raynor

Even Gretzky have so far not had menuki made in his image. Benkei must been a tough bridge to cross for the opposing team.

Looks like you did very well on that book haul! I got the Sano museum Masamune catalog this week for $80 including shipping wich I think was a good deal as I've seen it for anything between $120 to $260. Considering the cost of having a real Masamune in your collection I think a hundred or so pages of high quality photos is a nice compromise.

Is it safe to soak metal fittings in the soap water for a moment to soften up caked hard grime before the toothbrush treatment, or other ways with stuff that wont come off by gently scrubbing? I got a shakudo fuchikashira set with some old set grime around and in between the raised inlays that I've left alone after toothbrush treatment didnt work, but if there is safe ways I am all ears.

The peg should be thinner on one side versus the other, as in one side of the peg will not fit into the hole if you try but the other side should so you push on the smaller end of the peg and it should come out. If this is not the case and the peg is already damaged you can try with some more force, like a blunt nail or screw with light hammering on the small end of the peg. Remember if the peg is faulty to get something similar as a temporary solution, very important the sword is not left with just friction from the tsuka holding it in.

For fittings, say shakudo as it shows up quite frequently there can often be grime stuck around raised inlays or chiseled patterns. Either take to a professional or try use lukewarm water with very mild soap like baby wash and scrub very gently with a soft used toothbrush. If it still wont come off after one round of gentle scrubbing just leave it there, not worth the risk damaging the patina imo. I am certain Ford Hallam posted here mentioning that paint strippers will not injure patina and so is safe for use on persistent stuff, but its not safe for you so make sure to study up on that before attempting.

I'm a novice still but I have to say at first look the photos look noticeably off.. as he mentions the utsuri look painted on. There are other alarm bells going off too but that is the most noticeable point. Then again I own a papered blade in good polish, for someone on the look for their first sword with money burning in their pockets and yet to see a real nihonto in the flesh these are dangerous. Especially since being sold out of Japan, that can for many not internet savvy be a false sense of security.

I dont think they even tried with his one.. yikes.

I'd assue cast and in a bit of a hurry for the kenmakiryu, as evident by the quite sloppy paint application. When I start looking for a piece to purchase I will likely go for something similar to the set to the left, or maybe something more in the spirit of Hokusai like these

I agree, the right set looks more appealing, for my taste at least. Forgot the backs, apologies

I've been wanting to add a pair of dragon menuki to my collection for a while and before I start look for pieces to purchase in the future I've set out on learning what I can on the symbolism and work. These two pieces do both seem to be shakudo with highlights, but am I correct in that the kenmakiryu pair to the right are cast? That or the strokes defining some of the scales appear quite soft. Other then that both pieces seem to be of a similar level of work with pherhaps an edge to the pair on the left.

Happened to my dad over twenty years ago but it was his second wife tossing very valuable books not origami.

Good reminder, all it takes is a moments lack of focus and fingers will fly as these are tools made specifically to cut people. Much more effectively then a knife in a similar situation, blades curved niku gets the job done good if we just give it a tiny chance.. Not my horror story but I saw a documentary where a German blacksmith of some renown, name escapes me at the moment, whacked a German longsword hard edge to edge with another longsword then as hard with a nihonto to prove German swords were better.

Bit off topic, but what would a sword forged like this bring to a battlefield? I cant imagine it would perform as well as a blade with say suguha both for cutting and blade integrity? It does look like magic tho at first glance, art in steel.

Not to pour gas on the fire but since moving to the US the only complain I have is USPS.. they are abysmal if you are used to a reliable postal service. Employees stealing packages caught on video and not fired.. I always use alternate carriers. Most likely they have handed over the shipment to German post service, tried calling them and/or input tracking number into Deutsche post's tracking?

A plant or maybe shinto arrangement like they do with daikons?

Thank you both. Yes I account for seppa and tsuba, just want to be sure that the fuchi will look somewhat flush with new saya dimensions when it is all mounted before I lock in this fuchikashira set for the project. Rather not have the craftsman tell me I need to go look for a new set of fittings when it's my turn in the queue!

Looks like a great blade, but one thing seems amiss.. might be my beginner eyes.. Hm.

I might as well post this somewhat relevant question here as I imagine it might help others in my shoes down the road. The original saya for the blade I plan to eventually have new koshirae made for is showing its antique age and needs replacing. The original habaki came with the sword and naturally a new saya must fit around it, this also affects choices for fuchi a bit. Looking at koshirae online for comparison and dimensions I think this fuchi in the photo is in the clear at least regarding the width, but is it perhaps a bit too short to fit flush with a saya made around the habaki? It is hard to figure out even with the original saya since it is splitting and missing the koiguchi.

Not a bad asking price for a decent sword in koshirae but to my admittedly untrained eye the tsuba/fuchikashira etc. looks like they were in a HURRY when being made.

Many books on this subject are scarce and thus expensive. So far I only have Kokan Nagayama and Yumoto's handbook plus some nice 1970's Hawley magazines from a kind member on this forum. The price and rarity of some books make a lot of people prefer hunting pdf material I recon. Remember Nagayama's book before the recent reprint? It went for hundreds of dollars and now you can get it for under fifty with some digging. That said nothing beats having a good book with fold outs and great photos in hand to enjoy. Handling a physical medium like a book also makes you learn faster and more thorough then the admittedly more convenient digital material on small or big screens.

I've found an old brass desk study lamp, that with yellow light works best. It acts like a larger more stable candle flame. Fortunately I can still get the 1940 style bulbs on Amazon

I am also plundering on having koshirae made for a blade in shirasaya and recommend you follow Ray's very qualified advice, he is lightyears ahead of us both. Build it around the blade, dont alter it in any way to fit pieces you like and dont skimp on the craftsmen you ask to put it together, we get what we pay for

Reading this reminded me about a set I got lying around. Since it's unsigned I assumed mass production.. any suggestions to school/era?

With no more new Mr. Bean episodes on the horizon, ebay comes through again for the daily giggle quota.

I knew this was a bad time to rework the holiday house. Amazing blade offered here! edit I believe Aoi art says it best: