grnamin

Thank you very much once again, Brian! I got in touch with Paul and he has facilitated the shipping of the sword.

Thank you!

Hi Mods, Would it be ok to post requesting help contacting a katana-kaji whom I commissioned in January of 2019 to make a sword for me? It was completed and shipped to me in April of 2021 via DHL because the Japan Post wasn't accepting packages bound for the US at the time. US customs supposedly rejected the package because the hinoki wood wasn't properly declared. The sword went back to the katana-kaji and he acknowledged receipt of it. We corresponded since that time, but in the last few months I haven't received any response from the swordmaker despite numerous emails and text messages asking him to respond via email, hence the request for help contacting him. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you, Greg

Very cool! Thank you, Ray.

I saw this on Paul Martin's Instagram. Thank you for posting it here and congratulations. Beautiful! Curious question as I'm unable to read the Kanji... Does the mei note that the sword was made for you?

I'm in contact with Yasha San. He replies quickly. I commented on his impeccable English and he explained that his mother is Swedish and he spent some of his childhood there. Hoping to commission work shortly.

Still bad picture over rice paper:

LOL! I thought the same thing the first time I saw it.

I came here just for nihinto and now I find yoroi and its accoutrements just as interesting.

Thank you, Greg. Makes sense that the bow string would be in a spool. Search of bow string holder brings up "tsurumaki" which is, indeed, donut shaped. -Greg N.

Greetings! I searched for this first before posting, but couldn't find anything. What is the donut-shaped object hanging from this samurai's uwa-obi?

Thank you, Greg! -Greg N.

Very cool! Lots to decode on nihonto. Curious question...Does the next togishi overwrite the last one's marks with their own?

I was wondering was those lines were...

Thank you, Greg. Please excuse the horrible pictures: These were taken at Seiyudo Ginza: amateur pics: Thank you for the link, Alex. Dwain, that's a gladius Wayne and Garth would be proud of.

Hi Jussi, the lady at Seiyudo quote the same year. Doesn't seem to have any telltale signs of use, either. I'll post pictures of the bare blade soon. Thank you.

About 4" measured from ha-machi towards the tip.

Hi Arnold, interesting insight. According to http://www.ksky.ne.jp./~sumie99/ubuha.html, the (ubuha) "length may be 10cm or so". Nagasa of this sword is 76 cm. Would the ubuha be proportional to the blade length?

Thank you, Geraint. Foley artists! ???? I think a compilation of Hollywood sword myths would be fun if not already done.

Thank you, Ken! This reminds me... in the scene in the Keanu Reaves movie "47 Ronin" where they all perform keppan, it seems none of their wakizashi had ububa. :D

Thank you, again, Jeremiah. So much to learn and worth it!

Thank you very much, Barry and Jeremiah! My concerns were assuaged greatly. I'll look up "ububa" ASAP. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords arriving on Monday will definitely come in handy.

On a recent trip to Japan, I purchased a shinsakuto from Seiyudo Ginza made by Akamatsu Taro Kaneteru. It arrived last Saturday from Japan. As I continue read a couple of books and posts here, I learn how to appreciate nihonto. Got a Microdear cloth to hold the blade and inspect it more closely. I noticed on this Kaneteru that the section of the edge from the ha-machi up to about 4 inches towards the tip is unsharpened (see picture below). This is my very first shinken so I have to ask... Where does the sharpened edge start? Mei included just in case:

Grazie mille, Carlo!

Thank you very much, Ken. Will post pics in the appropriate forum soon.