Shoda Masafusa Swords

[bsrmilitaria]

Hi guys,

I had a mid war Japanese sword offered to me by shoda masafusa. The seller is asking a pretty substantial amount and I am wondering if this maker is hard to come by?

According to the seller it was purchased in 2001 for $3000 US, and was looking to get around $5000+.

Ive never spent that much on a sword, would you all be able to give me some input on if I should pass or get it?

Thank you all!
William

[bsrmilitaria]

I forgot to add - ive tried researching the manufacture and have found examples around $10,000 USD.

I am more into German than Japanese, so just wanted some feedback.

Thanks again!

[Stu W]

Regardless of the availability of this maker's swords the value cannot be established without pictures of the item at the very least. A gunto by a less often encountered smith doesn't command a high price if the blade is not in very fine condition. Rarity is certainly a factor but a mid war sword by anyone other than a Yasukuni smith or other highly rated maker of gendaito (used in the collector context) will not command high value on the smith's name alone.

Regards,
Stu

[bsrmilitaria]

Regardless of the availability of this maker's swords the value cannot be established without pictures of the item at the very least. A gunto by a less often encountered smith doesn't command a high price if the blade is not in very fine condition. Rarity is certainly a factor but a mid war sword by anyone other than a Yasukuni smith or other highly rated maker of gendaito (used in the collector context) will not command high value on the smith's name alone.

Regards,
Stu

Thank you Stu for the feedback and I understand completely. I will do my best to take some photos of the sword and get them all posted.

Thank you again!
William

[BobI]

Japanese Swords went for a hell of a lot more money in 2001 then they do now! Great time to collect but prices for "artswords" have been downhill since the Compton collection sold.
Bob

[oldhonda]

OP,

How much Japanese sword knowledge do you currently have? From the sound of it, you're going to make a counteroffer, but how are you going to counter that $5,000 offer? Based on information gleaned on forum replies? That's not the way to do it.

My 2-cent opinion is that your best option for now is to take a pass on this sword.

BTW, why did the seller tell you he paid $3,000 for it when he's asking $5,000? So he wanted you to counter offer based on the numbers, not the sword itself. Can you believe his numbers? What if he got the sword for very little money or even free? I'm simply saying what he paid is irrelevant. Personally, I ignore the sellers who're throwing high numbers and asking for offers.

[bsrmilitaria]

OP,

How much Japanese sword knowledge do you currently have? From the sound of it, you're going to make a counteroffer, but how are you going to counter that $5,000 offer? Based on information gleaned on forum replies? That's not the way to do it.

My 2-cent opinion is that your best option for now is to take a pass on this sword.

BTW, why did the seller tell you he paid $3,000 for it when he's asking $5,000? So he wanted you to counter offer based on the numbers, not the sword itself. Can you believe his numbers? What if he got the sword for very little money or even free? I'm simply saying what he paid is irrelevant. Personally, I ignore the sellers who're throwing high numbers and asking for offers.

Thanks for the replies guys. My knowledge of Japanese swords is very limited. Ive had only 4, but really enjoy them. It seems with German items some people really crave various makers. To make a long story short, the first 2 Japanese swords I ever sold were the same in my eyes but sold with a $1200 difference. $5000 is pretty high considering other Japanese WWII artifacts I know of and were just looking for opinions.

With that in mind I really do appreciate your help and also have decided to pass on it as well.

As for the pricing, he did have a receipt for the sword - and when asking if he was flexible on the $5000 asking, he told me he could not go any less than $3000 as its what he paid for it in 2001.

I hope this helps answer your questions!

[GHP]

Without photos it is very hard to advise you. Here is some information on Shoda Masafusa

The particular sword is the above link is a gendaito, which means "hand made by traditional methods" and therefore more valued than the run-of-the-mill gunto.

Images below are from the link.

--Guy