Brian

Alan, Depends on what you are looking for? Both of these are likely to go higher than they should. The waki doesn't do much for me. Open grain, no wow factor. Average. The shinshinto does look quite nice, but was probably an iai piece, and the fittings might be modern I think. Nice, but it will likely go over $2000-2500 probably. Rather decide what you are looking for, what you want to spend, and then see if anyone here can suggest something. Better than fishing on eBay. Brian

That kanemitsu must be mind-blowing. This one is papered Juyo Bunkazai (taken from http://www.jp-sword.com/files/masamune/masamune.html ) Must be a trick of the light or photo cropping..as the nakago-jiri seems to differ a bit. Brian

Swords for sale in department stores. *Sigh* I really do live in the wrong country. Sounds like a good chance if you are anywhere near there. Thanks for the heads-up Koichi and Guido. Brian

Hi John(s) Taken from http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/glossary.htm : Sea appears a little..umm..er.... frothy? Brian

Look closely at everything, and not just the first impression. In this game, first impressions aren't usually the ones that count. Brian Ps - My...what a happy looking horse.

The nakago just doesn't look like the right shape to me. If this is a Showato (no proof yet that it is a Gendaito) as claimed then I would expect it is possibly the forward part of a broken wartime blade that was reshaped and patinated. Just my theory. Brian

Definitely not papered obviously. Probably with some minor flaws and out of polish. Wakizashi, not katana or tanto. You should find something that is genuine and in low class fittings, but I think it is do-able. Some will have issues with spending so little and trying to get a reasonable piece, but you have been honest and said you won't collect and just want a representative item, so if that is where you want to go, then I am sure something can be found. Just read up on how to treat, clean and maintain it. Brian

Thanks for the correction Malcolm, the original is here: They have a great reputation on the forum, and have some really good short info articles here Brian

Here you go: Tying fusahimo http://reviews.ebay.com/Katanabukuro-Fu ... 0004017408 http://www.shibuiswords.com/tiecord.htm Brian

Ok..now is that in your "for show" section or your "for sale" section? I don't quite get esnips sometimes, and on dial up it is pretty frustrating. Not for sale is it? Very nice. Brian

John, Very nice, we are all jealous. There is something about jumonji yari that makes them have lots of fans. I am sure you felt it Have you got an agent arranging the export, or is the dealer doing that? Brian

I see Simon Rowson is also mentioned in the credits in the beginning. Nice to have 2 members here mentioned. If we keep up with all the new info here, oneday maybe the forum will be a quoted source of info for a published article or 2 Brian

The fukure is a flaw formed under the surface during forging. It opens up later once the sword has been polished and the surface steel has been polished away as John said. Sometimes you can see them as blisters before they open up. They can be like an iceberg...small amount showing on the surface, with a large area underneath. Nasty flaw looks-wise. Brian

Nick, I wouldn't go the iodine route. I can see no real positive aspect to it, except for giving a totally different artiificial look to the one it has now. The art of tsuba and nakago repatination is one of the most complex and closely guarded of all the procedures. If it was simple, everyone would be doing it, instead of a handful of professionals. There are many tips ranging from hanging up in an outdoors latrine, to the carrying in a pocket with a soft cloth, to the years worth of light rubbing. Ingredients range from nose and forehead oil to various noxious concoctions. I believe Ford had some info on it, on the old carving path forum. I am not sure if he has posted it on his new forum yet, I will have to check. The old thread is here: http://www.thecarvingpath.net/forum/ind ... topic=1016 It is very involved and takes a real artist to get right. Anything else just looks artificial. I wish I could give you better news, but at the end of the day this is something for a professional who is an expert on the true methods. If you do decide to give it a try yourself, make sure it is on a worn out and fairly average plain tsuba, and don't try the "quickie" methods as none are really worth much. Regards, Brian

The Japanese swordsmiths were not known for taking short-cuts or the easy way out :D :lol: Brian

Well....we've seen gimei signatures that were lesser quality than the work itself..so anything is possible :lol: Not saying it was an attempt to add a better name. Could be a broken nakago that was badly repaired. Could be the guy who did it didn't know it was a Showa smith. Could be nothing wrong with it at all, and someone was just grinder happy that day. Just saying to check out that area closer Brian

Joe, There is a good article on suraige translated by Paul Martin on the articles page here. Check out the .pdf. http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/articles/Suriage.pdf Brian

I'll emphasize that in case anyone missed it. There are some telltale grinding marks there that need to be investigated. Brian

I still need to get it myself (it's shipping that's a killer I think) but from what I understand, it is just info and dates. No pics or examples. Strictly for looking up names and basic info. Brian

Well..just in case anyone missed it and was seriously considering it. Brian

The one you just posted about sounds and looks like a modern repro :? Brian

Rick, Not an easy one to answer, as the result fills quite a few books on the subject. I do suggest reading through some of Rich's pages on Goto, which can be found here: http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/tosogu.com/?p=155 http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/tosogu.com/?p=158 http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/tosogu.com/?p=159 I think that should answer some of the questions, and provide some excellent examples. Regards, Brian

Yes...I certainly was! Wow..beautiful. Max...if yours is good, you owe the forum a round of drinks :lol: Good luck. Brian

Thanks Guido, for me that concludes it satisfactorily. Not that any other opinions weren't valid, but I think you summed it up nicely and it would be the concensus as far as I am concerned. Let's consider this one solved unless something changes dramatically? Hmm..the move to China is going to be a big loss to the Nihonto community and trade there. How fast can you unlearn Chinese? :D Will you be able to continue with your sword work there, and are you able to travel back to Japan regularly? Maybe you will be the one to finally find all those stored Japanese swords in China that I have heard about.. Brian

Maybe you should bid $1000,000 on each of the swords he has listed, to make sure no-one else can win them? If the pics are stolen from you, then eBay can't blame you for a false bid, and if they end with a sale, then he will owe eBay high listing fees, which he won't pay, and will get banned anyways? Online warfare :D Brian