matthewbrice Posted March 12, 2020 Report Posted March 12, 2020 This sword was made by Yoshinobu between 1615 and 1624 A.D. This katana is in World War 2 Army mounts. This sword has a silver Samurai family mon. The temper line on this sword is very beautiful. The original Shinsa worksheet is also included with this papered sword. Of special interest on this sword--when the sword was shortened, the original signature was inlayed onto the shortened nakago. Most collectors and dealers will note that most inlayed signatures occur on very nice swords. Condition: The mounts on this sword are in exceptional condition. The blade has three nicks, and only some very occasional shallow surface pitting. This fine sword will polish nicely. $4,500 obo. --Matthew Brice www.StCroixBlades.com
Geraint Posted March 13, 2020 Report Posted March 13, 2020 Dear Matt. I suggest that the two kanji, "Hizen", are the beginning of a tachi mei which is common in Hizen work, rather than gaku mei. Unless the rest of the mei is inlaid in the other side of the nakago? Either way it's a nice sword. All the best.
matthewbrice Posted March 13, 2020 Author Report Posted March 13, 2020 No, it’s not inlaid on the other side. The piece the remaining mei is on is about 2-3 mm thick. If you look at the close-up view of the zoomed in lower nakago photo, when you look at the lowest mekugi-ana, you will see two different colored metals. And similiarly, when the sword is looked at from its edge (say from the mune side), you can see that 2-3 mm thick piece applied to the thickness of the nakago. Something to note, when I showed the sword to Andrew Quirt, he felt it was an even better smith than Yoshinobu—so it would be interesting to submit this sword to the NBTHK to see what they determine. —Matt
matthewbrice Posted March 13, 2020 Author Report Posted March 13, 2020 Update--I just showed close-up pictures of the nakago to Chris Bowen. I was wrong on the signature being gaku-mei. Got it all straightened out now though. Wanted everyone to know! --Matt
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