Dave R

Nakago.

And here we are....

I have this one now, bought as a "bitser" for a price reflecting that fact. I think the nakago may have been reshaped, but done quite some time ago as the patina matches all over. Otherwise the blade is not dreadful, though a bit saw edged from abuse, minor pitting and overal patina,.... Someone more expert than I thinks it is an unsigned Seki blade. No stamps or signature but rough Taka no Ha yasurimei, and a clearly discernible hamon. Decent sharp ha and mune machi. I can put up detailed photo's if anyone wants them. The problem with this sort of sword is the question of "when was it assembled?" If it was definitely a wartime or service "fix", then I would keep it together. However, there is no paperwork such as a surrender tag etc, and it rattles in the hand much to much for me to see it as having been a usable combat weapon.

I keep thinking about this image, and I think that what you see is what you get! The swords probably are props, there to indicate what he is doing, the real clue is the housewife sat in front holding a bundle of...? I think he is no more than a street level knife sharpener dealing mainly with kitchen knives and agricultural tools, the swords included as a bit of exotica. The Japanese equivalent of these fellows.

Certainly posed, camera speeds were too slow for anything else. But who are the models, and where did the props come from? I doubt they used random bystanders, why bother when you could go to a workshop and get all you needed in one package.

Polishing or sharpening?

I have seen photo's of lacquered paper Ito on original Tsuka, and this site actually describes it among other types of wrap. Well worth a visit. http://www.tsukamaki.net/

You can get an unusually short Nakago if the sword was intended for single handed use only. http://www.sho-shin.com/katteuchi.html

Many thanks for the link, I am enjoying a tour of the whole website!...... On another note, this photo below is often touted as an IJA officer sharpening his sword, but he may just be cleaning and oiling it. Interesting anyway.

I am getting some interesting results using this search term. "netaba-awase".

"already stated Dave...???".............. Yup, I missed that! Went hunting up the meaning in US slang, because in the UK it stands for "Wives and Girlfriends".

I am sorry about, and surprised at your reaction to my comment. I was merely speculating as to why the other oil appeared in the video, when as you said he used something else in his shop..

WAG An abbrieviation, short for Wild Ass Guess. The origin of this word is likely military, but that is just a WAG.

There are whole threads about oil, not just here but on other collectors sites as well. Given the attitude of Japanese craftsmen to their tools, and Chefs to their knives I would take their use of this particular oil to be a recommendation. I would also be surprised if the use of this particular oil in the video was an accident. Perhaps it reflects his own practice on his own swords..... or a bit of product placement.

Now that has me wondering about my Kaneyoshi blade, quite short, a discernible fumbari and a Bull head kisaki!

My personal opinion only here, if the Habaki can be damaged in this way, then it is not a properly fitted or made Habaki. Rear stress is taken on the Munemachi, and forward stress on the Hamachi which should rest on an inserted support, the Machigane. If there is a taper or curve to the Ha of the Nakago then further support is given there. If the Ha is splitting the Habaki it probably means that it is missing a Machigane, in the manner of the Chinese repro's where the Hamachi rests in a cut rather than on a Machigane. Dave R

However if you want to stick with the airborne theme.

My favourite is this one, not Kamakazi but SNLF .....

A decent sword in fairly good condition, I rather like "Type 3's" myself, a no nonsense fighting blade.

I have a couple of those as well!

My best Ebay win. A Yari for the price of a KFC family bucket. It was a one of, from a guy who thought it was a machine made trade item for the African market.

I suspect a damaged "formal" saya led to a replacement being made using the original Ashi. The repair team sent out to China reported that most of their work involved sorting out damaged saya.

I have seen these koiguchi before, basically an alternative to the leather strap more commonly seen on the wood and leather saya. Here is one retrofitted to a traditional saya.

With officers swords being private purchase there would be variation. I can think of two reasons immediately, Tachi and Katana have different placement of Menuki, so it would depend on which the manufacturer or customer regarded the sword as being. The Mei placement varies for the same reason, traditionally to be outboard in the wearing position, and this too varies on Shin-Gunto. It would be interesting to see if Mei placement influenced Menuki placement. The other reason is that Menuki placement also varies according to the school of swordsmanship followed. Personally, given the general lack of expertise in traditional swordsmanship commented on by contemporary authorities, I would go with the idea it varied with the placement of the Mei and other inscriptions on the Nakago.

I saw this one some time ago on Thomas Buck's site.