Aloof Pegasus Posted February 15, 2008 Report Posted February 15, 2008 Gentlemen I wonder if I cud impose on this forum yet again with another beginner's question concerning the usual/desirable size of the motohaba in relation to the CE. The reason I ask is that I recently agreed to purchase a wak on ebay. Item nmbr 180212131455. (Sorry, I'm unsure how to supply a proper link).This is described as koto uchigatana by the seller with no shinogi, bo hi, maybe Muromachi. The CE is 21.75; MH is 23 mm, and the thickness is nearly 6mm. The seller has explained that the sword was made narrow and light for one handed use witness the thickness of the blade. Also narrowness can result from a lack of shinogi. The nakago is unsigned, and the grooves contain traces of red laquer in the nakago. This sword has a long curved tip and is said to show some affinities with nagamaki naoshi. Any thoughts gratefully received. Philip Quote
Ichi Posted February 15, 2008 Report Posted February 15, 2008 Here you go Philip. Guess it's up to your taste. Not mine. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26fvi%3D1 Quote
Nobody Posted February 15, 2008 Report Posted February 15, 2008 Hi, This is my thoughts, but of course I might be wrong. The wakizashi was originally made as Shinogi-zukuri. And later, the blade was considerably reshaped and lost a lot of meat as well as its Motohaba. I can see Shinogi lines on both sides of its nakago. Quote
Guest reinhard Posted February 16, 2008 Report Posted February 16, 2008 Quoting the seller: "...elegant and nice Koto sword..." "It must have looked very bloodthirsty originaly." "...still healthy..." "...temperline....ancient koto style pattern..." "...koshirae is late Edo period..." This sword is neither elegant nor nice nor Koto. It might have looked "very bloodthirsty originaly", but it sure doesn't anymore. This sword is the opposite from being healthy. It has been ground down to its very bone. Temperline? There might be something like that. The koshirae looks like late Chinese period and was obviously assembled by a bloody amateur. The winning bid was 1326 $. Now at least that is some kind of achievement. reinhard Quote
Aloof Pegasus Posted February 16, 2008 Author Report Posted February 16, 2008 Well, that's a relief. I was worried I made a mistake Actually: thanks Nobody San for all that info. Never realized the shinogi line carries over into the nakago. Anytime I'm ever tempted to buy a sword on ebay, I'm gonna reread Reinhard's post and remember how little I know! BTW the sword is relisted so... Quote
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