Marius

Well, I was close to buying it (dealing with Kirill is a pleasure, BTW), but an opportunity to buy some early tsuba has come up, so I had to pass. With great regret, I have to say, as this ken is a real beauty. I think Kirill will want to confirm that it is still available. If it is, I would advise that someone grab it, as the price for this beauty is very very attractive.

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Mason, Well done with the mei! It looks like a Kaga shinto, Kiyomitsu perhaps. It is machi okuri rather than suriage. It seems like a nice sword.

@Christan I believe it is called hada-tachi (hada that stands out). @John I still think it is hada. But we'd have to see it in hand.

John, I believe they are often called chikei, but are the result of folding various sorts of steel. Real chikei are arrays of ji-nie and are a hallmark of quality. I guess, this is a question of nomenclature. However, when we call something chikei, we should not refer to what is an aspect of hada. For how should we then call those formations of ji-nie?

It is always possible (and highly likely) that the pole has been shortened and the ishizuki fitted at the cut off end. Costs of shipping for objects longer than 1.5m are prohibitively high, so the Japanese dealers just cut the pole down when shipping overseas. Which is a shame, but what can you do... Was it worth JPY200k? A nice blade papered, polished and in koshirae (even a shortened one)? I would say you have paid the full price, but I would also say it was reasonable. Enjoy your little beauty!

Why don't you post your video on Youtube or Vimeo, and them post the link here?

Sengoku_54jp is the same dealer as daimyou54eb. On Yahoo they can pull any auction if the reached price is not satisfying for them. And so they do - a common practice.

Bought one, can't wait to get it.

And you were right. Don't do it, unless you want shiny inlay.

Yes, but this tsuba has soft metal inlays. They will be polished and I am not sure if Mark would like that.

I just wanted to add, Barry, that I appreciate that you are worried what people can do to their swords. The best advice is "don't try to clean it, apply machine oil". I agree with that, it is the best advice for novices. But not for seasoned collectors, is it.

Barry, I agree on the pitfalls, but one can: 1. get proper uchiko (e.g. from Bob Benson) 2. apply it carefully (in fact Bob attches a document on how to use it to avoid scratches) Of course a moron will do neither 1. nor 2., but then again, a moron will try to remove a rust spot with sandpaper and possibly polish a sword himself. Hence, I do not think that your argument is valid.

Gents, this article is not about how to remove oil. It is about how uchiko can enhance the sword (show its "true face" if you will). Of course, poor uchiko (to be bought as part of those cheap sword care care kits) may damage the sword, just like the application of too much pressure during "uchikoing". But that is another matter. Provided we have good quality uchiko from a polisher and we know how to use it (gently), its application should result in a sword where you can see more activities, including steel particles. This is what Kojima is claiming and this is what we should discuss. Of course warnings like "crap uchiko will damage your sword" and "too vigorous cleaning with good uchiko will result in scratches" is absolutely OK here, they are in fact really needed.

An article on using uchiko on polished swords. Easy to dismiss it as advice that results in damaging a fine polish, but since the author is also a nihonto afficinado, who has handled hundreds of swords (including many important ones), his point of view seems really worth discussing: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/uchiko.html

Period is most likely late Edo. School is difficult to determine.

As for the second sword - to determine if it is real, you need to remove the handle to let us see the nakago (tang). First, remove the pin from the handle (if there is any) Then remove the balde from the handle (do not do it bu grabbing and pulling the blade) Here is a tutorial how to do it:

Brian, you mean Kaifu, I think?

Chinese fake. Sorry.

That discussion belongs in our Izakaya, no? BTW, I love Opinel folding knives.

I think this is a better explanation, indeed. Now what was the name of this monk who was was so ugly?

The object looks like a kiseru case. The man could actually be a woman - Oiwa (from Yotsuya Kaidan). However, how the kiseru case fits in, I wouldn't know. Unless it is not a case, but something different. Also, the person is bald, while Oiwa is traditionally depicted with hair. although she is clearly loosing it.

Mark, Leeds is not Tokyo, so you should be fine oiling your blades only once in a few months. I live in a similar climate and I don't oil my swords at all. I have never had a problem with rust. They are all in shirasaya, of course.

Out of Japan, from a dealer of low level stuff, big name, no NBTHK paper. Draw your own conclusions