Shinsakuto By Bizen Masashiro

[drjoe]

Shinsakuto made by Bizen Masashiro. 

 

A tad over 29" nagasa with deep sori and bohi.

 

Purchased from Modern Tosho a few years back (photos are below from from Keith Larman at the time of the sale -- additional and current photos on request), this is long blade with a classic choji hamon in the Bizen tradition.
 

Used for iaido and tameshigiri by the previous owner, the price reflects scratches in the monouchi and shinae from a bend that was corrected in the mune, but with a persisting twist in the ha. 

 

Fully mounted, ready for use or collection.  

 

More pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20256321@N04/albums/72157686345699135/with/35152800783/

 

$5000.

[Stephen]

deja vu all over again! 

[Greg F]

Haha i was going to write that Stephen but you beat me to it.

 

Greg

[Ken-Hawaii]

Oh, yeah, this is the blade I liked last time, even though I'm not into shinsakuto. Just wish it hadn't been bent in tameshigiri!

 

Ken

 

[drjoe]

yes, between photobucket and forum issues, this is the 3rd time posting this blade.  as, as ken has pointed out each time, i wish the blade hadn't been bent either!

on the other hand, this blade has the look and elegance of an art sword.  without the bend, it wouldn't be offered at the price it is!

one does wonder what the previous owner must have done to make it take the set that it did, but it has been mostly corrected and would still make a nice blade for iaido practitioners.  tachikaze is easily achieved during suburi.  i've enjoyed owning this blade as an art piece, but it's time to move it on.

i'm motivated to sell before SF Token Kai, so if anyone's interested, make me an offer. 

[drjoe]

bump.

i showed this blade to a forum member at the SF Token Kai who suggested he might be able to correct the remaining warp.  if someone is interested in buying, i can forward that contact information along.  this blade is a beauty and if the remaining warp is corrected, it would be an iaidoka's dream.

[drjoe]

Make me an offer.

[drjoe]

someone must be looking for an iaito for the holidays.  let's make a deal.

[drjoe]

After doing a little more research, it turns out this katana was not made by "Masashiro" but by Kazuki Kawashima who signed the blade "Masaki." 

Kazuki Kawashima trained under Nakata Masanao and also spent some time with Yoshihara Kuniie and the Bizen Osafune Sword Museum workshop refining the Bizen style. See his website and bio here: http://kazukikawashima.com/about/.

According to the signature, it was made for a Mr. Yamazaki Zenichirou, presumably in 2006 (though the date is actually written Heisei 81).

I'd still like to move this to make room for other things in my collection.  Despite the warp, this would still make a nice iai blade with clear tachikaze.

Price reduced to $4250 to facilitate the sale.

[drjoe]

In case anyone is interested in this as an iaito, I am happy to report that the warp has been corrected.

It otherwise remains in used condition with scratches from tameshigiri and shinae from a corrected bend.

Back to $5000 now.

 

[drjoe]

Still available if anyone is looking for a higher end, but used, iaito.  Warp has been fixed; tsuba has been swapped.

 

Joe