raynor

Wow, is it out of print again already?

Have you played the lottery at all after this find? Great find by a deserving finder - many people would make worse choices where the sword did not end up resting on pillows in fresh polish. Well done!

It's all about finding the sweet middle, as in all aspects of life. One option I'm considering long term is displaying the koshirae in the open with dust protection and blades boxed in their "pajamas".

I'm looking at the sfdisplay cases, until I get a larger collection and will need more high end solutions they seem quite nice. Over $100 shipping to Norway per case but save raiding someone's estate it is all cheap looking acrylic cases available here.

It just makes sense. If you are not cutting people with your sword and need to clean off blood and guts do not use uchiko or any substitute. Good quality oil for knives and good quality microfiber cloths to apply and clean it off is the way of the 21st century. If Musashi and friends were around today they would embrace it too, it is just better for the blades which is all that should matter. Unless a qualified polisher who worked on a blade personally tells you to use it for a while nothing but oil, microfiber and the inside of the saya should touch the steel.

Who are these people with tools that hate nihonto so much? Amateur polisher is too mild a term, as is vandal though it is more in the ballpark. Hopefully the damage is not enough to permanently ruin it.

Terrible news, my condolences to the family. My wife is currently lying flat with covid, this thing is no joke. If you and yours are not yet vaccinated and your country have vaccines available, get it done. It saves lives, if not yours then someone down the line.

What about wooden toothpicks instead of ivory/antler? should be even softer but hard enough to remove red rust and pointy enough to allow for some precision?

Buy stocks to make money, nihonto unless you find a lost treasure is a break even project at best financially but there are many pleasures in life besides money. Like a good hamon.

Great, thanks both of you. Much appreciated. Yes John the origami finally appeared, with much appreciated assistance from Gordon at the NTHK. There was some kanji watermarks in the rice paper that is notoriously hard to photograph but I doubt they say anything interesting.

Thanks Ray. The other writings not saying anything of notice?

Hi, could someone help me translate this origami from the NTHK? Included writing on the envelope as well to be safe. Much appreciated.

Hello George, It was somewhat a baptism of fire. Because of the pandemic I've been stuck in Norway with the majority of my collection left overseas in Miami for around two years now. Fortunately I measured the nakago and the antique habaki in the past, so with those numbers available I knew what tsuba, fuchi and kashira were possible good fits proportionally, which I gave more importance then visuals to avoid having to alter any of the pieces. Although I managed to maintain a fellow theme with small ume flowers throughout the fittings despite my minion shipping the wrong set of menuki. I had family in Miami measure and ship the fittings, the blade was already in place since Moses Becerra of nihontoantiques.com who did the work had it with him from assisting with shinsa earlier. The most enjoyable part of the process was definitively seeing how it all came together and that it exceeded my expectations since I have in fact not seen all the pieces together before. The tsuba I have never had in hand, I acquired it specifically for this project since it was confirmed by the seller in Japan by photos to match the nakago on my blade remarkably well. Kudos to Buyee for making such interactions easy. Also planning and picking out the antique fittings was a great deal of fun and learning. My first set of fuchikashira had to take a back seat, you actually require kashira with shitodome when mounting as I realized just before shipping. I wanted it all to be antique materials save the new woodwork, ito, seppa and same. By far the worst part was shipping items around during a global pandemic, I'm sure I am not the only one with experience what this global mess did and still do to any shipping further then ten feet. Moses has kept apologizing to me for the time this has taken, but considering work like this takes time and a nice slap of pandemic on top does not speed things up the wait for his work and supplies from Japan has been expected and quite manageable. The work done was new saya, tsuka, same, ito wrap and sageo. I already had a tsunagi and the original habaki so did not need that full package of work done. The total cost for me will likely end up north of ~$1800, party because of DHL who is the only comfortable shipping option to me now is currently having a laugh with exorbitant covid prices in the hundreds of dollars.

Hi all, It is wisely said on this forum that one should not invest time and money into building koshirae for every blade in shirasaya that falls in ones lap, for many good reasons. However to my defense the blade came with a good tsunagi when I bought it from a forum member here, this pandemic has ruined enough of my fun lately as it is, and dammit its my money to squander from the rooftops! I put together a set of antique fittings that fit the blade's proportions and had a new saya, tsuka, ito and same done profesionally. I'll post better photos when I have it in hand, still waiting for sageo and origami before its shipped to me. This is my first time composing a koshirae, hopefully my greenhorn tastes are not too much of an eyesore

I'm sorry, but the size of his head versus his hands in that shot has me in stitches. I need the weekend..

I think it was gen. MacArthur who presented the sword to president Truman, and I also think it was as an official post war gift from the Japanese. In no way 100% sure on this info but a little voice in my head says so.

A Japanese swordmaker tests one of his blades with little concern for its wellbeing in the name of learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTskoJTvvQc I believe they tried to somewhat recreate sword testing from the Edo period. I knew the sword would not survive but being familiar with some of those materials color me impressed how it performed.

Disastrous polish and nick in kissaki.. much better options for $4000k.

This is unfortunately nothing new. Many fields are plagued with people who often have the best of intentions but no intent of expending any effort. The world is crawling with experts having completed ardourous six week letter courses or video classes. Often in some old field not taught in "modern" learning institutions like martial arts, meditation or old crafts like sword polishing. Our ancestors took their skills very seriously and many reached levels in their arts beyond anything seen in the industrialized world since. The only good defense against growing ignorance is knowledge, the internet is a good tool for it but it often feels like showeling s**t against the tide. Cest la vie.

Biting my fist. Don't want to pull out of the stock market these days and probably would not survive the wife's reaction, though probably less then her shoe budget judging by what I see when gazing into the depths of her closet. If this one lingers I might crumble, it just ticks so many boxes. Good luck on the sale!

Absolutely disgusting behavior. What is wrong with people? What did the customs office have to say for themselves?

I don't own many swords and none of them have I had polished though I have some mounting projects going, a less damaging greenhorn vice. Polishing is a very serious decision. These items cannot be improved, only preserved. Unless a sword is in a bad state, leave it be. Many collectors get tempted to have blades polished when they often do not need it save our desire to have it appear new and shiny, which even in the best hands requires removal of steel. Polishers need to eat too so I assume not many, even in Japan besides very top guys will raise a flag if a blade is not in need of work beyond a cosmetic face lift to appease a new owner. Over a few centuries that adds up.

Ah, the ruffling of feathers. Too loud and it will drown out your ability to learn.

I am in no way a nihonto expert. That is why I am here. There is lifetimes of knowledge in this subject, wich is part of the attraction. Sharp slab of steel or unique work of art - depends on ones perspective, or why not both? It is what you make it like everything else in life, and people will have different tastes, just because one is more expensive to pursue does not dimish the others in comparison. Passing judgements or absolutes one way or the other is different then passing advice, especially in a field like this where so much is in people's head and not just present in these wonderful slabs of steel.

A late Japanese polisher, name escapes me at the moment, said ALL remaining nihonto should be cared for as if national treasures, were it feasible. With a millennium of time, tens of thousands of smiths and considering these are hands on weapons ofcourse there is spread in availability, quality and condition. People will collect based on different criteria. Much is established for centuries. Many collectors wisely follow those set guidelines rather then reinventing the wheel. Personally in my collecting quality is paramount. Quality as a sword, as a cutting, fighting weapon. Age, smith and provenance is a bonus, but not if it affects quality as a weapon of the time it was forged. Is a tokubetsu juyo, signed ubu down through the mists of time Heian period tachi an amazing sight and desirable piece to own? It sure is. Would I rather bring the only blade I currently own, a late shinshinto signed and dated hefty ubu mid level papered katana to a swordfight? You bet. I'd rather put the extra money into my savings and stocks. I am in no way dismissing nihonto as pieces of art, they absolutely are, more so then much else under that distinction in my opinion. But they are in the end swords, weapons. And beyond that, slabs of steel albeit carefully put together. The whole arguments about elitism and bragging rights become then to me very clear as pointless made up modern bickerings. Lets be better, especially considering actual important things going on in the world. Agreeing to disagree is a quite satisfying compromise.