DTM72

I was sentenced to, I mean lived in Coventry back in 2010, working with the Ministry of Defence on armored vehicles. Things didn't seem as restricted then. My contacts there in the UK tell me more nad more restrictions and bans come every month. Sadly, USA is going down the same path. Had some liberal hippy, wanna be journalist come by my table at a gun show, friend trying to hide a camera to film while she was talking with me. She starts off instantly with "how can you sleep at night knowing the guns you are selling will probably be used to kill someone?" I replied directly towards the camera "I sleep very well at night knowing that my kids did NOT grow up as dumb and clueless as you are. You are too fuc*ing dumb to even notice that I have a table full of Japanese art swords, and not 1 gun. Open your fuc*ing eyes and use them to see your dumb ass out the door!" Having a table near the door made me one of the first tables she approached to try to preach her crap. My voice tends to get loud when I'm pissed and the show staff and officers at the door quickly escorted them both outside. Sadly idiots like her are not the rarity or exception any more. They are becoming more commonplace and many people try to appease them. I'm quick to tell them where they can go, with no uncertain terms. Dan

ride electric chair makes me think of ole sparky.

Hard to tell from the photos but; Rayskin covered saya is nice, Tskua ito seems to be in decent shape with fuchi and kashira present. Has a tsuba but can't tell much about it. Blade does not appear rusty and no chunks missing. worst case...if the blade is bad, the saya, tsuka, and tsuba could get your money back, and possibly more. If it was in the USA for $150, I would not hesitate to buy. Wishing you the best of luck. Dan

一 = item 刀 = katana 銘 = mei The actual mei of the signature would continue downward unless Mumei 無銘

http://www.sosovms.com/Show_of_Shows/ Mark Jones @Mark Matt Jerrell @mdiddy Matthew Brice @matthewbrice Bill Rannow @brannow and possibly others that I am not aware of, will have tables at the OVMS (Ohio Valley Military Society) Show of Shows. This is the Largest Military Antique Show in the USA. I was unable to get a table at this show as they were sold out 6 months ago. I, will be set-up in the convention center next door at the National Gun Day show. There are many other Nihonto dealers who setup at this show due to the difficulty of getting a table at the SOS. This gun show is one of the largest in the USA. The SOS show opens to OVMS members on Thursday Feb 23rd @ 12 noon. Opens to the public on Friday Feb. 24th @ 0900 - 1700. and Saturday the 25th @ 0900 to 1500. The National Gun Day show opens to the public on Saturday Feb 25th @ 0900 to 1500 and Sunday Feb. 26th @ 0900-1500. I will be arriving on Thrusday and storing my stuff at Mark Jones table, walking around the SOS. You can't miss a hot Asian woman with an ugly old white guy, both carrying Nihonto with signs hanging from them. If you see us wandering around, please stop and say hello! If you don't know the above guys tagged in this thread, I will be more than happy to take you by their tables. At the Gun show, I will have a sign with the NMB logo and my screen name on it, as well as the Facebook nihonto groups I'm in. Stop by and chat, I enjoy the conversation. I'll post photos of both shows for those that cannot make it. Dan

I guess concurrent prayer = also praying for. I used a kanji translator and copied and pasted into it. It helps soooo much to have a native speaker to put things into prospective. BTW, this is the translator I used. http://www.romajidesu.com/translator/

With the shape of the D-ring tsuba, the acorn type tassel and the chrome saya, that is 100% an army kyu-gunto.

How do I reserve my spot(s) for the shinsa? I plan to attend in person. Never mind...I figured it out.

Much appreciated!

併而祈 = concurrent prayer

I have a similar thing on a flag.

紀元二千六百年? Kigen nisen roppyaku nen? = 2600 Imperial year = 1940 Not 100% sure of the last kanji. Should be nen (year). Stamp at top is a "Showa" stamp. This is an acceptance stamp from the factory where is was made. See below.

@Bruce Pennington so these labels/tags were placed as menuki on a tsuka?

And because of that, it could be said that a Chinese sword has gotten Hozon papers.

Do you have a link to the place selling it?

1000 thank you's!

So does this look correct? 板 itame 目 hada 刃 ha 寄りhaving a tendency towards; being close to 柾 masame 掛かりconnection; linking 映りUtsuri 有りexisting

I see those now. @Toryu2020 Ideas on the Jigane section? So far I have 板目刃 ?り 柾 ? 映り有り

So would the entire line translate to Fujiwara added gold (to this) sword?

Domo Arigato Moriyama san!

Representatives from SOFE Design Auctions were wandering around buying items for their upcoming auctions. I personally sold three swords, 2 wakizashi and 1 nice katana to them. He would buy a handful, go back to his tables in the back, then come back and buy more from another dealer or individual. I had a great time exhibiting/selling at the show. Hanging out with Mark Jones, Grey Doffin, Matt Jarrell, Eric Molinier, and Udo (not sure of last name) after the show closed on Friday and drinking wine and chatting about nihonto, good deals, bad deals, etc. was one of the highlights of the trip. I look forward to hanging out with these guys again in Louisville, Kentucky at the Show of Shows, then again at the Chicago show. Information on these two shows can be found below. The Chicago show promises to be a good one with a shinsa team in attendance. Feb 23-26, 2023 http://www.sosovms.com/Show_of_Shows/ April 28-30, 2023 http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/

John, the celluloid versions have a very plastic feel to them when you sctrach them with your fingernail. Real rayskin, unless polished, should have a more rough and almost sandpaper feel to it.

After much help from the NMB a Facebook group and some of my own searching on Kanji translation programs, I think I have this figured out. Please feel free to suggest corrections. This is a lot more than the usual Province, title, and name with date on the opposite side. I took the picture and placed the kanji next to it, with the Japanese pronunciation in capitol letters, then the English meaning in small letters. Of course the dimensions on the right don't need to be translated, that is just my information for the sword. She will be going to shinsa in Chicago in April so I am excited to see her get official papers. Thanks in advance to all! Dan

I have an Iron Mountain Armory and I am completly happy with it. I have displayed it, packed it away, and transported it to a show, set it up, taken it down...multiple times. I have worn it about 4-5 times with no issues. I'm not sure you would want to do everything I have done to a suit coved by Urushi. Additionally, the urushi process is very time consuming and materials are expensive, then making the final product more expensive. I think it all comes down to what you want to do with the suit. Display only, display and wear, wear while training? Wishing you the best of luck.