ancientnoob

Not a problem. Funny you ask, I am on a quest to find that out. The "koto" sword is suspected to be a muromachi uchi-gatana/ katate-uchi or wakizashi (edo term?) viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18614&p=170347&hilit=kamakura+kodachi#p170347 I like it too. Thank you so much for the clue and the help!

I am new and I like it. The shape and pattern are appealing but I most like the work done on the edge. Kudos. I can offer no info and no educated comment so I default to a...

Agreed but what is the understanding from the collector community? Are things left better in their original configuration or altered to give a more appealing appearance? Should something be remounted in fancy furniture or kept as close to original as possible? Everything on this sword is iron with the exception of the hilt ornaments which appear to be copper / gold alloy covered in a purple-black application.

Brian, Thanks for the response. It's a pleasure to know that at some point a longtime ago someone the sword was worthy of the "sport package."

By now most of you have seen my one sword and most have given opinions... I continue to read everything I can about nihonto and nihonto related items. I started closely looking at the fittings on my very humble sword and determined that the sword is not big on frills, and in the great scheme of nihonto is not very decorative, although I was quite impressed with the sword collar, the habaki. Under close examination it is a sword piece copper assembly which I found out is called "Niju." I was wondering if anyone can tell me anything more about the habaki, it does not appear to be signed, dated and or fancy in any regard. There does appear to be some vertical scratches on the larger or the two pieces. Is there anyway to determine of what period it is from. It really is an interesting looking piece, when you look at all the small metal work that has been in the assembly process. Thanks for taking a look all.

Jean, That one too came with the sword! Good to hear that these are favored titles. Maybe the sword is not great but the books are

Jean, I am on my third go of the book. A wonderful book to say the least. I highly recommend to all.

Well I must say that the research of my sword and the research of nihonto and the culture and surrounding history has been nothing short of an odyssey. After countless weeks of daily study and the read and re-read and re-re-read of the newbie books. I believe I have better grasp of the terminology, anatomy and a decent understanding of the principle types of swords. Much with the help of scouring of this message board and threads going back years. What I have gained here and what I have gained from owning this sword I will cherish for the rest of my life. Stan from the Nihonto-club discussion board has taken the time to make some observations on this specimen and the conclusion seems just the same as the well learned folks here. Stan suggested that the sugata of my specimen may have been altered at some point, either intentionally or to repair some type of damage. This would elude to a curvature that may or maynot be original to the sword. He places the sword in the late - koto or early shinto period. He told me it might be decades before I learn more about the specimen, and I am ok with that. Regardless of what the sword is or is not it will always be priceless to me. I could imagine those who have handled many high end and gorgeous swords it can be quite easy to start thinking of these things as commodities, like coins, rare books and the like. I can imagine it being quite easy to cast aside a crappy, damaged, gimei or otherwise imperfect sword as a waste of money, not worth the time, and forget the honor it bestows on the individual for simply owning and knowing of such a sword. I too am guilty of such a mind set. I have done the same with ancient coins many times the vintage of the oldest nihonto. I have cast aside cruddy late roman bronze coins with a $5 value as junk in favor of $500 flashy Greek silver, I have often forgot that each one regardless of era or condition is a one of a kind, hand made limited edition, never to be made again treasure. I suppose this is just a rant, to justify commerical/asset value vs. historical value vs. collector value vs. the value to ones own personal psyche. With all that being said I would still like to ask questions about this sword...with a shout out to all the learned folk 1) Is it possible from the pictures/ scans, dimensions, time frame, mei(s) and sugata to determine what characteristics the sword exibits and what school and locations it could be a product of? 2) Is it possible for the specimen to be Kuzuuchi mono, from what I read, nearly every sword of this period fits this category (with exception.) Does the sword exibit those qualities? Its not easy to find photos of these Kuzuuchimono swords. (at least knowingly.) 3) Any more thoughts on the Big KUNITSUGU? I have said it before and will say it again, I appreciate every ones time, help and patients. I know when I delve into this unknown deep I do so in the company of friends.

How true this is. I just got the email saying that Bookamillion has the book on back order and the wait is 2-4 weeks and shipment is not garenteed. From what I read...not to be expected either. Needless to say I put my bid on the ebay one. Please don't bid against me.

Hey today I just bought a hardcover copy for $52.44, $60.01 shipped. I would suggest checking out http://www.booksamillion.com

Echizento, thanks bud. I said it before and I will say it again, a little encouragement goes a long a way. I really appreciate the kind compliments. Just remember on this board, the mods ask that each and every post must have a signature. (I literally have had to edit every post I have made.) I went into the profile section an just made one, this is the easiest avenue to remember to do it.

Well now that makes two of us. Nathan M.

Thanks Brian. I still have to finish side and then work on the other side. I might do some traditional looking sectionals like I have seen online. I also believe Adam is your man, for the raffle, I mean holy smokes! That guy has some serious skills. Now he has to draw a sword for the board. Nathan

Mr. Bowen, I can certainly agree with that. Drawing the sword forces the eye to observe properties that are not immediately apparent. I still believe I have will have to do several of each side before I will truly be happy with the product. The temper edge activity does play tricks with the eye and the brain, I had to walk away for the paper a couple of times, and each time I returned I found what I believe was a mistake and/ or a feature I missed the first go around. You know one hump was too long, one hump was brighter and sharper then the others, a couple have a break in the shadow that lies above it. All kinds of things I can't profess to know the words for. I will work on the shadow of the temper in the next couple of days. Nathan

Hoanh, Thanks for the kind words. A little encouragement goes a long way. I wish I could see my sword in a full polish. (it would make it at lot easier.) Cheers, Nathan

I was feeling creative the last couple of nights and decided I wanted to try and draw (with a pencil) the activity around the cutting edge of my out of polish sword. I know I am no Rembrandt but I thought I would give it a shot. Trying to define what I was seeing proved more difficult then I thought. I took great care in trying to capture exactly what I saw, and attempted to do so to scale. I ran out out of space on the paper about 2" - 3" from the guard, having started from with the basic out line and starting with the tip. I noticed that the temper edge swoops back towards the blade on the boshi, although it is faint(er) then the temper edge on the rest of the nagasa. I cant really make out much detail on the flat side due to the old polish and everything appeared to be very faint disjointed straight lines of which I did not include in the drawing. I found the exercise of drawing the activity very fulfilling. My drawing is incomplete but I thought I would share it anyways. If you guys have swords and some enjoyment in drawing I encourage you to draw your sword....its tons of fun... Nathan M.

@John, I was gunning for some exceptions.... :lol: Nathan

Funny. I had a similar experience at my home. I can't profess to know anything more then the very basics of Japanese swords but what I can tell you as I told the person that made a similar comment to me....The Japanese sword is the soul of the Samurai a finely crafted piece of art and certainly an apex weapon of the time. A European sword (and there are exceptions) are just that, a sword it embodies the soul of no one. It is cherished, revered and appreciated in quite the same way. The use of the sword is far less developed in Europe, largely do the widespread use of firearms starting the 1300's. I must admit would still prefer a 17th century Nihonto to a 17th century musket, although I have seen some oober nice guns. Nathan M.

Interesting thread. Interesting opinions offered here. Nathan.

First of all, I apologize for any vagueness in my questions, bare with me, I am sure you all are aware of the steep learning curve involved here. Second, All, thank you for your continued help and interest in my thread. Using this site: http://japaneseswordindex.com/measure.htm I was able to take more exact measurements of this specimen, which in the long run might aid in classification (I might be a bit obsessive about my sword) I was told there is a bug going around... Nagasa: 53.2 cm Nakago: 14.7 cm Kissaki: 3.2 cm Kasane: 0.6 cm Mihaba: 2.4 cm Sori: 1.8 cm Nathan M.

Quick question... Is there a way to tell if this sword is Kazuuchimono? And is there a way to tell how this sword is mounted? Nathan M.

First of course think I just saved to the desktop My lab just got this oober big scanner... I will find out the make and model and let you know. I was surprised the amount of visual information that was yield in the grey scale...wow! Although only after processing and some serious magnification did I realize the multitude of fingerprints on the scanning deck. Some of which made some weird looking effects on the picture which I could only remove from the background. The blade it self has some ages old finger prints on it. I suppose that adds to the "character" right... I really keep forgetting to sign my posts.... I have got to work on the signature portion of this board.... Nathan M.

Those high res scans, I was unable to bond the photos as illustrated in the article but I certainly see some advantage to using a high res scanner to actual photography. I performed this at 600 dpi and grey scale against a piece of black felt. I got it down to 4 photo's 2 of each side each over lapping the previous endpoint so the whole of the sword can be seen. I am not sure how this will appear on all computer monitors, but its looks good on mine and on my iphone. The zaimei is tough to see probably being due to the shallow cut. Check it out... Nathan M.

You folks have given me a lot to think about and I thank you. Brian- Thanks for the link. I wouldn't mind using one of these fellas. I will try and contact them. All- Thanks for your continued help, and edje-umacation. I was playing with a high res scanner the other day and had some interesting results...maybe you guys wanna take a look. Nathan M.

Nathan. These guys are the bees knees when discussing nihonto so any advice they give is based on years of experience that we could only dream of. I for one are always thankful when they give advice Like you say we do not see what they see and it is frustrating Nice sword none the less Well said Steve and thanks.