jeremy

Hello people I've had this shinsakuto since 2010. It is made by Okamoto Kazumune in seki. I bought it directly off him when I was in Japan all those years ago. It comes with perfect leather wrap 11.5 inch tsuka and 31.5 inch Nagasa or 80cm from habaki notch to tip. Originally I had it made without bohi but decided to get a bohi installed as it was becoming way too heavy for me. Now it weighs 1213 grams with koshirae without saya. The sori changed a 1mm or so after installing the bohi. Saya has a same wrap at the first 6 inches or so. It is in iaido/tameshigiri polish and has been used in cutting tatami and beach mats, which is why there is a very slight tweak in the blade , hard to picture the tweak. A professional sword polisher or practitioner would be able to fix it easily . Still can be used as is. Because the bohi changed slightly after getting the bohi carved the blade at the last inch or so is very slightly tighter to go in the saya. Motobaha :34mm sakihaba 24mm Sori 17-19mm motokasane 8mm Sakikasane 5.1mm Asking price is pretty much what the bohi cost me. Included is 2 spare tsuba and brocade bag. $3000aud Any questions just ask or email me on jezah81@gmail.com

Decent price . I think you done well.

Looks like they didn't lie , they said sword registration certificate not an appraisal certificate. It may be confusing for someone who doesn't know which is which though. Does seem like a decent blade with a gold habaki even without a kanteisho. It really comes down to how much you paid for it

Great link! Thanks for sharing

Keep in mind modern steel blades are usually more forgiving than tamahagane blades , usually made of monosteel. I have a Japanese shinsakuto with bohi that will bend if you look at it the wrong way. Steel iaito from swordstore.com is a good choice. Talk to rick Polland about your needs . For under $2000usd you'll be able to get a really good sword with Japanese fittings but with a Chinese made monosteel blade .

This is only my opinion, but I'd think that the blade would be in rough cutting polish when using it to cut through cadavers , after the test they would be polished with a higher quality polish perhaps.

Hello What is the best way to clean spotting rust off edo period tsuba ? Everytime I clean it off with a rag it comes back like mould. Any tips to stop it from happening? Jeremy

I apologise for allowing this to get off topic , but for what it's worth it has been very educational and enlightening !

I first came down with distal biceps tendonitis when I did a biceps curl with my resistance bands last year in June/July when it was freezing cold weather and I don't think I had warmed up enough . I stopped physio with all these things when I found that the exercises they prescribed me were making my other issues worse . Golfers elbow I've had since 2018 on and off . It eased back a little after taking a few months of peptides, but is starting to return . I found the flexbars made tennis elbow and golfers elbow worse , and did nothing for my biceps tendonitis. It's been a long run and very costly that's for sure .

The problem is bit bicep tendonitis , it's distal bicep tendonitis, it's harder to treat than bicep tendonitis. The exercises I have been given treat golfers elbow but exacerbate the distal bicep tendonitis. Thanks for the videos . I'll go through them today.

I've been swimming once a week since it's summer here, it's actually good for my joints, little to no pressure on my elbows and great cardio!

I've tried almost everything including the flexibars, blue and green . Physiotherapy and peptide injections, massage etc. It's actually cost me ALOT of money to try these therapies, all to no avail. The only thing that has allowed my tendon issues to subside is rest and time. I'll be trying the exercises you have mentioned, lower reps and higher weight. I also have a 1500 gram suburito, any exercise recommendations for incorporating that into to training? I stopped using it years ago because of my tendon issues . Thanks again for all the feedback !

Wow! This has become super interesting! The whole reason I wanted to lower the weight of my sword with a bohi is because first of all it had sentimental value to me , this sword was acquired through my sensei in Japan from the swordsmith while I was there in 2009, my first trip to Japan ever , and secondly my elbow tendonosis/tendonitis got so bad I needed to start using a lighter sword. I have tendonitis all over my arms. Left arm tennis elbow , right arm golfers and distal biceps tendonitis , been training in JSA for over ten years and being 40 years old doesn't help , as well as training empty hand since 2007. I had to give up weights years ago because of all the tendonitis/tendonosis problems too 😫

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if the bohi on mine would be considered shallow or deep ? If its got 1.1mm between the valleys of the bohi, would that be standard or deeply carved? How long is your shinsakuto and what's the sakikasane?

Yeah! It's been very informative and enlightening. Thanks again

Thank you for that in depth response! So many things to consider , another factor would be the length of the blade, the longer the blade (all things being equal) would be easier to bend than a shorter blade of the same geometry. My blade is pretty long compared to many blades being at 31.5 inch nagasa, making it easier to bend I guess than shorter blades. Anyway it's been a fun discussion so thank you to you both

Thanks for your reply. Sorry , what I meant by depth of bohi was on newly made and newly carved bohi, is there a standard depth or is it a case by case basis taking kasane into consideration? I'm guessing it would be the latter case but I'm not sure . It's just that when measured with a vernier the metal between valleys either side of the bohi it's only 1.1mm thick on my blade, and wanted to compared to other people's newly made bohi and see how mine compares.

Yeah, I think I'll be sticking to single mat rolls to cut , I didn't have any issues with those targets, and kata of course. The weight and balance is perfect for kata now

Hello again and thank you for replying . The blade in question is a shinsakuto which I had a bohi cut into it to lighten it . It was getting too heavy for me after many years of use so I sent it to Japan through an agent to get the bohi carved. It did lighten the blade by 170 grams, but on a slightly off cut it did kink the blade slightly. Something that never happened before I had the bohi carved into it. I did get it straightened and no visible shinae are seen, but I measured between the valleys of the bohi and it seemed fairly thin at 1.1mm. Which is why I wanted to compare it to other people's blades with bohi and see if this is the general thickness or if my bohi has been carved too deeply? The cut was only very very slightly off angle and It still bent. Anyway , thanks for your response .

Thanks for your feedback and reply. The thing I am concerned about is actually off-angled cuts, which is why 1.1mm seems kind of thin , and maybe that the bohi was cut too deeply ?

Hello This is something that I've been wondering about for a few weeks. I've seen different blades with different kasane , thinner about 4mm and thicker 6mm kasane with bohi, does the depth of bohi vary with the different kasane? On my shinsakuto I've measured there is only approx 1.1mm of metal between valleys either side when I checked with my vernier in the middle of the blade. This seems to be very thin , the sakikasane is about 5mm. Can anyone else give me any other measurements of blades of the thickness of either side of the valleys on their blades just for comparison sake? Thanks!! Jeremy

I've seen some Japanese websites that sell iaido equipment etc, are only able to use UPS to ship to Australia and a handful of other countries also. From what I've seen it is a very expensive shipping method

Totally agree here. I would never dream about cutting a bohi into an antique blade !