Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini

My 2 cents : custom orders bear something that make the name of the customer recognizible as "made for" or "special order of" etc.

Quiet...a good... question... :?

This is an example of what I meant for "true Daisho" intended as made as a custom pair: http://www.nihonto.com/7.1.04.html

You got it. Nice question the one about papers.

I've generated a lot of confusion with my request. I meant for "true daisho" a couple of blades made intentionally at the same time and by the same smith to be matched. It make sense to think this wasn't the case due to the small difference in lenght and because of the difference in the Kissaki. I think a smith that was commissioned to make a Daisho would have made the swords with more difference in lenght. But I can be wrong this time too. :lol: The problem is *my* interpretation of the words "true Daisho" and not yours...

You'r correct, it was my fault in explaining the reply. I referred to the couple as a true daisho meaning two swords made in the same time by the same smith intentionally. The shape of the kissaki and the small difference in lenght explain why it wasn't papered as a Daisho concerning the blades.

Oh, nevermind. Craig explained me the proportions between the blades are wrong for a true daisho.

Hi all. I thought this was a true Daisho : http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/sale/06204.html and i posted it on another board, but I stand corrected as seems it has not been papered as "Daisho" by the NBTHK, so the blades mustn't be made together. In your opinion are the two blades made by different smiths or different times ? Seemed to me everything was matching enough to consider it a true Daisho not for the mounting only but for the blades too that shares the same details IMHO. Where am I wrong and what am I missing ?

Grey, to me seems quiet a good job of repatination. In effect the inner part of the nakago has the shape of the nakago of a "Kamikaze dirk"....

Oh, thanks, I've skipped that thread... :D

Sorry for my dumbness but what does Aoi means ? http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/tanto/06365.html

Another good one is in Italy.

Steve, Hoffmann is a german family name. Have you bough it on E-bay ? Any chanche it was purchased by a german miltary "attachè" in Japan before ? Maybe have you found the smaller cousin of Hitler's katana... :D

I'm quiet sure Yoshihara uses power hammer. Can't say if, beginning a Mukansa, the machines are replaced by the apprentice.

Want to know a secret ? Me too... :lol:

LOL !! You're the first one to mention the site of my friend Valdek Laur (firts one about nihonto in estonian language) in the boards I'm in . Scroll down here http://www.local.ee/nihonto/index.html to read who gave him the details for those tables... :D There are others, from which this one has been elaborated, that gives you even pictures of the actual blades, but AFAIK noone about "companion swords" My 2 cents : till to a certain period mainly an Hirazukuri Tanto, then (possibly) either a Sunnobi or a Kodachi (close to a katana lenght)/Chiisagatana that later was shortened to the wakizashi lenght. A generalization, I know. It's an intriguing suggestion to make a table for companion/backup swords to match with the Daito ones...

No Ken. I'm not at the level to give suggestions here...

Quiet difficult to try Tanto with Shinogi that are not made out from a broken longer blade. IMOH this seems not the case, anyway, and the blade still in its original shape. Nice.

I wish I had too, but thanks to the Lord, this time Paul has already done the hard work. The CD is in english (I mean british english not the colonial rebels one :lol: )...

Found for chance, can't say if you already know it, hope it helps : http://www.jimkelso.com/japanpatina.html/tutorial.htm

Hi all. I’ve just received my signed copy of the Hayashibara Museum exhibition catalogue of “Ono Yoshimitsu’s World of Juka Choji†and I would like to share some info about it. It is divided into two sections: “Pursuing Koto Bizen†and “The Ayumi Chronologyâ€, a chronological look at Ono’s works entered into the annual exhibition of the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (The Japanese Art Sword Preservation Society) between the years 1983-1991. In Pursuing Koto Bizen, Kashima Susumu links 26 blades made by Yoshimitsu to the periods they are inspired to, from the Ko-Bizen perfected Japanese sword to the Sue-Bizen chumon-uchi (special order swords) . Measurements : 36,50 x 25,50 x 2,00 cm 154 pages, 106 black and white high quality, 30x22 cm pictures of the 26 blades, 3 color pictures of koshirae and a black and white portrait of the smith. Japanese language with English translation in a separate CD. No ISBN number Available thru Budoshop, budos@budoshop.co.jp Kakuta-San speaks English and has the renowned Japanese kindness. Get in touch with him for pricing as the shipping fees are something to deal with when a book is huge. Hereunder I copy and paste the index of the book : Ono Yoshimitsu’s World of Juka-Choji Pursuing Koto Bizen / The Ayumi Chronology Contents Exhibition Introduction…..Director of The Hayashibara Museum—Okuma Ritsuji Memories……………………………………... Finance minister—Hashimoto Ryutaro Proudly Presenting our Arts to the World…………..President of the Hayashibara Corporation—Hayashibara Ken Carrying the Bizen Tradition-Ono Yoshimitsu……………………..Kashima Susumu The Yoshimitsu Exhibition………………………………………..Yoshihara Yoshindo Plates Pursuing Koto Bizen………………………………………………………………… The Ayumi Chronology……………………………………………………… Texts Pursuing Koto Bizen…………………………………………………Kashima Susumu Ono Yoshimitsu—Pursuing Koto Bizen……….Kashima Sususmu/Ono Yoshimitsu The Ayumi Chronology……………………..…………………...…..Kashima Susumu The Ayumi Chronology 1983-1991……….….……………………….Ono Yoshimitsu Profile—Ono Yoshimitsu Epilogue Acknowledgements Sword Photography — Okisato Fujishiro Portrait Photography and Photography — Tom Kishida Catalogue design — Kanai Kouji Editor — Kobayashi Kakushi Translation — Paul Martin The high quality black and white pictures dimensions are huge, 30x22 cm to be exact, placing them amongst the biggest in my library, taken for the upper part, lower part (with both sides of nakago) and whole blade, many with an additional picture of the central part with even more evident and amazing details of the Hamon, placed in the frontal page of the caption, caption that has details and historical description written by both Ono Yoshimitsu and Kashima Susumu. You find the full translation in the part 8 of the CD. This is an example (blade and description doesn't match INTENTIONALLY, my choice for copyright ) Quote… …omissis… Tachi (Long sword) Inscription: Front: Etchigo (no) kuni (ni) oite Yoshimitsu kore (wo) tsukuru (Yoshimitsu made this in Etchigo Province- Niigata) Back: Heisei san nen aki kissho bi (An auspicious day in Fall 1991) Length: 77.8cm (2 Shaku, 5 sun, 6 bu, 5 rin) Curvature: 2.8cm (9 bu, 2 rin) Kashima Susumu This tachi displays the style of workmanship of the Ichimonji school from the early Kamakura period. The blade is quite narrow and is koshi-zori with funbari and a small point section that is shaped like the head of a barracuda. The forging is a tight ko-itame hada and displays utsuri. The hamon is a large choji-midare that turns into juka-choji with ko-ashi and plenty of yo mixed in. The nioi-guchi is tight and the boshi is a deep midare-komi in an ichimai style with kaeri. This tachi has met its aim of attaining the feeling of the early ‘ichi’ signed Kamakura Ichimonji tachi, and displays the characteristics well. Ono Yoshimitsu Early Kamakura blades have a beautiful shape. A flamboyant juka-choji can be seen creeping up to the shinogi. After this, they began experimenting with different juka-choji styles. As this blade’s mihaba was narrow, it was difficult to produce a flamboyant hamon. Polished by Inutsuka Tsuneyuki Habaki by Nakamura Saido Shirasaya by Sakai Toshifumi … unquote I really like Ono's works and I especially enjoied this catalogue that links modern blades to specific historical context in a chronological way and because of Paul Martin's translation that makes fully understandable the amazing work of Ono even to people not familiar with Japanese language. Thanks for your time.

:lol: . Nice sword.

:lol:

Hi Misawa. A thing that puzzled me so much was this article about swords of the northern Japan, more resistant to chill : http://www.nihontocraft.com/Ura_Nihon_no_Toko.html Take a look. It's a great reading.