Mukansa sword on eBay

[Marius]

I have noticed this sword on eBay:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Kata ... 822wt_1167

 

I wonder what you think about the hada.

[John A Stuart]

You won't go wrong with this shinsakuto. Sadayoshi was a student of Gassan Sadakatsu. He only died 9 years ago and had become a mukansa level smith in 1996. Sweet deal I think. A pic to compare. John

[ottou812]

The hada doesn't looked etched. I think it looks different because of the particular steel that was used.

 

This particular sword was made in 1979 which was well before attaining mukansa status. There are several Sadayoshi swords out there. I doubt anyone is making a gimei Enomoto Sadayoshi yet.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hello, the sword pictured in this auction is legitimate. Made in 1979 would make it a shinsakuto.

[Marius]

Thank you gentlemen :-)

 

I have made a fool of myself :-)

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

 

I doubt anyone is making a gimei Enomoto Sadayoshi yet.

 

 

 

Who knows?????

[cisco-san]

....but the hada is really great !!!

[Marius]

....but the hada is really great !!!

 

the hada on the Sadayoshi John has posted, yes. The sword on eBay...

[Ted Tenold]

The hada in Soshu works by the Enomoto are very strong. I polished a tanto by Sadayoshi's son, Sadahito. It also had very strong hada. This is a product of blending steels of very different content in the billet. This was a work style of the Soshu tradition and can be seen in swords from many schools that followed the practice in greater and lesser degrees. I read also that in recent years, smiths are even including "flavoring" steels into their tamahagane which provides drastic contrasts within the hada.

[Ray Singer]

I doubt anyone is making a gimei Enomoto Sadayoshi yet.

 

Although I have never see one and I am sure this is a legitimate Sadayoshi, I would not assume we won't see a gimei example come on the market. Last week I met with a disappointed collected who found that the Shibata Ka tanto he purchase on Yahoo Japan turned out to be gimei. There is also a gimei Kasama Shigetsugu hocho tanto here in Miami. That one also came from one of the online Japanese auctions (I believe that it was Bidders). Unfortunately I think it will be more common to see gimei and fakes being sold out of Japan, aimed at less experience collectors. There is one such dealer on Ebay that is selling reproduction yari, kogatana and yanone, mixed in with authentic, low quality swords and kodogu. The nakago are aged, photo quality is poor, and the vague description states 'looks a little old'...

 

John, I would love to see more photos of the tanto you posted. I have had three swords from the Enomoto family and while I like their Soshu works, my favorite are those done in the Yamashiro-den. I have see a couple of tanto by Sadayoshi which were Rai utushimono and absolutely wonderful. Is yours one of these? He also did a beautiful copy of the Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto in the Sano Museum, which I regret being unable to purchase...

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Although I have never see one and I am sure this is a legitimate Sadayoshi

I'll not say the same thing, Fred Weissberg has one for sale (less expensive), you can make your own opinion about the sword discussed, gimei or not.

 

 

http://www.nihonto.com/rh448.html

[Brian]

I believe the seller is a member here.

No reason to question this one imho....modern smiths did of course experiment a lot and play with forging techniques. Not everyone's cup of tea I admit..

 

Brian

[Marius]

I believe the seller is a member here.

No reason to question this one imho....modern smiths did of course experiment a lot and play with forging techniques. Not everyone's cup of tea I admit..

 

Brian

 

You have hit the nail on the head, Brian :D

 

Oh, and many thanks to Ted for the information on the Enomoto hada. I appreciate it

[tagonagy]

The hada looks a lot like the pattern I've seen on folded production blades like Bugei and Hanwei.

 

 

this is from bugei's bamboo blade

[Ray Singer]

Even within their Soshu works, Sadayoshi and his son did not always produce such a flashy uzumaki-style hada. Here is an gassaku katana I used to own, which had a much tighter itame hada (than the ebay example) with just a few smaller pools of mokume mixed in.

http://www.swordsofjapan.com/SadayoshiSadahito.htm

[David Flynn]

Looks like a variation of Ayasugi hada to me. Made flashy to match the Soshu Hamon.

 

David

[Amon]

Well, maybe I'm blind cause it's night before Christmas here in Sweden but all I

see is Hada in Hamon, I see none else activity in there...

propably cause of the pictures.

[Pete Klein]

If I had the moolah I'd buy that in a flash. I happen to like his work ever since Fred W. had an ayasugi hada blade of his several years ago.

Oh well -- maybe Santa will be generous (instead of the usual coal)! LOL

 

[Marius]

The hada looks a lot like the pattern I've seen on folded production blades like Bugei and Hanwei.

 

Dear tagonagy (BTW, what is your name?)

 

that was my impression too, I just didn't want to sound as if I were an expert (I am not).

 

Well, maybe I'm blind cause it's night before Christmas here in Sweden but all I

see is Hada in Hamon, I see none else activity in there...

propably cause of the pictures.

 

Dear John,

 

thanks for this comment. I have had the same impression, but then again, sometimes activities in the hamon (or rather yakiba like here) are only a reflection of the hada. Also, the hamon is not alwayts visible in pics, the yakiba is always.

[ottou812]

If I had the moolah I'd buy that in a flash. I happen to like his work ever since Fred W. had an ayasugi hada blade of his several years ago.

Oh well -- maybe Santa will be generous (instead of the usual coal)! LOL

 

[attachment=0]ATT00006MA28581168-0012.jpeg[/attachment]

 

Just sell a few more dentures or braces, you'll have your mukansa blade.