
Kevin
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Hmm! My guess is that you wouldn't do this cold. You'd heat the bit of the nakago that needed to be reshaped in a forge and bend it over the edge of the anvil. The marks on mune are consistent with that. Wouldn't take much force to do it at that heat - it's surprising how easily a bit of red hot steel bends. If the nakago was properly heat-shunted, the applied heat wouldn't damage the blade or muck up the hamon. There's a slight difference in colour in the patina around the second area of bending, but that may be lighting. In any case, forged iron and steel can go a nice black - think blacksmith-made wrought iron gates. It's also had over a hundred years to patinate after having this done. Colour of patina may not therefore be a good indication. Kevin
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Partially hand-forged. A few smiths taught the workforce. The company made especially pure sponge iron for swords, then turned it into carbon steel. I imagine the block was folded, hence the hada. Now if they followed the usual way of making seamless pipes, they'd have drilled a hole partially through the block (leaving the end for the kissaki closed), then forged or hot-rolled it down around a mandrel. Then a rod of carbon steel with a lower carbon content was inserted as core steel, the whole lot forge-welded together and forged into a sword, after which it was hardened in the traditional manner. BTW the term, in English, is not surprisingly 'pipe welding'. Some American smiths use it. The Chinese are apparently starting to do Koa Isshin repros. One I've seen was quite good quality. It may have used pipe-welding. Kevin
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Well, if it is KAN 1929, he was born Kojima Taro in Meiji 40 (1907) and was the younger brother of Kanemichi. He studied swordsmithing at the Token Tanrensho in Seki. The Token Tanrensho was founded in 1907 by Kaneyoshi, a decendant of the koto Mino Zenjou school. Kanenori went on to win First Seat at the 1941 Exhibition. He was an Rikugun Jumei Tosho (Army Certified Swordsmith) during WW2. In addition to swords made under the Army Certified Smith programme, Kanenori also made gendaito without star stamps and non-traditional swords. His work can be seen with star stamps, no stamps, sho stamps and Seki stamps. Kevin
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But without photos we won't be able to say. Green verdigris on the tsuba doesn't indicate anything other than copper or a copper alloy. Brass develops verdigris as well, being a copper alloy. Old WW2 tsuba may patinate dark brown but that doesn't mean verdigris can't be present. The tsuka has lost it's tsuka ito and is halfway through the nakago (It seems like a past owner has hammered on the tsuka) Seen this innumerable times on old WW2 blades. the saya itself is rusted Not uncommon There are no serial numbers for the seppa Got a Koa Ishin downstairs like that. The locking mechanism of the tsuka isn't functional anymore Common. Kevin
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For some reason or other folks buy bucketloads of sageo for chosun from me, and fit them to katana. Far more than buy sageo for katana. Dunno why but it is the commonest length selling, even though we do the all the other lengths. Whatever you do, don't cut a sageo down. Buy one the correct length. Edited to say thanks to ERazer for explaining by PM the demand for chosun sageo. Makes sense. :-) Kevin
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Amazing how many do though, such as offers of a few hundred dollars for a papered sword in good polish. If you're selling something, then you sell it to whoever wants to pay the price. If one potential buyer wants it at a bargain price, rather than the market price, they shouldn't be too surprised if it goes to someone who is willing to pay more. That's the way it goes. It is a case of who offers the most cash. Not surprising - dealers need to make a profit because that's their sole income and they may have families to support. It isn't an easy way to make cash - there is a lot of work involved behind the scenes, particularly in the current economic climate. And without good dealers, there'd be a lot less swords to collect. You want something, you have to be prepared to pay for it. The usual rule in life. Nothing is for free. Kevin
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Personally I wouldn't expect him to use shill bidding. Having dealt with him on a few occasions, I've found him to be honest and straightforward. However, I thought I'd better address the evidence that was offered in support of the hypothesis of shill bidding, rather than offer a personal opinion. In any case, as Brian says, shill bidding should be expected in the middle of the bidding. Try it at the end and the shill bidder might well wind up buying the sword, which is not what is intended. After all, the seller would be out of pocket on listing fees and final value fees. Kevin
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Not only common, but almost routine when it comes to nihonto. The folks who put in bids at the beginning of the auction are invariably not the ones who win it. The more canny buyers wait until the last few minutes or even seconds. Some even work out the average reload time for the page so they can time their bid exactly, leaving as few seconds for anyone else to respond as possible. There's also a slight delay between a maximum bid being sent and the resulting top bid being displayed for other users to take into account, plus the few seconds delay before someone realises that they've been outbid, after which they frantically try to top the current maximum bid. Result - the price goes up dramatically as folks throw all caution to the winds in the final few seconds. After all, if you really want it and it is showing that someone else has put in a top bid of $2k and there's 30 seconds to go, the best possible way to win it is put in a bid for $4k or more, cos you can pretty much guarantee that their maximum bid is more than $2k and may be as high as $3k. OTOH, bidding $2200 is unlikely to do it. Chances are the sudden price hikes are thus mostly down to folks manually playing the nature of the system and sitting there timing when they put in their bids, rather than automated systems or shills, and the reaction of other folks to their bidding. I wouldn't be surprised if some folk were damned near using gaming PCs. Judging how close to the end time I've seen some bids come in, I suspect that some folks are using fast machines with a very good connection. You wouldn't try such hairsbreadth bidding with a slow machine. Kevin
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He wasn't caught by anything particularly advanced. He registered two accounts, both on the same IP. This qualifies him as an ejit, cos that would be easily spotted. I suppose one could do it by having various friends/colleagues use their own accounts, all on different IPs and in different parts of the world, to drive the bidding up. OTOH, it strikes me that there is always the risk of the seller being left with the item because one of his shill bidders put in the highest bid. Also, folks don't do things like that for free. All in all, far too much effort and hassle co-ordinating all that lot. It is far easier - and much simpler - to sell things honestly. Jason, folks routinely put in bids in the last few seconds. Sniping is rife on parts of Ebay. Mind you, you need a good PC and a reliable connection. It's not much good if you have a PC and connection that takes 30 seconds to place a bid. Not sure about the automated bidding systems - never used them. Kevin
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If he sets it as a private listing - which is allowed for high priced items - then the bidders' identities are protected, and that's the message you'll get if you look at the bid history. It doesn't indicate shill bidding - it's how Ebay's system works. I'm not sure it is necessary to have a private listing, given that Ebay anonymise bidders' identities anyway, but it looks like some potential buyers may prefer it that way. Kevin
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Just to go slightly off topic, who wrote that? Just wondered - I first heard it on a Korean film. Kevin
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Ah! You found my site. :-D Not famous originals, but they were taken from originals. Kevin
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Yup, concentrate on focus. Also use the smallest aperture that you can get away with for a greater depth of field. Preferably use a tripod and a remote release so that you can use longer exposures with a small aperture. You don't have to use a macro lens - in fact with some mei that is a bad option. Set the camera to produce the highest quality pic it can and crop it. Oh, and get one of those flexible quartz halogen spots - even better, two - and try and light the nakago obliquely. Shows up surface details better. What you see in the viewfinder - leastways with an SLR - is the final arbiter of whether you've got it right. Is it in focus and can you see the details you want? Kevin
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Genuine Kosherei with Chinese blades
Kevin replied to Lindus's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
Well, now we know what happens to some of those military mounts that some throw away. :-) Kevin -
Generally speaking, yes, though you'd need a hard blow from lump hammer for any appreciable thickness. There are however grades of cast iron that have a higher tensile strength, are much less fragile under impact, and tend to bend rather than break when hit hard. Kevin
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shipping swords from japan
Kevin replied to peterqu's topic in Sword Shows, Events, Community News and Legislation Issues
As my girlfriend remarked, she'd have to come with me because my French is abysmal, which would double the cost. It would also entail taking our daughter. Having a highly active and inquisitive Megan let loose on several trains would be entertaining. It's bad enough getting her down to Devon to see the rest of the family. She's right about my French. My conversational Gaelic and Japanese was always better than my French, and I've forgotten almost all of those due to lack of use. Pity really - Gaelic was the one language that I'd started to think - and even dream - in. The last time I tried to use French - in Paris - it resulted in mutual incomprehension. Probably not surprising - I was taught by people who had last used it on a daily basis during and just after WW2, so they were teaching 1940s French using 1960s methods involving grammatical rules to pupils who hadn't been taught grammatical rules even for English in the first place. The result was often a complete failure to learn the language. Trying to negotiate the French postal system - or a French courier - on my own would be a potential disaster. BTW I might note that since we despatch the day after recieving payment, we'd be paying top whack for train tickets. On some occasions we'd be spending most of our time running over to France and hardly ever at home. I think my girlfriend would have something to say about the impact on family life, her business and running the smallholding. :-) She might be highly vocal on the subject. :-) Kevin -
shipping swords from japan
Kevin replied to peterqu's topic in Sword Shows, Events, Community News and Legislation Issues
Well, not for me. I'd have to travel to the other end of the country before crossing the Channel, all of which entails expense in itself. A return train ticket on the day from Derby is about £90, dropping to £20-£30 if you book it a couple of weeks in advance. That's a total of 6 hours travelling from Derby to St Pancras and back, so that's a day away from the family. Add in B&B, ferry or tunnel tickets and stuff, plus the cost of sending the sword when you get to France . . . it is cheaper to send it by the shipping agency. Not to mention the upheaval of our daughter missing Daddy reading bedtime stories. It depends upon the destination and the availability of flights. Comparable to UPS for places like the US that have lots of flights. The Ukraine would be more a bit expensive because it is a bit off the more popular routes and would therefore be a special delivery. Kevin -
shipping swords from japan
Kevin replied to peterqu's topic in Sword Shows, Events, Community News and Legislation Issues
Incidentally, UPS, FedEx and the postal service have no problems shipping swords from elsewhere in the world into the UK. They've already been accepted into the system in another country. It's just shipping out of the UK that's gets them all bent out of shape. No, I can't see the logic myself, but those are the rules of the game. Kevin -
shipping swords from japan
Kevin replied to peterqu's topic in Sword Shows, Events, Community News and Legislation Issues
I've been using a fine arts shipping agency. We established upfront that they had no problem with swords and that they could offer 100% insurance. They generally take 2-3 days to deliver it. They can also advise on procedures for unusual places. The last place we enquired about was the Ukraine. We get them into all sorts of odd places. :-) I imagine a lot of other people use the Post Office. As long as the Customs declaration doesn't contain the dreaded word 'sword', you're alright. I gather some describe it as 'ornamental metalwork' or 'nihonto'. Done it myself, years ago - you play the system. The counter clerk won't know any different and, once accepted over the counter, it is in the system. As a common carrier, they then have to transport it. OTOH, as Lindus recently discovered and wrote on this board, their insurance clauses mean that you are despatching it uninsured, even if you pay for insurance. You won't be able to make a claim in the event of loss or damage because of exemptions and a breach of their Terms of Carriage. You're better off saving your money and crossing your fingers. Again, airmail is supposed to take 4-5 days. However, it can take much longer, depending on destination. Recently a couple of airmail parcels took nearly a month to get to Russia and Sweden respectively. It took them 3 weeks to get to the countries borders. It takes 3 weeks to get to New Caledonia, but that's understandable. There's one parcel still in transit to Mexico; we're up to the third week. Not sure I'd want to trust swords to airmail when they'd basically be uninsured. Items do get lost in airmail. Kevin -
shipping swords from japan
Kevin replied to peterqu's topic in Sword Shows, Events, Community News and Legislation Issues
FedEx and UPS in the UK won't ship swords out of the country to anywhere. The parcel will get as far as being scanned at Coventry Hub, the scan will reveal that there are swords in it, and they will return the parcel to you. This isn't hypothetical. I've had exactly that happen, on a shipment headed for Japan. This then resulted in an extended conversation with UPS, which was reported elsewhere on this board. UPS were adamant that they would not under any circumstances accept a parcel containing weapons, and swords were weapons as far as they were concerned. Any future export parcels containing swords would be returned and the shipment declared void. FedEx UK and DHL take the same view. The Post Office won't accept a parcel if the Customs declaration says that it contains a sword or knife. The counter clerk will give it back to you and refuse to take it. Sneak it past them by using the word 'nihonto' and, if they lose it, you'll find the limited insurance that you had is null and void because you've breached their terms of carriage. As for UPS and FedEx, as Roy pointed out, there's a clause in their insurance that says that works of art, craft and skill are not covered, and neither are antiques. Consequently even if they did carry swords, you'd find the insurance you thought that you'd paid for was non-existent. The same is true of the Post Office. Kevin -
Hmm! Curious. He's in Hawley but doesn't turn up elsewhere. :? Chris, I rather suspect that it was made for display, presentation or something similar. Can't think of any other reason to go to town on the lacquer and use tachi koshirae. It is however also very sharp. BTW it has a pawlonia crest on the fittings. I'd say that the fittings were original. Louis - maybe. Though the hamon looks to be water-quenched and it is in old polish. About the only thing I know about its provenance so far is that it came to the UK via Moses Beccera, or so I am told. Kevin
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Well, as I said, there's a Kaneomi in Hawley which appears to be him (KAN 1991), but it doesn't offer any more info than he existed, and is dated to 1926. Oh, and that he was a Mino smith. Where, I wonder, did Hawley get his info from? Did they have factories knocking out tachi in 1926? The saya is finished in nashiji-nuri and what appear to be shakudo fittings that have had their patina mostly removed by Duraglit, presumably by some Western collector who thought the patina was dirt or oxidation. Kevin
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Chris, photo of mei attached. The blade has nashiji hada, an irregular gunome hamon and is in tachi koshirae. Kevin
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Hmm! Interesting. Seventy two views and no one knows anything about him. Kevin
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Anyone know anything about a smith called Kaneomi? He's listed in Hawley as KAN 1991 and dated to 1926, but that's all I can find. :? Kevin