Quick appraisal needed on a deal going down, opinions please

[Kmad]

Hi All

This is all I have to go on,

200 euro gamble, handle and tsuba look unusual to me but I know v little and have been lucky in the past 

What do you guys reckon?

Ken 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Looks very promising for 200 bucks, get it!

[dwmc]

They don't appear to be modern copies or fakes. I would definitely gamble 200 euros on them...

 

Dave M.

[Kmad]

Thanks guys it is 200 for the Japanese one only but i think this is OK?

 

What sort of handle is on it? and is the tsuba a known type?

Regards and thanks for reaching out 

Ken 

PS as per usual I will be making a contribution to forum in thanks for you helping me, I am not a contributor of knowledge but I find it fantastic having a group to ask questions too.

[robinalexander]

Hi Ken, 

 

I presume you mean 200 euro for the one sword (only) in foreground with 'unusual handle'?

 

If that is the case, IMO the only thing may have potential is the blade itself but logically why would anyone put a good/old/valuable blade in those mounts. 200 Euro would be a bit of a gamble.   Dont know what is going on with those mounts 😟 ...Ive never seen anything like it and I really dont like em (at all!), but others are more experienced there.  

 

On the other hand, if its 200 for all thee swords and you can afford to lose it, then just go for it and sort it all out later (to be sure).

 

Good luck.

Rob

 

 

 

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

The mounts looks to be of fine quality and the blade has good activity.

[robinalexander]

 

Ken, 

 

I withdnraw any negative opinion...i put a high value in John's view on this....he is very exlerienced 😊

 

Rob

 

 

 

[Kmad]

looks like i might close the deal at 175 euro so I will probabaly go for it.

 

The Habaki looks nice as does the activity on the blade, but there is some rust also 

 

Tsuka and Tsuba look very unusual to me what sort of varaition do you think this might be ?

Any more opinions welcome 

Cheers

Ken 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Some variation of Tachi mount, even if it's a tourist piece you're still way ahead.

[Brian]

I'd easily gamble that on this.
Is that an Osaka/Shinto yakidashi were are seeing in that hamon pic? You won't lose money at that price.

[Geraint]

Bargain!  Grab it quick.  Wangata tsuba, unusual koshirae, probably late but interesting none the less.

 

All the best.

[Surfson]

Not only does this look like a good deal for 200, but my gut tells me that it may be an excellent sword, with some sort of court mounts.

 

[robinalexander]

Ken, If you close the deal it would be great if you could post some clear pics and share your thoughts once you have it in hand. 

 

Rob

 

[Kmad]

Hi guys,

 

300 km drive and 4 hours travel last night

 

Well it came home with me,  chip at boshi which I am taking as being realy realy bad unfortunately, but I took it anyway and paid the 175.

This  was not a loved item so I could not let it deteoriate further, maybe the chip makes it a junk item but I am happy what I have.

 

all fitting v tight together very snugly

 

Happy to find the tang signed but meaningless to me can you help.

 

 Reverse thread  on the menuki

All the fittings match right down to all parts of the saya

 

Hamon is very visible right along the blade on both sides, I will oil later in the day once I finish work but no terrible discoloration I think

 

habaki looks silver and fits perfect

blade is 65 cm long, 25.5 inches  and another 17 cm for tang

 

tsuka decorations are growing on me and it is not as garish as I first taught

 

tsuba is lovely with dragon decoration, dirty though. 

 

 

 

So what do you think, and hats off to all proper photographers by the way

more pics underneath,

 

regards. Ken

[Kmad]

More pics

[Kmad]

And more

[Kmad]

Final

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi Ken, that Tsuka is exceptional! Shame about the chip in the Boshi, however the Hamon looks nice and wide so maybe not all is lost? Look forward to seeing who the smith is.

[Kmad]

Found a signature on Fuchs and few more pics also

[ROKUJURO]

MINO blade with SANBONSUGI HAMON, signed FUJIWARA KANENOBU. Probably late, but not bad.

Cutt off a finger of the former owner for every chip in the blade!

[Shugyosha]

Mutsu no kami Fujiwara Kanenobu 3 smiths signing this way in the second half of the 17th century. 
 

interesting set of fittings - well worth the time and money for the package. 

[Brian]

That tsuka is gorgeous! Wow...wow.
And that tsuba is superb. You lucked out bigtime. Chip is bad, but I think not fatal. Enough boshi there I suspect. I think that is some high end koshirae there.
Since you paid so little, it would make financial sense to spend some money restoring this. Where have I seen a similar tsuba before?
 

[Kmad]

Here are some better shots showing Tsuka detailing

2 of the brass studs are missing on one side, sorry about all the pictures

[Kmad]

More

[Brian]

If that is shakudo.....

[Brian]

If I were you, I would get @Ford Hallam's opinion and spend some decent money having the koshirae restored. This is a serious find.

[PietroParis]

Doesn't the signature on the fuchi shed some light on the mysterious fittings?

 

[PietroParis]

It's  奈良 Nara 英政  Terumasa + kao

P.S. sorry I updated my post before I saw John's reply just below

[Shugyosha]

I think Nara Terumasa plus kao. Haynes H 09589.0. Working around 1838 “mostly did nanako work for the Ishiguro family”. 

[Geraint]

Well, this just keeps getting better and better!  What a lovely outcome and what a great koshirae!  Congratulations!

 

All the best.