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Out of curiousity.....?

3K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  dango 
#1 ·
:DA few years ago , my sister sent me a beautiful sword for Christmas . She deals in real estate and came across this particular item in an Es-state sale . She had made an offer of $50 for this what looked to be cheap mall type sword . The guy said how's about $75 ...? She bought it and sent it to me .

When it arrived , I noticed there was a small rusted area , not very bad or big . Hmmmm. Mall swords don't rust ? Only high carbon steel blades do that .

There where no obvious markings , just the shipping company who had sent it . I let it lay hanging on the wall for two years . One day while bored , I took it down to polish it and take a good look at it . I removed the handle cause on real Katanas , that's where the history lie !

Turns out after much research cause it engraved in Japanese , it a sword worth about $4,500 ! (HOLY CRAP) ! I'm still researching as to who forged it , when , what village and the exact quality of the steel !

It is a Dokuji Mami Sanmai with an alloy of hand forged 1150 , composit steel with 2% silicon mixture ! (holy cow) again .....!

To us lay-men , it's extremely durable , un breakable and came with certification papers confirming it,s authenticity . Extremely hard to sharpen but maintains an extremely sharp durable edge ....! (WOW) ....!

I called my sister too find out exactly how she came about this and it turns out two interior decorators bought the hole house full of stuff at an Es-state auction .

I'm still researching but it turns out that these master forgers had been doing this for centuries , just how old or when it was forged is so far still a mystery and it's true value , I've not a clue yet .....? I'll post a picture as soon as I post this ....(HOLY COE).......!
 
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#2 ·
you might see about contacting an expert in ancient weapons to see if they have any information on the sword. there are those who do specialize in Japanese swords that might be able to provide additional information that you are looking for.
 
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#6 ·
Or, he has enough knowledge, to realize, that he is now to the point, that if he studies for a few more decades he might be able to ask a meaningful question.

Many times in my life, I’ve had people who most would consider “experts” tell me that they were barely beginning to understand the subject well enough, to figure out how little they really know.

One of the signs of truly knowledgeable people is they don’t typically profess to have a great deal of knowledge.
 
#8 ·
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Well , here's some pictures :

If I had a better cameras , you'd see the grain from being hand forged and folded many times . Damascus steel is the process of hammering al the impurities from a particular billet ! Some have been known to have need folded over 1400 times ! These blades are very expensive and sought after by masters and collectors .

Each blade tells it's story and the older the blade the higher the value . So , what did I end up with ! This is going to take awhile .
 
#16 · (Edited)
Well buddy , most of my knowledge of all weapons is in the usage of them , not so
much the expert in there history . True , I had bought and old original WW II sword at a flea market when I was seventeen . I had to work my way up to a brown belt just to earn the privilege to learn weapons at the age of nineteen , almost three years later .

I'd started martial arts at the age of eleven to protect my mother and myself from a very abusive father and did help out with the local bullies . By the age of 13 - 14 , the abuse had stopped .
I'd developed a true love of the art itself and in that pursute of self defense , it grew into a life time passion . The better I got , the less the anger , more self control and the responsibility to walk away whenever possible . I didn't want to harm a fly but could !

In all these years past , I had to lay all things down for almost two and a half years because of a serious injury to my neck .

In 2013-ish , I started all over again . I concider myself a totally committed student of the arts , no master , a student , still learning .

Fact: -----I'm not master of anything but of learning by mistakes .....!

And to all that read this , HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY !
 
#14 ·
Great news.......!

In my curiousity to find out more about that sword my sister bought at an Es-state sale for $75 turned out to be a true gem
Though it is not an antique , it is fairly exspensive . I was able to decode 4 letters on the paper work that came with it , (SOTE) . "Swords of the east" . I'd never heard the name so I started researching from there .
I'd contacted them , (via-E-mail) with a picture of the documentation and the sword it's self ! They in turn replied and needed to see more detailed pictures and send them the actual certificate of authenticity .

I went to the local registor to get a certified duplicate made and sent off the original paper work to them with the help of a friend , a much better camera and sent it off .

I waited for what seemed years and I got an E-mail in reply !

Congratstulations on purchasing one of our "LIMITED EDITION" .....!
It is in fact a "DOKUSJI NAMI SANMAI Katanas .!
Hand forged by master forger Thaitsuki Nihonto .
High carbon steel , folded 1024 layers , hand sharpened , hand polished , clay tempered , water quenched , rated "60-35 CHR.....!
There are many other details but meaningless to most but the kicker .....

MSRP - $4,500 ..........WOW .......!

Ok , I went to their home page to look around . The same sword can be purchased for $2,199 now , quite a savings but still , up there in price . I have no idea of whom was involved in this estate sale or what else the people whomever were but I sure would have like to have been there !

It is real , down to the Ray skin and silk ! This has become my "wall hanger" since I do have a few others , one just for abuse and practice , two battle ready and now , one master piece to me !
Some of these swords have sold for millions so to me , it's my most prized Katana !

 
#17 ·
Yes they did my good friend . It's just over twelve years old .
One thing I've learned about metallurgy. Through technology between then and now , the steel alloys and production techniques are actually better now than they were then !

A lot to do with the shocking value of these antique swords absolutely is because :

1 The master forger being able to accomplish the quality with such primitive tools at hand !
2 The ability to formulate such special steel alloys with no technology !
3 The folding prossess to fold high carbon steel over much softer steel ! This is what kept those blades from breaking , resiliancy , the ability to flex and maintain an extremely durable edge without breaking or bending . That is why they where folded so many times , softer flexible inner steel with and extremely hard external steel to hold an incredible edge plus the fact the more the steel was folded , the more impurities were extracted . Then add the tempering techniques to get the maximum quality ...! True masters working with such primitive tools and knowledge , I bow to them humblely......!

5 Including all the above , now the most important factor in it's value , (IT'S HISTORY , THE WARRIORS THAT WEILDED THEM )

Fun fact of the day: for around , hmmmm....let's say , $500 - $800 , you can buy a very quality Katana battle ready . Through our technologies and machanical techniques , we make better steel and high productivity . .......

What must have taken a dozen men and sometimes many months to make one super Katana then now can be reproduced in perhaps a few days ! FACT......
 
#18 ·
Dango, I wouldn't give you $7.50 for that foreign machete. Remember how the expert swordsman ended up in the Raiders of the Lost Ark? ;)
 
#19 ·
I watched a PBS special on how those swords were made, totally awesome, some of the people that do the work are "One of a kind" and have been trained for a very long time and even when they make an ingot of iron it may not be good, even before hammering it out into a blade shape. Great find dango, especially with your background and training. I'm very happy for you, it's a beautiful sword, in reality a work of art, which is rare these days.
 
#22 ·
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The philisophical aspects of what martial arts has molded the man I've become is priceless my old friend ! I've learned the true value of life , the patients of granite , the will to do anything possible and to respect all life .

My father bred me to fail , he'd built a rock ....! And you forget , I never bring a knife to a gun fight !
 
#25 ·
Did you know....
At the end of WWII, general MacArthur banned Japanese sword production and even ordered confiscation of Japanese swords?
http://www.swordsoftheeast.com/secretsofthesamuraisword.aspx
I hear they banned guns in Detroit ........:p Those swords were not very good quality nor exspensive to buy . Fact is they would have never withstood the one blow from a quality blade . They were quickly mass produced with very low quality control . Effective in close quarters but would never withstand much blunt force , these were not the choice of a true swordsman , only the highest ranking would weild a quality blade the others would suffice with much lesser weaponry .

Banned or not , the common flea market would be the place to easily find them .

I had a good friend back then that was a flea market participant, heck , even gave me a cheap kit flint-lock pistol to stamp some fake text and patina , LOL ....:D He was a scam artist . I think I paid fifteen dollars for my first WW II Katana . It was missing the Sata - scabbard , Tsuba - hand guard , Tsuka - handle , the Seppa and Habaki - spacer and blade spacer .

I basically bought just the blade for $15 . Working in a custom machine shop made it easy to fabricate the missing parts . Low quality , bendable , lousy edge holding but it was an official WW II relic . The typical foot soldier carry type and nothing more than a conversation piece and good learning tool but no value .
 
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