Widowmaker

Hello everyone, first I must declare that I am not affiliated to these two business. It is not my concern here. I am choosing a good quality Choji oil right now since my Kanehide will be shipped tomorrow. I may have to clean the very old oil on the blade and re oil it. Just want to know if someone has already used this siteweb Choji oil. What makes it so special beside the very cool package? Is its quality really good as it mentionned? https://www.facebook.com/TomboChoji?fref=nf Also I find this siteweb too which offers good quality product juding from the photos. http://nihontofittings.com/index.php/Ch ... ducts.html I did the research on this forum and also asked Chris concerning the maintenance question. It seems that 1. microfiber soaked in pure alcohol is best way to remove old oil without dammaging the blade. 2. Wax renaissance can be a good layer of protection before oiling. 3. Good quality uchiko can be occasionally used. 4. Never overuse any product and Oil the entire blade including nakago. If I miss some important point, please add it. That will be really helpful. Thank you very much!!

Hi flemming, I am still a beginner but i will tell you my opinion. I found the mei very badly graved, the nakago is not chiseled very well. There is no yokote. Is it in hira zukuri? The saya is very unusual for a gunto. The hamon seems to be really odd too. Could you link the auction site so that we can have more details? Thank you

Another information, according to the ranking sheet of Shinshinto period Smith, he is ranked as "better than average level" (中上作) with the name "山浦兼虎" Here is the ranking sheet http://blog.yam.com/satokoso/article/47813422

Contacted. However 175$ + 38$ shipping fee is a little bit too high for me. I would be happy to buy one copy for 100$ or less if some is still willing to sell for that price. I know that the price has skyrocketed for a couple of month. People were still able to getting one copy for 50$-100$ on May. But now, 175$ - 450$ range for a book is really too high for me, even it is a very valueable book. Thank you for your information anyway. I will keep looking for it. My lack of knowledge on Nihonto push me to do this...

“the request thread does not exist"

Hello everyone, I know this may already has been asked several time. I do find some thread talking about this but no one has recent update. I want to really learn more about Nihonto, reading on the forum and internet make me really tired and is hard for me to concentrate. I think book nowadays is still the best tool for a efficient learning. Well on another thread which talked about the price of this book, people on this forum provided a lot of links in which the price was really really interesting. However, when I purchased, all siteweb replied me that the book is no longer available or is for backorder. I don't really spend 200-300 euros for this book, even if it is certainly a valueable book. So, if someone is still selling his excellent condition The Connoissuer's Book Of Japanese Swords, I would definitly buying it (for a reasonnable price^^). If not, maybe you know someone or some siteweb still selling this. I would buy it without any hesitation if the price is reasonnable. Don't if I should post this in the Trade section or I can post it here as a discussion topic. Thank you very much in advance.

Thank you for all your answer. I am aware now of the danger. I saw the post of mr.Mariuszk, we talked in private and everything is fine, there is no trouble. I think some of my opinions seemed to be confuse in a way that other people think I tried to convince other that I am right. That was not I intend to do. I think you guy understand me. By the way, I found another thread which talked about this subject too. Many interesting post there by Kunitaro gave me plenty useful information. I think the topic can be locked or solved.

I don't know of anyone, either, but I've collected about a half-dozen of them as I either wear them out or upgrade to new ones over the years. Zhang, I really don't understand why anyone would choose to use a Nihonto for tameshigiri when there are plenty of well-made, inexpensive shinken available on the market. In both bamboo & tatami omote, there's a lot of silicon that will scratch any steel blade, so although you COULD use Nihonto, I really don't think you SHOULD use them unless you have a throw-away blade, in which case you shouldn't be using it for safety reasons. Ken I can understand that there is a big risk of break or bend when unknowledged and unskillful people use them to practice. That would be really sad and stupid for something so valueble which has been conserved generation by generation to be destroyed in the hand of amateur beginner. However, as I said in my previous post, it is a question of mentality. I think that we should make the Nihonto alive instead of putting it eternally in its saya in a corner and take it out only occasionally. I want to train with it so that it can become part of me and is linked to me. A Nihonto is made for use, not for appreciating at the beginning. Japanese didn't fabricate Nihonto for art appreciation, it never was. They were created to defend the land against Mongol, they were used to kill people, to protect family and to fight ennemy with honor, or execute. They have never been a piece of art in the past, until recently. I am not a collectionner, I don't "collect" Nihonto, I train with it(of course in the best way to conserve it and try my best to not dammage it). Of course, I will not use it right now, I am still learning, and master and myself do not consider myself skillful enough to be able to train with a true Nihonto. Thank you for your information. I am aware of it now. Could you however share the original post which talks about the dammage that bamboo and tatami omote made to Nihonto? Is it some serious dammage or minor dammage like "if we smoke we could get cancer"? Thank you very much Ken!

Hi Jussi. Sorry for my misleading English, but I don't mean Forum of Chinese made katana, but a semi professional forum of real Nihonto in China. They only collect Gunto and real Nihonto and exchange informations between them. Of course Chinese made 100$ katana are not their concern. That is why they made me doubting about the true quality of this Nihonto since their opinion on it is not very high. But thank you for your comments. That is very kind from you. Chris, what you said is right. My stuff would be mostly the Corvette car. Funtionnability is my first concern. As the Japanese Smith said in the documentary "The art of Japanese Swords": the beauty of the Nihonto does not come from the look on first place, but from the fact it is something which cut, extremly well, and which can kill people. That is the real beauty. A Nihonto that we don't dare using and we conserve in a corner of a house for long time cannot fulfill its true value. We often say that every Nihonto has a soul in it and is linked to its user. Let's imagin a samurai who does nothing than stay in house and sleeping all day, he has no honor and is not worthy of his blade. Same thing happens to a Nihonto. That is my personal opinion. Correct me if I said something wrong. Thank you very much

That is amazing to hear. Maybe I should consider some older blade rather than Gendaito since they are still capable of Tameshigiri if we have excellent skill. Please tell me what do you think about this? Thank you for your information.

Well I am aware of that. But let's suppose that we are talking about someone who are extremly skillful in iaido or battodo.

Hello everyone, There is a question which has been echoed in my mind for long time. I know that people who bought antique Nihonto will probably never make tameshigiri with due to their high historical and estethical value. However, I wonder if there are people today who still make tameshigiri with aged Nihonto? I think that Gendaito should have no problem. Maybe Shinshinto is still capable of such as a work as well. But what about Shinto and Koto? Do they still have such a functionality for use? Are the steel hard and tough enough for this? If yes, please show me some links. It would be a great pleasure to see this. Thank you in advance!!

I usually notice the signature in the two following forms: One is "肥前国住人忠吉作" Another is "肥前国忠吉作" But "肥前住忠吉" is the first time.

I do agree with Chris that 2-3000$ for a National treasure smith's work is too good to be true. Maybe the smith's name could help us if you do remember him. By the way, what does An important intangible cultural asset of Seki and Gifu pref mean when we attribute this title to a smith?

You aren't likely to find this kind of information disclosed by smiths on the internet. In fact, most will probably not discuss it at all unless you know them personally. I spent a lot of time over the course of the 13 or so years I lived in Japan in the forges of many smiths. This is first hand information. Smiths use short cuts and lower quality materials because it saves time and money. There is no reason to use premium=expensive materials and take all the extra steps for a practical blade. It doesn't mean it won't cut well, it just means that it won't have the features/quality valued in art swords. Think of WWII era showa-to, mantetsu-to, or the kazu-uchi-mono of the Sengoku period, Bungo blades, in general: they were practical swords meant for use. Iai practitioners in Japan can't use Chinese blades. Most WWII era blades are on the short side. They have few choices for practical cutting blades. Most people aren't going to use an art sword due to the obvious costs and possibility of damage. Smiths accommodate this need. Many iai-to by top smiths are very nice. I don't think you should be unhappy with your purchase at all.... So to conclude this thread, is my Nihonto made of this low grade tamahagane? I asked other Japanese expert by mail in too, they said that judgeing from this picture, it is difficult to rate the quality of the steel. http://sanmei.com/contents/media/G62433_S3272_PUP1.html. I may need have in hands to take some high definition close pictures to have an idea. Just for info, I visited a the link provided by GrantK, http://www.thejapanesesword.com/iaibatto-shinken. We can see that all their iaito are signed and have bohi. Just a little note.

Lol, Thank you both lance and Brian. I can sleep in peace now. RIP for me.

Chris, please see my last post, and explain more about the low grade tamahagane use in iaito/martial art sword. I cannot sleep without having more information^^. Thank you

Hi, glad to have many answers. I do found a thread on the forum which clear some of my doubt. However, the only thing which still bothers me in this story is when Chris said that Ninhonto for Iai/tameshigiri are made of lower grade tamahagane. I wonder where is this information from? From the link Grant showed me, I cannot find any sentence which confirms that Ninhonto for iai/martial art are made from lower grade tamahagane. It doesn't bother me this kind of nihonto comes with a inferior polish since I can understand that highly polished surface will deteriorate very quickly through the abrasion incurred during the repeated unsheathing and sheathing of the blade during practice. But to say that iai/martial art nihonto are made of lower grade tamahagane confuses me a lot For me, if a nihonto is made for iai/martial art/practitioner which supposes to do a lot of tameshigiri and other target cutting, it should be made of nice grade tamahagane. If not, it may be broken more probably due to the low quality material(or low cutting skill). That is why I don't understand why do they forge practitioner blade of low grade tamahagane. That is very contradictory. It is like we said: well, we will produce two cars, one sport car and another one is for display in car show. The sport car will run a lot, so no need to care about the look since it will get dirty very frequently. Let's give it a bad motor and bad stuff also because it is not for display... I do understand that this example may not be accurate because contrary to cars, the steel of a Ninhonto has a direct impact on its beauty. High grade tamahagane will has a brillant color whereas low grade tamahagane will look darker. But I still cannot understand why they use lower grade material on thing which need performance and durability... Anyway, to sum up: 1. The Kanehide nihonto I purchased is a shinsakuto which is initially made for Iai/Tameshigiri use according to some members. (correct me if it is the contrary). 2. Even the seller told me that this nihonto is made from fine tamahagane steel with the traditionnal process, the quality of the Tamahagane used is unknown for this blade unless NBHTK member makes the identification. (please also show me some source information and explain why nihonto for iai/martial art is made of lower grade tamahagane) 3. Swords for martial arts by master craftsmen maybe slightly cheaper than their standard rate as the lower polishing price will be reflected in the overall price. That explains the price of my Nihonto. Thank you in advance for your explanation.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but I am a little confused... For me, an iaito is often no sharp and has a bohi. It does is made by low grade material as I have already seen many of the cheap iaito no nihonto katana. It is hard for me to believe that I bought a 4500$ iaito...especially when the blade is told to be forged by Kanehide with traditional fine steel of "Tamahagane" and have good reputation as "supreme sharp" which must perform very sharp cutting result. Should I understand that those stricktly made for collectors/appreciation could not used for iaito or tameshigiri in most case? If it is the case, why are they made from better quality material? Or you mean that even if they are made for collectors/appreciation, they can also be used for iai or tameshigiri? Another thing, when you say lower grade material, do you mean lower grade tamahagane or lower grade other type steel? Because Japanese smith use high grade tamahagane for collectors blade and low grade tamahagane for iaito? I am a bit lost...If it is what you mean, I am pretty disappointed so...Was not planning to buy some iaito. I thought that iaito was some very cheap no tamahagane steel blade that used for iai as many of the european or american shop sell. If I knew this, I would not pay 4500$ for just a iaito... Anyway, thank you for your precision. Please explain me more if possible to clarify my doubt. Thank you in advance.

When I follow the link to the site the sword is listed in the previously sold area.. not the 'bargain section', so I think he did purchase it. I bought from this seller before as well, the menuki arrived three days after I purchased, so I don't think you have anything to worry about and he sends email updates as the order status changes. I suppose some people don't like shinsakuto because it has no "samurai history" but I don't think the resale would be 'half' as $4500 is quite average for a decent shinsakuto and at 70.6cm it's again a fairly average length as an iai blade, so there is a market either way. The blade activity looks nice and seems to be in good polish. I'd say a good purchase, however if you did want something older or your tastes change as there is more good literature on older blades compared to new ones, then I'd say $4500 is a bit much - but if it was me and I was into collecting Seki smiths I'd be happy with the purchase! Congrats Both of you talked about iaito, do you mean that this nihonto is an iaito? or it doesn't suit for tameshigiri or other cuttings? thank you

Sorry to heard about this. In addition to the advice of leanrning more that other people told you(everyone is learning and the learning stage is infinite), I advice you to make attention about the source of the seller. You may ask questions on the forum before purchasing if you are really not sure. Beware of ebay(especially chinese seller). I hope you didn't spent too much for these chinese fake.

Thank you Trent. By the way, the nihonto was in the Japanese sword section inithally when I saw it, after that I sent the wire transfer, it is now in the sold off section. Thank you

Hello Bobtail, Thank you for your frank opinion. The original price is 5500$, when I asked if 4500$ is possible, the seller accepted my offer. So I don't know if it really cost that or it may costs less, since the seller accpeted my offer without negociating. However, I cannot find on any site which offer interesting Nihonto under 3000$. Maybe I haven't search enough. There are sure some very nice 1600-1800 Nihonto which are made by top notch smith and which have the sharpest cutting performance. They were also owned by famous Daimyo like 丰臣秀吉，福岛正则...However, when I look at the price, they are often priced 2-4 millions yen +, maybe even more, and that is totally out of my budget. Moreoever, what I am looking for is a not very ancient Nihonto which is still capable of excellent cutting performance. I am not a collectionner(at least not now), I probably don't need some art piece which has a great value but which may not be able to cut anymore and which needs to be conserved eternally as an art piece. I need something functionnal, but not made by modern steel such as l6 w2 etc...I need some functionnal Traditionnal Tamahagane made Nihonto. That's it. Honestly, I don't know about the true value of this nihonto. I just like the measurements, plus I know the smith. The edge seems to be in mint condition and doesn't have any hagire. The price seems to be resaonnalbe for me for a Nihonto. It comes in full koshirae. That is why I purchased it. But Thank you for your advice Bob, I plan to visit Japan late this year to issue this nihonto to NBHTK so that they can rate this ninhonto.

Thank you ken. Signature edited. Thank you for warning me.

Thank you gabriel, for your precise answers. Another technical question, as this katana has a orikaeshi sanmai, I am trying to search some comparaison cons pros between Honsanmai and Orikaeshi Sanmai contruction, but I cannot find anything interesting. There is another thread mentionned orikaeshi sanmai here, but it doesn't provide any information on the advantage of orikaeshi sanmai. I just want to know, what does the 6 ingots orikaeshi sanmai construction change compared to the 4 ingots honsanmai construction. Pros? Cons? Thank you very much!!!