Henry Wilson

From what I have read the forge at Yasukuni had scabbard makers and polishers working there as well as the smiths. Does anyone know 1. The level of the polishers. Masters, excellent. good etc 2. Were habaki made there too? 3. What kind of scabbards were made. Gunto or shirasaya? Thanks a lot

Hi Pirates Welcome to the forum. Like DaveF said stay away from such stuff. It is unlikely it will do any good. Also from the Welcome Announcment at the top of the Nihonto forum

Hi Roger To my uneducated eye it looks like it has been acid etched to get that "flowing river" type pattern on the surface. See pic 5. The nakago looks a little strange too. I think it is either a badly looked after nihonto or a fake. I could be wrong though

My advice is to be brave and just jump in and try. It is the best way to learn I think. The connoisseur's book by Nagayama is an excellent resource and if you have that I think you have the necessary basic tools at your disposal for a good attempt. Part of the fun, as you work through the kantei, is looking like this then this :? followed by this :x as you narrow your answer down and then if all works out well you look like this :lol: but sometimes this PS I hope those smiles work!!!!!

Thanks for the reply Darcy. The kantei are really appreciated and I always like to try them as they are great for learning. Will there be anymore in the near future do you think

Thanks everyone for the replies.

That was quick!!!! I was just going to have another bash at it. I hope for more such kantei if possible. Thanks Darcy for sharing. Can I also add that because a computer can make viewing details in pictures clearly a little difficult, if the vital statistics were provided such as nagasa, jihada, hamon etc along with the picture, it may make the excercise a little more easier and straight forward especially for us newbies, thus possibly getting more of a response..... I know that part of kantei is analysising a piece but I think it is only possible to do this accturately if you are holding the piece. Just my two pennies worth.

Richard T passed this link my way as I expressed an interest in such tsuba a few days ago. Can any one give me a break down of the papers? Also the price seems a bit high. Would anyone agree with me? http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f48825325

Sorry but I can't open the picture of the sword with the new link posted above! It could very well be me as I am not so good with PCs, and kantei too as Sue Bizen is a fine ko mokume. With the new info I will try again.

1. Period. Hard to tell with no idea of the length. Either Muromachi or Kamakura based on the koshi sori and the funabari, but the kissaki is slightly long to medium and the funabari is not so strong so I will say late Muromachi period. 2. Tradition. The jihada looks like large itame. There is alot of activity in the hamon which looks midare ko choji based on nioi. There is inazuma etc present and there is lots of ji nie. Let us say Bizen. The lack of usturi can be attributed to the Muromachi period as Bizen swords lost distinct usturi around then. 3. Swordsmith. The quality is very high so how about Yozaemon Sukesada? :?

Hi Brian My intial feeling was that there are a few too many forums but after looking at each I think that are all relevant. How about putting the NMB Support forum in the top right hand corner with profile etc when things settle down? You could also fuse together the for sale / trade forum and the wanted forum. Just a few ideas.

.......thanks Brian for the new look, thanks Rich T for the work before (and those lovely conundrums) and thanks Richard S for the work in the beginning. I have just joined the moderator group so if anyone has any problems etc please email me :D