Rating Systems

Dear All,

i am here for the first time so please excuse me if i sound silly.

i was offered a blade signed Takekuni Shimosaka - i've found him here http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TAK243 but being a novice i'm a bit confused by the rating systems - the 15 by Hawley and 2M by Toko Taikan - is it good or no so good? :)

many thanks


Ratings

Hi IchiNi,

Just speaking of ratings, Takekuni 2nd is a medium-to-low grade smith. By the way, I checked Toko Taikan and only the first generation of Takekuni is mentioned there. Therefore 2M is the rating of the first generation (record fixed).

I would be looking at the blade, not the rating. There are very good swords out there made by smiths with Hawley's rating 15. Does the sword have a certificate?

Regards,
Stan

more details

Hi Stan,

many thanks for the reply. it does have a certificate but one of those obscure ones -- i cant figure how to attach pix here so please take a look at it here http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6081
the blade is in excellent condition and has got a a chrysanthemum on nakago - i personally really like it.
Prices here in Russia are normally higher than anywhere due to problems with customs, etc. but the seller wants USD17K for this one so i am not too sure it is really worth the cash.

cheers

Vlad

Email

Hi Vlad,

I sent you an email.

Regards,
Stan