Ken-Hawaii

Chris, do you have specific recommendations on Kanji dictionary software? I have several databases (really linked PDF files) that honestly haven't been much help in translations...or maybe I'm not using them correctly. My Japanese daughter-in-law gently told me that I wasn't interpreting the number of strokes correctly, so that certainly may be a factor. I don't mind investing in some new software - computer consulting is what pays the bills & allows me to buy Nihonto - but I don't have enough experience to choose from the packages I see on-line. Thank you for your comments on perseverance. I haven't put in much time on Koop, other than using it to puzzle out the occasional word, but as I don't speak Japanese, I think I'm just floundering. I don't want to become dependent on experts like you & Morita-san for translations, though, & so want to become a bit more proficient. Ken

Well, I just wish I had the brain cells that you & Morita-san have, Chris. I have quite a few references on interpreting mei signatures, but didn't have a clue on this one. Just out of curiosity, how did you get started on reading mei? I think that might be helpful to those of us who don't know where to begin. Ken

Will do, Thomas. I'm doing some very minor cleanup as the blade was caked with old oil, & all I did prior to the trade was to clean a small section so I could see the condition. It's quite likely going to togishi, & I'll post the before-&-after photos when it's finally done. BTW, I sent Morita-san a PM asking him how anyone who didn't grow up reading Kanji & Hiragana could possibly interpret that mei. No response as yet. Ken

Aloha, all: I just traded for a new wakizashi, but can't make any identification of the mei. Any ideas? Mahalo! (Thanks!) Ken

I thik you'll like Kawagoe, Jeremy. The kuri (warehouses) alone were fascinating (bring a camera), & there are several good sword stores there. And check out http://www.jp-stores.com/stores/html/js10614.html for a little more info in English for e-sword. Ken

Good, clear shots, Matus. You might set the resolution a bit higher in Imageshack, or whichever image processor you're using. Nice blade, too. Did it come in koshirae or shirasaya? Ken

Nothing wrong with the link, Stu, but maybe a glitch with imageshack. I've looked at a number of your images, & agree that the first-page view remains at zero. But if you click on an image, you'll see a page count for views. Strange.

Yeah, Stu, that's a good analogy. But at least you know the fingerprint came from a specific person, rather than a possible forger.... Hmm...gimei fingerprints.... Ken

Hi, Terry: Sword storage depends in large part just where you're located. A Phoenix collector doesn't have the same problem as one in, say, New Orleans or Houston where the humidity stays high pretty much all the time. My location in Hawaii splits the difference between those locales, so I'll explain how I handle storage of my Nihonto. First & foremost, each & every blade is taken out & given a fine film of oil on the last day of the month. If there's any build-up that can't be removed with this oiling, I use uchiko lightly & then re-oil. Second, I keep all my Nihonto in a katanadansu, which is made of wood that doesn't soak up the humidity. Several of my blades reside in shirasaya, which again don't pick up humidity & are made specifically for long-term storage. My blades that are in koshirae are stored in the saya, but are then placed in Zcorr storage bags (http://www.zcorrproducts.com/collection ... orage-bags), which are about the best way I know to store anything that may rust or corrode. Hope this helps. Ken

Josh, do NOT use pure clove oil on your blade!! Choji oil has 0.5-1.0% clove oil for fragrance, but if you check out the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for clove oil (http://sciencekit.com/images/art/Clove_Oil_197.00.pdf), you'll see that it evaporates rapidly, leaving your blade unprotected. Straight mineral oil in a very thin layer will work just fine for your blade. Hopefully, you ordered choji rather than clove oil...right? Ken

With my grandkids, it would have to be steel cable, Piers!! Kinda' hard to knot.... Oh, & Kelly just advised me that he no longer has any tansu keys because his "collection has considerably dwindled as I have used up so many to fit tansus I had bought with no keys." Oh, well; it was worth a try. Ken

Small planet, George. That's exactly who I'm talking with. Never dawned on me that might have a bunch of keys.... I'm bidding on several of his items, & will ask him immediately. Mahalo nui loa! (Thanks a whole bunch!) Ken

Believe it or not, I was corresponding with an auctioneer in Osaka & he just sent me the following item to bid on: Does this look like the same type of key that would work in my katanadansu lock?? It might have one or two "teeth, but if this is the type of key I need, it will certainly be easier to make than what I had planned!

Ushio-Sensei: I'm happy that you remember that Linda & I train with Maeda-Sensei at Kaifukan Dojo. Your restoration is extremely well-done & is a true treasure. If you happen to visit Oahu with daisho in hand, I hope you will join us at our Japanese Sword Society meeting the first Sunday of each month; our members would definitely benefit from seeing the fruits of your multi-year labor. There are several who have planned similar restorations, but never seem to be be able to get started. I'm serving as VP this year, & will happily set you up as a monthly speaker any time you can make it. I'm an NRA Life Member, & have taught basic rifle & pistol as well as personal protection courses, but find the katana & kodachi to be fine weapons for self-defense. Linda & I also study SMR jodo under Quintin Chambers-Sensei & thoroughly enjoy the jo & tanjo. Respectfully, Ken

Wow! That's gorgeous! Could you please tell us a bit more about your project?

Umm, Hawaii is a part of "the States," Grey - we call you "the mainland." :D Your idea for an interior lock is a good one, but I sometimes wish that our grandkids didn't take so much after my wife & me...we're both engineers. The long-term solution is, of course, to teach them how to handle & respect the swords, as they will likely inherit them as caretakers some day. Our 17-year-old granddaughter isn't a problem, but the 8- & 9-year-old boys are something else. Thanks for the lead on SmallParts.com, too; they have lots of neat stuff for our perpetual projects. I'm pleasantly surprised at how much "lock knowledge" our forumites have! Alan, there isn't any hole in the back inside plate, but craning my neck & peering inside the hole, I can see what looks like a strong metal mechanism at the top of the lock. I can't get a lock-pick inside, but I was able to move it a bit with another small tool. That didn't move the lock tongue, however, so I'm now assuming that it may take at least one full turn to actuate the mechanism. I guess I'll be fitting, welding, & filing for awhile. I bought the katanadansu from Craig Harris at Bridge of Dreams books. Craig obviously has a lot of other items besides just books, & his price was excellent. I have the katanadansu mounted on top of another, smaller Japanese cabinet, locked together with screws. The lower cabinet gives me another four large drawers for items like tsuba, cleaning materials, etc. It's amazing at how tightly the old Japanese cabinetry drawers fit together! I love hearing the whooosh of air every time I open or close a drawer on cabinetry that's well over a century old. Today's manufacturers just don't have that same pride of workmanship. Ken

Okay, Grey, here's a close-up shot: and the full view: It looks like it would need a hollow key, & please note that although it looks like it's solid behind the hollow, it really does go back about 1 cm, according to my probe. Ken

Aloha, Ron: Thanks for the detailed instructions. What I'm still scratching my head over is how to make a half-Y-shaped key that will turn in the slot. Picture a one-inch-tall "Y" with the top-right leg cut off, & that's my key-slot. The reason I want to lock that katanadansu drawer is that my grandkids love to open drawers, & this is where I store the large sharp things they don't need to have access to. A burglar would simply carry off the entire chest, of course, assuming our nine cats didn't eat him first.... Ken

John, you oil the blade just once before placing it into the ZCORR bag; whatever condition it was in at that point is exactly what it will be when you remove it. I only have two years experience with these bags, but considering the high humidity here in Hawaii (we live right across the street from the Pacific Ocean), I'm fairly certain that nothing on the blade will change while it's enclosed. There is a Velcro-like seal that makes it a slight chore to open, so it won't happen by accident. I had one wakizashi that somehow managed to get some really bad surface rust, so I just oiled it & placed it in a bag. Three months later when my togishi was able to get to it, there was no change that I could see, & I think that's one of the main advantages of this solution, John, not to mention that they're cheap. I've sold over 100 at my sword society meetings, based in large part by what the togishi said about them (he bought a dozen). Ken

Josh, you can spend a lot of money on Nihonto storage, or you can be smart & browse over to http://www.zcorrproducts.com/collection ... orage-bags & buy a ZCORR Vacuum Storage & Preservation Bag for under $20. I like these bags so much that I became a dealer for them, & have all my blades (& other weapons) stored in them. True, my katanadansu doesn't look quite so pretty, but I don't have any problems with rust any more.

Robert, I AM a swordman, & have been training for many decades. When I handle a Nihonto - antennae notwithstanding - it doesn't have the same feeling at all as does an iaito (practice weapon) or even a modern shinken. Why? The Nihonto is made as a real weapon, & this can be easily felt by those of us who are familiar with that use. I have decided against buying several Nihonto because no matter how "pretty" they were & how they were papered, they simply didn't have the in-the-grasp feeling of being a real, practical weapon. If you feel that you can "nearly fully appreciate the 'potential' of the weapon" without having experience using it, okay...I won't argue with you, but I choose to disagree. Ken

Milica, considering the blade was built less than 30 years ago, it should darn well be in great shape! Honestly, this isn't the best forum to discuss iaido, as Brian has targeted us very well on Nihonto. I suggest you browse over to http://www.e-budo.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=59 where you'll find a ton more info on the martial arts aspects of blades, rather than on the blades themselves. Ken

I agree with Jeremy that the blade would be "suitable" for iaido, with two caveats: First, does your sensei allow new students to train with a live blade, & second, do you realize just how much a large steel shinken weighs? My wife & I have been training in MJER for many years, & our Sensei only allows shinken for tameshigiri training, although I'll admit that our SMR Jodo Sensei does require us to train with live blades. From the blade length you describe as ideal, you're probably around 5'8-6' tall, so a shinken, especially with a wide blade, will likely weigh about 30-60% more than the same blade as an iaito made from an aluminum alloy. If you are really strong with large forearms, then you might not notice the difference, but over the past few years, our MJER dojo has lost several promising students who just couldn't manage even a medium-weight iaito. So if you are serious about training in iaido, my personal recommendation is to start out with an iaito, & graduate to a shinken when you have a few years experience in swinging a sword. Good luck in any case.

Locke, I've carried my wife's & my iaito to many countries, & have had a few problems using gun cases. But I've found that using a well-padded (& beat-up) hard-side golf bag never raises any eyebrows. But don't forget to declare what you're carrying, of course. :D

Aloha, Matus: For book recommendations, the one that helped me the most when I was first starting out is The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama. Chris Bowen wrote a review on it back in 1998 at http://www.koryu.com/books/jswords.html, & although I now have dozens of Nihonto reference books, this is the one I usually grab first. Ah, this is the type of self-realization that we all like to see! And the more you study, the more of these satori moments you will have.