Gokaden

I looked att the video again and this time I am sure he had MOST blades in that safe with the Kissaki down...too much Sake last night!

At 6:32 Sasaki Sensei opens his safe and I am pretty sure he has them stored vertically (with the Kissaki up). Sasaki Sensei use the old style of live-in apprentices. He opens the door to any who wants to learn this ancient technique. Here we see two young rivals, Yuichi and Yuki, undergo the fierce and sometimes humorous apprenticeship, hoping to win the big contest that can make or break their future as an independent polisher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keKlbOwB1xE

I would store the blades (if in vertical storage) with the Kissaki up. If you dont oil the blade its ok. (Kissaki up or down not matter, but Kissaki down in old times means you commit to fight to the death) Kissaki up: If you do oil the blade it will slowly gather around your habaki area.

Well the numbers sure won't grow with this news that FedEx now not taking Japanese Swords and I want to know what we can do about it? There is a world market out there but with no one to ship the goods, are we left to personal couriers? Kind regards Fredrik N

I have bought stuff from Tsuruta-san since 1998 and I cannot complain. They are dealers with margins, so its hard to make a "super deal". However, recently, there are alot of high end items at the market with no buyers. There are even reasonable Juyo Tokens to be found. If you feel the item is overpriced you can always ask for a discount. I visited recently and you have a Miike Juyo Token there as well as a Sanekage.

Jean, This is why I prefer not "School" but rather "Style" "a style of Tsuba as Shingen preferred them"

A study piece here is a Shingen Tsuba. They are rarely seen as genunie on the market today, there are alot of Tsuba claiming to be Shingen Tsuba. This piece: Tsuba Mei (signature) : mumei (Unsigned) ("Shingen") Length : 8.49 cm x 7.69 cm ( 3.34 inches x 3.02 inches) Thickness of rim: 0.38 cm ( 0.14 inches) Jidai(era) : Edo period. On the Mokko style iron Tsuba, chain or rope design (nawame) is engraved with spot gold inlay. The condition is really good. Nawame = rope/chain pattern Mokko = the shape with 4 arcs Mon = pattern, mark, design Zu = motif, design Mumei = no-signature Shingen = a style of tsuba Tetsu = iron Tsuchimeji = hammered surface Kosukashi = small cut out work Suemon-zogan = the work that the design is inlayed as one piece Uchikaeshi-mimi = turned rim

Handed down as Kanemitsu but re-judged as Omiya. Personally, I don't think it's either Omiya or Kanemitsu. (Omiya Tachi, Nagasa 72.5 cm) http://www.sho-shin.com/omiya.htm To me it looks more like Kanenaga or Chogi / Nagashige, it could also be Nagamori However, at the time there must have been communication between the smiths, so its natural for Omiya to have Kanemitsu traits. http://www.touken.or.jp/english/nihon_koto_shi/(36)%20No.590.htm also look at Shijo Kantei No 620 (September, 2008 issue), about Omiya (Morikage), its the last pages of the article http://www.touken.or.jp/english/translation/622.htm Kozori school is nice work, but rarely seen good work on the market today. Look for Kozori before Oei and it is rare to find a signed example. You can find a tasteful itame hada of Bizen with slight utsuri that was more dense and a little different from the Omiya. It is a commonly accepted view that their style generally resembles to the mainstream Osafune school, especially Kanemitsu, but with a smaller tempering style and less flamboyant pieces. This is a rare wakizashi from Kozori smith Yukihisa http://www.sho-shin.com/kagemit2.htm (Bishu Osafune Yukihisa, Oei Ni Ju Ni Nen Ju-ichi Gatsu Hi) I speculate that Kozori came out of fashion and that other more "flamboyant" Bizen blades became favoured instead. Bizen Kozori displayed a more "classic" workmanship. To sum it up, you have the great Kanemitsu, the Omiya school and the Kozori school all connected with O-Kanemitsu as a top smith in that triad.

Generally, Chyoji oil has been used to treat Japanese swords. This is a sticky vegetable oil traditionally used in cleaning swords. It promotes oxidation of the blade that will result in rust in the future. In our opinion, and based on our experience, we advise you NOT to use chyoji oil. We suggest that you use high-quality machine oil or gun oil on your sword. This is the same type used when maintaining guns or sewing machines, and it is the only oil that we use with our swords. The Japanese sword does not rust easily, so it is not necessary to apply uchiko too often. In fact, using the uchiko too frequently could result in slight scratches and over time the texture of the jitetsu will lose its brightness. Please realize that the uchi-ko is made of a fine powdered whetstone known as uchigumori-to. Occasional care and caution when maintaining your sword is good. Excessive cleaning however, will cause damage. I times of war, where swords where used as weapons, of course uchiko was used more frequently to clean the swords after battle. To clean blade that is stick with old oil proper use Pharmaceutical Grade Benzinum Medicinale ACL to remove old oil, the apply new oil. The blade will not damage from 100% Benzinum Medicinale.