Brian

In light of the recent discussion that was hotly debated, and believing that this forum should run as a democracy, I thought we would run a poll to give the members a chance to have their say as to how the forum should run. General discussion was created so that we could have a place to discuss off topic matters without disturbing the discussions in the dedicated forums. The question is however, how off topic should we go? a)Should General discussion be for any matters we feel like discussing at all? b)Should it be moderated for topics that vaguely concern Nihonto, Collecting, Japan, the Samurai etc? c)Should General Discussion be abandoned in favor of the existing dedicated Nihonto and Tosogu Forums? Feel free to have your say, and please cast your vote. Thanks, Brian

Bobby, Take a look at this link: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... c.php?t=84 I think this is very similiar to yours. I am pretty sure it is a Thai or Bhurmese Dha. You can search the net for more info on the dha. I don't think you will get more info here...since we only do Japanese swords, and this is definitely not Japanese. You can also post here: http://www.swordforum.com/ They have forums dedicated to swords like this. I still do not believe it is very old at all due to the condition and look of the decoration. Good luck. Brian

Michael, I think eBay is your only option for repro tsuba like these. I don't think there is a retailer anywhere for them, and if there was, they would be a lot more. I think even repro tsuba go for $50-100 on average. You won't easily find anything in the $25 range. These are priced around $40 plus $10 postage...but they list them very low with high shipping to get around the ebay final value fees...the same as some of the fake swords. Regards, Brian

Hi, Welcome to the forum. Please sign your posts with a name and initial as per the rules. Did you try http://www.Japanese-swords.com ? Best selection of repro tsuba I have seen so far. However I am not quite sure about your question though. These you are refering to in your post are already repros from China..so you can't have repros of repros :D The won't go very high, since they make their money from the shipping..so if you are looking for bizarre tsuba like these..why not buy these off eBay? You won't get a fake for much less than that. Btw - Just about every tsuba out of China is a fake. Brian

Let's not call it a scam yet... low feedback isn't a true indication, and he does say he has additional pics. There are a few indicators such as posting his email address and possibly foreign syntax...but nothing concrete. Don't want us to tear the auction apart if there is a possibility it is just some new guy posting a sword he has had for a while. Unless we can find the pics on another site somewhere, all we can do is say take care and ask for more pics and info. A query about seeing it in person also does the trick sometimes. Brian

..Link even...or email address No code needed, just paste the link. Here is the link to this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0037056016 At least he could have credited Rich S for the info he cut and pasted I can't find the pics elsewhere..so can't call his intentions. Perhaps he does have it and is just an infrequent seller? But as always..ask for specific pics of certain parts and verify the item before buying. Brian

A friend came across this tsuba last week, and I thought it was an interesting example of what I assume is an older tsuba that was cut (roughly!) for a retention clip. Perhaps it was used on a gunto, and the owner wanted to use his private tosogu for sentimental reasons? Nasty job though, looks like a grinder or file was taken to it. Pics are bad...all I had at the time was my cellphone camera. Pity about the modification, I would have thought it could be done a lot neater, or preferably not at all. Brian

Fake..but much better than normal repro fittings. Just make sure it isn't one of these usual fake auctions where shipping is double the price of the sword. Brian

Could just be that his camera doesn't have a good macro function. I see this often on close up photos on eBay. But I agree that the photos given don't show anything at all. You will need much better close up shots to decide anything. Blade and nakago. Brian

Check out this thread for Fujishiros if no-one has grabbed them yet. The dealer in question has good prices, and my set cost me under $200. They are the most accessible of the oshigata books, and there is an English translation out there somewhere. (electronic and printed) http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... .php?t=253 Worth the money. Brian

Where does Fujishiro come into all of this? Is it a worthwhile second best? Might not be as comprehensive, but is it still up there as a reference to mei? Brian

AM.. I don't see any reason to believe that the info you were given was completely false. Aside from values which are impossible to pin down unless it has papers and has had a proper polish..the rest of the info seems fairly reasonable to me. I wouldn't stress over it. Most of it is visual confirmation that can be seen, and a lot of it is general info. I would submit it to the next shinsa in the USA to get more info, but remember that all you are likely to find in addition to the info you have is perhaps a school or tradition. The dating is possibly close, and the rest is factual info taken from looking at it in hand. Mumei (unsigned) swords are common and should be appreciated for what they are. You are unlikely to get a whole lot more info without a great deal of expense that may or may not be worth it (USA shinsa the exception, they are worth the time and effort, whereas sending to Japan is likely to cost more than it will increase the value at this point, unless you are really in love with this blade) Enjoy the sword, and take care of it for future generations. Brian

Uwe and others.. I think the debate as I see it here comes down to whether or not the gimei signature was done at the time of forging, or later. Many of the gimei signatures were done much later than the original date of manufacture, and were intended to deceive for various reasons. I think this is the case that Darcy is refering to. If a mumei sword was taken 100 or so years down the line, and a false signature was then added to increase value, then I see every reason to remove the mei and restore it to the way it was. Uwe..I think you are refering to cases where the sword was produced and originally signed with a different signature than the maker. I am not sure what the percentages of each occurrence were, but i suspect that far more gimei signatures were added later, and that the original gimei's were not as common. What are the comments about this, and is this a consideration ever? Am I correct in the 2 different interpretations of gimei and reasons for removal? Brian

Nope. 2 Negatives clearly equals a double negative in this case. Your sword has an identity crisis, and clearly needs professional help..just like it's owner :D Split it carefully down the middle, and then you will have 2 nice wall display pieces with different mei. Brian

Found this set for sale today. I guess it's an octopus and shark..not a squid, but interesting nonetheless. Unusual theme. Quite nice to me. Brian

I have no idea about the smith, but did come up with this interesting (and possibly unrelated?) piece of info here: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread ... adid=51942 Down in the middle of the article, S. Wuttke mentions: Perhaps this will lead to further info, or maybe someone will have more info. Regards, Brian

Here ya go http://www.midwesttokenkai.com/show/Shinsa.html Brian

Ann-Marie, When you add the info, it bumps the topic to the top, so we know there is more info in the thread. The source of the info helps in judging how accurate it would be, since there are a vast number of "experts" out there with varying rates of accuracy. If your source is the NCJSC (not NCJSS?) then I would regard that as excellent info. They are a great society with a lot of knowledge, and there are many members here on the board. Unlike certain other clubs (such as the other one in San Francisco) they have a great reputation, and I think you have all the info that you can currently obtain on your sword without submitting it for shinsa. That should be your next step, and then perhaps a polish if you are going to keep it, or sell as is if that is your plan. Sounds like you have all the relevant info besides a maker attribution which is extremely difficult to do without a proper shinsa. As for value, that is difficult to determine. You mentioned you have heard it may be as high as $8000, but IMHO, that is high for an unsigned wakizashi. An unsigned, unpolished wakizashi can be had from $800 up to any amount, with a nice example going around $2000. But the shinsa will tell you more. Sounds like a decent sword though. I must add that if you took it to the other society (I think called the San Francisco Japanese Sword Society) then you should post a new thread about them, and see what the comments regarding them are. They are more than a little..umm..err..controversial :? in Nihonto circles :-) Regards, Brian

That was an excellent and very informative post. Very intriguing to see how tsuba could be used in relation to a lunar calendar. Thank you for that interesting quiz. Brian

Ann-Marie, I deleted the other post to keep this in one thread. O-wakizashi means long wakizashi, so I am assuming that o-o-wakizashi is just emphasizing long, long wakizashi (or very long wakizashi?) I may be incorrect, but this is my understanding. It might help if you could let us know where you got this additional info on your sword before anyone comments about the info. Regards, Brian

It's very fake. Whenever you see that acid etched blatant damascus type pattern, you should already be thinking fake. You will see a lot of this in the fake sword links above. That handle wrapping is also a dead give-away, and is very poorly done. The nakago is terrible, and the kanji look like nonsense to me. I have never seen a genuine Nihonto with "cowskin" in the auction title..but plenty of fakes. I use it as one of my many filters to filter out repros. Stay far away from this sword and this seller. I seriously doubt he is in Japan. Brian

http://www.irfanview.com/ If you can't spring for Photoshop or one of the other image editors, then this one is free and fairly easy to use. Your pics just need cropping. I don't think you can save your pics on the camera past a certain point. But that is easy to do on the pc anyways. Surely your camera came with one of the image editing suites? Most do. Brian

Peter, That is true, but I feel strongly that in that case, sellers must clearly state that they charge for shipping and handling. When I sell on eBay, I sell with the foreknowledge that if I don't specify it..then I cannot try and make a profit for my time and effort. I have been gouged many times. The most recent was $44 postage for a tsuba and f/k that cost the seller $19 including insurance. That is just not acceptable. It seems to be almost standard practice nowdays to make up auction shortfalls with overcharging postage, and a bogus handling charge that is not pre-mentioned. Many (not all) sellers use old boxes that cost them nothing, and all you have is a minimal cost for tape and wrapping. I don't charge for that..it is part of my service when I sell. I don't even bother buying these tiny items from Japan when I see they want $50 and more for shipping a set of menuki or a single fuchi. OK..just my rant for the day Must be off to finish work so I can go away for the weekend. Brian

Hi all, I will be away for a short break this weekend, and am leaving Rich T in charge. If anyone has any queries, please expect email replies only Sunday night SA time, or contact Rich. He has full permission to take any action he deems necessary..so play nice :D Have fun all. Regards, Brian

I may be wrong here, but I think that the mei was probably written on wet clay before the vases were fired, and if so...then I don't think the kanji are badly done at all. This is not as controlled as chiselling them onto hard steel, and would account for the sloppy signature. This combined with the fact that some of these artisans might have been close to illiterate...means I don't have too much worry about the mei personally. Of course I could be totally wrong..but it's a possibility. Try write your name in wet (and maybe not too firm yet) clay..and see how masterful it looks :D Brian