Barrett Hiebert Posted January 7 Report Posted January 7 Forumites, Just would like to get your thoughts on this sword? https://www.touken-m...duct/shousai/KA-0672 Best regards, Barrett Hiebert Quote
NewB Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 Looks coarse But beautiful nonetheless from what I understand nakago is 50% of the value I could have heard wrong y 1 Quote
Fred Geyer Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 i missed the asking sale price, it was ?? Fred Quote
David Flynn Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 Three reasons for buying a sword. Age, Price and do you like it? This one to me comes along the lines of, do you like it? 1 Quote
nulldevice Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 On 1/7/2025 at 7:16 PM, Fred Geyer said: i missed the asking sale price, it was ?? Fred [disregard] Quote
Barrett Hiebert Posted January 8 Author Report Posted January 8 The price is 800 000 yen. I did end up reserving it and pay for it. The payment has already gone through with my bank. It's definitely not a Juyo like this Nakajima Rai I bought once but it's still beautiful in my eyes even with its flaws. https://www.shoubudo...l.php?product_id=182 It's Nambokucho period with an o-kissaki which I've learnt over time that it's my favorite. I'm okay with how coarse the one side is from what I percieve to be lamination openings and the rust on the nakago. I didn't buy it for its resell value as being only 800 000 yen according to the market I probably wouldn't get that much today if I were to resell it. I personally think 800 000 yen is a fine price to pay for what it is. That Nakajima Rai was 3 600 000 yen if I remember correctly so I know a very big difference but at the time I was only aware of a few websites and had the money to splurge. I was eventually introduced to more websites and realized I really didn't need a Juyo although its nice. Not a collector. Just want a cool blade for study. Barrett 3 Quote
nulldevice Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Barrett Hiebert said: The price is 800 000 yen. I did end up reserving it and pay for it. The payment has already gone through with my bank. It's definitely not a Juyo like this Nakajima Rai I bought once but it's still beautiful in my eyes even with its flaws. https://www.shoubudo...l.php?product_id=182 It's Nambokucho period with an o-kissaki which I've learnt over time that it's my favorite. I'm okay with how coarse the one side is from what I percieve to be lamination openings and the rust on the nakago. I didn't buy it for its resell value as being only 800 000 yen according to the market I probably wouldn't get that much today if I were to resell it. I personally think 800 000 yen is a fine price to pay for what it is. That Nakajima Rai was 3 600 000 yen if I remember correctly so I know a very big difference but at the time I was only aware of a few websites and had the money to splurge. I was eventually introduced to more websites and realized I really didn't need a Juyo although its nice. Not a collector. Just want a cool blade for study. Barrett I think you did good and it fits your interests which is important! It’s a good looking Nanbokucho era meaty sword with a good sugata representative of the time. Post more pictures when it arrives. I’d love to see more! Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 I like it quite a lot, I admit it was on my "watchlist" unfortunately I cannot afford items on my list. As crazy as it sounds for me about the only negative was that there is the illegible katana mei. Perhaps the sword was not that greatly shortened in length. And personally I would want a sword like this to have been a massive one. Here is a link to another kind of similar sword that I was saving up for years ago long before Aoi had it: https://web.archive....-hidemotsumasamitsu/ Shape and size look quite similar to me, of course it too doesn't have the super long blade that I would desire but both have wide sugata. Quote
Schneeds Posted January 8 Report Posted January 8 I gave that one a hard look when it popped up. I tend to like Omiya in general and that has a nice sugata. From those pictures the jigane is of course quite coarse, but I think that dealer has fair prices and 800,000 is quite reasonable for what you're getting. 1 Quote
Tcat Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 On 1/8/2025 at 2:19 AM, David Flynn said: Three reasons for buying a sword. Age, Price and do you like it? Oh dear, sorry but this is bad advice only one is accurate (the last). It’s quality (not age), then VALUE vs PRICE (not just price)…then “do you like it”. Age is way down there. There are lots of rocks and stones lying around that have a lot more “age” to them than any sword. On 1/8/2025 at 1:54 AM, NewB said: from what I understand nakago is 50% of the value it’s really not… 1 Quote
NewB Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Mike Yamasaki said that so.. I’m not doubting him y Quote
nulldevice Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 6 minutes ago, NewB said: Mike Yamasaki said that so.. I’m not doubting him y I don't doubt Mike at all but I feel like there are lots of things to consider regarding the nakago: Gimei - Definitely affects the value greatly Mumei - On koto swords, shortening and mumei isn't as big of a deal and is expected on many swords Other mei (gold, red, cutting tests, etc.) Patina - Important to make sure it matches the age of the sword or the age of the suriage Yasurime - Important kantei point, especially on shinto swords, it seems like most old koto swords that are ubu, have patinated to the point where the file marks are indiscernible. etc etc. I feel like all of these things can certainly add or detract from the value. In the case of this sword, the paperwork states it has an unreadable mei but is attributed to Omiya school. It would be great if the mei were readable but it does tell us that the sword somewhat retains its original length and isn't o-suriage which is important when looking at the sugata. Certainly this sword would be worth more with a readable mei, but would it be worth double? I'm not qualified enough to make that statement. For the price, I still like the piece for its sugata and strong presence which is representative of the Nanbokucho era. Quote
Tcat Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 58 minutes ago, NewB said: Mike Yamasaki said that so.. I’m not doubting him y The last person I would doubt, but sometimes one has to read between the lines of a statement rather than take it entirely literally. Quote
NewB Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Last sentence of what I wrote is ’i could be wrong’ will leave it at that y Quote
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