Would you knowingly buy a gimei blade?

[KungFooey]

I'm not interested in papers whatsoever and I've always had a philosophy of buying what appeals to me on a purely personal visual and emotional level.

So I now find myself in a situation where I'm tempted to buy a blatantly obvious gimei blade just because I think it's beautiful and it's priced as a gimei.
It's signed Kaneshige and dated 1363 so i guess it's masquerading as Kinju.

 

As you know, I always end up following my own gut feelings and making my own mistakes but I'd be interested in hearing your opinions nonetheless!

 

Dee

 

PS: @Jacques Be kind!

[moriarty]

Greetings Dee,

 

I believe it's fine to buy such product knowing the pros and cons that come with it. A gimei is not always the mark of a decisively inferior blade and many can stand in their own right, it all goes back to a personal sense of taste and legitimacy

[robinalexander]

Would you knowingly buy a gimei blade?

Yes.

 

As you have said its a nice blade, you like it and (bonus) it's priced correctly. 

 

Buy it!

[David Flynn]

Kinju, is Kaneshige.  Not Kunishige.  Besides that, yes I would buy a Gimei Blade.  Some Gimei blades are even better than the smith they're purported to be.  Two of the best forgers were, Kajihei and Gassan Sadakazu.   There are people who actively collect Kajihei swords.

[KungFooey]

12 minutes ago, David Flynn said:

Kinju, is Kaneshige.  Not Kunishige.  Besides that, yes I would buy a Gimei Blade.  Some Gimei blades are even better than the smith they're purported to be.  Two of the best forgers were, Kajihei and Gassan Sadakazu.   There are people who actively collect Kajihei swords.

Many thanks, David!

Post now amended - I always get my Kane and Kuni mixed up! 😳

 

[Alex A]

I can see why people would buy a gimei bade, for the reasons mentioned above, though i wouldn't buy one in my late stages of the hobby.

 

Unsigned blades bug me, for reasons i mentioned a few times, the never knowing for sure and all that, also the more provenance a blade has the better, for me.

 

There are just too many signed Shoshin blades out there now at reasonable prices. 

 

For me, a blade must be signed and Ubu, that rules out lots of swords., hence why nowadays i stay out of some conversations.

 

Last but not least, i dont like the way things are going in the UK with legislation. Being gimei, it wont have NBTHK papers or whatever, so with that in mind and having concerns about the future, its a minus. We really are in trouble and i wouldn't want any moron in the future giving me any hassles about what an item is.

 

I guess it all depends on where your at in your collecting career. 

 

 

[Jacques]

Quote

PS: @Jacques Be kind!

You do what you want, it's none of my business.

[KungFooey]

Just now, Jacques said:

You do what you want, it's none of my business.

That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, you old softy! 😉

[KungFooey]

5 minutes ago, Alex A said:

I can see why people would buy a gimei bade, for the reasons mentioned above, though i wouldn't buy one in my late stages of the hobby.

 

Unsigned blades bug me, for reasons i mentioned a few times, the never knowing for sure and all that, also the more provenance a blade has the better, for me.

 

There are just too many signed Shoshin blades out there now at reasonable prices. 

 

For me, a blade must be signed and Ubu, that rules out lots of swords., hence why nowadays i stay out of some conversations.

 

Last but not least, i dont like the way things are going in the UK with legislation. Being gimei, it wont have NBTHK papers or whatever, so with that in mind and having concerns about the future, its a minus. We really are in trouble.

 

I guess it all depends on where your at in your collecting career. 

 

 

Very much a beginner regarding blades, Alex. So maybe I can follow my whims at this stage. Totally understand your much stricter criteria though!

[KungFooey]

41 minutes ago, robinalexander said:

Would you knowingly buy a gimei blade?

Yes.

 

As you have said its a nice blade, you like it and (bonus) it's priced correctly. 

 

Buy it!

I'm thinking the same, Rob!

[Alex A]

Dee, don't let me put you off, there are great blades out there that i would have had no problem buying years ago.

 

I guess as one gets older, one gets more fussy.

 

Cheers

 

[KungFooey]

PS: @Jacques do you happen to have any examples of the real Kinju's work?

I'd like to see if they've even attempted to copy it.

[Jacques]

7 minutes ago, KungFooey said:

That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, you old softy! 😉

Thanks, that said i will never buy a gimei, to my eyes a counterfaint is and remains a counterfaint.  I've already bought a few blades without papers (some unpolished), none came back to me from BNTHK shinsa being declared gimei...

 

I'll see for Kinju

[Deiro]

if it is in good condition and comes with a nice koshirae as a bundle deal I guess it can be overlooked...

 

I've read on kajihei when he was brought up before, I wouldn't mind having one of his works instead of the real deal.

[KungFooey]

DOH! I forgot to post the (gi)mei!!!

 

No way is that patina dark enough or deep enough for the purported date.

[KungFooey]

5 minutes ago, Deiro said:

if it is in good condition and comes with a nice koshirae as a bundle deal I guess it can be overlooked...

 

I've read on kajihei when he was brought up before, I wouldn't mind having one of his works instead of the real deal.

No koshirae beyond high quality shirasaya but excellent condition and lots of activity.

[Jacques]

Kinju blades are extremely rare and are tantos. This is the only example I've found, and it appears in several books.

[KungFooey]

6 minutes ago, Jacques said:

Kinju blades are extremely rare and are tantos. This is the only example I've found, and it appears in several books.

That was fast, Jacques! Thank you!

 

Well, at least the forger tried hard to copy Kinju's mei!

[robinalexander]

45 minutes ago, KungFooey said:

I'm thinking the same, Rob

If I'm not mistaken Dee, you have already thought that 

[KungFooey]

Whoah! I was just about to press the button but looked at an additional file of photos and was then given pause by the position of the two machi.
They are not parallel and I don't know if that is cause for concern? I know some people have said that it's a sign of Chinese fakes but this looks way too good to be one of those.

 

Opinions?😳

[Alex A]

Its genuine.

[KungFooey]

Ah well, fools rush in. I got it anyway!

It's a long, hirazukuri tanto.

 

Seller's photos.

 

 

[KungFooey]

3 minutes ago, Alex A said:

Its genuine.

Phew! 

[Alex A]

I can see why you like it.

[vajo]

It's a nice blade. Nothing wrong. Mei looks not bad for me. 

[Jacques]

Obviously gimei

[Lewis B]

Nice jiba activity. Gimei Kinju is not hard to find. Here is one you probably saw during your research.

 

https://www.kinghous...l-tanto-gimei-signed

 

[Alex A]

Maybe start to look into schools like Uda. 

 

Off top of head, thats just a first thought.

[KungFooey]

2 minutes ago, Jacques said:

Obviously gimei

Thank heavens for that Jacques!

For one terrible moment I thought I may have accidentally bought a genuine Kinju! 😉

[KungFooey]

1 minute ago, Alex A said:

Maybe start to look into schools like Uda. 

 

Off top of head, thats just a first thought.

Thanks Alex!