I bought a thing!

[mtexter]

I'll have a lot more pics once I get it in a couple of weeks, but if anyone can take a look with more experienced eyes, how do you think I did?
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203072504206

 

Thanks!  And if I messed up, be gentle, it's my first attempt at buying a real blade

[Katsujinken]

You got what you paid for. As long as you weren’t expecting a better sword to come out of the woodwork here then I expect you got what you wanted. 
 

It does look authentic, but it’s loaded with flaws and has seen a ton of abuse (I see fingerprints) and was “polished” (or something) by someone unqualified to do so. You can see that the width of the blade is inconsistent along its length, one side has a yokote and the other doesn’t, etc. The proportions are now a bit strange overall. 
 

Maybe others can speculate on the age and the signature, but at this price point neither really matters. 

[mtexter]

yep, I wasn't exactly shooting for the moon here.  If I bought an authentic, possibly traditionally-made tamahagane Japanese blade, then my goal was achieved.  Could definitely make out a sort of funny shape and several flaws, but as a start to a someday-modest collection, this would be enough to make me happy

[Katsujinken]

Well, buy this next: 

 

The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568365810/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TfVnFb0KEQHK2

[Babu]

I second you got what you paid for but you won't find out it's the lost masamune.

Someone should tell you who's the mei is.

Still I think at that price and budget you did as expected.

Congratulations.

 

[Rich S]

Mike

I think the boshi is all there and obviously several ware'. I would think for the price you got a true Nihonto even if in rather poor condition.

Congrats you got your first real blade.

Rich

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Mike,

The mei is Jumyo.  It is a real sword but not even close to being worthy of restoration; don't spend any more money on it.  Learn what you can from it and then try to move up to something in much better condition.

Grey

[mtexter]

Thanks Grey.  This is definitely meant to be a blade that I can study, figure out best practices for care, rust removal (NOT polishing!), and can study up close to learn more of the terminology and look for certain characteristics.  I hope it's useful for these things. 

 

All in all, as a budding collector with a limited budget (and before I go back to my family's collection and handle some real pieces again) I think this is a good step for me.  Thanks all

[Mister Gunto]

I think Grey and the others have prety well summed it up. All collections have to start somewhere. You bought a thing, and it's a real , original, and old Japanese Nihonto thing. And that's very cool.

 

Better than being totally ignorant and starting off with a Chinese replica (which is what I did, years ago). 

[Oshy]

Congrats on your first purchase. Looks like it was just the blade, no koshirae or shirasaya? What's your plan there?

[Ken-Hawaii]

PM sent, Mike. Enjoy.

[mtexter]

Mike, that's correct.  No fittings included.  I have a small woodshop and had entertained the idea of trying to make a (very non-traditional) shirasaya for it, but that may be a waste of time.  This is just for study and my own edification in the wonderful world of Nihonto

[Surfson]

I agree with Grey, study it but don't invest further in it.  Jumyo is a very common mei and there were many of them over the centuries.  There's no reason to think that it is not a genuine mei, though once you get the talcum powder out of it you can look to see if it was cut hundreds of years ago or more recently (in part by looking for recent rust in the signature).  Congratulations on breaking the ice with a decent inexpensive starter sword. 

[mtexter]

Looks like this is arriving tomorrow!  By the pictures it's obviously in poor shape, and I'm curious if there's anything I can do to it (outside the realm of polishing for course) that might brighten it up a bit, other than the basic oiling + uchiko treatment. 

 

I decided I'll try to make my own shirasaya for it.  Is there any particular wood (available in the northern US i.e. oak, maple, cedar...) better or worse than others?  Obviously one with very low moisture content would be sought.  Or just let me know if this is a terrible idea; I'm still just a rookie

 

Thanks!

[Bruce Pennington]

Pics added from fleabay to preserve them for the future.

[Gakusee]

I shall be a bit contrarian here. I know everyone is clapping and congratulating, but I wonder why do people not save a bit more money first, study a bit longer and then buy something a little better? I am not talking expensive swords or waiting too much but a year worth of saving could potentially result in a much better outcome. With a couple of thousand dollars put aside one could buy something they might enjoy more. 
There are usually very good starter blades on this board or elsewhere, eg Ray and Grey and others sell these occasionally. 
I hope I do not sound elitist, as this is far from my intention. I merely wish to point out the virtues of patience and checking out blades here or other reputable dealers that come here. 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Mike,

To answer your question about which wood to use for shirasaya, you want something with a low acid content.  This leaves out oak, which is known for its tannic acid.  I think you'd want to work with something a bit softer than a dense hardwood like oak or maple and straight grain will make the work easier.  You also want to use a glue that won't tarnish the blade or cause problems if any squeezes into the cavity during glue up.  Glue made from sticky rice is the traditional answer.

Grey

[mtexter]

4 hours ago, Gakusee said:

I shall be a bit contrarian here. I know everyone is clapping and congratulating, but I wonder why do people not save a bit more money first, study a bit longer and then buy something a little better? I am not talking expensive swords or waiting too much but a year worth of saving could potentially result in a much better outcome. With a couple of thousand dollars put aside one could buy something they might enjoy more. 
There are usually very good starter blades on this board or elsewhere, eg Ray and Grey and others sell these occasionally. 
I hope I do not sound elitist, as this is far from my intention. I merely wish to point out the virtues of patience and checking out blades here or other reputable dealers that come here. 

Valid input Michael.  In my case it boils down to impatience.  I wanted something in my hands to study before I go back to see the family collection in a couple of weeks.  I want to learn as much as I can from a real nihonto, and having a baseline of comparison of a poor quality blade could be useful

I might get myself a Christmas present later this year / early next year... I've already been talking to Mark Jones of Toledo and he's shown me several affordable pieces.  

[paulb]

Hi Mike,

Just to support Michaels comments and make sure you don't feel alone I must confess that patience isn't my strong suit either and in the past I have allowed enthusiasm to get the better of me.

The reality is you can learn the most, most quickly from good quality swords. This is mainly because good work is generally in a good state of polish and all the features it has to offer are clearly visible. Once identified in these better pieces you can then see them more easily in blades in lesser condition.

In the past I have seen pieces in very poor condition, out of polish and with no detail discernable being offered as "study piece" I have to ask if you cant see anything what can you study and learn from it?

There is no substitute for studying good swords in hand but as a second best seeing as many as you can either in museums (beware though just because a blade i in a museum doesn't guarantee it's quality) and in good images online of which there are an ever increasing number. Then ask a lot of questions. Try and meet up with a local group and talk to people I think there will be many willing to help you.

[mtexter]

I have the sword now and I'm blown away by the level of detail I can see.  Pictures really can't seem to do any nihonto justice.  Seeing it in hand, observing how each feature catches the light just so... well it's overwhelming even with a blade in this shape.  I've already oiled it 3 times and it feels glorious to do so in a way I can't adequately describe.  Despite all its flaws, I think it's damn interesting and I love it.

 

I've taken no less than 44 pictures in the few hours I've had it, but am only able to upload just under 10MB here.  I'll try to find a good way to downsize and post some.  Looks a lot better now that it's cleaned up a bit too.  It also came with a saya which was not mentioned in the listing, so that was a nice surprise. 

 

More to come soon, cheers all.

 

 

[mtexter]

Since I can't figure out a good way to downsize my pictures, here's an imgur link to all of them.
 

https://imgur.com/a/9k0hGsZ   Apologies in advance if it doesn't stand the test of time.

I noticed some writing on the inside of the saya, will also post over on the translation board.  Can't be sure but it looks like pencil.  No idea about the age of the blade or the saya so if anyone can give a ballpark estimate I'd be grateful.  Thanks for looking!

 

 

[b.hennick]

Mike try looking at the blade in different light - sunlight, cloudy day, candle light, halogen light etc. You will see different things in different light. I have fluorescent lights that I use to light the blade from my back to see hada. I have a regular incandescent light that I like to see the hamon. Different lights bring out different features/hataraki.

Photographing is a completely different topic.

[mtexter]

2 minutes ago, b.hennick said:

You will see different things in different light

Yes!! This is so true.  I'm sure there's an accepted lighting setup that the professional photographers use, but I haven't had a good chance to look into that.  It's just fun to pull out the blade and look at.  Monitor light, (with varying/changing images) in addition to what you mentioned is kind of cool too

[SAS]

Shinto probably.... would look nice polished, but the polisher would have to correct some geometry issues from an amateur's fiddling.

[Tom Darling]

We all started off studying swords, with no knowledge at all,  it is a reasonable (good) eye opener for you to make wiser choices in the future. Condition, condition is most important. Good Luck.

 

Tom D.

[saipan59]

If you do make your own SAYA, I would suggest Poplar, as sold in places like Home Depot (for furniture making and such). 

Poplar is quite close to the traditional Japanese wood (HONOKI), and easy to find. It is soft, closed-grain, etc.

I made a wakizashi saya years ago - it came out "OK" (I'm not a serious woodworker).

 

Pete

 

[Bruce Pennington]

I just have to laugh every time I see the title of the thread!!!  You should get some sort of award for best thread title EVER!!! Ha!

[DoTanuki yokai]

On 8/24/2020 at 4:46 AM, mtexter said:

Yes!! This is so true.  I'm sure there's an accepted lighting setup that the professional photographers use, but I haven't had a good chance to look into that.  It's just fun to pull out the blade and look at.  Monitor light, (with varying/changing images) in addition to what you mentioned is kind of cool too

http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/appreciate.html

Maybe this can help

And there are more informations on this side that someone interested should read http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/information.html