Wakizashi for evaluation.

[Gary Cain]

Nope. I am checking it out for a friend of mine who is thinking of buying it.
I have a few books so know more than most in my area which is why I was brought the sword in the first place.

But, I am purely a novice at it.

I don’t know what we can tell you other then the nakago has been cleaned and the Mei is not genuine
It’s best to read as much as possible before buying Japanese swords
Have you bought the Sword ?

[Gary Cain]

Enlighten us Nick. The cleaned nakago is regrettable but that doesn't preclude it being genuine. Are you saying it is none of the 9 generations of Tadayoshi, all of whom used this content at some point in their careers, not to mention the abundance of dai-mei, dai-saku mei and and gassaku?

Of course whenever we see this famous mei one immediately thinks it is probably gimei but the certainty required to declare it such demands the same weight of evidence as to assert its authenticity.

I'm seeing a blade which broadly resembles a classic Hizen Tadayoshi. It appears to be well-made and many of the visible features, such as hamon and sugata generally fit the school. That gold foil wrapped habaki may also be an indication it is something half decent?

Very little known about yondai and rokudai, so hard to discount mei which are seldom encountered. I'm not saying I disagree but the guy has asked for guidance and an explanation to support your beliefs will help inform him (and me.)

Regards,

Kevin.

Thank you for that very succinct, and well thought out missive!

[nickn]

Please could you post more photos of the blade including both sides of the kissaki

[Gary Cain]

Absolutely, and I thank you very much for taking your time to look.
I can state with certainty that the habaki is not original to the blade. I checked it over carefully and the dimensions are off by far too much for it to be a simple case of damage causing the poor fit.

Please could you post more photos of the blade including both sides of the kissaki

[Gary Cain]

2

absolutely, and i thank you very much for taking your time to look.
I can state with certainty that the habaki is not original to the blade. I checked it over carefully and the dimensions are off by far too much for it to be a simple case of damage causing the poor fit.

[Gary Cain]

3

2

[Gary Cain]

4

3

[oldhonda]

The Habaki is of no importance. (Of course it should be functional and has value. So, deduct some buying points there.)

The fittings of the Japanese swords are not permanently attached to a particular blade. They are easily removable by design. This trait is uniquely to the Japanese swords.

With the old Japanese swords, the fittings are almost always "married" to a blade, instead of made for it when it was freshly forged a few hundred years ago.

[oldhonda]

There are some points to consider when buying a wakizashi.

1, Wakizashi is not as desirable as Katana in general speaking.

2, Because swords are very expensive in Japan, the Japanese collectors are very selective of what they're buying. Unless there's heavy discount, gimei wakizashi or even simply questionable, are out of the window.

3, The less desirable swords, like gimei, or heavily modified tang (tang is a very important part of a sword when judging value. Don't over look it.) , etc., etc., are therefore sold to the western market through various channels.

[Beater]

Kevin
I compared the Mei to swords in my collection
Admittedly 2nd and 3rd generation
Then google for more
To my eye the Mei is way off and the suguha doesn’t look very controlled but perhaps that’s the polish
the poster said the Habaki didn’t fit very well he assumes it’s not original to the Sword if that’s the case it’s doesn’t indicate anything
But as I said that doesn’t make it a bad Sword
The Sword needs to be in hand to give a proper assessment
This cannot be done with photos
Do you think the Mei is correct for a late generation tadayoshi?
Can you post a genuine one for us to compare?

Sorry Nick, I don't make public claims about authenticity in respect of other people's blades.
I've never had a genuine Tadayoshi. Had a few gimei though. I did once own a Shodai Masahiro. It went to shinsa with NBTHK in London (2006) and received a pink paper - gimei. I was so disappointed I sold it on. Several years later this same sword appeared on a sword forum with good NBTHK papers for both the blade and the Higo tsuba which was on it. After that I take it all with a pinch of salt. Even the experts are inconsistent.

As I said earlier, I'm not saying I disagree with you but wanted to hear your reasons for making the gimei assertion.

Regards,

Kevin.

[nickn]

Kevin
The poster asked for information on his blade
Perhaps it should be posted on the nihonto forum
Lots of experts on there who are happy to give opinions

[BruceP]

Sorry Nick, I don't make public claims about authenticity in respect of other people's blades.
I've never had a genuine Tadayoshi. Had a few gimei though. I did once own a Shodai Masahiro. It went to shinsa with NBTHK in London (2006) and received a pink paper - gimei. I was so disappointed I sold it on. Several years later this same sword appeared on a sword forum with good NBTHK papers for both the blade and the Higo tsuba which was on it. After that I take it all with a pinch of salt. Even the experts are inconsistent.

As I said earlier, I'm not saying I disagree with you but wanted to hear your reasons for making the gimei assertion.

Regards,

Kevin.

Kevin, good to “see” you!

Very interesting example and experience. Just verified my experience with experts in any field. Whether medicine, law, history, religion, etc, you have to educate yourself and almost become an expert on each matter so that the pro we are working with can be crosschecked and verified. For the most part we have to trust them, but like you said, with a grain of salt!

BTW, I’m a grandpa too! Little girl born last Monday.

[Beater]

Congratulations Bruce. I hope everything went well my friend. Give my regards to your family.

Best wishes,

Kevin.