Steffieeee

Occasionally I see blades with carvings, they always seem to be the same form or designs, horimono? is there any reason for them being there? Just decorative? also I have seen funny squiggle like carvings, what are these ? Do blades have actual writing on them ever? Kanji? and what do these say? are all these things tied to a specific date or school when they occur, or are consistent throughout. Just thoughts

Superfast thanks so much, is that a showa Smith do you know?

Mei, hi can anyone translate this nakago? Been trying for days

Ok so I think I have worked it out. Maybe the sode and kote do go together. The sode toggles go through the loops on the kote tops and then also through the loops under the watagami. Seems to fit perfectly. Is that an arrangement that is known? Again it seems a little weak to have it all hanging on two loops, and the armoured underside of the kote kinda just hangs in mid air whereas another loop to fix it to the bottom of the dou armhole would make sense

thanks so much Ian. I thought maybe it was something like that re non matching bits. as the bottom lames of the sode match the dou lames I guess they are part of that set, and the kote and thigh guards are part of another. then again, the little shoulder brigandine parts match the brigandine neck pieces on the kote.. hmm odd. Maybe someone has played around with the toggles and loops at some point. I will have to improvise to make them displayable. Is there any way to tell age? The silk is lovely quality., and the dou is fairly nice too , doeskin lined

Is there a reason for this single stud in the middle of the cuirass or isn't it original?

Thanks chaps. I'll take some pics to illustrate what I'm trying to do. Looking at the vids, my kote don't seem to have the ties at the top, only two toggles at the back of the neck where they join. And I can't see where the sode might attack to the dou. From the old book I notice a couple of things I've never seen. Armpit protectors ? My kote have armour inside the underarm section. Neck protector in addition to the guard on the menpo? Is this a nodawa?

Hi, does someone have illustrations of how to attach kote and sode to the main cuirass? I'm possibly just being dense or maybe I have some bits missing. each kote sleeve has two loops with horn spacers, and the sode guards have two brass toggles. hanging down from the shoulder parts of the cuirass inside are what are left of two loops each side. do these all fit together so the sode toggles go through the kote and the cuirass loops? It all seems a bit flimsy with so much weight on two thin leather loops each side. Or am I missing something obvious. I can attach some pics if no one understands what I'm going on about

I've been corrected on my spelling. Nakago. Apologies

Hi guys, does anyone know what these nicks in the edge of the nagako are? they are very regular and deliberate. I think it's an old piece and the markings are old too. Maybe its something as simple as making the tsuka non moving or something.. The blade has a few nicks from sword blades in it too

Thanks Dave. Yes I just bought the absolon book based on someone else's recommendation. Will investigate the others

Thanks guys. Justin is Sasama-san an author? Piers, no Japanese, French almost especially after a bottle of Pastis. What I find fascinating here is both the total conformity of all these designs, yet the variety and the imagination at the same time. I've had Tibetan lamellar and Chinese Szechuan armours, and it's really interesting to see the relationship Japanese stuff has with all of those around it. As far as I know using the hanbo and menpo seems fairly unique

Hi. Seems to be a slow moving part of the site.. Can anyone recommend any really good books on Jap Armour? development, constructions etc. ta Stef

I'm more than happy to learn, and learning by practically doing these things is the best way. Got to start somewhere right.So I'm going to redo it, not a problem. I have no chip on my shoulder about any of it whatsoever, and want to make the helmet look as good as it can, and be as accurate. Asking for help when I appear to be vilified for even daring to have a go seemed fairly inappropriate tbh. Anyway I do appreciate all comments, this stuff certainly arouses the passions. As it should. Very nice to see the Bryant website never come across it before. And Dave I apologise, I have only just seen your guide on your site now, it does indeed cover everything very thoroughly so that will be a big help second time around.

I appreciate the tips, and the cricitism, I do realise it wasn't great and happy to learn from mistakes, that's the way for self improvement right It's actually very satisfying so maybe I'll try more I'm happy to know even the old lacing was incorrect, as that was clearly ancient..

Thanks Ian. Noted. Actually I went to considerable trouble getting the lacing to become rounded rather than flatten out as I thought that was how it was supposed to be on two other old helmets of mine. So it was kind of deliberate. But it is easy to snip off and start again now I know how it's supposed to be. One issue I found odd... the first lame springs out quite a bit. Maybe that's a feature of this earlier guard? This was how it was originally as the blue thread was still present on this part and holding it correctly, even though it seems too big a gap to the eye. the first row of lacing at the front is designed to hold all the lames level, but if you tighten it too much the first lame gets pulled up quite high which isn't right. As I say the gap was originally this wide. Do you think the red works? or stick to blue?

Thanks Justin. Yep I,m aware of those points, and plan to redo it again at some point now I've had a practise. In my defence, the original lacing that survived had the same level of tightness on the crossover spots, and the distances were also governed by the surviving parts of the lacing. I kept them all on while I was lacing to get the same evenness. Obviously the deterioration of most of of the other lacings probably altered those features. but it's easy enough to fix. The idea that I am wrecking some sacrosanct piece of history by actually redoing the lacing myself is really unfortunate, the lames were literally all hanging off before and were getting damaged. SO based on that unanimous round of approval I will redo it. Considering that's the first time I ever did I thought it wasn't bad actually I appreciate the honest feedback Justin ty

Thanks for spotting that geraint, it was there all the time!... That's certainly a mouthful... Any idea what Akita, satake means?, it's written underneath that hilt style, are they regions? Some googling later, yes satake is in Akita province, right up in the North...

Can anyone give me information about this kind of hilt. Looks to be leather binding, the mounts are iron with dragonflies, and gold menuki, have no idea what they are supposed to represent. Is this a regional hilt style?

Well I finally got this little repair done. Very slow going but I'm quite pleased with the result, not perfect by any means but certainly better than the lames all falling asunder. Normally I'd have been inclined to leave the old silk but in this instance there was so little of it left it had to be done. If there's a fast way of strengthening the fingers this is it...! Anyway as this is the first time I've ever done this, next time will be 100x easier. PS wonky strings are cos the helmet is at an angle I'm guessing the red silk has startled a few lol

Ty Tristan

Thanks. Cool. Sure looks like the same signature as on others. I guess it's been shortened which is why it's lacking the last bit?.. Just noticed the tsuba is also signed on this sword. Maybe it's even legible.... Very simple looking iron tsuba. And there seems to be a character or two on the other side of the guard. I think they are real characters.

Thanks. Would that be a Shinto Mei?

Hi can anyone help translate this signature? On a fairly standard short katana. I'm guessing late Shinto maybe later? Thanks in advance

Thanks guys super helpful as always