Kam

Hi Piers You do make a valid point and in saying that I have a papered sukesada tanto that has been sort after by a couple of collectors for some time now.....just waiting till my wife says she's had enough of being broke....then I'll sell it

Thanks for your input Brian Yes I agree they are by all accounts shoshin as far as most of us are concerned. However the reason I had been asked to post them up is a well known dealer here in Qld Australia had tried to offer him a bundle of sticks for them saying they were gimae.....typical behavior for this particular dealer. As a side note there is not much reference material for osafune sukemune and even though sukesada is quite common I have seen a couple of gimae sukesada.....one could go nuts trying to speculate as to why would they bother. Thanks Jim for for turning the pics.....I am stuck using an iPhone at the mo and it's limitations are more than obvious. Funny enough I did crop and rotate them but they still loaded up horizontal.

Thanks for a super fast response... This is what I had too but what I should have clarified (really dislike typing on iPhones...makes me a bit slack) is wether or not people feel they are soshin and if so why. I have my own opinion but I'm just a koshirae guy.

Second nakago

Hi all As I have mentioned previously one of my clients has fallen on hard times and has been forced to sell some of his swords. His interest lies in militaria (not my thing) but he has some interesting stuff to part with. He asked if I would post some pics of the Mei/nakago of 2 wakizashi to get the opinion of the knowledgable folk here on NMB. In regards to the rest of the blades they are clean and sound but in "out of polish" condition (typical in those circles) but I can make out some details, hamon is all there, some sunageashi etc....but hard to get on camera. Thank you for your time and any assistance. First nakago

Hi grey I think in an attempt at a quick reply (using an iPhone....pain in A to type on) I may have been a bit vague in my point, which is indicators of original (ie made for) or non original koshirae. While I tend to agree in general with the timber shrinkage rule(hence the 1%) I have seen countless verifiable koshirae that over time have lost overall size including (while minimal) length. If speaking strictly timber, then compression is also a factor that cannot be ignored. While the mekugi Ana might still reasonably line up the obvious noticeable effect is a slightly loose tsuba ie the need for an extra seppa. There are many methods a craftsman might take that negates the need for such but the average collector is still inclined to just use seppa (or one of the many other "interesting" methods I have encountered. There are many other causes naturally for original koshirae to need extra seppa such as changing tsuba or damage to habaki. As for fitting non original koshira if done properly by a knowledgable craftsman should be hard if not almost impossible to discern. As for the average collector and maybe some less than enthusiastic craftsman some obvious indicators while way too many to list.... might be more than 1 mekugi Ana or damaged/altered mekugi Ana, fuchi and saya not being flush with saya. Movement in tsuka or saya etc. .......anyway just a long winded response to Jean's comment regarding the seppa.

Hey Ford...This sounds like a great project and being the proverbial poor craftsman I am I will still be happy to donate. I really enjoy your work and have even caught a few of your YouTube vids which in themselves are full of info. Looking forward to them.... Thanks for deciding to go ahead with it. Kam

Nice tanto and koshirae, really like the hamon In regards to originality of koshirae I would be inclined to say the saya looks to be a shortened possible wak saya. As for seppa I personally don't think it is a good indication either way as this is definitely an option in regards to the previously mentioned "wood shrinkage". When the tsuka timber shrinks the nakago has less distance to travel as well and even if it only lost 1% it doesn't gain so adjustment for an original tsuka over time is generally done with seppa. As for fitting a non original tsuka a number of factors need to be taken into account but often additional seppa are not needed. Kam

Hi, just a suggestion: http://www.nihonto.eu/de/restauration/t ... on/katana/ Regards, Hi I did not view the whole website but I did click the link and trying not to be too critical the Tsukamaki on the home page has the first basic mistake of not alternating the twists

Hi The diagram supplied by gunto is the best approach. A couple of rules to work with in regards to tsuka. Firstly fuchi determines the size of the tsuka including naturally the thickness of the walls on all sides. Secondly view the idea that the timber is to act more like a wrap than a solid "handle" in the western sense. This traditionally was reinforced via same and Ito. Thirdly mekugi are there to stop the blade from sliding out not to "pin it in place" this seems to be a common mistake esp with the international tameshigiri crowd thinking that double pinning is stronger where as it actually creates a weak point as the timber will split along the grain between the 2 points. Hope this helps..,.goodluck Kam

Hi Adrian, historically kakenawa were not used en mass but more as a specialty tool for small scale infiltration. I think the other thing to consider is the way they were used as grappling hooks ie not great when a flurry of arrow are raining down on you but perfect as a small unit stealthily infiltrating a compound esp when needing to travel light. The other thing to consider is not to just view the grappling hook application as just vertical but horizontal as well such as traversing from building to building or ship to ship etc. Peter, way before the kumogakure ryu were using kakenawa the kukishin ryu had them within their arsenal and before this they were also used by Japanese pirates and Chinese bandits. The Fuma ryu whom were experts at guerrilla warfare also used them successfully.

There is a fair bit of literature that makes mention of the use of kakenawa in castle sieges etc. I believe the historian Stephen Turnbull makes mention of them in his publications with historical references. A few pics I could quickly locate, the first 2 are prints showing the "kake" portion attached to poles as opposed to rope, emphasizing the multipurpose ability.

Hi all Well here is a subject I know a bit about :D Kagenawa were used for a variety of uses within a number of bujutsu ryuha...mostly combat oriented but also such mundane uses as fishing nets and Anchors. Combat at sea was assisted in the application of using them as a grapple to "arrest" the other vessel. Castle sieges were also assisted by "sneaky" infiltrators as the kakenawa was a easy to manage implement. Direct combat application of the kakenawa was used often in a grappling manner, sometimes in assistance to another weapon. From what I understand there is very few "true" schools that continue to practice classical techniques due to the difficulty in mastering them. I can say having had the privilege of experiencing some of the techniques that they can be quite cruel and painful......pic is of a three pronged variety.

Kissaki 36mm

Additional info Motohaba 25mm Sakihaba 17mm More pics added... Sorry iPhone pics