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ChrisW

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Everything posted by ChrisW

  1. Late 70's green papers. I agree with Jesse here. If new papers? Then you could ask more.
  2. Even without an obvious yokote, this most definitely displays prominent o-kissaki.
  3. Looks good to me! I especially like the fuchi, kashira, and tsuba.
  4. Simply put, there are two valid schools of thought on uchiko: 1. Don't use it at all, leave it to the professionals. 2. Careful and measured use of it, only on out-of-polish blades where the application may clean off grime and help arrest corrosion.
  5. There is always a chance it is gimei; however, as Jan points out, Naotane was well known for rounding his age up. Several other smiths did this as well and the article by Markus Sesko should explain it nicely! It looks like a nice piece, would you mind showing the rest to us? I bet the workmanship matches to what Naotane did.
  6. The steel looks like "anti-rust steel" but I am not sure that level of pitting could occur on such a blade if it were made of that material. Honestly, it just looks like someone ground the tang down with a buffing wheel.
  7. Our last meeting was wonderful. We had a great time discussing the Chicago Show shinsa results and even had a member bring a Juyo blade! The meeting minutes are posted to the Indiana Token Kai website: https://indianatokenkai.wixsite.com/indiana-token-kai Our next meeting is July 15th (Saturday), 10 A.M. at the Morgan County Public Library. Any and all are welcome! The meeting topic is: Gokaden: Soshu Den. There will be a number of very nice Soshu pieces available to examine! DM me if you have questions about attending, etc.
  8. I think I had a stroke trying to understand that ito wrap.
  9. until
    The next ITK meeting will be Saturday, June 3rd from 10AM to 2PM and will be held at the Carnegie Public Library in downtown Martinsville, Indiana. The topic of the meeting is "Shinsa Results," wherein members will be bringing blades and kanteisho sheets from the 2023 Midwest Token Kai Chicago Sword Show Shinsa to discuss the results and findings. This meeting is open to the public and attendees are also allowed to participate via Zoom (please contact the ITK website administrator for details or message ChrisW on NMB if interested). The ITK website is: https://indianatokenkai.wixsite.com/indiana-token-kai
  10. Thanks for the heads up Brian! Wish I could make it to the SF show to shake your hand. If you're ever in Indiana, let me know!
  11. It may not be removed completely, just obscured by the grinding indicated. You'd have to get it into the hands of someone more knowledgeable such as a togishi (which is a trained Japanese sword polisher).
  12. Definitely looks like someone went at this with a buffing wheel. Kissaki's geometry is destroyed beyond recognition.
  13. The next ITK meeting will be held at our standard location on June 3rd. The topic will be: Shinsa Results, wherein we will discuss our shinsa results and experience! As always, reach out to me if you have questions on attendance or in general.
  14. If anyone wants an early-war dark cocoa tassel, slide me a message. And y'all are very much so correct; these tend to appear in large groups as they made their rounds through large markets/dealers.
  15. Sure, but I'll have to send you a link to the google drive with the images as they're all too large to post here on the forum!
  16. I had two successes: A mumei 27.5' o-kissaki katana in red Higo koshirae came back ID'ed as Aizu Kanesada (11th generation), placed at 72 points. A mumei 8" yoroi-doshi tanto in plain black shirasaya came back ID'ed as Nanki Shigekuni (also probably 11th generation), but it placed at 75 points. Not bad for a couple of mumei! Weirdly both Ansei era, but it is what it is! BIG thanks to Mark Jones and Chris Bowen for putting on the show and shinsa! I really enjoyed this year.
  17. A change for the better, thank you Brian!
  18. Honestly, its an eventuality that they'll start papering more and more showato I think. Partly because its still a continuance of the history of nihonto and still uses many of the same techniques. Showato can display some of the finer traits of nihonto as well too. Could also be a money thing too. There's a lot of showato out there. Many of them were made with care and diligence, so they could be regarded as art within their own right. And with a ready supply of showato, it would be a no brainer to increase their value by recognizing them as legitimate. It is definitely a grey area, much like how traditionally made blades that aren't made with tamahagane are still recognized as art blades in a lot of cases.
  19. Various soft metals are most common I think: lead, copper, rarely silver or shakudo.
  20. I agree. First and second. Third shows promise but needs work first I would say. Looking forward to seeing you at the show!
  21. Thank you for sharing!
  22. Be sure to stop by the "Indiana island" part of the dealers tables! Myself, Dan, and Barret will all be present. Would definitely love to hear your shinsa results in person!
  23. Appears to be a karasuguchi, which is regarded as fatal. Most unfortunate. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm
  24. You'll see me there with the rest of the Indiana guys! Will be nice to meet some more folk.
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