jezah81

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, especially to you Keith and Ted. Really fascinating stuff guys. Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi there, In my opinion your sword looks like it has nice hataraki in the hamon and jihada. But what i dont like is the reddish looking rust on the nakago. Im interested to see what others on this board say. Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thank you for your replies guys. You more or less answered my question anyway. By the way, this is a picture of the nakago of the shinshinto blade that i want to send for a polish. Do you think theres enough of a hamachi and munemachi to get a polish done. There is plenty of meat left on the blade itself. http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... na_jh4.jpg Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

How many times can a blade be re-polished generally speaking until it is deemed a "tired" blade? Like 5-10 times, 10-20 times.....etc?? I understand there are a few variables such as the amount of niku a blade has etc... but a rough estimate would be good enough. Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi Franco, Thank you for that very insightful link. Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi Guys, Does anyone know when (i.e 1800's, 1900's) the hadori style polish started being used on blades in Japan as opposed to the more traditional sashikomi polish? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hey guys, Im thinking of getting my sword polished and getting a new habaki made for my sword through Colin Griffiths at http://www.cgfinearts.com Has anyone heard of or had any experience with this company before and how was their experience? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

What metal does this habaki appear to be to you guys? I always though it was copper, but somehow it doesnt look like copper to me anymore...Any thoughts....?? http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... habaki.jpg Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop

What is meaning of a "chuge saku" swordsmith? I can not find an explanation anywhere on the internet. Thanks. Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thanks for the replies fellas. FWIW, i remember back in 2004, i sent my carbon steel blade that i used to use for iaido practise, to get it re-shimmed by Rick Polland. It was June, thus summer time in the US and winter time in Australia. When he received my sword he couldnt find any looseness in the tsuka, so I remember him having to put the tsuka in the refrigirator overnight to loosen the tsuka in order to reshim it tight. Anyways, it is an interesting topic to talk about i guess. Does that mean i can expect my tsuka to get looser come summer time? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi guys, My friend received his first mumei wakizashi in shirasaya a few weeks back. What he noticed was the tsuka was completely loose, but after a few weeks of being in his room, the tsuka was almost impossible to get off, without a few hard hits with his wrist. I was always under the impression that the cold winter time wood shrink the wooden tsuka core thus causing it to become looser, not tighter. Here in Australia it is winter time, where in Japan at the moment is summer. Has anyone else experienced this problem, where the tsuka gets loose in summer and tighter in winter, i thought it was the other way around. Any explanations how this occurs..??? Does this mean when it is summer time here in Australia that the tsuka will become loose again? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop Jeremy Hagop

Hi Mike, Thanks for the response. It is only a hairline opening at the seam, but i do use this sword for iaido and tameshigiri. So, it probably worth getting fixed??? What ya think? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Is it easy or possible to repair a habaki which has the soldering seam come apart just a fraction? Or is a whole new habaki in need? The habaki that im talking about is about 100 years old. Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thanks guys. As for the menuki, I had the gyaku menuki on request, as i think it is much more comfortable in my hands. Give me some time, and i shall take some photos of the blades i own. Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

I suppose I just felt like getting the whole Higo feeling with the black same-gawa and brown leather tsuka-ito! Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi guys, Just wanted to post some pics of my newly re-wrapped tsuka. I got it done in Japan by a tsukamakishi in Nara Prefecture. Cowhide leather, gyaku menuki style in Higo style. Here are the links: http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... ure081.jpg http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... ure082.jpg Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thanks for your answers guys, especially to you Keith. I spoke to my contact in Japan who got his tsukamakishi to do the re-wrap,(for a newly made tsuka made of honoki). His advice was to cover the kashira with a thick piece of cloth and gently tap the tsuka back into place with a rubber mallet. After 30 minutes of doing just that, I was finally able to get the tsuka back on with no problem. My friend in Japan also mentioned that it is common in Japan for tsuka to be so tight, especially on user blades. The registration office where swords are registered in Japan apparently keep many mallets and buffers for this reason. Better to have a tight tsuka than a loose one i suppose..... Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi guys, I just received a tsuka that i had re-wrapped from Japan. Everything is nice and tight, and aesthetically pleasing, BUT the damn thing wont fit back onto the nakago. Before I sent the tsuka to Japan, it was fitting fine onto the nakago, not loose, but not extaordinarily tight either. Now the nakago will not go all the way into the tsuka, there is about 1 inch of the nakago that refuses to go in. Is there any way to fix this problem myself? Has anyone else ever experienced this or heard of it before? What are the reasons for this? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi guys, I need some more opinions on another mumei wakizashi that im thinking of buying. Here is the link to the sword. http://www.tozandoshop.com/antique/a144.html Would the nakago be considered "too rusted" to be worth the money, or is that type of rust acceptable? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thanks for the replies fellas. I was talking about red rust on the nakago more so than on the blade. Is it a real problem on the nakago, and can it be remedied? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

I just want some information on finding red rust on swords. Is it a "bad" thing for a sword to have red rust on the nakago on a new or old sword? Is any red rust acceptable? The reason why I am asking this is because one of my friends in Japan keeps advising me against buying swords which have red rust on them. Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Thanks for posting it for me mate. Lets see what others say! Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi Guys, I just recently purchased this Mumei Wakizashi from a friend in Japan. It cost me $1900 U.S. It seems like a nice blade with some hataraki in the blade. It comes with habaki and shirasaya. My friend suspects it could be 1600's but possibly earlier by looking at the nakago. i just want to know some overall opinions by the members of this forum. Any idea what swordsmith or what school it might belong to?? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Hi Guys, Ive been thinking about this question for a while now. Over the years Ive seen various tsuka with different sized diamonds done with the tsukamaki. Is smaller better? Bigger diamonds better? Is any more traditional or does it depend on the width of the tsuka-ito being used? Kind Regards, Jeremy Hagop

Just a quick update with my sword and tsuka blank from ricecracker.com. i would like everyone to know that i got in contact with Mike on the phone and we have sorted everything out, and he was very informative and helpful. I have definitely now changed my mind about their service and products they sell. Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop