Peter Bleed

Thank you, Dan. I worried about this, but there is ample space in front of the pan. It is not hung up there. Good advice, but I think that ain't the problem. Peter

Well gee. I was candidly hoping for a bit more guidance. Are you guys jealous that I am old enough to get vacinated? This bad boy is acting like those Japanese puzzle boxes -himitsu bako?.. I am pretty sure that I have all of the pins out. And in fact, it is looking too me like this shooting iron is in pretty good shape.All three pins below the barrel were open to begin with - I can see thru them.... And I have tapped out all of the visible brass pins holding in the lock, trigger guard. Everything I have moved has been dusty and tight suggesting that it hasn't been monkeyed with - that makes me wonder what happened to the Hibasama, but I'll address that issue later.... With careful tapping,the barrel has moved forward a couple of mm, but isn't giving up. It is certainly free up toward the muzzle, but the breech end is hanging tough. Is there some trick involved in freeing the barrel from the brass ring where it meets the stock? Peter

Here is an image of the whole gun

So, I celebrated getting my vaccination by doing a bit of scouting yesterday. No Sendai shinto, but I came home with a teppo that I decided might be a worthy project for me or somebody else. It is a plane-jane gun that is in fair condition - save for the fact that it is missing a couple of key parts. It needs Hibasami, - Ama-ooi, and a hibuta. My recollection is that all of these parts used to be available from Dixie Gun Works. I have not pulled the barrel. Nor have a dropped the lock plate. I think both of those activities will be achieved tomorrow. Please wish me luck.

no. It is looking over its shoulder - breaking the parental rule, "Never look back!" Peter

Be still, my heart! Peter

The thread we have been having on osoraku-blades got me thinking about ways that Japanese (and I suppose other) craftspeople have made use of damaged, incomplete or otherwise compromised weapons, armor, and other related gear. Actually, I thought about this situation right after I hit the “send” button on a note to that thread and went over to see what was being provided on Ebay. There I saw a ‘kayakuire’ (call it a powder flask) that looked suspiciously like it was made of a pair of old lacquer sake cups with the bases removed and the rims glued together. That got me thinking about other re-purposed and re-used samurai gear and I thought of some other items that fit that description. Think of all those nice old kozuka that became fork handles. My personal feeling is that lots of the brass embellished tsuba of the early Edo period were Muromachi-age plane-janes that got “tarted up” after peace broke out. If that happened in early Edo times, just look at what happened in the Meiji era. The line between menuki and tobacco pouch ornaments seems suspicious. I recall seeing inro made of armor pieces. And the heavily repouse’d iron fittings on Sendai tansu cabinets really look like old armor elements. I have seen a couple of mekugi-nuki that were made of old sword nakago, in fact I carry one myself. I am also really interested in all those nice old matchlocks that got “modernized” with percussion cap locks or even bolt actions. What should we think about such items? Are they “fakes” and misrepresentations? Should be hate them or at least avoid them? Is ubu aways better? Or are these sorts of things normal residues of sword use and artistry? Peter

BINGO!. I think these are overwhelmingly re-purposed sections of daito blades that have lost their potential to survive as legal, intact, "swords." They may have been damaged or "demilitarized". This kind of work can make use of blade that would otherwise be valueless scrap iron. It also can provide work for skilled smiths who can register only 12 swords a year. I think skilled kaji could slightly increase the sori a bit, even way back on a blade. But there is no way for them to add a kaeri to the - ahhh - boshi. Blades like this are probably easier to export than daito, and they have a rather sexy look that might appeal to naive international markets. They may not even have to go through the whole registration process. For all those reason I think that sword historians working in the 22nd Century will see these are one of the features of the time we are in now. Peter

Gee, I should have looked before I leapt, I asked this question a couple of years ago here on the NMB - but I was also recently shown another. It seems fair to suggest care and suspicion with these. Peter

I've asked my question in the title of this thread. Yes, yes, I know that the term is an old one, but it sure seems to me that there are more of these blades nowadays than there used to be. And they often looked, ahhh, "adjusted". Peter

Paul, This quip had me buffaloed for a moment, but as a Plainsman, I figured it out. P

Once again NMB has worked. First level sources make bisen removal sound easy and routine, but the reality seems to be more complex. Thank you all. I'll be in contact! Peter

How hard is it to "unload" a Japanese matchlock? I have a couple of tanegashima that I have never "unloaded." Are there tricks and hints that I should know about before trying to remove the "bisen" bolts? Peter

Hey, Hamfish, show us the rest of the - ahhh - article. I want to read the whole thing and see how it ends. P

I would like to provide you with "a good picture", but this is what I can share.

I'm not feeling very well cared for the NMB. This is MY (!) kabuto. I started this discussion. I asked for the help and advice of this community. I mentioned no names but I asked - with full respect - the wisdom of this community. My assessment is that the NMB is a good place to go to if you are at a pawn shop and need help weeding out modern Chinese fakes. Peter

Thanks Uwe! You offer very useful insights! I am very concerned that the lacquer on the shikoro looks very fragile. Is there any hope??? Peter

Since I've got you helping me with one helmet, please let me me show another. I am NOT an armor collector, but we tend to end up with stuff. I paid a fair amount a couple years back to have some work done on this kabuto. Truth to tell, I'm not sure I feel like it was a satisfying investment. Peter

and a top and rear view

Here is a front view

At some point "sword" collecting will become familiar and easy, but basically it still is one learning curve after another. No one ever taught me how to photograph the inside of a mempo

Dear NMB Friends, I am writing to the NMB for expert advice and counsel. Please tell me what I should do with a kabuto I have owned for years and sort of ignored. It is an early post-War bring back that came to me as a rather delicate basket case. I think it is time for me to either 1) attend to it, or 2) find it a new home. It is a 41 plate kabuto with an intact ukebari (liner) so I don’t know if it is signed or not. The shikoro is detached but all there. Likewise, the maedate and mempo are there but in pieces.

This thread is why the NMB is worthwhile. Interesting object, reasonable challenge, wonderful assessment, and good company. What's not to like! Peter

Kirill said "A basic knowledge of either Continental Asian or European swords is probably absent from the community." And I would agreed strongly. "Japanese sword experts" know a great deal about Japanese swords, but they tend to have incomplete understanding of European and even East Asian swords. Peter

Thank you for the insights. I remain suspicious. These threads strike me as 1) regular, 2) fine, and 3) sharp in ways that I am not used to seeing on early Japanese fire arms. The apparent design of how the threaded tang was worked into the iron pommel strikes me as essentially unlike anything I have seen. I see nothing like this in Yukichi Iwata's volume on fasteners and guns. Peter