshi on an older sword. For me, a nambokucho sword is on the edge (no pun intended). Kamakura, Heian.....maybe. Cheers, Bob Quote
1tallsword Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 thanks Bob. this is a sword that really needs to go before a modern shinsa team. cheers. Quote
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