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Hi Thomas, I'd like the Tanegashima book please. PM to follow. Roy

Does anyone have any info/experience of Armoury Antiques in Devon in the UK? The website offers sword polishing with a 4-6 month lead time and other conservation services. As far as I was aware, I thought Les Stewart in Edinburgh was the only current available polisher in the UK, but with a 2 year wait. Would be good to know if another reliable polisher is available in the UK. Roy

Hi Eric, you're right. If doable, I was going to leave it there and pick it up on my next trip or have a friend bring it back for me. Roy

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I did think it would be tricky and require a certain level of skill or technology to pull it off. Agree with Salvatore re balance and they would have the old tsuka and saya for reference. I could try to get it done in the UK of course, but the forthcoming trip to Japan just had me wondering about the possibilities. It would be no great shakes to take the tsuka and saya and fittings with me anyway and see if they’ll give it a go. The worst that could happen is they can’t/won’t do it and I just bring it all back to have it done in the UK. Roy

Re: Getting new koshirae made in Japan without the hassle of transporting the blade. I'm going to Japan in February and I will have the opportunity for new koshirae to be made using some fittings I already have. If a blade already has koshirae, can a new set be made for it without the blade, just using the existing tsuka/new tsuba/saya as a template? If the existing tsuka and saya were dismantled could the slots for the nakago and blade be reverse-templated for a new tsuka and saya? I'm not bothered if the old tsuka/saya cannot be reassembled. Thank you for any insights. Roy

Of course, that must be it! Found another example online: https://www.1stdibs....ishes/id-f_10942281/ I don't think mine's in the same age/value bracket though...... Many thanks, Charles. Regards, Roy

Thank you very much Ray, much appreciated! Regards, Roy

Hi, I recently acquired a joblot of poles (I was only after 2 specific poles in the lot) and this item came with. It was described as a swagger stick, but I'm not sure that's correct, though it's about that sort of size (84cm or 33" in length), tapers from butt to tip and has a "swelling" about 1/4 way up from the tip. Any ideas? Many thanks. Roy

Hi, I would appreciate help with the mei on this yari I just acquired. Maybe X X Tomo Tsugu? Many thanks. Roy

I've had the blade in hand in the past. It's most definitely a katana and 69.2cm is correct.

Hi Ed & Steve, My friend would like to convey his grateful thanks for your help and he doesn't feel the need to have the blade itself assessed further. He's happy enough just to have had the information on the origami explained. Many thanks. Roy

Thank you very much Steve, I thought as much. I don't have the blade to hand but I'll see about getting some pictures off him. Roy

Thank you Ed & Steve. Both really helpful replies. Just had a quick lookup of the Fujishima school. Given that it stretches from Koto through to Shinshinto eras, is there anything on the origami to suggest if it might be Koto? My friend has been told it's a Koto blade. Roy

Posting for a friend who's not a member. It's a sword he has owned for many years and he understands the issue with green papers. He's been told the attribution is to "Fujishima" but is there any clue as to which generation? He's shown it to a few Japanese friends but some of the Kanji (archaic?) is not recognised by them apparently. If anybody could provide a full translation of this origami, he and I would be most grateful. Many thanks in advance. Roy

PM sent re: no. 3 please.