JGrinneiser

The famous Evangelion Nihonto (エヴァンゲリオン日本刀) exhibition has finally come to Paris, and it's all I wanted it to be. I actually went there just for the enormous Longinus lance (which imo deserves the entry fee all by itself), but the rest of the exhibit is really on par. Good news, taking photos is actually encouraged (just not in the part describing the Gainax animation process, but I can do without), and I was able to take a few pictures. Just wanted to share them with you: http://onepicadaybyjess.tumblr.com/post ... les-sabres http://onepicadaybyjess.tumblr.com/post ... les-sabres Hope you'll like them.

I'll add my praises to the chorus, and hope we'll be able to see the final completion of this marvelous project, maybe in the form of a DVD. Definitely an inspiration to us craftsmen and artists. Cheers.

Hi members, Jean did me a huge favor by inviting me at his place. I'll pass on the beautiful nihonto I was allowed to behold, and get straight to the point: blade evaluation. Jean believes the blade to be shin-shinto, and indeed it is quite beefy, meaning this blade has not seen much polishing. Plus, there are some nasty dents mainly on the kisaki which even with quite some work might still be visible. All in all, the blade might no be worth the money that needs be invested for its restoration. Still, I'll wait for our group reunion this fall in order to have our very own polishing sensei have a look at the blade, in order to know if it would be worth being polished on account of its artistic value.

So, I went to an antique dealer specialized in nihonto at the Puces de St-Ouen today, and he believes the blade must rather be from the Koto era. Could be in Bizen style (maybe), but has definitely traces of hamon and a visible boshi (looks like midare-komi to me). I should be seeing another dealer this week, so I'll keep you informed

Indeed. Whatsoever, I am receiving more books this week, and have planned to go to more museums in order to better my "eye". I started stalking this forum 18 months ago, so I do know there still are a lot of things to learn. Btw, the katana got sold today, so I'll let this thread die accordingly. Best regards.

Hi members, I received pictures for the katana I was telling you earlier, so I decided to open this new thread in order to receive an evaluation on this item I saw last week. I'm pondering the idea of buying it in order to make it an ongoing restoration project. But though I guess how much it will cost me to have the whole set repaired (€3,000+), I wonder if this particular sword is worth the trouble. I am, after all, just a beginner, and I know there are many things I'm bound not to see while trying to appraise this particular item. And although I find the saya, tsuba, fuchi and kashira quite remarkable, I may be fooled. That's why I'm turning to you for advices. Now please let me try to describe the blade, and feel free to tell me where I'm wrong: - katana in koshirae - 65cm from kissaki to nakago (nagasa) - nakago roughly 16.5cm - the shape is torii zori - the tip of the blade is chu kissaki, maybe oo-kissaki - the shape of the nakago is kata yamagata, with katte-sagari - the hamon seems to be either douran or hako midare - no idea about the mune (I would guess iori or mitsu). Once again, thank you for your time and patience.

Edit: discussion continues on another thread (for now).

I paid 148€ for the blade + saya, I think I can live with that I was told polishing costs 20-25€/cm also, so yeah I know it can get quite expensive! Barry, thanks for the heads-up. I have the name of one or two gentlemen in Paris whom I will take the blade to, and ask for their expertise. I'll keep you informed!

Thanks for your answers! Here's a picture of the mune which is, indeed, iori. Two more questions and I'm done (for now): - is it possible to guess roughly the age of the blade? I was told 19th century, but the nakago being heavily rusted, I wonder if it could be older. - what is the cause of the "ripples" you can see on the kisaki? Could it be a corrosive agent, traces of a faded hamon, or just marks left by age and water? Best regards. :D

I will ask for it on the morrow (can't remember), but we were not far away from Vannes. Edit: yup, Auray. Nope. The damages I can see, I would attribute either to dampness or bad "conditioning" (must have been kept upside-down for quite a while in a damp basement or something), plus some light scratches from mune to hasaki that might be due to steel wool Word! And full of rust, too. Hence my question about whether the blade is worth making a new saya for it...

Hi members, I've been stalking this forum for a while now, and have been putting money aside in order to buy my first nihonto from a professional dealer, as per your recommendations. This said, I was on holidays this week and found a few blades in the most unexpected location, a small antiques shop in a small city of Bretagne, France (I was looking for some 19th century pieces of furnitures, so I was quite puzzled). Long story short, after half an hour of squabble over very damaged blades, I brought one with me in order to have a closer look at it. This one was sold as an 19th century wakizashi. The nagasa is 38.5 cm long, the nakago 11.5 cm with what seems to be kiri yasurime. The saya is made of wood, with the lower part being made of a dark metal. There must have been other metallic parts over the saya, but they have been taken away a long time ago. What puzzled me is the 3 notches you can see just under the munemachi. Looking at the way the metal moved, it seems to have been made with a small blade/knife. Thusly, I wondered if there was a story attached to that blade, if it was genuine nihonto (and deserves a proper, new shirasaya), or if it was just a contemporary, cheap gunto, or even a forgery. Thank you for your time.