Which WAKIZASHI/Which katana to pick

[Ronald Aguirre]

Hello I am looking for a wakizashi and Katana to restore. I have the opportunity to buy all or just one of them. I can't decide which wakizashi or Katana would be worthy of restoration. I prefer koto blades. Can anyone tell me if there is anything here that is special/catches their eye or if there is a koto blade or anything worth restoring if you had to pick one or two of them? Thanks! Which ones stick out to you?!

[Ronald Aguirre]

Here are the katana:

[Ray Singer]

Is your intention to purchase the sword and have it restored professionally? I'm asking because most often swords that are found in poor condition are not worthwhile Investments to have restored. There's nothing wrong with doing so to save a sword, but also be aware that the investment does not always increase the value of the sword above what you have paid for in restoration. 

[Abaris]

Also, dificult to say without very good pictures or blade is on hand (seeing it live).

[Ray Singer]

And I don't think it would be possible for anyone here to make a valid recommendation on which of these swords to polish based on the photos above. Very little can be seen, and there's no way to make an assessment on how well any of them will sustain a restoration based on those photos. It is regardless something that's better determined by a professional polisher looking at the sword in hand.

[Ronald Aguirre]

@Ray Singer Just looking for a project blade to restore. Preferrably koto. Not concerned with the "investment" per se. Just wondering if any of these "stuck out" as having the potential to be a special piece! Do you see any that could be a Koto blade?

[Ray Singer]

A number of these appear to be koto including this one in the middle with horimono. It has a Nobukuni look, and that's the one I would pursue first.

[Ronald Aguirre]

@Ray Singerwhat about the katana? did any of them look koto or catch your eye? Besides those katanas, the seller also has these katanas for me to pick from. Do these or any of the the previous katana catch your eye, besides the wakizashi?

[Ray Singer]

It's really difficult for me to make any type of determination on these based on the photos Ronald, as I said above. I'm just letting you know that, based on a little information that's here, the one that I highlighted seems to show the most potential and is the most interesting. 

[dkirkpatrick]

Someone on Facebook said their father was offered these swords for $2800.00, were they  getting them from you?  Just seemed weird.

 

Doug

[Franco D]

10 hours ago, Ronald Aguirre said:

I can't decide which wakizashi or Katana would be worthy of restoration.

 

Unless a sword be it katana or wakizashi meets or exceeds NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon standards/requirements it becomes difficult to justify restoration, imho. This doesn't necessarily mean that a Hozon level sword is not worthy of restoration. It just means, in either case, the sword had better be a pretty darn good sword to begin with (meaning excellent work by a highly rated smith). Collecting nihonto requires hours and hours of study and experience, especially when it comes to old mumei swords. And even then there may be disappointment. So, here's a place to begin, lots of luck ... https://nihontocraft...hinsa_Standards.html

 

Regards

 

 

[Brian]

As long as you don't intend polishing them yourself. That is a strict no-no here, and the fastest way to exit the forum. We don't promote amateur polishing here no matter what the value or condition of the sword is. If you intend having the work done by someone suitable, I would suggest going with Ray's advice.

[Jussi Ekholm]

The one with horimono that Ray pointed out above could be an interesting item. Still by only those pictures as information I would skip all the others. The katana length blades do not seem interesting based on those poor photos. The other wakizashi with 3 holes in the tang could be mildly interesting but looking at the low quality pictures its lines might have been buffed out.

[Jacques]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:42 PM, Ray Singer said:

A number of these appear to be koto including this one in the middle with horimono. It has a Nobukuni look, and that's the one I would pursue first.

I wonder how you come to see that especially the Nobukuni look and which Nobukuni it is?