Brian

Ah yes, Stones... Once of the most superb general weapons references. It belongs in every reference library, and has extensive info on Japanese arms and armour. One of my favorite books when it comes to all arms subjects. Some of the info is a bit dated or concise, and the pics are not fantastic, but it is a great reference and has a lot of info on more obscure items that we don't see anywhere else. Brian

I know this seems like an elementary question, but I was wondering if there was a set pattern when it comes to arsenal oil quenched gunto hamon. In other words, I know that we often see pure nioi sanbonsugi or suguha hamon that are oil quenched, but what about hamon such as pure choji? Do you encounter choji hamon in oil quenched blades, or would this make you look further at it being one of the various Gendaito? What about other more compex hamon? yes, the oil quenched indicators are usually elsewhere such as pure nioi without hataraki and no hada, but was wodering how much the hamon pattern itself can tell about the quality of a Gunto. The query stems from looking at a gunto such as the following one: Given only thise photo criteria, would you still suspect possible oil quenching, or would you be looking to rule that out? Regards, Brian

In light of some recent questions and issues, I am leaving this topic up to ask questions about the above issues, and am hoping to add some tips and procedures for successful imports, exports and dealing with customs. A few good threads have already given some good info on this subject. Here are some basics that are important to follow if you want a hassle free import or export:

I think those are more than opinion, I think they are widely regarded fact. I go with what you said. This isn't just a Nihonto thing. If you have old silverware, and you clean it, you reduce the value considerably. In spite of the fact that the original finish was bright and shiny, the age patina is an important part of the value and collectibility. I know that the total black silver patina is sometimes less than splendid, but it is preferable to a shiny new finish. John, I am sure that Mr Tirado will know the limit and will not overclean the fittings. Do not mess with patinas unless you are a trained expert. It is easy to overdo, and considerably more difficult to undo. Antiques are not always required to get back their original finish. The patina is there to let you know it has aged gracefully and is a few 100 years old. Brian

Don't forget about the Japanese Sword Society of the US. http://www.jssus.org/ Also a great society with a nice newsletter. Both the JSSUS and NCJSC are $60 per year for overseas members, and are well worth it. I am sure the others are also excellent, but don't have any personal experience with them yet. Hope to change that soon. Brian

Lovely kogai, and in fantastic condition. I also understood them to be for hair preparation and the ear hygeine issue. I think the "head marking" thing is a fallacy imho. Pete, when you rank menuki first and then kogai in importance, is that excluding tsuba? Was this an importance ranking when attending court? Brian

Mike, Looks like a sword. I am not sure you will be able to get much more info on the blade besides what you have been given already. Maybe someone can have a guess at the era from the shape, but with a cut-down katana it is difficult. As mentioned, it is likely a Bizen koto that is suriage (shortened) and made into a wakizashi. Tsuka looks long for a wakizashi though. Polish isn't great, but condition looks good. The next shinsa in the Uk (a while away?) may be your best bet to get a closer attribution. I must say I am jealous. For some reason I am attracted to swords with a well cut hi, especially running through the nakago, and that second sukashi (cutout) tsuba looks lovely too. I love the fine work. On the tsuba mei...see if you can get a decent macro photo, or otherwise scan it on a scanner and post it in the tosogu section. It is hard to read from a mei drawing as there are strokes that just don't come out the same.

Just a bump to the top, since I would also be very interested in any opinions on these. Surely we don't only have old sukashi and impressive kinko fans here? My limited knowledge of tsuba also suggests choshu to me on the last one. But there must be some other opinions? Brian

Sorry guys (and especially Paul in this case) I have had to ask a few others to remove image signatures as they can get out of control, too obtrusive or hide malicious scripts. They also draw the focus away from the main info and often just look untidy. Afraid I have to ask if we can use text only in signatures please. Links are fine, but if I start to ok images, then I have to come up with a policy of how large, what content, what color etc etc. Easier for now to just ask us to all keep it to simple text please. Hope you understand. Thanks, Brian

I bet half of Japan is evacuating as we speak :lol: :D Seriously..congrats Milt! That is brilliant. I had no idea you might be stationed in Japan. Wow. Better make sure you have access to a pc regularly, we can't have you disappearing. If you were stationed off base, surely they have to pick up the full costs anyways? Brian

Just an amateur opinion here, but I think that this is one that needs to go to shinsa whether popular opinion says gimei or not. The strokes might not match exactly, but they seem pretty fluent with little hesitation and weakness we see in many gimei. It is also a long mei to forge, and would have to be a real expert to tackle a fake mei like this. The forger would also have to know he did co-operative work with Sukehiro, the style of signature, and probably have access to a shoshin one to copy. Much easier to just gimei Shinkai on his own, unless a faker was an over-achiever Nakago jiri and yasurime are close, but the work will have to speak for itself. I'm not saying it is shoshin by any means, just saying that on a blade of this potential, it is an ideal shinsa candidate. Good luck with it, it would be a great find. Brian

Should be able to, there is no feature stopping it. http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa29 ... gers_2007/ Here is your codes. Direct links to the images etc. I'm assuming this sword is the one marked NMB1, 2 and 3. Brian

Brian, Were there pics that were supposed to be attached? I gather that it is the tsuba that is signed Masatoshi, and the sword is mumei? If so, I'm not sure what info we can provide on the sword without pics, and even then it is difficult. If you are looking for info on the tsuba, then I think the tosogu section might have more info on the maker. Regards, Brian

Can't be too certain, but the fuchi does seem to have the lip on it that would indicate there was a matching aikuchi koiguchi once. Then there would be no tsuba fitted, so looks like you are correct that the tsuba was assembled later, but a good match was found. Probably an early re-wrap in this style led to the menuki being left off, and the same tsuka core was used for the job. I'll leave the other opinions to the experts here Btw, your pic resizing and file sizes are comming along very nicely, glad you made the pc work as it should Brian

All, We have another nice prize to add to the raffe, kindly donated by Henry Wilson in Japan. It is a beautiful sake flask and 2 cups, along with postage to the winner. Details can be found on the raffle page. Thanks Henry, that brings us up to 16 prizes in total Regards, Brian

Thanks Jacques and Stephen. I will pass the info on to the owner. Much appreciated. Brian

Hi folks. For those of you who may have missed the giant intrusive notices above every page, the raffle is up and running and thank you for the great response so far. Just thought I would update you all on the numbers that are taken so far, as many of you seem to want the same numbers Numbers definitely taken already include 1-35, most of the 60's, and most of the 140's. Numbers still available (not all of them, there are still plenty of numbers available) include: 36-39, 42-49, 51-56, 58, 59, 61, 63, 72-74, 76-78, 80, 81, 83-87, 91-95, 97, 98, 104-110 and quite a few others. Just to give you some idea of what is gone. The link to the raffle page is here: http://www.militaria.co.za/raffle/raffle.html Regards, Brian

Hi all, A friend asked me to have a go at these 2 mei. Without a handy camera, he chalked the signatures and photocopied them. Hopefully they are clear enough to work on. The first I think reads Bizen (no) kuni Osafune ju Sukesada? The other I haven't had enough time to go over. I think it ends in Taka, but don't have the rest. Anyone able to assist? Thanks, Brian

Pierre, I am pretty certain they are not using regular floor wax, and if they are, I think they should be strung up. Likely they are using "renaissance wax" which is commonly used in museums, although I am also not too confident about using it long term on Nihonto. But it is used worldwide by museums, so can't be too bad I hope. The traditional methods mentioned already have stood the test of hundreds of years though, and I see no reason to change them now. Google renaissance wax, and you will come up with lots of info on it. Hopefully that is what it is, and not floor wax Brian

Very cute and funny guys... But in the interests of keeping this a serious and dedicated study forum, I have to cut it short now. Let's keep on track please. I know it is getting to the end of the year and the mood is getting lighter, but we have some serious sword experts and visitors on board, and I don't want the tone going downhill. Thanks, Brian

IMHO, this blade (from what we can see) is not nearly in any state of polish where you can start to appreciate any visible boshi. It looks like it was rusted over, and has had a rough amateur polish job done to bring it to this state. Just my opinion from what I see, but there is way too much pitting and roughness to be in a state where the boshi will be nice and visible. The boshi is probably the hardest to polish, and doesn't show nicely unless the polish is done well. I can't make a determination if it is there from the pics. Brian

Congrats Alf! Brian

I split this from the original post, because it is a topic in itself. I found the following file in my Nihonto folder, and unfortunately do not remember where I got it. So hopefully the original poster will forgive me posting it, and has my thanks. If there are any copyright issues, please let me know and I'll pull it. But judging by the dates, it should be ok to share. Brian Urushi Lacquering .doc

Hi Guido, I would appreciate a summary if possible, as you know most of us here are still novices with little to no knowledge of Japanese language I thought Dr T's link I posted summed it up quite nicely, so hope everyone at least gave it a read. Will be glad to hear if there is anything to add to that in the above extract. There, I also found this great article by Guido simpy explaining how to convert those pesky shaku, sun, bu and rin to easy mm and cm. I had no idea it was so easy, and thanks for that. http://www2.una.edu/takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Cu ... _chart.htm It's all about the number 303. Makes life a lot easier for me. Brian

Mark, I may be wrong here, but I think those definitions are more about the feel and look of the blade than based on actual strict physical dimensions. I have seen blades that have a nagasa of 35cm called o-tanto based on the appearance and mounts. I think it is probably an o-tanto, but post a pic and you will get more opinions. The terms are loose, and some will call it one thing, and some another. Is it hira-zukuri and what does the nakago look like? What koshirae? There is an article somewhere that goes more into this, but not sure where I read it. No easy answer, I think it has to go down to gut feel. Brian Edit to add: Here you go: http://www2.una.edu/takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Cu ... of_wak.htm Excellent article by Dr T, who is a member here on the NMB and has a great website. Some very good reading there clarifying the confusion while pointing out how difficult it is to classify them