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Posted

So, this caught my eye on eBay, I bid and won it for around £200.

Obviously, the photos don't reveal too much - as long as it's Japanese I'd be happy with what I paid. The blade was supposed to be late Momoyama / early Edo, but no other details (not sure what will be visible out of polish).

Tsuba looks off to me - but 🤷 what do I know.

I liked the fuchi kashira and kozuka. Just really intended as a study / conversation piece.

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Posted

Michael,

where is the TANTO?

The photos do not really allow a comment, but the KOZUKA looks a bit damaged, the SAYA is probably for a WAKIZASHI, the KASHIRA is corroded, and the TSUBA? Difficult to see for me but looks like a new IAI-TO model.

Better photos will show what you really have!

Posted

200 is OK if the tsuba isnt brand new, need better pics. Looks like you have a decent kozuka blade and a complete tsuka. If you’re really interested in learning about nihonto I would be aggressive with uchiko and oil on the blade and see what you are able to see in the way of forging details (hada) and temper line( hamon).  No monetary value but could give you some insight.

Posted
4 hours ago, dkirkpatrick said:

200 is OK if the tsuba isnt brand new, need better pics. Looks like you have a decent kozuka blade and a complete tsuka. If you’re really interested in learning about nihonto I would be aggressive with uchiko and oil on the blade and see what you are able to see in the way of forging details (hada) and temper line( hamon).  No monetary value but could give you some insight.

I had similar thoughts with the remnants of the blade.

 

Tsuba-wise, I have this image for now:

Screenshot_20230818-1346522.thumb.png.4f87209e0348af090f57e5bdf01c603a.png

Posted
4 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

Michael,

where is the TANTO?

The photos do not really allow a comment, but the KOZUKA looks a bit damaged, the SAYA is probably for a WAKIZASHI, the KASHIRA is corroded, and the TSUBA? Difficult to see for me but looks like a new IAI-TO model.

Better photos will show what you really have!

 

This is the best picture I have of the blade for now - will be able to get better ones on Monday / Tuesday.

 

Screenshot_20230818-1346342.thumb.png.23c414ceb52b9912b7493d1540654a8b.png

 

The saya is 12" / 30cm externally, but only around 10" / 26-27cm internal depth, so that's why I assumed Tanto.

 

Posted

Michael,

the rest of the blade seems to be in SHINOGI ZUKURI style, which is very unusual for TANTO. Max. TANTO length is 303 mm, measured from MUNEMACHI to tip.

The TSUBA does indeed look like a modern one, but the photos are not the best, so let's hope that I am wrong! :)  

Posted

I cannot get this piece out of my mind . What on earth possessed you to buy it ?  The only value it has as a study piece is to teach you not to buy junk like this again . There are board members in the UK who know what they are about . Why not seek their advice before you make your next purchase.

Ian Brooks

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Posted

Hi Michael, even the most zealous optimist would be hard pressed to find anything good about this purchase! For a few hundred quid more and some luck you could have come away with a complete dagger that you could really study closely and learn something from. Don't want to be too harsh here, we all have made poor purchases simply because something was cheap.

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Posted

> we all have made poor purchases simply because something was cheap.

John, tell me about it!!!  My beginning years were full of blunders and bodgy swords because I essentially had no idea what I was doing and bought anything that was on offer.  I stuck with it, joined any club I could find in the world and 15 years later hooked my first really good Tokubetsu Hozon katana.  It was the cheese to the chalk my collection was up to that time.  Then I purged the much lesser pieces I'd picked up in the intervening years.  They all went.  I persevered, studied the books AGAIN and AGAIN and continued seeking out other collectors to hold and look at their finds and learn from them.  We all benefitted and some of the good people are still close friends today. Now some 55 years after the good find I still have that sword and I'm in as happy a place as I can be for my circumstances in life, still finding other collectors and making new friends along the way.  Michael, take heart and keep on.  This is a lifelong affliction, and it doesn't come easy.  All it takes is money, more money, and persistence in the face of disappointment along the way.

 

BaZZa.

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Posted
On 8/19/2023 at 11:00 PM, ROKUJURO said:

The rest of the blade seems to be in SHINOGI ZUKURI style, which is very unusual for TANTO.

The TSUBA does indeed look like a modern one, but the photos are not the best, so let's hope that I am wrong! :)  

 

So, now in hand - you're right, it is like it's a scaled down katana / wakizashi (rather than the dimensions I'd expect from a Tanto).

 

Child's blade or export market "replica" perhaps?

 

The tsuba is definitely a cheap casting, and not fitted to the blade. Looks like a replacement to me - the fuchi and kashira show signs of quality workmanship and materials, completely opposite to the tsuba.

Posted

Michael,

the structure of the broken blade does not look typical for industrial steel, so it might have been a non-registered older blade that was destroyed by the authorities. You can buy the pieces like this one on the internet.

I hope you are not discouraged by our feedback on your purchase, but in case you intend another one, do not look how something was once in terms of quality or workmanship, but how it is now. Condition is as important as quality!

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Posted
18 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

I hope you are not discouraged by our feedback on your purchase, but in case you intend another one, do not look how something was once in terms of quality or workmanship, but how it is now. Condition is as important as quality!

 

Not at all, it's all good feedback. I knew it was an unwise purchase - but was intrigued to see what actually turned up. 🙂👍

  • 1 month later...
Posted
On 8/21/2023 at 8:42 AM, Mikaveli said:

Cross section of the break in the blade, if it's of interest to anyone else:

 

DSC_19113.thumb.JPG.2489a35ebcec42acf17dbbd20b012bdf.JPGDSC_19112.thumb.JPG.1e3837a6f3afcd88926e17ab3ebedc25.JPG

Thanks, that’s incredibly interesting, first time I’ve seen a nihonto with that sort of breakage, you can almost see the layers, that would be quite the show piece

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