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It looks like a forging flaw. Hoanh

$500-$700 Hoanh

Tim, Looking at the nakago, I don't think the sword is that old. So, I think the seller may have it right. I like the tsuba, but part of the mimi seems to be deformed. The horimono is atrocious, though. It looks like it was done by a 5-year-old. The blade itself looks very tired, as shintetsu is showing through in several places. It's my honest opinion, and please don't shoot the messenger. Regards, Hoanh

I would guess $1000-$1200, too. Hoanh

Judging from the picture, it's our old friend ejroush. Oops! Joe beat me to it. Hoanh

Mauro and Ford, Thank you for the hints. I am arranging to have it looked in person by a NMB member who specializes in iron tsuba and who is local in my area. I will keep you posted. Regards, Hoanh

Adam, Brian will be the Escrow Agent. That should put everyone at ease. Regards, Hoanh

Brian the Escrow Agent, I would bet my lunch money the project is a go from the pre-order stand point. It's not too early to think of a snazzy NMB logo to ink on the book. Your thoughts? regards, Hoanh

Excellent suggestion! Grey, since you are used to dealing with books, please consider volunteering for a good cause. The poll is looking promising so far: 10 (John)+ 5 (Brian) + 4*1+ 5*2 + 3*3 = 38 Hoanh

Gentlemen, I guess the discussion comes down to the following points: Q. Are we doing something illegal? A. Of course not, as Markus has stated that he has no exclusive agreement with the printing companies currently distributing his books. Q. Are we doing something against the author's wishes? A. No, Markus has stated that he supports this project (at least twice in this thread). Q. Are we doing something shady that will mar the reputation of NMB? A. No, as Brian, who has the most at stake in this regard, supports this project. Q. Is this project financially risky? A. No, absolutely not if we proceed as outlined previously. Collect pre-order payments in advance, getting agreement from a printing company of our choice to print a certain number of copies with particular specifications for a specific dollar amount. Markus will even know his earning from this project in advance and can cancel the entire deal right up to the time when we sign a contract with the printing company if he feels the deal in inequitable to him in any way. Q. Do we have sufficient manpower to carry this project to successful completion? A. With Markus, Brian, and Adrian, I have complete confidence in this project. We really need 100 pre-orders, though. In the absence of exclusive contractual agreements between Markus and the printing companies he currently uses, what we are doing, in the broadest sense, is the time-tested "competition" of the free-market economy. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. After all, we, collectively as members of NMB, are essentially doing the marketing for Markus's books right now. Why should we not enjoy the benefits of :1) higher quality printing, 2) ease of ordering, 3) lower cost, 4) NMB-Edition that we can all be proud of as members, all the while getting Markus his due compensation with which he is happy? Unless there are fallacies in the above argument, I really don't see any issue. In the end, it will come down to this: if Brian and Markus decide to give the final green light, we either support the project by pre-ordering or sit on the sideline. Either way is fine, as we all have our opinions and choices, but the project will proceed (with the approval of Markus and Brian, of course). Regards, Hoanh

Ed, Hoanh

Adrian, I, too, think this project is a worthwhile effort, and I applaud you for conceiving it and volunteering for a lot of headaches in the months ahead (for no gain as you already noted). In the end, it will benefit us - NMB members - and Markus. I don't think anyone on the board is attacking or slighting you. Everyone has the right to voice his/her opinions and concerns. After all, we need the buy-in of about 100 members, do we not? We already have Markus's and Brian's blessings. That's the important hurdle that has been cleared. The rest is simply convincing others to pre-order the books. Just because others are asking why doesn't mean they won't support the cause once you explain. You have come quite far. Let's stay on task, shall we? Regards, Hoanh

Just when I think I am in the clear, the water got muddy again Attached are pictures adjusted to near life-size, as suggested in previous posts. It's pretty clear I need an expert who can examine this tuba in person. Regards, Hoanh

Dave, It looks like a late-war Navy sword. It might house a stainless steel blade with an anchor stamp on the nakago. Of course, that's just a guess! Regards, Hoanh

Mariusz, I just now looked up & read the description of that particular tsuba you mentioned. I see all of the elements now. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you all for helping me with this tsuba David - I followed your link and yes, the linear tekkotsu looks very similar. Mariusz - I looked up fundo weight and sure enough, there it was! Also, now that you mentioned chopsticks, I can totally see it. Boris - Bats! I would not be able to figure that one out. Could the carving @5:00 o'clock be a fan? When we put all of the elements together, what do we get? Regards, Hoanh

Hi David, Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. I tried to take pictures of tekkotsu on the rim, but didn't succeed. There are several places on the rim where linear tekkotsu are clear - not super prominent but definitely visible. Regarding motif, I think the hitsuana are formed by pairs of flying geese. What I don't seem to be able to figure out are the carvings at the 5:00, 7:00, and 11:00 positions in the first picture. You are most likely correct about Owari and mid-Edo. What throws me off are the rounded rim and the smooth, moist, Yakite-Shitate-like surface texture, especially on the rim. Regards, Hoanh

Brian, Markus gave his blessings. Adrian volunteered to do the bulk of the grunt work. Will you volunteer to be the escrow officer? That would make this effort beyond reproach. Adrian - I would collect the money completely prior to signing anything with the printing company to keep us on the safe side, financially. Regards, Hoanh

I have a small tsuba that I would like to get your thoughts on regarding motif, type and age. It's about 6.5cm by 6.2cm with 5mm thickness. The patina is dark chocolate color, may be even a bit darker. The surface texture is very fine and smooth, especially on the rim. The seppa dai is slightly dished on one side. The rim is rounded. There are areas where tekkotsu are clearly seen. It has the look and feel of Owari tsuba, but somehow, the surface finish and the rounded rim don't fit. It also has the look and feel of Kanayama tsuba, but it's a bit too thin at 5mm. It's certainly not Kyo Sukashi, not Shoami, not Ono, not Yagyu, not Akasaka, etc. I am sitting on the fence with regard to Kanayama/Owari, but I could be totally wrong on both counts, too. Any and all thoughts are appreciated. I also don't get the motif either. Regards, Hoanh

I think with Adrian's volunteer of services, Markus can completely remove himself from any financial risk. If Brian agrees to provide escrow services, I think that would complete the last leg of this project. We can proceed with literally no financial risks: 1. Take a poll as already suggested. 2. If the number of books to be printed, based on the poll, warrants further effort, we can create an estimated budget and Adrian can shop for the best option for printing, budget & quality wise. 3. When the printing cost & options are known with certainty, people who commit to buy will pay in advance to our escrow officer, aka Brian if he agrees. If the actual order is lower than we expected from the poll, we can still cancel the project at this point and give refund. Otherwise, we go to the printing press and press the "PRINT" button. 4. After all expenses, our escrow officer can turn over the reminder of the budget to Markus, and everyone is happy. Like I said, the budget is built in advance and the money is collected in advance. There is no risk with this approach and Markus will know in advance how much his royalty will be, to within 10% or so due to potentially last-minute unknowns. Regards, Hoanh

Gentlemen, Please, please keep on task! No bicker, please!!!!!! I don't want to have this thread locked. Hoanh

I bought the digital version of Markus's book last Christmas, but like Barry, I would prefer to hold a high-quality book in my hands. It seems like we are spinning our wheels at this point. We need more concrete data before moving forward. May I suggest taking a poll of how many people will commit to buy a set at : 1) $200/set, or 2) $100/set? Say set the deadline for the poll to be a 7-day period (or however long is reasonable). At the end of the poll, we can tally up how many copies (and at what price range) are required. Markus will then have to give us input on what percentage in terms of royalties is acceptable to him. The budget for the project is then known, and we can proceed with various options of printing. Regards, Hoanh

Bob, The only thing one can do is look at the scrambled moniker and correlate it with the number of feedback the person has. If one gets a consistency between both the scrambled moniker *AND* the number of feedback, then it's most likely the same person. On top of that, if the person bids for the same type of item, say tsuba in this case, then it's another check sum test. Regards, Hoanh

David, My gut instincts say Owari. Regards, Hoanh

Lou, The cost of shirasaya is about $450/daito, and the cost of polishing is about $100/inch. So, for both swords, the cost of shirasaya is about $900. Assuming a 26-in daito and a 17-in wakizashi, the total cost of polishing is about $4300. Adding on top of this cost is $5000, making the total cost just about $10,200. Assuming the signatures are authentic (not gimei), the estimated value of the swords s $12,000. I don't see any upside in this scenario. There is always a *BIG* chance that the signatures are not authentic, in which case the swords are not worth even $3000 (combined value). Your downside is $9,000, and your upside is $2,000. I wouldn't touch these swords with a 10-ft pole if I were you. This is my unadulterated, unbiased opinion. Please do not take offense. Regards, Hoanh