ChrisM

Another image from my shoot last weekend. This is a Tokubetsu-Hozon Tōken ranked Wazakashi, with roses and CO2 fog via Dry Ice. Processing was a bit in Photomatix to drive contrast, and then some spot adjustment in Lightroom. A high resolution version of this image can be found here. //Chris

While you are certainly correct, I let my kids hold them under my supervision. They have proven responsible with Model Trains, RC Cars, Knives, and now swords. They are very aware how sharp they are... The fog is dry ice, so I'm not quite sure the breakdown. There's certainly some water in there, but it's mostly CO2. Either way, I broke down the swords and fully cleaned/oiled them once done. //Chris

I totally get that. The problem is it's been done - even these exact blades have had beautiful pictures taken of them. You can see the Katana here; those pictures Moses took are technically stunning and I would be hard pressed to get better ones during my first ever nihonto shoot. The amount of technical excellence in Moses's pictures is really amazing. My personal preference is for something a bit more artistic, doing something a bit more creative and (ideall) different than what most folks have seen before.

We both had fun, which was really my main goal. Fortunately my day job isn't taking pictures of nihonto, or else I may be in real trouble! I'm looking forward to try again some day soon.

It's interesting - I don't yet have an aesthetic sense for how to compose these blades. I'm good (aka: experienced) with people and landscapes, but inanimate objects are new to me. I was trying to find "interesting" things to add, and playing with position, but nothing yet felt "right". On the plus side my daughter (9yr) had a blast helping me. She arranged the pink roses and petals, and was having fun "Stirring" the fog... (We "almost" went fruit ninja, adding in kiwis, oranges, and other colorful fruit! Had I seen a dragonfruit in the store, I would have tried that... )

I liked this one as well:

I spent about 4 hours today trying to light and shoot my blades. I went in thinking "This is going to be a challenge" it turned out to be far more difficult than I anticipated. My setup today was: 1. Pair of photo grade LED lights. I tried barn doors, softboxes, and everything else but ended up just using them as "naked" lights. One was on a boom arm, the other on a normal light stand. 2. The shots here are all taken with my iPhone. Once the lighting was set, that was more fun than the big camera, as the big OLED screen made it easier to play. I have a bunch of shots from my D5, but frankly I haven't looked at them yet and doubt they are very good. All the editing was also done on my iPhone while watching a thunderstorm with my kids this evening... The blades: 1. The Wakazashi is (according to Markus's translation) signed by Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Nobutaka (伯耆守藤原信高), and ranked as Tokubetsu-Hozon Tōken. 2. The Katana is (according to Markus's translation) signed by Sōshū-jū Tsunahiro. The Sayagaki is "Written by Tanzan Hendō [pen name of Tanobe Michihiro]"

Thanks George! There are some great resources on this site. I've been reading some of the old threads... I've also found Youtube has some nice primers, with folks showing how they lit the swords/knives, controlled for reflections, and the got nice results. //Chris

I checked this today, and sure enough. Learn something new every day! Thanks.

Thanks Richard. I appreciate the pointer. I've got a number of books on lighting, but they're all focused on lighting people (portraits, glamour, etc). I've spent enough time setting up and controlling lights that I've got the basics. The difference with nihonto is that I DO NOT want speedlights or studio lights (aka: "Flash" style lights). Hot Lights are really what I'm planning to use, so I can see the reflections while setting up the lights. Lighting for product photography (which is how I'm thinking of nihonto photography) is something I've never tried. The only times I've done anything similar is just is buying a cheap light-box to shoot pictures of my Lionel trains for (mostly) insurance and archival purposes. //Chris

> A polarizer will do you no good, since it doesn‘t work > on metallic surfaces. I’ve not tried yet, but I’ve never heard anything like that. As I light things, there will be glare from light bouncing off the metal. Why wouldn’t a polarizer help with that? Most shots I see folks take are full of glare... so either they are misplacing lights or something else is happening. > 50 mm and F8 would be my choice I’ll start there. I’m just really looking forward to a day of playing and seeing what I can get. Hopefully I can go from “basic, and technically good” into something more dramatic and arty.

Yes, “one of those people” sums it up. heh. Going hiking with me is agony for my wife, as I spend too much time composing images. Even my kids run when they see me break out a big (aka: not cell phone) camera... I should have the gold Menuki in a few days, and will try my hand at pictures (as well as the blades and other bits). Still looking for a pair of gold Goto dragons withy NBTHK papers...

Well, that takes things in a totally different direction. Photo's are time consuming. Most of my work is with speedlights & high-end studio lights - both of which are not relevant for nihonto related work due to glare. For shooting Nihanto (and accessories) hot lights (or at least "Hot LEDs") seems like the way to go (I have a set, along with barn doors, grids, and softboxes ordered). Most of my other lighting gear (arms, clamps, backgrounds, etc) seem like it'll work. I suspect I'll need a polarizer, but my good circular polarizer is a 77mm usually used outdoors. The glass I'll probably end up using is a 50mm f/1.4 lens, as it's easy - but the 77mm filter won't fit. My only 77mm lens that's suitable is the 85 F/1.4, which may be too long; using a 70-200 seems silly; using a 24-70 F/2.8 won't let me play with depth-of-field. For crazy bokeh I may use a 105 F/1.4, which needs an 82mm filter. Then questions like "I want to shoot at F/1.4, with hot lights, so I need a neutral density filter" come up. It's a long list... Much of the expensive stuff I already have, but all the accessories are time consuming... For lifts / mounts so the blades are slightly separate from the background. I bought a variety set of black/white rubber grommets, as those seem suitable and not damaging. As part of my planned shoot, I bought a $50 fog machine, and will probably pickup some Dry Ice as well, and perhaps some focused colored lights (my green WickedLaser is... awesome, but probably too strong to safely use with a highly reflective surface like a polished katana). That should bring some drama... //Chris

I may learn slowly, but I get there eventually. When reading about Shakudo, I read "Mixture of gold and copper" and jumped to some incorrect conclusion. It's not like this is hard - even the wikipedia page says: Ah well. Live and learn. Next up: Photography of all my cool new stuff. I'm an experienced photographer, but shooting items as nuanced and reflective as a katana is going to be difficult. That'll be my weekend project next week. I'm hoping to get some nice dramatic shots using fog / dry-ice, black backgrounds, and some interesting lighting effects. //Chris

Markus is fantastic. He's now translated ~10 things for me, and his work is fast, inexpensive, and seems to be of the highest quality. I would encourage anyone new to this (as I am) to have him translate things whenever possible. Preferably *before* purchasing. //Chris

Turns out, we are. I'm still learning the difference between all of these materials. The learning experience is a fun one, and a bit more expensive than my wife would like, but... it's fun. //Chris

These particular menuki actually turn out to be shakido, not gold. They're black by design, so cleaning them wouldn't go quite how I hoped it would. I do have a nice gold Hozon ranked pair (just bought, and got a nice NBTHK translation from Markus!) that could use a minor cleaning. All the suggestions in this thread are great. I'll let them soak in soapy water and clean then gently with a soft tooth-brush. The Markus translation of these actually calls out: > "Pure gold, katachibori interpretation (motif forms outline of opject)" I *loved* the link from Darcy, summarized as "Don't be stupid! Gold doesn't turn black!". All I could think of after reading that was... "Duh, how could I be so stupid?". Thanks everyone. I'm still new to this hobby, and very much learning as I go. //Chris

I don’t know for sure - I’ve not done any actual test (acid / float / etc). Guess that would be the next step...

I’ve got some edo period gold menuki (TH graded) that I’m looking to mount. The “issue” is they are effectively black, as they have oxidized over the years. The image on the NBTHK paper shows them as black. I’m considering giving them to a local jeweler to clean, so they look all bright & shiny. Is this a no-no, or is this a well trodden path? This is oxidation, not really patina, so I’m on the fence. Is this just “polishing the silver” or is it removing irreplaceable patina?

Thanks. I'll see if I can find such a dealer. The "patient" part is the hard part... !

Hi All, I'm looking for 2 sets of gold water dragon menuki. Ideally old with papers, but I would be willing to commission a set from a reputable goldsmith. These are for a daisho set, and are the last pieces I need. I've been trolling eBay and related sites for a few months, but haven't seen anything I like. Some examples of menuki that I quite like: https://yuhindo.com/ko-mino-ryu/ https://yuhindo.com/goto-teijo-dragon-menuki/ Any suggestions for a goldsmith experienced creating menuki? //Chris

I'll certainly have the work done by someone qualified, and I'm hoping it can be done cleanly w/o damaging anything. The idea of leaving these beautiful tsuba's in a display box - rather than "properly" mounted - is just wrong. //Chris

Hi All, I recently picked up a stunning set of daisho tsuba that are blue-papered (koshu tokubetsu kicho). As I look for the rest of the mountings (menuki, etc), it occurred to me - will mounting the tsuba into a koshirae damage them or otherwise detract in value? Do they have to be "filed down" or otherwise damaged to make them fit well? //Chris

Some days, the best laid plans of mice and men... Now I'm wondering just how many times I've typed "nihanto" instead of "nihonto".

I've been trying to get the words right, but it's clearly going to be a long pull as there is so much to learn. Honest question - I got the words Nurisaya and Koshirai from the Nihanto Antiques site on this topic. So that I can use the right words next time, in what cases would these be the right words vs shirasaya and koshirae?