Brian

KM..It's a hira-zukuri katana, which is unusual in itself. This may be part of the reason it is being chased. While I also wouldn't throw my money at it, I believe it may be a nice blade underneath that disfigurement. Mind you..if that engraving is very light, then it shouldn't pose too much problem for a polisher. The Masamune mei would be gimei (unless it is one of the many other Masamune smiths using that name) The bidders are no doubt taking a chance on the blade, not on the fittings in this case. Brian

Not a Chinese fake. This one has been discussed before, and has been listed a few times before. This was probably a nice Nihonto until someone got hold of it with acid or more likely a dremel/engraver and decided it needed additional enhancement. I am not sure it would polish out ok, but it has definitely been damaged by someone who maybe thought the hada should glare at you. The mounts are correct, and this is likely an old blade taken to war in a custom made wooden saya. The seller usually sells decent stuff..mainly Showato and Gendaito with other militaria. Judging by the people bidding and the price, there are a few that suspect it might be a nice blade once the engravings have been polished out. Risky though, but they ar going for it. Of course 99% of the time when you see this kind of engraving or acid etching, it means it is a Chinese fake..this just happens to be the one exception to mess up the rule Brian

Hi all, A friend recently imported a wakizashi with the following tsuba on it. If anyone can provide a translation and any info on it, it would be much appreciated. Only had the cellphone with me, so this is the best I could do. At least the new cellphones are taking better pics than the older ones Interesting fine crosshatched gold application that is worn, but still very visible in person. Regards, Brian

Bear in mind that the biggest issue in the Nihonto community is unqualified people trying to polish swords. With this in mind, I would like to caution you about any form of home polishing attempts. I know it does happen a lot, but it leads to many swords being damaged. The best thing is to see if you can get a qualified polisher open up a window and see what lies underneath as Stephen recommended. Sometimes regular uchiko application or a bit of a light metal polish like nev-r-dull can bring up some of the activity, but I would caution against any use of sandpaper or stones. Yes...it is done, and can enhance the hamon on totally out of polish blades, but I would hate for the forum to be seen as advocating something that is so strongly lectured against. Refer to the following pages, as they contain sensible advice to live by: http://www.jssus.org/index.html http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/care.htm http://swordforum.com/swords/nihonto/togi.html Brian

Please don't force me to step in here and take action. Guido is a very well respected member of the Nihonto community, and his presence here is considered an asset by myself and others. The original post about finances serves no purpose, and is not worth debating over. youngster's street-slang-Japanese also does not contribute anything to the original post, and I would respectfully ask for this to cease. For the record, I do have KM's full details and a request to retain some anonymity due to the particular circumstances, and this is the only exception to the rule of real names. I would once again ask for people to stick to the rules unless you have emailed/pm'ed with good reasons why you would like to use a pseudonym, and I will require your full details on record. KM..trying to correct someone who has a clear understanding of proper Japanese serves no purpose, and as the recent post on Masamune on SFI demonstrated, will only lead to a point by point breakdown of the incorrect points raised. In the spirit of the season, I would ask for everyone to consider the matter closed, unless you wish to continue it via pm with the relevant parties. Thanks, Brian

I don't call it senility...I just call it having such a decent book collection that it becomes impossible to catalog it mentally :D (Sounds much better) In my other field, I have over 2000 books...and I have lost count of the number of times I have come across a book in my library and thought "wow...how very nice of me to have that..I was thinking of buying it sometime" ..lol Looks like a good book to use as a starting guide. Thanks for the info Rich. Has anyone done a search to see if there are copies available on the net anywhere among the used book dealers? Regards, Brian

Hawley "Japanese Swordsmiths" is still very much in print, in a 2 volume soft cover print. I am told the older editions are more sought after, but the later one does fill the gap. You can find them on eBay..there is a seller who lists them daily, at a BIN of $160 I think. They are also common on the used book market. The Swordsmith database linked above is also a useful resource (started by Darcy) and gives similar info. Regards, Brian

Keep in mind that most of us here do not read Japanese fluently, and therefore necessary script is fine, but if it is not related to the thread or necessary for explanation, please either think twice before posting it, or at least provide a translation so that we can at least improve our knowledge of Japanese. Thanks, Brian

Judging by how close the top kanji is to the serrations, I would expect that the serrations were added on later, after the blade was signed? What age is this kogatana according to the site? The style of those serrations is very advanced, and is the type seen on modern knives with the offset teeth, and would have been extremely effective. I am curious to know more about it, and the age estimate, as I would be suprised if there can be all that much age to the serrations? Brian

Oh my goodness. I am one that believes the fittings should never overshadow the blade, but that is mind-numbingly beautiful to me I am in love with that habaki. The work is stunning, and contrasts amazingly with the shakudo. Wow..just wow. Brian

Hi Kurosawa, Please could you sign your post with an initial and surname or vice versa, as it makes it easier to reply. Afraid I had to give up on the pics..as being on dial up was just too much for me. Perhaps you could resize the images and re-upload to imageshack and edit the post with the new links? You can still post the links to those larger ones if anyone wants to see them really large I suggest around 750 width max if possible. Regards, Brian

Works fine for me in Netscape. Hmm..not sure why you are getting the error. Have you tried replacing the %7E with the tilde? (~) Looked at the code on the page, and there is nothing there that should scramble anything Brian

Although I have not seen one in person, I have been led to believe that a well done mei removal by a qualified person, is almost unnoticeable. The patina is redone to the point that you should not be able to easily see that any work was done on the nakago at all. It just looks mumei. Can anyone else confirm this? Brian

The swords in question here are NCO shin gunto with the cast aluminium handles. There must be thousands of regular shin gunto with older family blades, and they are definitely not all that uncommon. As for the serial numbers..these numbers on the tsuba, tsuka and seppa are assembly numbers, not serial numbers. They are to keep the whole lot together during assembly when they have been hand fitted. There are certainly no lists anywhere of any swords and to whom they have been issued to my knowledge. Brian

Thanks to the 2 users who picked that up and warned me. I have deleted the link and uploaded the image directly. Can anyone verify if that was a legitimate imageshack page, or a spoofed site? The link was img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tsubaandbladedi2.jpg (deleted the http to make it non-clickable) Brian

Well..if it was still for sale this morning..and has been for sale for a few weeks, then I would maybe like to think that we have some serious lurkers here with serious interests and money KM..maybe you should email Toraba and ask for your commission...LOL Brian

Brian

Ron, Try these 3: http://www.sanmei.com/shop_e/enter.html (under books) http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Cho- ... dZViewItem http://www.namikawa-ltd.co.jp/cgi-bin/list_e.cgi Regards, Brian

Yes..those are very interesting, and I agree that the quality does look very good. Certainly must be for a dedication blade, and not a normal sword intended for use? I wonder like Ron if they are intended for O-dachi as discussed currently in the General section? Anyone able to read the auction and give us a summary? Brian

Vitali, That's the one you have for sale on your website at $180? http://www.bushiart.com/shop/default.as ... Name=Tsuba Some nice items there at what looks like fair prices to me..including that sukashi basketweave tsuba I posted earlier at $350. Keep the fretwork items comming all..loving most of these Brian

Thanks Pete..all good info. And Rich is 100% correct....eBay is only getting worse when it comes to fakes. Most of us will still browse there..but expect to get nailed a few times if you do shop there regularly. If your seller does guarantee it is genuine, or real ivory etc...then he should have no problem offering you a money back guarantee if it turns out to be fake. If he won't...then be wary. Actually...be wary anyways..all the time :D I know less then nothing about netsuke, so I stay away from them. The imitation stuff is just too easy to do in the East..and hard to spot. Brian

KM, All I could find at short notice is from this page: http://www.knives.com/tsuba.html Of course I don't recommend the use of mercury nowdays :? Brian

Ken, That'll teach you to check in with the forum too infrequently :D When I checked the link the next day, it was still up, but already reserved, so someone was fast on the trigger. Maybe there are mantis spies here on the forum Maybe Aoi will send you the pic for your archives if you ask? Brian

I would have chosen that number for you even before you sent it Milt :D - B -

Dirk, Great fittings! I especially like that fuchi/kashira. I think those stylised clouds design might also make for an interesting theme...see them quite often. Not quite on topic..but since the keyfret design was linked to early basketweave patterns, I found this online today: (Not quite showing the manji, but you can see how it would evolve from the basketweave as shown earlier) Brian