My first sword searches for a new custodian

[Hoshi]

The time has come to move on. 

 

This is the sword described, photographed, and analyzed in this thread: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/20477-disputed-attribution-unjuy-korekazutakei-naotane/

 

I think the pictures will speak for themselves. It's later work which was tampered with to pass as a Koto sword. A second mekugi-ana was added, and the nakago was artificially aged. As such, it isn't anywhere near the value of a signed blade by a top smith. This means it's also an opportunity to own a high-quality blade at a fraction of the price. 

 

As you'd expect its absolutely flawless, it has an aggressive geometry, an impressive ~75cm cutting edge, a thick kasane, and a heavy duty feel to it. It was not made for show, but to fight. The hada is very fine ko-itame and there is a conspicuous kinsuji bolting through the hamon. 

 

The polish is in very good condition, except for a few subtle scratches in the upper portion of the blade, which I inherited from its previous owner. I had the original copper habaki repaired, restored and richly gold plated, which is now extremely tight and I believe will need some small file work to adjust. There are a few fine vertical scratches on the 24K gold plating (my fault) but it's good work which has been carried by one of Ford's apprentice. The Shirasaya likewise will need to be adjusted for its restored habaki.

 

I had a koshirae made for it - a foolish labor of love as many of you know - and bought tosogu in a matching Gempei war theme to fit its martial nature. I will be keeping the Gempei war tsuba (it is part of a daisho set) which means that the open-work tsuba pictured in the thread above comes with it, and it will need to be fitted with Sekigane to be tight. I also had custom gold-plate seppas made for this set. The Koshirae is a fixer-upper - I paid 1000$ to have it made in Japan. And you get what you pay for, as such - it can only be described as low quality. However, with a bit of adjusting work it can become a tight, fully functional koshirae. The Koshirae is outfitted with ~1800$ of Tosogu, purchased from AOI art, all papered with desirable attributions to schools such as Kaga-Kinko or Goto. I paid 5500$ for the sword and it was acquired in the dealer auction for 5000$ by a merchant named Hataya. I paid 2800$ for the koshirae and an additional 400$ for restoration work. There is a total of 8700$ invested into this sword. 

 

I got rid of the green papers after reading all the bad that came from them to our community, so this is really a case of buy the sword, not the paper. We will never know who made it. Could be Naotane, could be Korekazu, could be Naokatsu, could be later, maybe Shigetsugu, and the list goes on. It's the sort of eternal ambiguity that its next custodian will need to live with, but this is what got me so deeply into learning and study in the first place. I want to give this to someone out there who can't afford a signed sword the chance to own something which is quality and will spark endless curiosity and assiduity in study. 

 

I'm going to put it up the whole package up for half-price. Flip side is that I won't sell it to just anyone, I'd like to see some history of contribution, genuine curiosity or a sincere motivated pitch in PM.  

 

Sword + Koshirae (50% discount)

[Brian]

[Alex A]

Very nice and interesting sword, makes me start thinking about Kajihei.

[Hoshi]

Also a good idea Alex. 

 

I just want to avoid any frustrations by mentioning that this is not "first come, first served" basis. I'll pick the next caretaker myself from the PMs I get over the next few days. 

[16k]

If only...

[Michaelr]

WOW. I just went back and looked at your pictures in the original post. Your sword is Beautiful. I wish that I could be the swords new caretaker but right now times are a little tuff. Good luck to you with your sale and congratulations to the New Caretaker when the Sword finds him.

       MikeR

[ChrisW]

I second that emotion JP!

[Hoshi]

I’m closing PMs for this on Monday 18. Thank you for your interest, I'm humbled. 

[waljamada]

That is a very beautiful sword that is even more special now knowing your history and passion with it. I respect the notion of passing it on in such a way. Adds a sense of honor and lineage to the community and sword I find beautiful. I'm with 16k though. Congrats to the next caretaker!

[Curran]

Good looking sword.

[Hoshi]

PMs closed. On hold. 

[16k]

Someone is going to be really happy!

[raynor]

Yep. If I wasnt in the midst of a pandemic and another restoration project I'd be all over this, beautiful blade.

[Scifighter]

nice sword   wish i would have seen this earlier,,,

 

take a look at this https://japaneseswordlegends.wordpress.com/author/markussesko/page/2/    looks just like your sword  

 

 

[Open_market]

Thank You Chris!

 

Beautiful sword! Will be well cared for.

 

I also want to thank Ted Tenold for handling the packaging and shipping - safe and carefully packaged!

 

 

[Hoshi]

My pleasure!

 

This is over and can be moved to the sold section.