Rich S

Mark- agreed, sort of got diverted several posts back. Brian can you move it there and start a new thread? Like Opinels also. Rich

I love Swiss Army Knives (SAKs). Have about 60 of them. Oldest is a 1908 model 2. As many collectors of SAKs as Nihonto, probably more. Best reference site is: https://www.sakwiki.com Collectors forum is: https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/board,13.0.html IMHO, most useful tool/knife on planet. From tiny "classic" to big 111mm SAK. As I said above my fav is the Tinker; carry a Deluxe Tinker or Champ in a belt pouch when out or when use to go hiking and backpacking. You can find them at most any online knife dealer, Amazon (careful of knock-offs), Major online official Victorinox site in Switzerland, https://swissarmy.com Just got my latest SAK last week: a 3d scaled Spartan of the Dying Lion of Luzern. Just beautiful; brought back lots of memories of our time there. Mark Twain called it "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world". Rich

Barry wrote: "My car has a Gerber multitool. Dull knives are dangerous. Always keep the knife sharp." Likewise, I've carried a pocket knife for over 65 years. First a barlow my grandfather gave me, then mostly a scout folder, stockman, Buck 110, etc., now a Victorinox Tinker that's been in my pocket for about 30 years. Used daily. Rich

Just FYI, the approximate number of layers is calculated by 2expN where N is number of folds. Just an approximation as smith may forge layers together so not seen/counted etc. Some may have used more, some less. Of course that doesn't apply to blades like this which are hot mill rolled layered damascus ( with VG10 core). color change due to lighting. Rich Geoff - I didn't know the Nagamitsu in question ever changed his name??? Just used several styles of signing. Of course, as was pointed, out there were numerous smiths named Nagamitsu through history. Just during Showa: They signed Noshu (Seki, Mino) Nagamitsu, Kawazaki Nagamitsu, Kuruma ju Nagamitsu, Takayama Uhei Nagamitsu and Endo Nagamitsu. They are of no known relation to Ichihara Nagamitsu.

Curious, did those watches meet the US standards for railroad watches? Must have been lever set and stem wound and had other criteria. Had to be accurate to avoid collisions. I use to repair pocket watches and carried a Hamilton 992 most my adult life.

Steve Should add that assembly line sword production is nothing new. It also occurred during the Sengoku period (late 1400's-ca. 1600) when every daimyo was fighting the every other for land control. Thousands of swords needed then. Also I seem to recall (?) that most war era swords were simple Kobuse construction with approx. 8 -10 folds ( 256 to 1024 layers +/-). Other folks please chime in. I am NOT the Nagamitsu guru. Rich

I can't answer that. Haven't seen anything about number of folds or time involved. There are several pictures around that show rooms of women doing the polishing and itomaki for other large wartime forges. Some war time forges were literally production line setups. Forge, polish, mount, out the door. Don't know about Nagamitsu, but doubt that was one of them (no proof pro or con). Rich

Steve You think Nihonto snobbery is bad. I'm mainly a knife collector (have been since age 7), the knife collecting community is several orders of magnitude worse. Of course I'm a traditonalist, have carried the same pocket knife (Victorinox tinker) for about 30 years. Have had maybe a thousand or so; now down to a couple hundred Rich Apology to all - off topic.

Steve Boring isn't the correct word I think. No offense intended, but that seems to be the western aesthetic. Suguha are beautiful; can be full of exciting workings (hataraki), etc. rich

No, Nagamitsu were made with a variety of hamon styles. While quality is not effected IMHO, price is- westeners seem to like the fancier choji, etc. hamon. Western tastes differ significantly from Japanese aesthetics. IMHO we (westners) need to learn to appreciate the simpler things and not just in Nihonto.The suguha swords are fine swords - some collectors say it is easier to make a good suguha than other styles - for any smith. ?? Please keep in ind this is just MHO, I speak for no one else's experience. Rich

Steve All Ichihara,etc. Nagamitsu that I've ever seen are true Nihonto (traditionally made) and he/they were RJT smiths, not to worry. Rich

I don't rate them, just liked Nagamitsu blades. Have had 6-8 of them, now only 3. Why two styles? No idea. Rich (a non-discriminating accumulator)

Steve That belief about two stroke Naga was written long, long ago. I said it was my belief, not proven fact. There have been several three stroke naga blades appeared since then. Likely that is not accurate; who knows?? David Yes, I mentioned several of them on that page. ------------------------ I wish folks would read the bulletin on my old website. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/bulletin.htm Thanks rich

Rob IMHO, no. Any mei can be faked (gimei). Rich

Very nice. Have you been able to determine which Sukesada forged it?? Rich

I'm thinking of having my favorite sword encased in clear solid lucite plastic and doing just that - taking it with me Rich

Gilles A Is the bottom tsuba in your post a Tempo (Tenpo, Tembo)? I think I can see partial stamps. I love it. Rich

Eric Nice sword and koshirae. Looks nearly identical to one of mine. Congrats on the papers. Rich

Steve You have a Sukesada in Naval mounts? Please post some pics.Would love to see it. A Muromachi Sukesada wak was my first sword for a total price of $129. Now those were the good old days (ca 1975-ish) Rich

Steve - sorry for not including my web URL, just fixed that. Mon (kamon) are the family crests of various samurai family and clans. But by WW2 they were largely meaningless as most every soldier claimed samurai lineage. Google Japanese Family Crests (or Mons) you seem to be a good researcher. Hundreds of them, many very similar - about as confusing as which mei is Nagamitsu . Welcome to your baptism by mei You see the problem when you have multiple smiths signing in a similar way. Can't wait until you encounter Sukesada. A sword group from about Muramachi era with hundreds of smiths signing similar mei - extending for about 500 years with possibly thousands of smiths legitimately signing Sukesada (with various long and short mei and dates). To boot the school was one of the most that other smiths faked their mei (gimei) even hundreds of years ago. Figuring out which specific Sukesada forged a blade is pretty much beyond us mere morals. I suggest putting a soft, thick pad on your wall. I have a permanent callus on my forehead and likely massive brain damage from trying to figure out specific smiths. Enjoy the trip, Nihonto are a fascinating subject, if somewhat maddening at times. Rich

Steve That's a nice Nagamitsu. 100% legit gendaito. Extra nice koshirae with the family mon in the tsuka. Rich

Steve 2 vs 3 stroke Naga doesn't really matter IMHO. If you will look at the various mei on my site you will see significant differences in the mei - obviously cut by different hands, but all legit Nagamitsu. Rich

From my website Nagamitsu page 20+ years ago. "Given the number of variations of signatures (mei) found on Nagamitsu blades, combined with the quantity of blades known, it seems unlikely that they are all the work of one lone swordsmith. It is likely that Nagamitsu had a number of students and assistants who also produced blades at his forge and who signed sword blades on his behalf. Therefore each blade must be judged on its own merits and not simply on its signature." As long as it's a legit Ichihara Nagamitsu it's likely a fine sword. I wouldn't worry about it. Also, given the brief period, WW2, that these swords were made, I personally doubt the terms early and late have any real meaning, just MHO. Also since there were different smiths, students, assistants making them, having variation in "quality" is to be expected. Rich

Nice tsuba. I uploaded a chart for Bonji in the "Translation Assistance" forum. Take a look there; maybe (?) of a little help. Oops; I remembered how to copy from forum to forum Rich

Don't know if this will help. No idea where or when I got this graphic. Click on graphic to enlarge; better readability. Rich