Why has no one bought this?

[SwordGuyJoe]

Hello all,

I mainly collect military swords, but I have seen this on eBay and I really like the looks of it, but no one else has bought it. As I am not as adept with older blades yet, could someone tell me why this hasn't gone? I know mu-mei will reduce interest, but it seems like a really nice blade. Thanks for the insight!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0328695975

[Jeimuzu]

I myself dont know why its not gone. The Hamon is really nice. Blade seems to be in good condition. Seems for the price its a steal. If I had the money Id buy it in a heart beat.

[Ford Hallam]

A couple of observations; the nakago has one of the worst fake patinas I've ever seen on a blade. It actually looks like it was painted on :D . The shirasaya doesn't convince me that it was made by a professional. The wood looks as though it has been sanded smooth. A big no no on shirasaya but if you don't have the skill to finish with a small Japanese hand plane what options do you have The wood doesn't look like magnolia either. The habaki has a very unusual colour...perhaps to make it look older than it really is. The kissaki of the blade is not very well shaped...

 

The blade itself seems reasonably well made however I have a niggling suspicion it may be the work of an American smith...clever bugger that or an older genuine blade (although somewhat nondescript) that has had some "cosmetic" work done to make it appear more attractive.

Whatever the truth of my suggestions the fact remains that the nakago has a fake patina on it.....so walk away quickly

 

btw, I wasn't suggesting that if it is an new blade that's been messed with that the original maker did the messing...some other unscrupulous person has simply been a little creative shall we say?

[SwordGuyJoe]

Thank you for the input. I do really appreciate it - and so does my check book!

[Hermes]

Here is a picture he had up earlier of the nakago. Sorry i see the same picture.

 

[kusunokimasahige]

I think Ford meant this pic concerning the patina:

 

 

KM

[Ford Hallam]

Cheers, Henk

 

yes, that the evidence I would cite...the only thing missing is the poorly shaped kissaki

 

It's just too dodgy to risk money on based only on these images...just my opinion, and hoping to save certain cheque books

 

regards,

 

Ford

[goose710]

NOW i see the fake patina ! geez ya gotta look at everything twice!!

Thanks

Charles L. Grusovnik

[Marius]

The shirasaya doesn't convince me that it was made by a professional. The wood looks as though it has been sanded smooth. The wood doesn't look like magnolia either.

 

The seller says in his description:

 

Comes in a poplar shirasaya with an ebony reinforcement that is well made and attractive.

[Ford Hallam]

Cheers Nariuszk,

 

I didn't bother to study the description ...

ebony reinforcement

...that simply won't do! ...We expect buffalo horn

 

regards,

 

Ford

[Marius]

Cheers Nariuszk,

 

I didn't bother to study the description ...

ebony reinforcement

...that simply won't do! ...We expect buffalo horn

 

 

Ford,

 

I wouldn't expect you to bother with the description given the pics :D

 

However, I am puzzled as to poplar replacing magnolia. I hate those ebony elements, too. I have a nice Shitahara school wakizashi in an American(?)-made shirasaya with ebony inserts. I don't like it but it does the job credibly

[Lorenzo]

The new patina bit may be applied to mask a machi-okuri operation by the togishi. Few centimetres below that purple colour (that seems achieved with a gun barrel patina product) the rest of the nakago seems better :?

The new "shirasaya" too may be another expression of the fantasy of the polisher as well as a new habaki not patinated the right way.

 

A piece to avoid in any case

[Marius]

The new patina bit may be applied to mask a machi-okuri operation by the togishi.

 

Actually, it seems like it really has been machi okuri... But the patina is so awful.. Why would anybody do such a thing? This waki would probably be sold were not for the fake patina.

[Gunome]

Hi,

 

Ebony or buffalo horn, in any case, it seems it doesnt fit perfectly

 

Sebastien

[SteveM]

Another reason might be: even if the blade is a kanbun shinto, I don't think that style of blade is particularly popular with collectors. So I don't think you would find a lot of collectors who would hand over $1000 bucks for an unsigned kanbun shinto wakizashi (which may have questionable provenance).

 

For reference, Sokendo just had their annual Golden Week sale, and in addition to the very high end pieces they also had about 20 blades in their "cheapo" section. Cheapo for Sokendo means anything from about 150,000 to maybe 500,000 yen. But for that you can usually get an authentic nihonto in a koshirae (...the koshirae might be in need of some attention).

 

SteveM