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Hello everyone, Thank you for the positive support on the first article, I sincerely appreciate it. I've decided to test the waters and gauge interest in a series of in-depth articles on the grandmasters of Nihonto. This ties into a contentious question which is endlessly engaging for enthusiasts. Who was the greatest maker of Japanese swords in history? Of course, there are many valid answers to this question, but reaching an informed perspective requires knowledge. Much of that knowledge is rather arcane and not readily available in the West. As for the format, it's an attempt to strike a delicate balance between casual storytelling and academic rigor. As you can imagine, collecting data and sources for these articles is a tremendous effort, and this work wouldn't have been possible without the invaluable help of many friends in the field. You know who you are, thank you. I'll be refining the format over time, so if you find it borderline impenetrable or confusing, please let me know, and I'll tune the style going forward. This is a first draft, and I plan to keep it as a living document, updating it as needed. If you have high-quality material on Mitsutada blades—such as beautiful photos—to share and enrich the article, feel free to send me a PM. I'll be sure to credit you as the source. In the same spirit, there are bound to be mistakes that need corrections, along with typos and the like. Any help with polishing is most welcome. Here's the article: https://nihontology.substack.com/p/grandmaster-mitsutada If you're genuinely interested, share with friends in the hobby and encourage them to subscribe, it will encourage me to move forward with this work! I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching, Hoshi

Brian Tschernega did a demonstration on seppa at the last Vegas sword show. He demonstrated a few different styles. He went into depth explaining how important the fit of the seppa is to the blade, and that it needs to sit tight under the habaki without falling down from gravity. I asked if seppa need to adhere to hi groves on blades where the hi extends through the nakago, and he said yes. It was quite an impressive demonstration, and the precision that goes into fitting the seppa was eye opening. This leads me to speculate that seppa are made for specific koshirae at least on the nicer pieces. Obligatory disclaimer: This is from memory of his demonstration, and I am not a Tosogu expert or craftsmen. His demonstration may have been filmed, I wonder if there’s a copy of it anywhere.

Erik, from Markus Sesko , Swordsmiths of Japan (2015): KANESAKI (兼先), Tenbun (天文, 1532-1555), Inaba – “Kaneyoshi yori godai Kanesaki sandai saku” (従兼吉五代兼先三代作, “third generation Kanesaki, fifth generation after Kaneyoshi”), “Inshū-jū Fujiwara Kanesaki” (因州住藤原兼先), “Kanesaki saku” (兼先作). KANESAKI (兼先), 1st gen., Keichō (慶長, 1596-1615), Bizen/Inaba – “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Kanesaki” (兼先), real name Heki Sō´emon (日置惣右郎), son of Heki Isuke (日置伊助), he came originally from Bizen province, the moving to Tottori (鳥取) to Inaba province took place in the ninth year of Kan´ei (1632), itame mixed with ko-mokume, gunome-midare, sanbonsugi, gunome with togariba. KANESAKI (兼先), 2nd gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Bizen/Inaba – “Kanseaki” (兼先), real name “Heki Sōjūrō” (日置惣十郎), son of Heki Sō´emon (日置惣右郎) and grandson of Heki Isuke (日置伊助), gunome with togariba, wazamono, chūjō-saku. KANESAKI (兼先), 3rd gen., Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Inaba – “Inshū Tottori-jū Kanesaki” (因州鳥取住兼先), “Inshū-jū Fujiwara Kanesaki” (因州住藤原兼先), “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Kanesaki” (兼先), he signed first with Kanetsugu (兼次), real name Heki Hyō´emon (日置兵右衛門), son of the 2nd gen., ko-mokume, regular gunome, also suguha, chūjō-saku. KANESAKI (兼先), 4th gen., Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Inaba – “Inshū-jū Kanesaki (因州住兼先), “Kanesaki” (兼先), real name Heki Heisuke (日置兵助, the first name also reads Hyōsuke), chū-saku. KANESAKI (兼先), 5th gen., Genroku (元禄, 1688-1704), Inaba – “Inshū-jū Fujiwara Kanesaki” (因州住藤原兼先), “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Kanesaki” (兼先), real name Heki Kurō´emon (日置九郎右衛門), according to tradition the son of the 2nd gen. Sōjūrō Kanesaki (惣十郎兼先), some sources list Jinroku Kanesaki (甚六兼先) from the Enkyō era (延享, 1744-1748) as 5th gen. Kanesaki. KANESAKI (兼先), 6th gen., Shōtoku (正徳, 1711-1716), Inaba – “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Kanesaki” (兼先), real name Heki Ki´emon (日置喜右衛門), brother-in-law of the 5th gen. Kanesaki. KANESAKI (兼先), 7th gen., Kyōhō (享保, 1716-1736), Inaba – “Inaba no Kuni Tottori-jū Kanesaki” (因幡国鳥取住兼先), “Kanesaki tsukuru” (兼先造), real name Heki Genjirō (日置源次郎), according to tradition the son of the 3rd gen. Hyō´emon Kanesaki (兵右衛門兼先). KANESAKI (兼先), 8th gen., Enkyō (延享, 1744-1748), Inaba – “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Inshū-jū Fujikake Jinroku no Jō Fujiwara Kanesaki” (因州住藤掛甚六尉藤原兼先), real name Fujikake Jinroku (藤掛甚六), some sources list him as 5th gen., chū-saku KANESAKI (兼先), 9th gen., Bunsei (文政, 1818-1830), Inaba – “Inshū-jū Kanesaki” (因州住兼先), “Inaba Fujiwara Kanesaki saku” (因幡藤原兼先作), “Myōichi Fujiwara Kanesaki” (妙一藤原兼先), “Myōichi Hōsetsu Nyūdō Kanesaki” (妙一峯雪入道兼先), real name Heki Yasaburō (日置矢三郎), student of Minryūshi Toshizane (眠龍子寿実), those sources who list Jinroku Kanesaki (甚六兼先) as 5th generation list Yasaburō Kanesaki as 6th gen., chūjō-saku. KANESAKI (兼先), 10th gen., Kaei (嘉永, 1848-1854), Inaba – “Inshū Tottori-jū Kanesaki” (因州鳥取住兼先), those sources who list Jinroku Kanesaki (甚六兼先) as 5th generation list him as 7th gen.

This tsuba appears to be a Ko-Tosho tsuba from the Muromachi period. Traces of old black lacquer on the surface. 77 x 77mm 3mm thickness Weight 97g Small kizu above the nakago ana visible on one side. $260 including worldwide shipping and paypal fees.

This sekigane and the copper insert on the kogai-hitsu-ana were made and installed by me about 15 years ago so please don't think it's an antique addition.(Not directed at you, Dale, just in general.) I was selling the piece and the buyer wanted to install it on a sword he had so I added it so it would be closer to the dimension of his nakago. I figured it was a better way to do it than the buyer using a punch on the actual tsuba.

As further information here are some summaries I produced back in 1993:

Norimitsu

I’m really happy that Fords videos are still up and available for people to see. To be a highly regarded craftsman in your field is one thing, having the patience and vocabulary to teach your craft in a meaningful way is something else entirely.

Dear Arnaud, You might find this interesting, All the best.

Hi Charles! I think a lot of us would appreciate seeing shots of the nakago. Is that possible? Yes, it is legit. Commonly called the Type 3 in the collector world. It was designed in 1938 and hit the streets in 1940. Didn't seem to become popular until '43/'44 and later, though, hence the impression is was late war sword. You can read all about them in these articles: Real Significance of the Type 3 - Nick Komiya, Warrelics Unveiling the Rinjiseishiki Sword in 1940 - Nick Komiya, Warrelics

Goto Kenjo Kozuka next to his father's verion of the same theme. I'll take a quick pick of other Kaga Goto examples later today or tomorrow.

Good question. Apologies, adhere probably wasn't the best word here . To answer your question: yes, that's how I understood it. In the scenario where bohi extends through the nakago, the nakago-ana on the seppa needed to mimic that profile, including the bohi. What spurred my question, was watching the amount of precision and effort it took for him to get it to fit "just right", and I imagined a bo-hi in that area would only make it more challenging. Hope that makes more sense, All the best, -Sam

Hello all, I wanted to share (what I would guess is) a rare occurrence when it comes to sekigane, one piece that is wrapped around the entire inner part of the nakago-ana. A bit of research makes be believe this is called 全周責金 zenshū sekigane. Does that sound right? Do others have examples of this? I am guessing this is just a more "high-class" way of refitting the tsuba, no? Damon

These two examples from a thread in 2020 Half full sekigane https://varshavskycollection.com/collection/tsu-0297/

Thanks a lot mecox!

Wow, thats great info, thank you mecox.

則光

Erik, as noted by Geraint the Kanesaki line remained in Tottori (Inaba). There is differing info in the literature and were up to 8 or 10 generations. Seems the tradition was they initially signed Kanetsugu and on becoming head of the Ha sihned as Kanesaki. Sesko gives a helpful list of the various generations and dates as a guide.

Amazing work! It was a pleasant surprise to find this in my inbox this afternoon, and a great read. These posts of yours are a real benefit to the forum and community. Thank you so much, and I look forward to the next one! -Sam

I actually really liked this one!

Hey! I’m Shaun. I live in Kentucky and I have just started to research some items from my Grandfather and his brother who were both in the marine corps. My Great uncle was a little older and joined just as WW2 was ending and luckily never saw combat, although he did see the aftermath as he was stationed on midway island when the bombs dropped. He was a (very organized) hoarder and saved every scrap of everything in his life until he passed about 10 years ago. He left a treasure trove of memories and historical items behind and I was lucky enough to inherit a few things, including the Shin Gunto and the silk painting that I recently shared. My family also has a lot of German items from that time period as some of the family emigrated from there in the 30s. Everyone has been super nice and helpful so far. I really appreciate it!

The seller who offered me the sword sent me a few things to read about Kanesaki smiths. I´m not sure where the texts come from. I will try to see from which book they are or if it just was my Translation. Also, i might have wrote it a bit confusing. In the text it describes a first generation from Yamato Province, but its actually the 2nd one in Mino that adopted the name Kanesaki according to it. So i suppose that aligns with what you said. I will try to find about more about the first guy.

Dear Erik. Not sure where your information comes from but the general consensus is that the lineage started in Mino, circa Daiei 1521 - 1528. At some point in Bunroku moved to Bizen and then became adopted as Ikeda clan smith and moved with the Ikeda to Tottori in 1616. I have not found a record of the Kanesaki smiths moving out of Tottori when Ikeda MItsumasa moved to Okayama in 1632. More research for us all. All the best.

Hi, I´m also in the process of getting a Kanesaki (attributed) Wakizashi Edit: removed because i dont want to give false Information

Hi, I'm wondering if going through the kaga kinko taiken would help answer. This may be too simple an answer for what you are asking but my gut would say, Kaga kinko would employ just hira zogan (aka kaga zogan- flat inlay of metals). Kaga Goto uses all the other techniques that Goto would use ie nanako & other inlay methods other than just the hira zogan. I always called Kaga pieces using just hira zogan as painting with metals. The reflections of just gold and silver as you tilt the light source makes the pieces come to life. If you can't tell, I might have more exposure to kinko side than the goto side (based on my definition). But I love the Kaga schools and find their work top notch and most interesting. Always love to see examples (even ones without mantis - although mantis add class to a piece). all the Best. Ken aka "The mantis dude"

1. I believe it's: 因幡國住藤原兼先 - Inaba no Kuni ju Fujiwara Kanesaki 2. There are a number of generations signing Inaba/Inshu Kanesaki from ~1620 into the mid 1700s 3. See above. This sword also has old papers which can be a caution, so make sure to do your research on the different smiths, and their signatures knowing that these white papers are considered outdated.

Hi Raphael, Inaba kuni ju Fujiwara Kanesaki. Hope that gets your research going.

I’m very new at sword collecting and this is my first sword. It was given to me by a relative who was on Midway island right before the US dropped the bombs on Japan. He was fortunate to have never seen action and the story is he traded a pack of cigarettes for this sword at the base he was stationed at. I guess I just mainly want to share the sword and see if anyone has insights. From what I gathered from the interwebs it is an earlier model aluminum hilt made at the Suya Sho Ten company in Tokyo for the navy. I have yet to see one with a black scabbard but the serial numbers match on the blade and scabbard. I know that the Kai-Gunto sometimes had a black lacquered scabbard but this is clearly the 95 type. TIA!

If it helps the debate about originality or whether the black painted saya is a war time alteration, I know that this sword has been kept in a trunk buried deep inside a (very hoarded) basement since my relative came back from the war. So I’m 99% sure that he did not paint it himself and that this is the way it was when he acquired it in 1945. Also, after looking closely at the saya, there are some worn down spots where it looks like there is a brownish/green paint underneath. The top of the saya where the serial number is located has drippings from the paint job that made it difficult to see the serial number. It’s hard to get a picture of the number but in person you can see the serial does match the blade. Does the black saya affect the value of the sword?

Latest one posted by @Bloodaxe924 here:

Type : Chigo-zashi (boys formal sword) in tachi style. Also called “chigo-to”. Ubu: all original Mei: Ietsugu Age : considered to be Taisho/early Showa Koshirae : in full original tachi koshirae of ito-maki style in green, total length is 67 cm. The kodogu all have matching engraved design, tsuba is tachi-style aoi-gata shape, has two engraved dragons each side and looks to be made of lead. Two matched pairs of seppa. Tsuka is well bound with quality same and has matched copper menuki (may be ceremonial bow and bag design). Saya has interesting brown lacquer with imbedded flake in good condition. Habaki is copper, one-piece well made with diagonal filing design. Nagasa : 38.5 cm. Sori : 1.8 cm Motohaba: 2.3 cm Nakago: length 10.7 cm, yasurime is sujikai, tip is katayama-gata typical for Kaga province. Hamon Type : suguha Jihada : not obvious Flaws : fine tate-ware. Description: Sword has a forged iron blade of good shape but basic manufacture. It is polished but not well finished. Suguha hamon is also basic although appears to have nioi sections. The sword overall is a well proportioned small scale tachi and in very good original condition. The ni-ji mei of IETSUGU 家次 is well cut on katana-mei. (There was a prominent line of Ietsugu tosho in Kaga Province in the late Koto and into the Shinto period, but this name not reported in modern times). The style of this sword is probably not for “Boys Day” but is for the older samurai tradition of the young son attending a festival, and these mounts are also called Iwai-zashi (“worn to the fesitival”). No sword stand is not included. Sword Location : Brisbane, Australia Will ship to : most locations Payment Methods Accepted : Paypal SOLD

Hi Shaun, Yep as Sam said. These were only Army (IJA) and one day we might be lucky enough to find out why a few saya's were painted black. IMO that is a wartime/period touch up. You may be aware that the tsuka (hand) was originally painted brown and that has all gone now but thats also not uncommon. Matching numbers is very good. These Type 95's were issued to NCO's wheras Officerx had to buy or provide their own. Importantly nothing to be gained by pulling the tsuka off to look at the nakago.......unlike the officers swords (Types 94,97 and 98's etc) there is nothing to see under this one. You only run the risk of things not going back together as tightly.

Hi Shaun, much of what you gathered is correct You have a very nice Pattern 2, Type 95 NCO Shin Gunto. From Suya Shoten Co at Tokyo First Arsenal. Nice early serial number. These are often called NCO Gunto for non commissioned officers, and are not associated with the navy, as far as I know. The black paint is less common, but not unheard of. Whether yours is wartime or later, hard to say. I can say that I’ve seen several with black painted scabbards, and it’s a nice look. Cool sword and thanks for sharing! It’s definitely genuine, incase you had any doubt. All the best, -Sam

Spend some time looking at as many blades as you can, and once you've had a few dozen in your hands, you'll start to get an idea of what a nihonto is. Being in a hurry is the worst thing of all.

Hi Willi, Don't be in a hurry to buy; good swords will always be available and the more you know before you buy the happier you will be when you do. If you insist on purchasing a sword as a beginner you need an unusually honest dealer. Grey

I am not well versed in all the relevant terminology or history, but I can try to describe certain elements based on the knowledge I have tried to gain online and will make an attempt to use some terms, hopefully correctly. And hope I have provided some images that are useful. I am grateful for any additions and corrections and would be interested in insights from your knowledge, history, experience or enthusiasm so I can better appreciate it and create a good description for my friend. I don't know if he has interest in restoring it, selling/donating it. 1. This suji bowl shape (hachi) is shiinari ("acorn") or toppai ("pointed") 2. 62 plates form the bowl that are 3. Standing rivets. They are in groups of 1, 2 and 3. 4. The opening on the top (tehen) is fitted with a tehen kanamono that seems to have 7 layers or pieces culminating in a solid (closed) top piece. 5. The plate at the center, back of the hachi has a ring (Kasa jirushi no kan ?) 6. The fukigaeshi seem to have some interesting patterned material under the layers of dust/dirt, with star or rosette shaped rivets or studs and a kamon on each side with Tachi Aoi (standing hollyhock)(?). Does this symbol represent a specific lineage or family crest? 7. The multi-lame skirt (shikoro) has three metal lames attached by multi-colored lacing (maybe a third of it missing)and with interesting "heart-shaped" metal pieces in outer corners of lower lame [wow, restoring lacing does look like it would be a challenging endeavor] 8. The helmet liner (Ukebari) is intact and chin cord (shinobi-no-o) is attached but degraded. 9. The visor (Mabizashi) is dented which has caused some cracking of the red laquer (paint) on the visor underside. Is there any reason to look for a signature or other markings and, if so, where or how? I think beyond a description like something above, he would be interested to know a general age or time period for the helmet and anything that might get him interested in doing something with it. Hate to see this just put back into a box for years and then likely to be found by someone who might then have very little interest in it. A lot of fine craftsmanship and beauty in this and even more so in the really fine examples I have seem during my internet explorations. Thanks for any input -- much appreciated, azzie b.

I got a piece not too long ago that is similar to the one Dale posted: My piece has a lacquers on a number of the "swatches" on it. Best, rkg (Richard George)

Well as I was travelling in Japan this summer I realized I should share the current data I have, because if something happens to me all my long time work is lost. There have been some unexpected passings in the last few years and I have been gathering the data for this file for around 10 years now and it would be shame to lose it all. This is still a work in progress and there is even tiny bit of Finnish language mixed in there. This will never be finished and I will continue to work this hopefully for a long long time. As I managed to pass 15,000 swords in the file I thought it would be time to share it. I am strong supporter of openly sharing the knowledge, so feel free to use this for research, just would be nice to be credited if this is used in research. My original idea was to stop around c.1450, and I mostly did. However I wanted to include some Muromachi stuff I like and old ōdachi in general, and few years ago I started adding late Muromachi and early Edo Naginata to the list. So I think the number of pre 1450 swords might be closer to 14,000. Of course would be amazing to have all swords included but as a solo project just stopping around Early-mid Muromachi has proven to take majority of my sword hobby time. There are most likely some errors somewhere in there and I correct then always when I notice them. It is just due to human error as this is my solo project and 15,000 sword entries there are bound to be errors, and there are still many items that might have XX etc. that I need to do more research. I have included reference for each and every sword, so I do have all 15,000+ swords in my personal references. I have been using this my personal reference system for a long time so for me it is easy. I am always updating this when I have time but I think I have 1000+ written references at home as I have c.800 issues of Tōken Bijutsu. For a long time I have tried to find motivation to finish seeking all the City Bunkazai from city websites but so far I have only gone through 187 cities and I think there are 700+ in Japan. The reference system might be bit confusing but at the bottom I should have quite up to date list of the reference codes I use. Few years ago I started adding additional information and attachments. I should have started it from the beginning as I need to go through references multiple times now. It is still a work in progress but for example additional info I should have around 300 Meitō, I think there should be provenance (denrai) for 1300+ swords currently. Maybe c. 150 shrine dedications etc. For attachment example I should have info on close to 1,500 sayagaki. Just looked and I think I should have c. 400 Tanobe sensei sayagaki. Listed as authentication I should have around 2,500 Hozon & Tokubetsu Hozon papers for these swords. I know there should be 3,000+ but many Japanese dealers never post the NBTHK papers. If I know the location of the sword (museum, shrine etc.) I have written it in authentication field along with the designation of the sword if it has such. I had a huge dream of a website and I had an amazing vision in mind but unfortunately reality hit that I could never achieve that, and on top of that copyright issues would hit hard. As I said I have every item somewhat accessible to myself however I cannot really share them to public. I try to be up to date with current information where smiths belong etc. and try to switch them around. However it is difficult as new theories emerge from Japan. I just read recently that in one view Ōmiya Morikage is now considered to be Osafune smith instead of Ōmiya, and just few years ago I switched Yoshikage from Sōden-Bizen to Ōmiya, maybe I need to do more switching... so some smiths might be in wrong school, or there can be alternating theories. In my defence I have all the references where I can check but there can be conflicting information among the references. Unless the item is dated I have tried to give a decent time range for the smith as I dislike very narrow ranges for mumei items. Some references can narrow the dating of mumei sword to very narrow time frame and therefore I have written what they see the item being. As for me size and shape is the most important thing for me it was logical to arrange the items by length first and foremost. So if present the swords should go ōdachi - tachi - katana - naginata - naoshi - kodachi - wakizashi - tantō - ken/yari. Then for same length I have usually gone higher ranked first (at least that was my plan). Well that is a brief summary of the database file. I hope everyone will have a great summer Koto tietokanta PDF15000.pdf

And the members who so generously have submitted amazing articles to our downloads section. Too many of you to mention individually.

I think the tragedy is Gary bought his books in bulk and then distributed them himself, [which is a great idea and stops a lot of "proxy sellers"] but once his stock is gone - it is gone forever. I wonder if his family could have his books transferred to a company that does print on demand? That way the books outlast the author. I do print on demand publishing and yes my books get "taken over" by proxy sellers who make whopping profit from no effort - however the books will remain long after I am gone. I am also setting up a system that pays any royalties from the book sales in the future, to a charity - we are not talking about big sums here, more on the average of $30 a month. A charity can make good use of $30 a month, my kids would get what? three or four cups of coffee. Just an idea worth thinking about.

Dear Members! I´m very happy to be able to annonunce that my new book "The Yonezawa Matchlock - Mighty Gun of the Uesugi Samurai" is now out for sale. This project has been a true labor of love which I have been working on for several years. Being a student of Japanese history for as long as I can remember, my aim with this book has been to tell a story about the fascinating and often overlooked world of the Japanese matchlock. In order to be able to place the matchlock or Teppo into an historical context, I have opted to focus parts of this book on the history of the famous Uesugi-clan and to follow them from the beginning of the 15th century and all the way until the fall of the samurai. The number of books written in English about the Japanese matchlock is not impressive by any standards, so I´m hoping that this publication will bring some new and much needed insights into this specific field of study. The book has 243 pages with some added b/w pictures. The table of content is as follows: Foreword by Piers Dowding Author´s Note Introduction 1. The beginning 2. The rise of Kenshin 3. Introduction of the firearm 4. The fourth battle of Kawanakajima 5. Death of a dragon 6. Uesugi Kagekatsu 7. Sekigahara 8. Birth of the Yonezawa matchlock 9. The origin 10. Osaka 1614-15 11. From the brink of distaster 12. Gunnery schools in Yonezawa 13. Structures of gun manufacturing in Yonezawa 14. Western guns 15. The final battle 16. Keeping the tradition alive References Picture references A lot of the content in this book has never been published in English before and is the result of four years of research and several trips to Japan. Many people have helped me in my quest to finish this book. From this forum alone I have gotten invaluble help from Piers Dowding, Ian Bottomley and Markus Sesko. Further information about this book together with the possibility to order a copy can be found on the below link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jan-pettersson/the-yonezawa-matchlock-mighty-gun-of-the-uesugi-samurai/hardcover/product-23384395.html I would be very happy and grateful if You would order this book directly from Lulu.com because as many of You already know, Amazon deducts almost 75% of the royalties per sold book I hope You allwill enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks! Jan

I have been talking with Wally Hostetter. He’s pretty responsive and has a wide range of stuff he can make. Decent pricing too. You can fill out a contact form on his website. https://shiningmoon13.com/contact-us/ just tell him what you’re looking for and he’ll give you an initial estimate. He doesn’t accept any electronic payments though. But, he does say you don’t pay until the work is done and he shows you pictures/video and you approve. After which you can mail send a check or money order.

A Type 98, Nobumitsu, found by @Shadow_Frog HERE:

It sold at 1.8k euro. Someone will be having headache. Many years ago I bought heavy 1080 steel "ryan sword" I payed 200$