drdata

Paint thinner is a bit generic, and can be harsh. I suggest iso alcohol, or acetone. Regards, and I dig your blade.

glad it helped and thanks for the follow up. Regards

Not sure you will find the "right" wire, but this page sells CW saber grip supplies and might look better than home cooked: http://swordrestorationtn.com/ HTHs

ewok as fudo? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewok

Given iso alcohol is deemed safe, I wonder if these are a good option? Seems would not scratch and disposable so no cross contamination or concerns of a dirty cloth scratching. Have seen at Costco and wall-mart, as well as online: http://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-Moisten ... ords=zeiss edit to add the mdss-seems iso only: http://www.photodon.com/zeissMSDS.pdf

I'm happy to see that others also found this interesting. As for cutting practice vs. execution, when I scanned the article I sensed that using bodies for test cutting was often the result of a criminal or social misstep, where being cut was the sentence. I suppose there was also cases where an unlucky but otherwise innocent body was appropriated for a test more focused on sword performance and less on punishment. Regards

Hey all, been some time since I dare start a thread here. Saw the below site mentioned in a SBG thread and thought it was worthy of mention here. The site focuses on test cutting and links to an interesting article: http://www.tameshigiri.ca/2013/12/15/a- ... i-remains/ Which in turn, links to a pdf of the paper that apparently studies damage on remains of two test cut victims: " (A case report of human skeletal remains performed “Tameshi-giri” (test cutting with a Japanese sword) Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. D, 36 pp. 27–36, December 22, 2010)," http://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/public ... _D3603.pdf Hope others find interesting. regards

Interesting. I would like to see more such postings, not having to be ebay specific. The what and why you decided to buy something can teach much. Regards

Adding that a member pmed me with this link. Does seem to be teh same sword. Small world and folks with strong memory here: https://web.archive.org/web/20100708225 ... htsug.html Interesting to note the 12K price. "This sword was taken from a Shrine by a WWII G.I. - It was fully mounted with Bat and Moon tsuba, Fuchi-Gashira and Menuki. It was sold at the largest Flea market in this country on the east coast to a very large dealer. That dealer sold it to another man, who cut the mountings apart and sold all pieces separately at a sword show. My friend bought the sword blade in it's present condition of full polish, very good Shira-saya with good Gold Covered Habaki and NTHK paper. There are some open Hada areas on one side."

2nd suggestion for isopropal alcohol, the 90% if available. I don't think acetone will harm, but a bit more aggressive. Wipe clean and light coat of oil afterwards, of course. Regards

Looks like history is re-airing the episode tonight for any that did not catch it, and who may be interested. Upcoming Airings: December 16, 2013 - 08:00-08:30PM ET December 17, 2013 - 12:01-12:31AM ET December 26, 2013 - 09:00-09:30PM ET December 27, 2013 - 01:01-01:31AM ET

Wow, some real detective work to be sure. Thanks all for the discussion and comments. I thought it odd that rice cracker did not do the appraisal. Perhaps behind the scenes. Employee rated at 15-20K. I like how they made it seem the menugi was holding the blade in the saya. Got to see them remove it twice, the latter to expose nakago. At least no story about it cutting light particles or machine guns. Cheers all.

Resurrecting an old thread. Curious if anyone in the know caught last night's pawn stars? http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars ... ng-chumlee A fellow broker/friend brought in what seemed a tachi in shira saya with papers, wanted 20k, too 10 and gave another 8K for a trade against rick's sand rail. Had quite a bit or sori, but seemed boshi may have ran off the top of kisaki. Hard to tell. What caught me as odd is they used one of their less-famous employes to authenticate the sword/papers and assign price. He claimed the smith was well known, but I did not catch a date. Cheers

Subjects seems beat, but I am bored today so why not another opinion? I live in southern California. I could likely get away w/o oil, but really, why risk it? Steel and oil have a long history. AFAIK, a high quality oil applied sparingly cannot hurt, and is good insurance. I made some blades from 01 tool steel. Was surprised to see how fast rust formed. Granted, work in progress so perhaps water from the stone, or careless touching, but once the rust is there its too late. I bought some clove oil and make my own choji starting with light mineral oil. Rarely use uchoko. Just my .02 yen.

Nice score, Chris. I sure cannot make out any star stamp from the pics of the auction. Good to see you appreciating "war swords", however.

Yes, if they are Japanese. Seems to me the length of the arisaka rifle and the hooked quilion bayo combo, along with RJT specifications and stress testing for star stamped swords were both indications that there was at least a romantic notion that battles may come down to blade play... This is one reason I like the star stamped, as they were produced for battle unlike much of shin-shinto etc.... Regards

Welcome. I am no expert, but the quality does strike. I wonder if this was made for show and not mounting? I ask because of lack of seki-gane (the anna is punched however), and the way the carving extends into the seppa area. Regards

feelings here are mixed. I believe general rules is that sealing leather is bad. Most say not to treat leather at all, but there are cases where its dry rotting. I believe something like picards leather dressing is best for leather, if you insist on doing anything. HTHs

late to the thread's acid turn. Interesting as others have noted. I recall reading somewhere, but cannot relocate, that the nuigi solution was slight acidic. From what I could tell, iron oxide itself is not acidic, but perhaps its mixed with the secrete water... I would love to visit a polisher shop with my digital ph meter. Regards

Please sign all post as per forum rules (trying to help mods). The wooden tsuka core can shrink, or parts may be exchanged, both can lead to some wobble. For display not an issue. Simply adding another seppa (washer like spacer) rarely works. If it really bothers a small piece of leather, cardboard, or even blue painters tape make take up the slack and and can be reversed/removed with no harm. Also, be aware that the play can be front/back, which is where the seppa come in, or top/bottom, which if the issue typically involve placing soft metal inserts at the top/bottom of the tsuba to remove that slack. HTHs

Yes, a fake I'm afraid.. See the link at the top of this site on help with ID of fakes: http://jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html In general, poor quality. The habaki (blade collar) is very bad, as is the shape of the kissaki and the fittings. HTHs, and welcome

If you must clean (shira saya is best, a star stand is a nice genditio), then I would investigate use of a gun cleaning rod, say with a .22 tip and suitable cotton patch. Don't force it (their is a thin dimension), and use something mild like 90% rubbing alcohol (this will not harm the blade and should leave no residue), and then let dry for a few days before re-inserting the blade. HTHs

One of my new favorite blade shapes. Very interesting. Thanks The various interpretations of the bonji is amazing. Regards

I cannot recall where I found the attached on Taiwan colonial, but to me it seems to show the saya matches.

While I could not find 100% iso (95% being the highest), the local hardware store does have denatured Ethyl alcohol. I guess the concern here is what is used to denature it, and whether it may damage a blade? edit: wiki is your friend: Seems safe in most cases as the sword cannot go blind: "Denatured alcohol is used as a solvent and as fuel for spirit burners and camping stoves. Because of the diversity of industrial uses for denatured alcohol, hundreds of additives and denaturing methods have been used. The main additive has traditionally been 10% methanol, giving rise to the term "methylated spirit." Other typical additives include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and denatonium.[1]" Regards