Brian

I think he is saying this Yasukuni blade resembles a Kamakura Rai school blade in characteristics. I think he is also saying that a touch-up polish will improve this sword to the point that you won't recognise it anymore. Starting to sound more like an eBay listing description nowdays :? Brian

Careful..or you are going to to get me hooked on tsuba too :D Nice one. Brian

Direct link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0022122629 What I know about tsuba is scary, but looks like a nice tsuba to me. The bamboo rod reminds me of a riding crop as depicted on one of my few tsuba, with the cord at the bottom? Not sure about the other larger openwork sukashi shape though. Brian

Thanks all for the update on the show. Good for those of us who can't be there to hear how they work and what goes on. Surprised that it wasn't better attended. I know hundreds of us outside the USA would love to be able to attend, so what is the reason for some of the indifference over there? The shinsa prices seemed very fair, and the location can't have been too bad? Did anyone take any pics to post, so that we can see some of our esteemed members "in action" and see some of the displays? Regards, Brian

Darcy, Excellent work, and one of the most useful Nihonto tools on the net. It is looking good, and works well for me. I like the improvements too. So the idea is that people who know their field well..can update the info there and build up the dtabase? Thanks for the effort and work you put into it. I can assure you it does not go unnoticed :lol: Brian

150 Views and only 10 votes plus a few posts? Thanks to all who took the time. All in the interests of making the board more user friendly Brian

Ken, Very interesting pair there. Pity there isn't an item to show scale, as I think they would be more impressive given a clear indication of size. If someone has a tsuba with nakago signed by this smith, then this would make a really nice set. Thanks for sharing them. Brian

Stephen, Haha. Brilliant idea..yes, let us know what he says :D If by some freak chance it is the same smith as mine, with the same dimensions and identical in every other way...then I guess I am going to have to buy it :lol: Brian

All, item 150028973169 Watch out for this naginata auction. He doesn't have it...I know because I bought it from a Japanese seller months ago and currently own it. Reported to eBay. Watch those 0-feedback sellers! He probably has extra pics too..and even altered the description a bit. Brian

Martin, I am also not qualified to judge a mei, but this is one of the harder aspects of collecting Nihonto. Basically this is why we have Shinsas and experts with huge libraries of oshigata that they can reference to see if the mei matches known examples. It comes down to being able to recognise the strokes the make up the signature, and then see if the blade characteristics match his known works. Most of the books used to compare signatures are in Japanese, and the most well known one is the Fujishiro Nihon Toko Jiten with Koto and Shinto volumes, and also all the Nihonto Koza volumes that AFU has translated into English. Those can be found at http://www.afuresearch.com/index.html Weak strokes, wrong placement and unconfident chiselling can be indications of gimei, but there is much more to it. So basically you compare it to known works, and then see if the hamon/hada/sugata etc matches his work, and then you will have only an educated guess Take a look at the top of the forum for the suggested reading, and also the Swordsmith Database can be helpful. The Hawley books, Japanese Swordsmiths, are also popular, and have a good section on gimei. I am sure someone will take a look and give you a good opinion on the smith in the pics. Regards, Brian

The scrollbar color is very difficult to change in .css code apparently. I'll be looking into it. Firefox has no problems...I think this is only in IE that the colors are close. But why not use a mouse with a wheel? I just roll the wheel to scroll...haven't had to use the scrollbar in ages. Who knew running a forum would force to me to learn coding. Argh. Brian

Apparently we are fast..but not always correct :D Thanks for the correction. Brian

Koichi San, Thanks for that link. I had found it a few weeks ago, and it is very well done. Lots of good pics and info. It looks like he is translating more in English over time, and it is a valuable resource. Regards, Brian

Hi all, I am looking into the site layout and general presentation, and would like to take a quick survey of what screen resolution most of you use? 1024x768 shows full screen with no scrolling needed, while smaller screen resolutions might need scrolling to view the whole page. If you are not sure what your resolution is, right click on your desktop and select settings. The sliding bar should tell you what resolution you are currently on. Thanks, Brian

Hi, How about 3 posts down from yours? http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessageboard/viewtopic.php?t=84 We are fast here on the NMB :D PS - Please could you sign your posts with a first name and initial of your surname, or vice versa. Much appreciated. Brian

Tim, Hard to find originals in one place unless you are maybe at one of the larger shows or dealers. Otherwise you will probably find them one at a time on the auction sites, and hard to match a set. For modern pieces, try Fred Lohman who has sets and pieces. http://www.Japanese-swords.com/ Otherwise try the various sword dealer links at http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/links.html The scabbard mouth does not use a fuchi. It is called a koiguchi and while it may match the other fittings, is not the same as a fuchi. Brian

Definitely not Japanese. I would say it is some tourist fantasy piece (especially with the small knife inside the handle) but perhaps it is some other Eastern sword such as from Burma or Thailand? As suggested, your best bet would be to post it at the Swordforums where they have forums for these other countries. Regards, Brian Edit to add: I believe this may be a Burmese Dha. A great page on these can be found at http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/ I am still unsure if it is old, or an early tourist piece..but looks like it may be fairly modern with that screw in accessory knife that isn't typical

Just to second (third?) what has been written..my dealings with them have been very pleasant and I am very satisfied. I think Mark is one of the regular sword show trusted dealers? Brian

Good find Will be interesting to see what it goes for. So to be registered in Japan..it would have to have a mekugi ana and a sharp cutting edge? I assume this blade is just a thin saw blade without a straight cutting edge? Brian

Jeff, What error are you getting? Pics should upload ok. Check out the how-to at http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessageboard/viewtopic.php?t=8 for instructions, or email to me and I'll post them. Must be smaller than 1Mb in size. Brian

I was intrigued..so I did some reading through Fuller and Gregory. This pommel shape differs from the Navy dirks, and there are other differences, so I would count that out. The shape of the brass pommel and backstrap matches the fire bureau dirks almost exactly. But they have more decoration on the backstrap. There is a star badge on the back of the pommel that also leads to Police or Fire depts. (see more photos at the original link) The fire bureau dirks seem to have had a press fit retention system on the ones pictured, but that is not to say all the variations are pictured in the book. The other one that matches is the Police dirk - junior officers. This is similar to the fire bureau dirk, but uses a button retention system. The senior officers police dirk has extensive decoration on the backstrap, while the junior officer's has less decoration, but retains that star badge. So my conclusion is some modified junior officers police dirk, although my gut feel is that it is indeed a seldom seen variation from the fire bureau. It would tie in with the blade and tobikuchi. Not Nihonto..but interesting none the less. Brian

Well..that is an odd one. I haven't seen anything like it before. Looks like the scabbard has a fireman's hook on it..similar to the tobikuchi. Perhaps it was used by firemen during the war and the blade is a wood saw used to cut through buildings during or after a fire? Take a look at this link..and compare the projection. http://www.e-budokai.com/collection/tobikuchi.htm Very interesting item Rich. Brian

Hmm...this one is a difficult one to say anything about with certainty. Has many traits of a fake..but then it has a shape that is better than the usual fakes, and I haven't seen a 2 piece habaki on a fake yet..especially one that looks like it is part shakudo? There is definitely some acid or ferric chloride treatment there...and what looks like an ayasugi hada as was mentioned. I have seen worse kissaki shapes on neglected Nihonto, but it is definitely off. The nakago has 2 added holes that might have been an amateur mounting job, or used to display it on a wall or something. Not even typical for a fake..especially with the one ana in the right place. The nakago shape is very rough, and not well done or aged. Am I seeing some nioi brought out by ferric chloride (bad!) or is it just a fake hamon? This one will need more pics to be certain. I wouldn't write it off completely yet..but wouldn't get excited either. In hand...most of the more advanced collectors will know immediately. Are you near any sword clubs? Brian

That is very sad news indeed. I never had the privelege to meet the gent, but have heard of him. My condolences and thoughts go out to his family and friends. A great loss to the Nihonto community. Brian

Probably an excellent time to submit too..since there is the New York Shinsa comming up in September. No need to send to Japan (yet) http://www.ny-tokenkai.org/shinsa.htm Running out of time to reserve a spot, so if you want to take advantage, book now. I am sure if you are not going to be near NY during that time, there are people who can organise for the blade to be submitted. I think it would be an excellent place to get a good opinion on how to proceed further. Brian