SAS

Final look; red urushi under a final black matte coat, then red urushi applied in a speckled pattern.

Darcy, understood. Thank you for sharing what you are able.

That is a very beautifully executed koshirae for a very beautiful sword, Darcy. Your commission has brought an incredible art piece to life that will endure the ages. PS I recently bought the book you and Bob Benson wrote on Bizen swords Vol. 1; is there or will there be a Vol.2?

I looked for the calligraphy ink case but did not see it.....lots of other very nice items, good luck with the sale.

Tsuka and sword in place, more work to do

This saya for one of my wakizashi is made from from poplar wood, with horn koiguchi and kurikata. This is after the second coat of urushi; the first coat caused the grain to rise on the wood, and i decided i liked the textured look. Conditions here in American Samoa are perfect for urushi application.....hot and humid. Coats are drying overnight dry to the touch. Saya will have many thin coats applied.

Looks like it has possibilities.....what price?

an interesting tsuba, seems well made.

Nitric or maybe sulfuric acid would be my guess,militaria piece that shows a hard life

folded paper might be of use as well

I concur that this is a Chinese fake, maybe an older one (that certainly does not increase its value) and is not even a very good Chinese fake. Save your money, there are much better deals for sale on this board right now from reputable people.

PM sent.

The one I made is 44 3/4 long, long enough to get into most saya. If you don't weld, any local fab shop could do this if you brought them the materials. The rifflers can be had from any woodworking store, and the 3/16 mild steel round from a big box home center.

If there were any takers at half the cost i would do some more.

That is quite an active hada, maybe that is who the Chinese are trying to copy! Great sword!

I cut a miniature 2 ended riffler file in half and welded a length of 3/16 mild steel to either end to handle this problem.....Namikawa sells something for this but it costs about $300 or so.

I tried hard, now i am blind......I think you will have to submit for shinsa to have any chance of knowing who made this.....unless there is a high tech way using radiography or something....how about pictures of the blade?

If that.......person........doesn't pay in a timely manner, I will pay immediately! I should have got up at 4 am this morning.....

May i ask what your concerns are?

Nice video; fantastic work on a fantastic sword. I can't second guess a mukansa polisher, but i think that sword would have looked great in sashikomi. PS: I just went to Namikawa to try to see how much that massive uchigumori stone would cost.....easily in excess of $600 dollars. Wish it was mine!

Upon further consideration and consultation with the seller, I am going in on this one....anyone else here on the board bidding to avoid an unpleasant scene?

Johnno, I do like your sword, and i hope it gives you many years of enjoyment. I did a surface study of Hizento when i was trying to ID a wakizashi I posted about last summer; I am no expert. Having said that, thank you Karl BA for returning to respond, even though you did not address my question directly. I rather doubt you have ferreted out all my secrets, however I have an open mind if you are actually using remote viewing to get your information, so here is a question that will test your RV skills......who made my mumei suriage wakizashi? You will know which one when you approach the target. Steve BA, Cert. Tank and Auto Maint. Mgmt. Officer 91B5PR, Journeyman Carpenter, Bladesmith, PADI Master Scuba Diver/ Divemaster, SBS (surfboard shaper) retired

I sure like that Aizu Ko Shoami; if it was wakizashi size i would be all over it for my Aizu Kunisada. Good luck with the sale!

I have seen it done with pine needles, but not fish bones....sorry i can't be of much help but at least i am not ignoring you lol Happy New Year!

Karl Peter Smith, do you write and /or speak Japanese? Showing my ignorance, deciphering who is signing by how they write it is a little like deciphering personality from head bumps (phrenology) and especially so if you are not fluent in reading and writing Japanese (I confess I am not.) I rarely sign my name the same way at various times; on another thread i commented how smiths might possibly sign differently depending on how their hands were feeling; mine are frequently quite sore from the manual labor of working steel and other manual work, which definitely affects how I sign and can hold chisels. Also, why do you use BA behind your name? I have a BA myself, but it is considered a basic entry level degree, and few people ever place it behind their names as if it lends authority to their work; it would be like a martial artist writing an article about their art and putting down green belt as their rank. Mastery is not demonstrated at entry to middle ranks nor academic achievements. It just makes you look a little needy for recognition and undermines what you have to say. I find your theory interesting but baffling.