LLagrange

Damn I missed it. And yes Chris art is art. I see no point in dismissing any item simply because it is a "weapon", especially considering that literally anything can be a weapon if you try hard enough. I have gotten enough weird looks and comments for having a crap ton of knives around that I am more than familiar with prejudice of this kind. Great blade, and I have to say good on you for being willing to part with something for such an incredible deal to help out someone starting out. It has been one of the things that has really stuck out to me about the people here, willing to help and share knowledge. So thank you for that.

No problem. And they might think it's strange but I'm sure they have seen all sorts of wierd stuff come through customs. I'm sure nothing surprises them anymore 🤣

JP there is a guy i follow on Instagram who makes traditional style Japanese blades who has some nakago meguki nuki for sale if you are looking for one. I believe he operates out of British Columbia. This is his website, they are not overly expensive imo. http://islandblacksmith.ca/ http://islandblacksmith.ca/available-work/forged-mekugi-nuki-nakago/#/tab-description

You do very nice work btw. That Persian blade is beautiful.

I in no way meant that as an insult of what you know or your experience just to be clear. Just that antiques are bot something to be messed with by anyone other than someone with years of training very specifically about what it is they are working with.

I think, and someone with more experience correct me if i'm wrong, that that is the problem. Any authentic Japanese sword, no matter how old or how it was made has at least some historical value. That is unless it is to the point where any type of polishing or other work is impossible, or until someone destroys it with an attempted "restoration". It is just not something that should be done without proper training, at all, ever. If you want to mess around with polishing, get or make a blade specifically for that, a modern one made to historical specs. But never should it be attempted on an antique of any kind unless you are one of a literal handful of people with proper training. But i am new to this, just my 2 cents.

Thank you Brian. Yes I have already found a few of the kitchen knife people. According to some of the older members of my family it used to be "De La Grange" (translating roughly to "of the farm") so I guess we used to be farmers. Was changed to "La Grange" and then they dropped the space. No South African heritage that I'm aware of, did South Africa have a lot of French colonists? I have lots of family in Quebec, the french part of Canada. I assume they came over right from france at some point like most did. Adam i never knew there was a town by that name in Texas of all places and yes the ZZ Top track is a great one.

Ken thank you again, and yes it does go a long way, i have had the bottle i have now for years. Thank you Dave, i will check them out also.

Thank you for the offer Barry, very kind of you but I am not in southern ontario, and for the advice also. Thank you Mike and Ken, and yes in my research it seems that uchiko is not really necessary given that you can screw it up pretty easy I'm sure. But if amazon is a good place then that's what I'll do. Thank you again. I actually already have some camellia oil that is use for my other blades, is it interchangeable for choji?

Very cool Barry, unfortunately I am from Northwestern Ontario but if I ever happen to be in Toronto during a meeting I will see if I can come by for sure, or maybe make a trip down for one when we are able to again. I'm looking forward to meeting more people also and seeing if there is anyone else from nearby as well.

Hello, I have been doing research and am going to start a collection once money is not quite as tight (damn you covid) and am wondering where would be reputable places to buy high quality Nihonto maintenance equipment? Choji oil, tsuka removal equipment, storage, etc. I am looking preferably at 🇨🇦 suppliers but others are fine. To be clear, i am not talking about any sort of polishing equipment, i'm not nearly dumb or disrespectful enough to attempt that. Apologies if there is a thread about this already, or if i am overthinking it. Just want to know if there is anywhere in particular people go to get good quality stuff. Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, My interest in Nihonto stems from a general historical interest as well as my background in martial arts, and my fairly large collection of high end Japanese kitchen knives, as i am chef by trade. (might be considered sacrilege here but it's true) In my years of collecting blades i have become captivated by the people who make them and the history surrounding them, many of the makers i have knives from have history in making or still do make swords and simply transitioned to knives after WW2 in order to stay in business. Some that make knives today have been around for 700+ years, and i find that fascinating. As far as collecting Nihonto, I am brand new and am looking at starting a collection soon, doing research in the meantime. And this seems to be the perfect place to start, the wealth of knowledge here is astounding. I look forward to learning more and talking to you all, this seems like a wonderful and hugely knowledgeable community of people. Thanks.

Hey Ian, do you still have #2 available? I'll send you a message