Geraint

I had not met Thierry but I will miss his voice here. My condolences to all who new him.

Well this is going to sound a bit weird but..........I have a respectable wakizashi in koshirae which I like but the previous owner used machine oil and every time a take it out of the saya that's what I smell. On the other hand the fragrance of choji oil on a blade adds something to the experience for me. As it's not going to make much difference the extra expense is surely worth it. No? All you need from Kevin here, http://www.ryujinswords.com/care.htm if Don can't help you. All the best.

Dear Jason. I'm not too sure from your photos but the effect you are seeing might be the result of hadori polish. All the best.

Hi Jeremy. If as Denis suggests you have the paper wedged in very tightly then you might have to resort to a sharp point or edge, if it was me I would be using what I call a paring chisel. Very little pressure and some care, what you are trying to do is break up the paper and scrape it away from the wood. You might be able to feel where the paper is and gently ease it away. If you need to see what you are doing then you can get miniature bore light these days. Go gently! All the best

Ben, If you have time the British Museum might also be worth a look and if your taste run to arms and armour in more general terms then the Wallace Collection, just a bit north of Oxford Street, has a fabulous display. You might also call in at Grays Antique Market and have a chat with Don Bayney. (Worth contacting him beforehand to see if he will be there.) Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Mike, Thank you for the photos. Personally I can't see the theory you were given having much traction. No one makes a niju habaki as a temporary measure and finding one off the shelf to fit is most unlikely. The condition of the nakago looks right for a blade that has come straight from the maker without seeing any use. Polishing does not touch the nakago unless absolutely necessary so I can't imagine why this theory has come about. Nice habaki and nice blade. All the best.

Dear Denis, Don't go to the darkened room just yet. Ed has produced an ingenious solution except that the inner part of a niju habaki is essentially a slimmed down version of any other habaki. In other words it is too rigid to flex by the ammount required as it has edges as well as faces and they are of the same length at the front of the habaki. True the insert on the ha side stops short of the front edge where it meets the ha machi but in a habaki in good condition there should not be a split. So very little flex. I have spent some time looking at habaki and here are some thoughts. As I already suggested the significant fit is the point where the habaki meets the machi and is effectively pushed against them by the action of the tapered mekugi. If a sword is Shinshinto or newer one would expect the blade to be in near original shape and the habaki to fit all round quite nicely. One might expect the same in an osuriage sword, depending on the amount of polishing that it has undergone since suriage was done. When a sword has undergone a lot of polishing then the kasane of the blade becomes thinner than the kasane of the nakago. In the cases I have to hand and can find illustrated, sources are not very good at showing this point, the habaki fits beautifully at the machi but it does not fit the faces of the blade at all well. For an excellent illustration have a look at the sword that Nick has recently posted, look at the shot of the blade in koshirae looking toward the tsuka from the blade. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21996-late-nanbokucho-signed-ubu-tachi-for-sale/ The blade I referred to in an earlier part of the thread has a stunning silver niju habaki which passes over the nakago and seats firmly but there are quite visible gaps between the leaves of the habaki and the faces of the blade. Once the tsuka is attached and the mekugi inserted the fit in the saya is amazing and there is no wobble. I have not had the opportunity of seeing Brian Tschernega's work in hand but I suspect that a view down the blade toward the habaki will confirm that he has very skillfully made the habaki a tiny bit more generous as it fits the nakago and relying on an excellent fit at the machi. We would all agree with Franco's point: This confirms that we don't need to start inventing theories about hidden craft skills and the magic niju habaki, they are amazing pieces of craftsmanship, usually under rated and often overlooked. Perhaps all such craftsmanship should be regarded as a little magical. All the best.

Mike. I am sure I am not alone in wanting to see some pictures. Any chance? All the best.

Dear Franco. It is always hard to value a sword from images but a search of the web should give you an idea. Factor in the idea that full retail value is probably not what you would get if you sold. Value also varies between countries, in the UK at the moment a decent shingunto tends to be around £800 to £1000, I suspect American collectors will fins that rather high. So did you get a bargain? All the best.

Steve, You are right to be suspicious. Darby also says that , "Several reliable Japanese ordnance experts have confirmed that the only the prescribed barrel length and 8mm calibre were ever adopted by the military." Hi style of writing is a little odd but he clealry concludes that these were not official pistols but were marked to make it look as though they were. All the best.

Dear all. I'm well outside my comfort zone but from, "Hand Cannons of Imperial Japan", by Harry Darby, page137. "A number of type 14's have been reported with barrels shorter than the standard 117mm length. Several have also been adorned with special simulated characters, symbols and numerals, perhaps as an indication that the barrel was in fact, "officially" modified by the Japanese military." He goes on to illustrate a gun identical to the one in this thread with the caption, "Short barreled T-14's are are the products of "basement arsenals." The gun he shows has identical markings to this one. Hope that helps. All the best

Hi Franco. Please add your name to your posts, it is one of the few rules here. Have a look at this thread, http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14741-looking-for-any-information-or-thoughts/ scroll down to about the 7th post and look at the middle of the three oshigata. This is a genuine sword, not a reproduction, it is a gunto and I am sure there will be a hamon but the condition might make it hard to spot. The kanji on the other side of the nakago from the signature are the date, should be easy to get to if you have a look at the Research tab at the top of the page. (Too late, Sebastian gave you the date.) Enjoy. (OK, rushing again, have added the link now) All the best.

Or Hoshu Takada possibly? Same thing as far as date goes. Nice thing. All the best.

Agreed but there is only a socket at one end, no discernible touch hole and that strange hole right through soooooo....?

Dale. how do you see this "hand cannon" working? All the best

Well Ed. I told you it was a good question! It has got me diving through the library anyway. We know that early habaki were sometimes at least made of iron. We know that blades that have seen many polishes are unlikely to have the original habaki as the fit becomes worse as the polishing removes metal. (We also know that it is probably the most neglected of fittings as far as the literature goes, I would be very happy to be proved wrong on that). Most modern photographs are taken with the habaki removed for very good reasons. The only reference I can find that specifically mentions the advent of the niju habaki is Stone who in his Glossary states that the niju form is the earlier but I am not sure how he arrives at this conclusion nor does he evidence it. I have heard that the niju habaki is more common on lighter blades though this idea only makes sense when you are looking at a blade in koshirae, once the blade has been polished and put into shirasaya then the choice of habaki is essentially aesthetic. I am not sure that a niju habaki would be easier to fit to a sword with a thicker nakago due to polishing, the very fine one that I have on an Oiei Bizen wakizashi, clearly made when the sword was put into shirasaya, is interesting. The internal shape of the habaki has been made to fit the grooves that run the length of the nakago and the internal profile is consistent throughout the length of the habaki. When fitted the habaki has clear gaps between the faces and the surface of the blade but it fits like a glove elsewhere. As far as the fit to the blade is concerned then the register at the machi is the most critical I believe; once the nakago is seated in the tsuka and the mekugi inserted the fit in the tsuka and the slight pressure against the machi is what gives solidity to the whole thing. To follow up on the point that Denis makes I wondered if saya shi would cut a shoulder for the larger part of the habaki. I have been looking carefully at the saya mouth on any of mine that have niju habaki and I cannot see a shoulder but in reality the shoulder is very slim in any case so given the soft nature of Honoki would soon disappear. I can quite understand Mr Hagenbusch suggesting a single copper habaki suiting a sue koto katana, niju tend to be slimmer and perhaps not quite right on a sword with imposing sugata. Not that this helps the discussion but I do have one sword which has a beautiful niju habaki that has then had a single silver foil jacket fitted covering the whole thing and effectively making it a hitoye habaki. The sword is in koshirae so probably the owners fancy. Great fun but not sure that we have the answers yet. All the best and thank you for making me look even harder at some of my swords.

Hi Ed. Hard to tell how many Koto habaki survive, when a sword is polished it is usual to have a new habaki to ensure a good fit. So what we are looking for is an original koto koshirae with a niju habaki. I can't say I have ever thought about this one before so I will start looking. Good question. All the best

I can only echo the "thank you"s. It's always good to re frame your understanding by applying it to really good examples, and of course excellent photographs.

Sorry Michael, I misunderstood you.

James. I think you are right but I expect it will make rather more than the starting price. Interesting blade, cracking koshirae and half a library as well, what's not to like? All the best

Dear Michael. I am sure you already know this but this is just the Japanese registration for the blade, it won't tell you anything more than you already know and it carries no weight. I believe that officially this should have been surrendered when the sword left Japan. All the best

Possibly Hankei?

As it happens, yes. http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/index.html And of course he can get it properly polished for you if he thinks the sword is worth it. Whatever you do do not do anything more than wipe with light oil or let anyone who is not properly qualified do anything, if in doubt as for recommendations here. This looks interesting, worth the effort to follow up. All the best.

Looking good! Now all you need is to have the shoelace taken off the tsuka and have it rebound nicely and you will indeed have a nice package' Enjoy!

Henry I'm not qualified to say what constitutes grounds for a refund but if you have seen the blade in hand before buying then I would think probably not. I have to admit that the mune is not a part of the blade that I would examine closely when buying other than to establish what sort it was. After this I will be sure to check. If it's any consolation I don't think muneware are a terrible flaw and if you didn't spot it then it will hardly detract from the blade. If that is all that is wrong then I don't think it would bother me. Oh, and does it have papers? If so then one would suppose that it didn't bother the shinsa team. Any chance of pictures then others will be able to judge? All the best