Robertex

The "3 Ps"... I like it!

Jean, Your insight may have saved me many years... and many dollars. Merci! Carl

... one more thing: I imagine a baseline of NTHK and NBTHK Nihonto in new polish would be the way to go for future purchases? It will be a long time of study before I can detect the proverbial "diamond in the rough"! Kind regards, Carl

Derek and Jean, Wise advice for sure! I have reached out via another topic thread with this group concerning Nihonto clubs local to my area for precisely the same reason, as sword shows seem few and far between. This group has certainly kept me from making a decision in a vacuum and your advice has made me aware of making any decision solely on emotion.

Thanks to everyone again for your expert advice! ('Not sure about bubba-san's input.) Fortunately, the katana in question has been stored dry in its current saya. I inspect it regularly to check for corrosion, as I live in a fairly humid region. However, I would like to get it to a more "storable" condition, which is why I will pursue the polishing evaluation and shirasaya. Kind regards, Carl

Gentlemen, Many thanks again, as the process is very clear to me now. The next step for me is to determine if my katana in question, which is currently in "old polish", is worthy of a new polish. I'm certain only a togishi knows best. Is there a reputable, properly-trained togishi in the Continental U.S.? Carl

Ken, I read in an earlier post that there are only two Japanese-trained togishi in CONUS. Would that be John Tirado and Brian Tschemega, or do they work in concert with the togishi? Thanks, Carl

Gentlemen, You have been of tremendous help to me in my education. I now have a decision to make whether or not to send a katana out for polish, as I assume shirasaya for a blade in old polish would be moot. However, does one have the shirasaya made ahead of time and shipped with the blade to the polisher? Please accept my apology for these tedious questions. Carl

Gentlemen, Many thanks, as your replies make perfect sense to the reasoning. Hoanh, I remember asking this board some time ago about makers of shirasaya in the U.S. and you kindly provided the names John Tirado and Brian Tschemega. Are they still your preferred choices? Thanks again. Carl

I would like to ask the many prolific collectors on this site a couple of questions regarding storing and displaying blades. I notice that most if not all high-value katana are in shirasaya. If you find and purchase a katana that happens to be in koshirae do you have shirasaya made for the blade, or do you store and/or display the blade in its koshirae? If shirasaya is made, do you keep the koshirae and have tsunagi made for it? I'm certain personal preference comes into play here somewhere; however, I'm wondering if there's a standard convention among the high-end collectors (of which I am not!). Thanks in advance. Carl

Hi Jussi, Thanks once again for your assistance! May I ask what software you use for Kanji? Thanks, Carl

Thanks, Jean! As I am relatively new to this field, it just came to me while translating this origami that the reason it is mumei is because it is o-suriage. I never put the two together until the translation process which forced me to revisit terminology in detail. Kind regards, Carl

Wow, it's not getting easier! This is the second page of my NTHK origami. Please accept my apologies in advance for such literal translation with many discrepancies and omissions. As before, any hints or assistance will be greatly appreciated! Column 6 Column 5 Column 4 Column 3 Column 2 Column 1 Horimono Boshi Hamon Gane (Steel) Meibun (Inscription) ? Ni (Two) (None) Choku- (Straight) Chu (Medium) Ita- O - (Greatly) Sen (Thousand) gu Choku- (Straight) me Su- (Shortened) Shichi (Seven) ? gu Masa ri- Hyaku (Hundred) Ko (Small) Ha (Blade) ue- ue- Hachi (Eight-) Maru (Round) ? Ha (Edge) ge Ju (ten) ? Ko (Mixed) Mu- (Be not) Kyu (Nine) Ji () Zi mei (signed) Ri Column 8 Column 7 Era) Nakago An’ (11/1772-03/1781) Me- (Sword) ei kugi- (Peg) ana (Hole) Ni (Two) Ko (Hard?) ? Ki- (Cut square) ri Thanks in advace! Carl

Thank you very much for the assistance! In the proper context the translations are far more nuanced than I thought. There's no way I could have figured that out on my own. Kind regards, Carl

Jussi, Thank you very much for the additional information and your generous compliment! I'll add the remarks to what I have and will start back in on translating the second page. Kind regards, Carl

Struggling through my first translation and my head's starting to hurt. Here's what I have so far for the front of my NTHK origami: Column 6 Column 5 Column 4 Column 3 Column 2 Column 1 Heisei (1/8/89) ? Den (School) Katana (Sword) Kan- (Appraisal) Ju (10) ? E- (E-) tei- Kyu (9) ? do (do) sho (Calligraphy) Nen (Year) ? San (Three) Hachi ( Ni (Two) Dai (Times) Gatsu (Month) Shaku (30.3 cm) ? Ju (10) Ichi (One) ? Ni (2) Sun (3.03 cm) ? Nichi (“th”) Hachi ( ? Bu (3 mm) Hira (Flat) (8/12/2008) ? Kore (this) Although I'm learning a lot, any hints or assistance will be greatly appreciated! Page two is under way. Thanks, Carl

Thanks Hamish! I am going to try my hand at translating it.

Hi Sébastien, I did not know that! My learning curve is one step forward and two steps back! Kind regards, Carl

I would greatly appreciate any critique of the attached origami. I have no reason to doubt its authenticity; however, I have been reading several older posts on the subject and my mind is starting to wander down some dark paths. The absence of perforated numbers is what started this process. Hopefully, this esteemed group can put my mind at ease. (Although the photos don't accurately reflect the color of the paper, it is a light yellow.) Thanks in advance. Carl

Richard, I have been following your story and must add that your last post sounds like great news, as it provides a solid foundation for your conviction to restore the blade. Congratulations!

Gentlemen, Many thanks for the information! Baltimore is definitely an option, as I am keen to get back into this subject. I was a member of the JSSVA in Richmond in the late nineties, They had a very good newsletter of which I have kept a few copies. Cheers, Carl

Wilco. Thanks Ken!

While recently helping a friend with a newly acquired gunto, my appreciation for Nihonto was re-kindled. This group has been of immense help to me over the years, and I would like to add to that by meeting kindred enthusiasts in my area. Is anyone aware of Nihonto clubs or organizations in Virginia or central Eastcoast U.S.? Kind regards,

Thanks, Brandon. I mentioned this to my friend who is reading the painted number as "1013" while all other numbers on the koshirae read "12". Is he perhaps reading the nakago incorrectly?

Thanks, gents! I gather that this particular blade is Showa and not Gendai (nice example Hamish!). Mark, do the assembly marks refer to the part, assembler, or plant? (You can tell I'm really out of my element here.) Lastly, should my friend look over the blade and koshirae for particular arsenal marks? Again, many thanks for the expert information and advice!