Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/09/2024 in all areas

  1. I'd suggest the photography is likely something new for many, as well as the accessibility. So while it may not expand your knowledge base, it does for many of us earlier in our journey than you are. Not all publications need to be all things to all people to be works of worth.
    4 points
  2. The book contains not only swords…. So this derogatory statement is misleading… The book approaches the subject by describing the historical figure (so that is useful background to people who owned the famous item that follows), shows depictions of them in art (scrolls, prints, paintings etc) and then illustrates items owned by these famous people - could be swords but could also include armour.
    2 points
  3. It's a pity this book isn't available in English, because it's a real treasure. It's a thesis written by Robert Buravoy in which he demonstrates that the genealogy of the Myochin school of armor-making is largely invented, at least for the 15/16th century.This kind of book is a real plus for those who are interested in the world of samurai and their equipment and want to go beyond the commonly published popularization. I do have the original thesis published in 2008 https://www.persee.f...2018_t22_0181_0000_3
    2 points
  4. It was a great show. I was able to work with Mike Y and find a wonderful first addition to my collection! There were swords ranging from $1000 to well over $500k for a few JuBi examples I saw. Every sword I inspected was in a perfect or very near perfect polish. This was a great time to really see excellent examples of some top smiths. Every dealer was incredibly willing to show swords well out of my budget. I didn’t go asking after the TJ or JuBi swords, but I handled many Juyo swords that were $50k+ including some amazing Rai and Norishige blades among others. Reading kanji names as Adam mentioned above was crucial. I don’t know all of the kanji names and provinces but knowing a little goes a very long way. Same goes with the paper levels and eras (Kamakura, Edo, etc.) The catalog swords were all over the price spectrum. I expected some of the catalog swords I was interested to all be out of my budget but surprisingly 2 of them were right at my budget level. One small thing, many of the Japanese only dealers have prices listed in JPY using man (10,000yen multiples) just something small to know. It was a wonderful show and I wished I could’ve spent the full 2 days there and taken advantage of the English events before and afterwards. I heard there were some excellent English sword study groups on Monday with top smith blades that I would’ve loved to attend but the wife was already gracious enough to spend 5 hours with me on Saturday!
    2 points
  5. A tsuba converted into a Netsuke by plugging the nakago-ana. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166471369863 A fuchi similarly converted. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166469540444 Image from a post by GRC November 22, 2021 These examples may not be the same as David's. Nice mystery with the three different metal fillings. Another from the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. https://spencerartap...arch/works/1928.2356
    2 points
  6. Found a used copy in Berlin. Appears to be one of the best English language references for understanding the technology of sword making. The author sounds fascinating. Kapp was a Molecular Biologist at UCSF where I worked for 7 years in the lab of Nobel Laureate Stan Prusiner.
    2 points
  7. Dai Token Ichi was wonderful. Mr. Robert Hughes hosted the "Yakatabune party" like any other year. This is a tour boat around Tokyo Bay with Japanese dinner and drinks. I joined the party with my daughter. Here are the photos. Thank you, Mr. Robert Hughes.
    2 points
  8. The collection is actually quite good, but as typical with museums its not well understood. Part of it is hidden and unstudied, i.e. tosogu trophies from Berlin which people don't want to discuss openly. There is a Nobuhide on display; generally I am not as appreciative of his work as others, but this blade is a top level masterpiece with prominent utsuri, ichimonji styled choji in ko nie, still in excellent most likely original (!) polish since it was received as it is now in 1891. The polish is absolutely top level, I wonder who did it. The mounts are early generation Komai work. P.S. The attachment overcompresses here is somewhat larger image: https://historyswords.com/a.jpg
    2 points
  9. Here's a partially exposed dragon horimono in relief on an osuriage katakuriha wakizashi I have.
    2 points
  10. The samurai was Kawaji Toshiakira the owner of the Naokatsu, the Marble palace houses the sword until 1926. https://en.m.wikiped...ki/Treaty_of_Shimoda
    2 points
  11. Does anyone have a copy of: Joly's List of Names and Kakihan in a PDF format? I've been thing of creating a book just with the 'Kao' and smith in a logical sequence It may never happen but this would be the first step
    1 point
  12. https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/15.+weapons%2c+armor/494286
    1 point
  13. Dan - as a new member to this forum, I have greatly appreciated your detailed guidance on spotting “fake tsuba,” as well as your general orientation to more accessible collecting, which promotes and expands this hobby; all great IMHO! With this said, your continued argument for your thesis seems unreasonably dismissive of your colleagues’ thoughtful points. I’ll add an additional perspective, which, admittedly, has been stated in other ways in this thread. From a social science perspective, if cast iron tsuba were made with any degree of prevalence during the Edo Period, we would certainly expect to see clear and regular reference to cast iron tsuba in period specific text, directives, and even law. There seems to be a striking lack of that literary and documentary evidence. Others have pointed out the dangers of confirmation bias in these types of examinations, but I think it’s important to restate how much such bias hinders the pursuit of truth.
    1 point
  14. Yes it is Paul Chen/Hanwei and I believe from 1999 - signature would be 中国大連陈朝波己卯年 If your friend has pictures of the fittings it will be very easy to identify the model as Hanwei only makes specific models and not custom pieces.
    1 point
  15. Dave, If the buyer wants to use G&S, then he just skips the discount. Unfair comment. F&F still has protection anyways if you use credit card funded PP. Not uncommon for people to ask for the G&S fees, and Steven is hardly some unknown member with huge risk.
    1 point
  16. The reading is 'Jōka' [kao] (常嘉[花押]) - though it is also possible to read it as 'Tsuneyoshi'
    1 point
  17. You can still be accurate on what it is, but vague on precise details to prevent unnecessary interest.
    1 point
  18. trying to post reel of katakiribori from Ford's scraps on Bella's Facebook page. Despite my ignorance, it worked! https://www.facebook.../p/c9kGrUK9oE98pikV/
    1 point
  19. I love the detail and clarity of the hamon pics in Paul Martin's book. Nice way to pick out and study the details. p.s. picked up another good book - Leon Kapp's Craft of the Japanese sword. Goes through the forging and construction process. John C.
    1 point
  20. The Marble Palace https://en.m.wikiped...g/wiki/Marble_Palace
    1 point
  21. So, thanks to Paris for getting me out there and looking at papered tsuba (that could be made from cast iron and are certified by the NBTHK as Edo period). Found this tsuba pictured below (with papers). NBTHK certified it (as Hozon), and stated it was made in the Edo period. The surface texture of this tsuba looks to be that it was sand cast. Also, look at the casting flaws and some unfinished edges. And notice the typical bottle type designed nakago-ana found on a majority of cast iron pieces. Part of the description given by the dealer was (who is in Japan)- “This Tsuba is recognized by The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, which is known as NBTHK. According to the certificate, this Tsuba is categorized as Akasaka Tsuba (赤坂鍔), which is attributed to Akasaka school makers.” Of course, me thinknig it is made from cast iron is just my opinion!
    1 point
  22. I wouldn't store a sword in its original old antique koshirae, not if its a valuable blade in good polish. Would be concerned of crud and old oil, oil that promotes rust (as been said a dozen times)
    1 point
  23. Once again Thank you all for putting in the time to research this piece for me and my wife to better understand this latest addition to our collection. Without your help they are just random oriental objects but now they have a whole new life to enjoy and pass on in the future. Howard Dennis
    1 point
  24. Brilliant and interesting. I’d never seen this mark on any of the many Nogawa pieces I’ve handled. Probably very early in their output. They progressed onto making some of the very finest hira zogan mixed metal items, even their “average” was well above most other studios. Nogawa and Inoue developed at roughly the same time and pace but Nogawa always had the edge in quality and artistic terms…..imo.
    1 point
  25. Hi. Made by Nogawa. 能川製
    1 point
  26. This was just posted by Andrew Ickeringill ( @Andrew Ickeringill ) on Facebook, and I thought it was worth posting here, and pinning for the future. Andrew is a FULLY trained traditional polisher and one of the most qualified to make these statements. Before bringing up the subject on this forum, and risking a storm of fire, please read this and take it to heart. Amateur sword polishers… I know you probably won’t listen, but I’ll try anyway. Recently, I’ve been seeing more and more rubbish from amateur polishers on the internet, it’s not a new problem, but with social media being what it is, amateurs have been given a platform where they can prosper. It’s beyond frustrating, it’s infuriating, and it's working directly against what I'm striving for, the preservation of Nihonto. I’ve had to correct the damage caused by amateur polishers many times, and the damage is always severe. Correcting these hack-jobs takes a lot of work, and it means removing more steel than would’ve otherwise been necessary if the blade had previously gone to a traditionally-trained togishi. A traditional apprenticeship in togi takes years to complete for a reason, THERE’S A LOT TO LEARN! It means giving up everything else to spend your time in servitude to Nihonto. My apprenticeship was 12 hours a day / 7 days a week / for over 6 years, and even my spare time (what little I had) was usually spent studying nihonto. But if you want to be a togishi, this is the way it must be, you have to go all in. Through arrogance or ignorance or both, amateur polishers have completely forgone this necessary training. Some of them may have attended seminars in Japan, or visited a togishi for a few days… but this obviously doesn’t equate to traditional training. And for many amateurs, the bulk of their training consists of reading books and watching youtube videos of swords being ruined without a clue. Unfortunately, these videos receive plenty of misguided encouragement from those who don’t know any better… “wow, so shiny!”. Amateurs will often argue… “this sword isn’t worth sending to a pro, should we just leave it to rust?”… but how would THEY know? They haven’t been trained in kantei, they have no idea if a sword is worth a professional restoration or not. A cold chill passes up my spine every time I think about this, how many great swords have been ruined by amateurs? I know I’ve already seen a few in my time. If you’re an amateur polisher reading this, let me give you a tip… this job is not for you. This isn’t something that should be attempted by anyone but a traditionally trained togishi, and if you haven’t realised this fact by now, then you need to develop more respect for Nihonto and the craftsmen who have worked their butts off to complete the proper training. Please stop scraping the life away from these works of art, you’re doing far more damage than repair… this job is not for you!
    1 point
  27. Ken tail is male. Also, female animals depicted tend to have open mouths...or so I've been told, someone might want to confirm.
    1 point
  28. Nice pickup and a good moment to make a big purchase with the strengthening of the $ against the Yen. A Fukuoka Ichimonji is on my list but I have yet to find one i like and within budget. Prices seem to be all over the place. Spending the sort of money they command requires an in person inspection.
    1 point
  29. It's a real beauty, Peter! Thanks for posting! The small stamp on the kabutogane is the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal inspector stamp. The mei is Koa Isshin Mantetesu made this Date: Spring 1942 Serial number: ノ302, or "NO 302". The NO series was right in the middle of the 1942 production year. If they counted the year by fiscal year (April to next Mar), it would put your blade around Oct of '42. If calendar year, it would be around Jun '42. You can read more on the following, but in short, the "W" or "M" was a half-way inspection stamp used by the army. The Mysterious W Stamp
    1 point
  30. I bought a Juyo signed Chikafusa (Fukuoka Ichimonji) tachi. I had identified a couple of other Ichimonji swords for my list, but I knew going in that one was out of my budget and another was a mumei wakizashi that was just average when I saw it in person. The other swords on my list were contenders and in budget, and I added to the list during the show. It was funny, I woke up Sunday morning telling myself to stop thinking about that Chikafusa because I could not afford it, and then a few hours later I was able to afford it thanks to Mike’s help. One other thing I just remembered—I was pleasantly surprised how willing dealers were to let me examine their swords, even multiple times. I tried to be somewhat reasonable about it by not asking to examine the crazy expensive swords. But I did look at some swords that did not have listed prices that turned out to be way out of my budget.
    1 point
  31. I'm sure we would all like to know what you bought and maybe some reasons why the 10 priority blades were not in the shopping cart at the end of the day. I assume it wasn't due to the price if you had seen these on the websites.
    1 point
  32. This was my first time at DTI, and it was a whirlwind trip from the US to Tokyo and back to the US in six days due to late planning. But I am so glad I went. Some impressions/advice for newbies: 1) There were something like 68 dealers. If you spend all 13 hours at DTI that it is open, you don’t have a lot of time at each dealer. And there were far more swords on display than I imagined. So I viewed dealer websites in advance, identified items I wanted to see, emailed dealers to confirm the item would be at DTI, and made a list of those items to prioritize seeing them. I had 10 swords on my list. I went to those dealers first and saw those 10 swords along with other swords at those dealers. Only then did I expand my search. I’m glad I had this plan. 2) Despite #1 above, I did not buy a sword from that advance list. I bought a different sword that a dealer did not have on their website yet. And I only bought it on Sunday, after I felt like I had seen everything I needed to see Saturday and Sunday to make a decision. 3) Relationships help a lot. I had met Mike Yamasaki at the San Francisco show. So when I saw him at DTI, I mentioned some things I liked. He took me to the dealer I eventually bought from, and Mike spent over an hour with me looking at a couple of blades he recommended. As the dealer was a longtime friend of Mike’s, Mike negotiated a great deal for me with no compensation for himself. I could not have gotten that deal on my own. It was the difference between buying that sword and not being able to afford it. Mike was super busy with other commitments and paying clients, but he was very generous with his time and knowledge. 4) Study swordsmith kanji. I am super glad I purchased the flashcards @Ray Singer sells and that I studied hard the kanji for smiths and provinces. Some dealers have English signage at the show, but many do not. If you can’t read kanji, you’ll be missing a lot. 5) I was amazed at the quantity, range of prices, and quality. Unlike US shows, there wasn’t much that wasn’t swords, fittings, or armor. Not much associated stuff, like books, videos, or prints. It is very heavy on blades. You want to spend a couple of thousand dollars—no problem. Want to spent a couple of hundred thousand dollars on a TJ Norishige, Yukimitsu, etc.—no problem. 6) Kudos to @Keichodo for organizing social after events while being also busy with the show. As I was traveling alone, being able to socialize with others and discuss similar interests was great. And Robert is such a funny and nice guy. But I agree with @CSM101, some therapy may be needed after what I experienced. I am sure I will think of other things as I decompress. I’ll post more as they come to me. And sorry, I was so busy that I forgot to take pictures.
    1 point
  33. The after-events were fantastic. Robert Hughes owes me 10 therapy sessions. For photos from my side you will have to wait until end of November.
    1 point
  34. Here are few closeup photos of the blade, I hope you like it. Kind regards Peter
    1 point
  35. Hello, dear fellow collectors, I just want to share my latest sword made my Mantetsu. What is really nice is that whole sword is numbered "6" or "9" - on each of its part. Blade is in full mint condition, marked two times with "w" charakter, one time "6" on the back and below ith is also marked with bad punch "6". Please can you help me with exact datation of the sword? There is also little marking on pommel. It looks like sword was made with set of only four seppa, but everything holds tight without any movings. The sword is in state in which I bought it, I did not polished it, on ly cleaned it with piece of cloth. I hope you like the sword and if you see any red flags, please tell me, but I hope there is nothing to worry about the sword. Kind regards Peter
    1 point
  36. Please don't touch it. Definitely to be left alone. as it is a valuable relic of history, and should be left as it is IMHO.
    1 point
  37. This is my custom made cabinet. I have been displaying my sword like that for over a year and there is absolutely no signs of any rust. I oil it once a month and clean with isopropyl alcohol and oil once every 3 months.
    1 point
  38. I finally put the finishing touches on my display. It serves as both a display and a safe, which is close to air tight; the glass is clamped to the frame via magnets so it is removeable. The inside is lined with Aspen, and the fabric is vintage Japanese silk. I installed the light bar and a hygrometer. I also carved katanakake inserts for storing in shirasaya in the summer months when I'm away.
    1 point
  39. Checking Wikipedia, they estimate that at the end of the war the Navy had 1.66 million personnel (don't know the percentage of officers) vs 5.4 million for the Army. So right away, you can see there would be four times as many army gunto as navy. Then, like you say, every ship that went down carried it's officers and kaigunto with it.
    1 point
  40. Very late war, August 1995.....
    1 point
  41. It's not something made by the Japanese. In all the fakes, and all the island swords I've seen, the workmanship on this one is about the worst I've seen. It's most likely a fake, but there is a very small chance it was made in occupied lands. There is a story, I have it on file, of a POW that made swords for the guards. So, not all bad looking swords are fakes. But there is no way to tell the difference most of the time. Price? I wouldn't pay anything for this, but if you want it, that would be up to you. Less than $100. The honest fakes, those who sell them as reproductions, often ask for $150, but they look better than this.
    1 point
  42. Sooooo, you've made a complete hash of advertising this item- then you want the potential customer to give up PayPal protections.
    -1 points
  43. It's redundant: all famous swords have been the subject of numerous publications. We learn nothing new.
    -2 points
This leaderboard is set to Johannesburg/GMT+02:00
×
×
  • Create New...