Mathieu

Dan > That's fine, I've progress to do in english, this board is a good exercise Welcome to you M. Jones, your shingunto have a great story! Welcome Richard and good luck for your project. Best regards, Mathieu.

Hi Steeve, Eric, all, no problem for the book, searching in old topics I found a screenshot of the double page with this board and read it (sorry I can't remember the name of the member who put it)! But the issue is that the stamp is close to the one pictured into the book but not the same. I have tried to make a close up from the pics I posted enlightening the stamp with red color thanks to paint. Let's see if it's the good size now with imageshack: The red show what is clearly stamp on the tang, so I guess right and left sides are the same but not pictured it. I know this is very close, so without other information I would think this is just another version of thoose you have shown. Anyway thank you very much for your help, again² Mathieu. Well the red may be useless with such a close up:

Thank you Seb' Welcome Dan !

My turn now I'm a month more 22 y.o and always been interested in History. I've started since the antiques times, then medieval history, where I grown up there many castles, even roman's things. When I was 15 to 18 I loved study war history and their weapons from the crusade to XVe century. Particulary interested in chevalry code and the bushido. Many moovies served it very well such as Kurosawa's Kagemusha and Ran, or Richard Thorpe's Knights of the Round Table and Ivanhoé are just great. My grandfather also captured a couple of german swords when he was 16 and Strasbourg liberated, that's why even if I collect many things a main theme in my collection is eadged weapons, but I couldn't talk myself a nihonto collector as I don't own one of them. I'm basically focus on WW2 because my interest is very wider than my budget. I really love the guntos koshirae, it's would be great to find a nihonto in such mounts but I'm happy with what I've got for the moment, I don't want to go to quick to prevent any regrets and financial troubles! About the age of collectors, I want to say that many friends of mine are interested buy nihonto, even if they can put a name of it, but not enought to assume all the research and read it means. They just like see graceful things, and this is never questioned about nihonto Best Regards, Mathieu.

Hi Eric thank for your answer. I've read your link and if I follow it well this blade should be: Could the Showa stamp instead of Seki stamp be a clue to date the blade (I understood that seki stamp was established in 1942 but it's also seem that smith making non traditional blade can choose it since 1933)? If I'm right, even when "eastern steel" is used, we can see a clear hada if it's water tempered? A "mill steel" gendaito is expected to have a hada, am I wrong? Hi Stephen, Dr Stein database is a great source of information indeed, I'm very grateful to him for lightening my ignorance so many times! Do you think that the little stamp on the end could be the smith’s personal seal or ‘kokuin’? The more I read the more I've got questions to ask. Thank you very much, Mathieu.

Outside: Thank you for looking. I would like to know what do you think of it, unfortunatly I don't have so many reference book yet so any information on the swordsmith is welcome too. Best, Mathieu.

Hello everybody, I would like to submit my first first shingunto. Thank to WAF members I was told the mei read "Seki Ju Ishihara Kanenao saku" = Made by Ishihara Kanenao residing in Seki. The top of the tang is showa stamped. If I understand, that mean the blade is untraditionaly made, without Tamahagane steel, machine made or both. The end of the tang is stamped with an unknown stamp that I don't find for the moment. The hamon is very active, so I would like to know what kind of job the handsmith have put in this blade. Here are inside picture with flash then outdoor with sunlight. I've tried to take the clearest pictures I could, I can do good close up from the hada based on the original sized pictures.

I've several friends in Paris, nice to meet you, maybe you could tell me if there are good nihonto related event? Tampa show make me jealous! Thank you, music and film in their original language are my best friends, add a few trips in England and the clever teaching of some professors and here I'am! I forgot to said that I'm also collecting vinyle, old disc of almost all kind of music, so if somebody share this hobby with me or only want to trade some of this bulky things I'll be glad to speak with you. Back to blades now!

Merci Ron, your french is very good, yes I have more question than answer yet! Merci Jean! I'm from Picardie, and you?

Hello all of you, I'm a young french collector of 22 years old and one more enthousiastic rookie in the Nihonto's world! Instead of my passionfor the Asian culture and Japan, I read what I was able to found on the subject and quickly focus myself on shingunto and kaigunto katana. Thank to the web database I'm able to make the difference between original and most fake, that's why I buy a NCO sword 2 years ago and last year my first shingunto. I was very reluctant about remove the tsuka, mekugi was tight and I was effraid to broke the rayskin. But curiosity won and with good advice and the right tools it was easy to take picture of the Mei. With the help of fellows WAF members I was told the name of the smith and a precious link to your forum to learn more about him and the blade. Blades would be better because I have read a lot of topics since I'm here and my understanding is growing up day after day. I'll be glad to share it with you. Sorry for my english and mistakes. Best regards, Mathieu.