Ken-Hawaii

I almost agree with that, Chris, but would modify it to "buy a togishi." Unless you're in an area where there is more than one sword dealer, working with a local togi makes more sense to me. There is only one major dealer here in Hawaii, but several well-qualified togishi. I recently bought a gorgeous wakizashi from one of them that will be going to shinsa; he showed me the "before" photo, & I frankly can't see why or how he chose that particular blade for restoration. It might have been the ugliest wak I've ever seen, & that's saying something! But he saw what I couldn't, & the result is spectacular. A dealer wants to sell you what he has in stock, while a togishi wants you to consider the work he has put into a restored blade. Ken

That's very strange, John. I'm a computer consultant & security expert by trade, & my system doesn't have any problem with that Web-site. I've probably downloaded 30 or 40 e-books from there & all work just fine, & I've never seen any sign of adware. Would you PM me with which software is warning you off? Got me curious. Ken

Hi, Justin: You might find some interesting info on tanegashima at http://megabook.us/g/download/070071674 ... graphs%29/. These are free downloadable monographs on the first European arrivals into Japan. Ken

There are really no shortcuts to learning about what makes a quality Nihonto, Adam. But being able to see a number of different blades in one place provides a lot of visual cues that really can't be gotten from a book or photos on eBay (or anywhere else). You'll have to trust us on this, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you have that opportunity. Ken

I'm not sure what you're asking, Franco. Do you mean that someone should explain why the wakizashi on eBay is or is not a reasonable buy? Or that we should point Adam towards the NMB for-sale section because our members are more trustworthy? Or something else? Generally, I feel that buyers get the most for their $$ buying wakizashi. But on the other hand, I don't lean towards referring people to eBay, especially newbies. And on the third hand (assuming I'm an octopus), if you're not buying a blade with origami, you're probably not maximizing your chances of getting a "genuine" Nihonto. I still have the first blade I bought...but mostly because it reminds me of why I should have done even more research before I spent my money. Ken

If you think you know enough, browse over to viewforum.php?f=4 where you will see lots for sale or trade. Ken

Ray makes a very good point. When we rebuilt our second floor after the flood, I decided to relocate the wall rack with our "working weapons" - shinken, yari, etc. - on a different wall. But a few days later, a friend came over & was talking with me down at the base of my driveway; he pointed upstairs & asked why I had "all those swords up there." It never occurred to me that they could be seen from the street! We quickly moved them back out of sight. And in my earlier post, I completely forgot one very important insurance issue: having a complete written description of your blades. I created a very detailed PDF entitled "Sword Description & Characteristics" that lists every detail I could think of including type, mei, lengths, measurements, hada, hamon, yakiba, etc., etc. I keep the printed PDF file in the safe deposit box along with the origami & backup storage. If someone can tell me how to post a 288KB PDF file on here, I'll be happy to share it with everyone. I created it as "fillable," so you can use Adobe Acrobat (not Reader) or one of the other PDF freebies to fill out checkboxes, type in descriptions, etc. Very useful. Ken

Thanks, Grey. I can barely see the first Kanji either, & it's sitting here right in front of me. But it does say "Bizen" - just too shy to photograph, I guess. Ken

Aloha, all: I was finally able to find & buy a new, very light training weapon. I think I have a translation of the mei, but would appreciate expert opinions. My tentative translation is "Made by Kunimune of Osafune Village, Bizen Province" - am I close? My apologies for the mediocre photo, but the mei is quite faint. Mahalo! (Thanks!) Ken

Jean, we have a few attack geese that do a really great job of keeping unwanted guests away. They attack in a pack, stick right to our property, & are amazingly smart. And of course we have our sign posted: Watch out for geese, but beware of owners! Ken

Terry, are you looking for a "real" katanakake or just something to hold your swords on the wall? If the latter, check out http://www.amazon.com/8-Tier-Wall-Sword ... B001F4OTJ8, which holds eight swords for $29.86 with free shipping. If you want a little higher quality, browse to http://www.e-bogu.com/Sword-Stand-s/65.htm. Don't know why you had so much trouble finding a rack.... Ken

I have a very large 1200-pound safe bolted the same way, but that didn't stop the flooding from the rain from getting inside & doing considerable damage, & the same applies to having a fire burn your house down. Take those photos, too - if you don't bother with insurance, at least the photos will help you to remember what your pristine blades looked like beforehand. Ken

Brian is right on the film & video, but the still images are what will get you paid the fastest for swords or anything else. I speak from plenty of catastrophe experience: On January 14, 2004 at 11:05 AM, my wife & I watched in horror as a 141-mph wind gust blew off the roof of our two-story house, followed by 6.1 inches of rain. It took us 19 months to get everything repaired & replaced, & that is with our insurance company working with us! They paid out $392,781.92, just for the record. Here's how we got so much help: Walk around with a video camera & slowly pan around each room to get the overview of how your room is set up. This will not only help you to remember just what was in that room, but also how it was configured. Before leaving that room, do a slow video zoom & pan on closeups of anything of high value (artwork, books, Persian carpets, etc.). Once your video is done for all rooms AND outside, then grab your digital camera & do the same thing with high-resolution still images. If you have a china cabinet, for example, open the doors & take a couple of shots of your china & silverware. Lay out your swords one at a time, & get good shots of the blade, koshirae, sayagaki, origami, etc. Your insurance company wil first look at the extent of your damages, followed by lots of questions on just how you furnished your house - not what your furniture looked like (although that's also a factor), but rather whether it was high-end, mid-range, or a pig sty. This will most definitely determine how much help you get & how quickly they will pay out. Once you've done all this, remember that it won't help at all if your house burns down with your video footage & digital photos still inside. We keep a copy of our frequently-updated video & photos in a safe-deposit box at our bank, & whenever I leave the house, I carry a 1 TB portable drive that has all this info along with key info for our 25-year-old consulting business. Paying for insurance is useless if you don't have the documentation to support it! Ken

Joe, just to make sure you understand, a katana is worn blade edge (ha) up, & a tachi ha down. Other than that, good question. Ken

Jeffrey, can you please post a few shots of the boshi & along the length of the blade? Hard to tell anything from your shots. Ken

Mark, choji oil is simply mineral oil with about 2% clove oil. Mineral oil cannot cause oxidation because it isn't organic. Ken

Piers, for Nihonto koshirae, I much prefer the original aged, but not ragged, tsukamaki, mostly because I'm not planning to handle the tsuka except for study. For iaido, however, new tsukamaki is fine. I have an iaito that I've been using for decades with silk maki that looks almost new, so it's obviously hard to really wear out the tsukamaki unless you're abusing the blade. Ken

About the only "price guide" I can offer, Luis, is to learn enough about the Japanese blade so that you can decide what is a fair & reasonable price to pay. Your problem is that there are hundreds or thousands more types & quality of Japanese blades than there are of German militaria, not to mention over 30,000 swordsmiths, & each of those combinations has a perceived value. And what I perceive as poor quality may be something that you would treasure. So, no, there's no such thing as a Nihonto price reference chart. Sorry. But welcome to the forum. Ken

John, I guess I shouldn't mention that it's 82F in my office with my door open to the tradewinds, huh? Ken

Hi, Scott: I've heard of this book but haven't read it. Amazon has it listed, but unavailable except through private sellers. Here's a link you can explore: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... ition=used. It seems to be worth between $100-$125 depending on condition. Ken

Well, I brought my newly-found manrikigusari to jodo training this weekend &, not surprisingly, Sensei knew exactly how to use it. He demonstrated by capturing my bokken, & followed that motion by capturing my wrist & throwing me to the ground - didn't take more than 5 seconds. I have a whole new respect now for a weapon that looks so simple! Even better news is that he will consider adding the manrikigusari to our training schedule, although probably not immediately. Ken

Many years ago when I got interested in collecting Nihonto, as well as swinging them, I started building my reference library. However, I couldn't find anyone who could really guide me in which references would be the most helpful. I just made a search on NMB, but can't find anyone who has targeted this important subject. So because we have both newbies who ask basic questions, & undoubtedly lurkers who just read rather than contributing, I think we should develop a comprehensive list of which books should be bought by newbies, collectors with middling knowledge, & those who are walking encyclopedias. But rather than just making a list, I'd like everyone to provide a specific reason why each book should be included in any of these libraries & where it can be bought. Also, if a book is offered only in Japanese, & there is no English translation available, that should be noted. I'm not sure if we should list references that are available on-line as PDF files, mostly because I often can't tell if they were legitimately digitized. For example, Jim Hrisoulas has an excellent book published called "The Master Bladesmith," which I happen to own, but is also available for download; we may have to play that by ear unless Brian has a preference. Brian, I can see this list eventually being migrated to an obvious location on NMB where it can easily be found. I currently have 26 books in my library, & will be glad to add my listing & comments. Ken

PM sent, Kim. It crossed with yours. Ken

Kim, were you aware that there are over 30,000 smiths? I do happen to have a copy of Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths for sale which lists all these smiths, along with other useful info about them. PM me if you're interested. Ken

Very interesting, Ruben! We also use our hips in sayabiki/sayabanare/noto, so I guess I could handle another 1/2 shaku, but that sure seems like an awfully long blade for MJER. When you're doing Ukenagashi sono ichi or the Ittomagoi sets, for example, you can't easily use your hips during the draw, & I'd hate to think of how I would perform Bangai! I guess you can used to anything, though. Ken