Sofe Designs Auction of Japanese Swords

[Stephen]

Thank you Mark!

[Stephen]

On 1/4/2023 at 10:54 PM, John C said:

Matt:

Is the Mantetsu (item #215) yours?

John C.

Sorry i had skipped over this.

 

[matthewbrice]

Oh, I should have mentioned--this auction is also on liveauctioneers.com.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=sofe design&sort=-relevance&status=online

 

Of course, a lot of last minute sniping goes on on both auction bidding sites.  

 

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

--Matt

 

 

[matthewbrice]

The Yasukuni Shrine sword in this auction is, of course, genuine.  Here are a few observations I have made when identifying some of the newly-made inauthentic swords coming out of Japan over the last few years.  One common characteristic is that many of these swords are in shirasaya--with no Army mounts.  Another key thing to look for is the complete lack of rust on the nakago on the bad swords coming from Japan in recent years.  Note that the Yasukuni sword in this auction has naturally-formed rust on the nakago--the type of rust pattern that occurs over 80 years.  The counterfeiters just can't duplicate the random, natural rust patterns found on nakagos that are 4 decades old.  WW2 swords, including examples of Yasukuni Shrine swords, definitely exist with no rust on the nakago as most of us have seen these swords in a remarkable state of preservation--these swords perhaps never saw action with staff officers, and then were stored in favorable climates in the U.S. for decades.  Also--note that the Yasukuni sword in this auction has the textbook tsuba with Soten (harp) arsenal mark. 

 

Perhaps others among nmb members would be interested in discussing this topic of sorting out modern-made swords from Japan with fake Yasukuni or Minatogawa signatures here on the nihonto message board.  

 

Also a note on both auction sites remember, to limit the listings to Japanese items type in 'Japanese' in the search box.  This will eliminate other types of items that you don't have interest in, and will allow you more time to identify items of interest to you.  

 

 

 

--Matt

 

[Samuraijack]

Anyone buy in this auction? I got some rusty tsuba on impulse;(