steve0

thats what it would have looked like but perhaps a stamp was not the right way to describe it, i should have used the word symbol... this is what i mean http://www.nihonto.com/abtartshinkai.html

Myabe stamp was an assumption on my behalf...............i have amended my post as i found its called a Kiku mon?

Hi Guys Wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of material online that explains the usage of this type of mark on blades made in the last few hundred years? All advice and hints welcome but specifically looking for information on what smiths were authorized to mark their work with it from the last few hundred years. thanks

thank you

and this but the dates don't make sense so consider yourself forewarned. if anyone can shed light on what those dates mean under each name i would be very grateful as they have me confused and http://nihontoclub.com/schools/OsakaGassan and http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SAD850 the only straight blade I found in the records i have access to was one made for a special occasion by Sadayoshi's adopted son Sadakazu who was known for his shallow sori apparently....take this with a grain of salt though as i am very new to this area of study. I am still trying to unearth more information on my own Gassan blade but it has not been easy going thus far. hope this helps

If you have a blade with old papers, can you send the NBTHK a copy of them and verify if it has been resubmitted and failed along with confirmation as to why it was? Or is this asking too much of their services?

I am with Redmond here, thanks guys for making this a wonderful place of knowledge, culture and wisdom where the wise teach the blind see and the deaf hear.

kunitaro Thank you for posting such wonderful examples, they are simply gorgeous.

Brian Sadly I do enjoy reading your posts but for all the wrong reasons, I really wish you would listen to the guys on here as most of them are real world subject matter experts when it comes to Nihonto, unlike us who do not even qualify as novice yet. Slow it down and start reading, being told to get stuck into the books was the best piece of advice I have taken on the Nihonto topic. Try and remember that your mind is a parachute, it works best when its open. Steve

unless they are practicing.....

nice blade Brian I cant read papers nor understand attributions at this point but i like what my eyes tell me.

a mate has a high end camera is going to help me photograph it properly I will post the pics when i get them done as the ones shown to date are rubbish....man these things really are difficult to capture in all their beauty IMHO.

In case anyone wants another pic.... I will try and get some with a better camera in the future.

Hi All the old edo thread needs to be set as a sticky with the forum software and only a mod or above can set a thread in that way, that will make it stay at the top of section it lives in. I have so much reading to do on this board, I'm excited big Kev style ( minus the heart attack). Furthermore there are quite a few threads that should be set as stickies for us newbies IMVHO but i am new here so I will go back to my corner now.

I ordered some singer machine oil on tuesday at John's prompting so should have it in my hands by the weekend allowing me to wipe it down finally and study it properly. I did pull it apart last night rather cautiously and the utsuri looks really nice in the hamon, sure i dont have anything to compare it against except what i have seen in books and online but the activity really is very nice :D I am also very impressed at the detail in each and every part of the sword including its accessories, i am like wow each time i examine it ( I am such a n00b i know) if i am lucky my oil will arrive today, if not tomorrow i hope. peace

Thanks for the link, thats a really cool site...more reading materials :D peace.

You are correct, it did indeed come from John who appears to be a stand up guy and a good person to do business with.

Sorry I have miss quoted, the dealer said it was made in the late 1800's, not 18th century. I now realise they are not one in the same date wise. I did say I was learning peace.

Hi Guys thanks for all the kind words and advice. I did once own a very nice reference book but I loaned it out and never got it back, I dont even recall who i loaned it to however that book and about 100 hours of net study was what got me started back in 04/05 and formed the basis of my knowledge . When the urge hit me again a few weeks ago, I started reading again like a madman online and discovered the Japanese sword index and quite a few other fine sites including this one ( I wish Dr Rich would get more bandwidth ) so yeah I did not buy it blindly and I knew what I wanted in my first blade and I had a beginners idea of what to look for and avoid such as fleabay. A guy on ebay actually sent me a blade from interstate to look at because when i asked him for better pics it looked machine sharpened and i told him as much so he sent it to me without payment (wanted 1600 for it) but alas when i got it, it was a Chinese knock off so i sent it back, no harm no foul. The guy was ok with that to, he tried and I said no so hey. it was at that point i realized if i wanted a real blade i would have to pay real money as i was not going to get off the hook cheaply, especially with my limited knowledge and insistence on criteria. I think the 3 other key things I did sort of right is; 1. Buy from a respected dealer 2. Buy something with papers 3. Buy something polished I prefer not to say how much i paid for it but it was not cheap nor was it very expensive but it did dent my wallet thats for sure, however after getting feedback from all of you, i now know i made a good decision ( To the dealer if you are reading this: Sorry mate i had to check ) Either way the blade really is quite beautiful and trust me those pics do not do it justice, I must have spent at least 4 hours last night examining its finer details. Its also quite light considering and feels very natural in my hands weight wise. I am waiting for some more stuff to arrive for it but when it does I shall attempt to take better pics of it to share with you all. thanks again for taking a look for me and validating my purchase. Peace.

Can you translate the fuji cert and shed more light on its age please? I have tried but Hanji is kind of difficult for me and believe me i been trying Note: I do have a full translation on the way in a week or so but i am impatient. not2: i know its not 19th century or its tang would not be the colour..

2 more pics

Firstly so everyone is clear, I know very little about Nihonto, I have always liked the Japanese culture and have always loved their craftsmanship with katanas but never had pockets deep enough to purchase the real thing up until now. In light of this please forgive me if i do not use correct terms as i am just learning. Anyways here is my first addition and hopefully I can get some feedback from the more knowledgeable members on here to see if I made a good or bad decision ….either way i like the blade but not so much its saya. I'm really looking forward to unraveling its past because although it is papered by Fujishiro, it is unsigned and only attributed to the Gassan school , its from the 18th century according to the dealer I purchased it from but i guess i will at least try and find out more over the next 12 months or so if possible and i am very much looking forward to it as i enjoy research. forgive the low res pics, they were part of the sale thread, i will get better ones later. You can also see the fuji cert in this thread here; viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13470 I have some books on the way which were recommended here for beginners so I will refrain from making any further impulse purchases until i have read both as that seems like a wise thing to do. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics and let me know if you have any questions. Note: I have no reason to suspect this is a fake but hey what do i know.

Hi jean thanks, that's exactly what I was after, its information i can research and therefore understand. I like answers as much as the next person but I also like to know how one gets to them i love this place already and I only found it a week ago. thanks again :D

Hi Zanshin Thanks, that much I already knew but i was wondering what else it said on there...its just a personal query as I am curious in nature , probably because I cant read them. oh well if that's all it says, then that's all it says. thanks for having a look for me.

Hi can someone please translate the attached file for me please? I have tried myself but as i know less than nothing about Japanese language, my efforts have been futile.. thanks