Martin

Hi Nigel, I have a Tsuba with that kind of pattern too. It is part of a complete NBTHK Hozon papered Koshirae. But only the Tsuba has this kind of design. Here are some pictures: http://www.abaniko.de/images/tsuba02.jpg greetings, Martin

Hi, many thanks for the quick replies. I think the main problem now will be to make the german parcel service accept to dispatch a "weapon". Lets see if it works cheers, Martin

seems the same to me. Maybe a picture of the complete sword would be helpful and give a confirmation. cheers, Martin

Hi all, I am planning to send a blade to the U.S. and would like to know if there are any facts or legal issues I have to consider (customs declaration, weapons law). I plan to declare the package as "Japanese work of art". Any tips on how the shipment works best or any experiences would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance Martin

Hi, many thanks for your helpful comments so far. A special thanks to Guido for providing the link to your very informative article. In this article you write about some alcohol with a purity of 99,5% (waterless ethanol). As far as I know german pharmacies only provide alcohol with a purity of 90%. Is this kind of ethanol also suitable for sword care or does it contain too much water? greetings, Martin

Hi all, I have a question concerning the maintenance of blades (again) Is it okay to (always) use nearly pure alcohol (90%) to take off the old oil from blades? I read in the sword care guide of the NBTHK that it could be used when the oil cannot be removed with ease by wiping with a clean tissue. In addition to this I also read not to use Uchiko on a sword in good polish because it can harm the polish. What are your experiences and best practices and does it harm the blade (metal) if it is regularly treated with alcohol (instead of Uchiko)? I would be grateful for any practical advice. cheers, Martin

Hi Mike, I bought two swords from the US so far and never had problems receiving them. If I remember correctly the sellers declared it as a "Japanese antique". But by the way - you are allowed to possess antique swords in germany so I can´t really understand what they told you... Maybe just try to declare it as a "Japanese Antique" - that should be working. cheers, Martin

Hi all, the link to the European Branch of the NBTHK is as follows: http://www.nbthk.net/ cheers, Martin

Thanks Carlo, I already knew this article - but I still don´t find my questions answered by it. It mainly concentrates on the length of wakizashi and its historical background. cheers, Martin

Hi all, I have some questions regarding the production of Sun nobi Tanto. I really like short blades and would like to know more about long tanto in particular. My books and online resources couldn´t really give any detailed answers - at least I didn´t find them... :? 1) When is a blade that´s longer than 1 shaku (30,3 cm) categorized as Sun nobi Tanto? Does it depend on the overall impression that reminds more of a tanto rather than a wakizashi or what exactly are the attributes for a classification? 2) Did Sun nobi tanto have a special function or was it just an aesthetical alternative to the tanto of usual length? 3) Is there a maximum length for Sun nobi tanto? I would be grateful for any information on this, cheers, Martin

Hi all, is there maybe some sort of rule that the use of multiple steel types increases with the sword quality the smith wanted to achieve? Or was it more a practical decision that smaller blades are simply not in a need for multiple steel construction? cheers, Martin

at least without that poor guy :lol: cheers, Martin

Wow - that must have been a really great experience Rich! Truly enviable cheers, Martin

Hi all, I´ve read, that not all swords - especially Tanto - constist of a soft Core-steel (Shingane) and a harder "Jacket"-steel (Kawagane). As the purpose was to combine the positive features of both kinds of steel - is it true that only swords of a certain length are built up this way (by combining multiple steel types)? And would all Hirazukuri Wakizashi, Tanto etc. then constist of a single type of steel? Just a few thoughts of a newbie... :? cheers, Martin

Hi Koichi, you are right - I checked a few online ressources and they all say that the whole proportion of the blade is decisive. Also looking at some pictures make evident that the theory I mentioned above doesn´t seem to be (always) correct and therefore can´t be a rule. The following Link underlines your statements and sums it all up. http://www.ncjsc.org/kissaki-1.html cheers, Martin

Hi, sorry I meant the proportion between the yokote-length and the ko-shinogi-length. Correct me if I´m still wrong Cheers, Martin

Hi Justin, I heard that if the distance from the tip of the blade to the yokote is longer than the yokote itself you speak about an O-Kissaki. If it is of similar length it´s a Chu-Kissaki and if it´s shorter you have a Ko-Kissaki. That´s at leat what I heard so far. Hope this helps. Cheers, Martin

Hi all, I tried to remove the rusty spot with a piece of ivory but it didn´t seem to get smaller or change color. I therefore suppose that the rust is already older and more resistent. I will just keep that area well oiled. Cheers, Martin

Hi Konstantin, this sounds like a cool job... And cool for the swords as they now found a new owner, who hopefully give them a good home Any pictures or information of the other blades? cheers, Martin

Hi all, I was wondering how the good old Samurai treated their swords and what methods they applied to preserve them. Did they always put a thin coat of oil on them like we do nowadays or weren´t their swords so well looked after? Does somebody have any information on this? In fact I sometimes think that it´s quite difficult to judge if the amount of oil I put on the blade is enough or not. Are there any helpful experiences made by anybody? I presently wipe the blade with an oil soaked tissue and after that I wipe it again with a fresh one. But I still have the impression that there is more oil on some areas than there is on others. By the way the surface of my newest blade shows a rainbow colored sheen after reoiling it. On other swords (in old polish) I couldn´t notice this - so does this maybe indicate a fresh, recent polish? I hope not to have asked too much at once... cheers, Martin

I think I´ll give Stephens suggestion a try. In fact I realized the spot just a short while ago. So maybe Andreas´ spit-spot theory is correct. By the way the surface of my newest blade shows a rainbow colored sheen after reoiling it. On other swords (in old polish) I couldn´t notice this - so does this maybe indicate a fresh, recent polish? greetings, Martin

Hi, thanks very much so far - especially Usagiya has nice step by step instructions. Any ideas on how to tie shirasaya bags? Are there some nice knots too? They only have one loose end so the tying should be different. cheers, Martin

Hi all, does anybody know any online ressources or instructions (maybe images) on how to tie koshirae or shirasaya bags? They sometimes have very nice ornamental knots. cheers, Martin

Hi all, I recently discovered a tiny rusty spot on the mune of one of my swords. What do you usually do with these tiny spots. Is it okay to just keep it covered with oil or are there maybe ways to remove the rust. Would ivory that´s sometimes used to remove rust on tsubas be of any help here? Any tips would be highly appreciated. Thanks, Martin

That´s absolutely ridiculous :lol: Looks like a grandma-knitted bad taste carnival costume...