faust1103

I suppose it looks more like a lion then...

So what is a "shishi"? A cross between an lion and a dog?

What animal is this on the kojiri of this saya? Lion? Tiger? Dog? Your opinions are appreciated. Many thanks.

OK, Here are some pictures. I hope this helps.

Hello, I am wondering about two things about the habaki of my first nihonto. 1) The habaki is slightly loose when the blade is inserted into the shirasaya. The blade itself does not move when in the shirasaya but I can move the habaki about 1 mm back and forth. The blade and the habaki both fit tightly and do not move at all when inserted into the tsuka though. Is this normal? Should I add a seppa when the blade is inserted into the shirasaya so the habaki does not move anymore? Though that would probably make no sense since then the shirasaya would not close properly anymore. 2) Also the habaki consists of 2 pieces that are inserted into each other. Is this normal as well? Many thanks. faust

Hello, Thanks for the advice. I managed to remove the stain with some alcohol. So it probably was old oil. I re-oiled the blade (with less oil) and put it back in the shirasaya. So hopefully everything will be OK.

Hello, I recently bought my first Nihonto and I am quite happy with it. The blade came in the shirasaya and was well oiled. However I noticed a single dark/brown spot on the blade. Please see the picture below. Is this a rust spot and should I do anything about this? Many thanks.

Ok, Thanks a lot for the info.

Hi, I was wondering how much it would be to have a shirasaya and a tsunagi custom made for nihonto? Thanks.

I also live in central Europe and the climate should be comparable to Paris (nearest sea is 100km away). I think I will leave my blade in the shirasaya and display the koshirae on a wooden blade (tsunagi). I am bit unsure about putting an oiled blade in the shirasaya. Wouldn't the oil damage the wood of the shirasaya? @Jean, So you recommend to oil the blade before putting it the shirasaya but during your collecting years you did not? Did your blades catch any rust back then in Paris being unoiled? Thanks. faust

Nice Tsuba. What is the thickness of the Tsuba? Also I understand that there are no papers included. Where did you get from? Thanks.

@Katsujinken What's an anti-corrosion bag? I imagine that would look bit odd in a display cabinet. Do you oil your blade (and leave the oil on) before you put it in the shirasaya?

@Christian Thanks for the advice. So you actually just present the bare blade. No saya , no shirasaya? faust

Ok, Thanks for the advice. Another question: If for some reason you have to touch the blade ( for cleaning, oiling ect.) would you wear nitril of cotton gloves? Would that be advisable?

@Bruno, The nihonto would have a shirasaya as well a complete kashira (with saya). I was thinking that the nihonto would display better with the kashira fitted on (instead of being in the shirasaya). I am also worried of screwing up the exchange of the blade from the shirasaya to the koshirae so I was thinking about leaving the blade in the koshirae all the time.

Hello, I am a newbie and so far I only have a Iado katana. I would like to purchase my first nihonto soon. I plan to keep the nihonto as a decoration piece in a glass cabinet and take it out only very rarely. No cutting tests or anything are intended Would it make sense to keep the nihonto blade in the shirasaya (with the koshirae being displayed with a wooden blade alongside it) or would be ok to have the blade fully fitted with it's koshira (and inside it's saya) for display reasons? I understand that I have to oil the blade occasionally for rust prevention but could this also be done when mounted to the koshirae? I don't want to screw up my first nihonto by getting the blade rusty but I think would look better (in the display case) with the koshirae fitted to it. What do you guys think?