rbenson

Bob. Exceptional. 20 years ago I had agreed to meet him in Tokyo to show him around the sword shops and introduce him to the owners. The owner of the first shop had set up a table with one blade, a Tanto, I looked at the blade while Darcy watched. Then he looked and I showed him the traits to look for while explaining to him about MASAMUNE. When we left he was really in the clouds and as we walked he stopped and said to me..” That is the first time I learned how to look at a sword. “ He was so happy and never looked back in his quest to study and own the best he could ever since that day. Rita and I have you in our thoughts. RIP old friend.

Re: http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-HAGI ... 240%3A1318 Japanese swords and restoration is my only income so I am always busy and don't have time to read anything or respond to things that are on the message boards, but this time I was informed by several people that are aware of the circumstances surrounding the hagire sword and that I should respond to the question about hagire. First: I polished the sword at the request of the owner who had bought the blade sight unseen. After the hagire was found the owner asked me to return it to the seller. This I did and the seller refused acceptance of the package which was stamped " Refused by the Addresse". The seller sent a letter to the buyer saying it was ruined by the polisher. He stated that a polisher can remove too much metal which will cause a hagire. He also told the buyer it was part of the learning curve for nihonto collectors. He never even saw the blade but claimed it had niku removed which could cause a hagire. Really a novice claim or some one making up stories because he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar? I can assure everone on the forum that a hagire can not be caused by polishing. It can be caused by a blow to the cutting edge, forcing that portion of the blade upward while striking downward. Such is the case of this sword which is shown in the ebay photos of chips at the yokote. What is not shown in the before polish photos is that in the monouchi this sword had numerous chips which had been diminished by cutting the ha saki flat and then beveling it in to make it not noticeable. Please look at the before pictures and you can see the many stone marks from nagura and even kongoto stones marks in the kissaki. This is what was sold as in original polish. I will be happy to answer any other questions about the problems with this sword that was not disclosed either on or off the message board. I can be contacted directly by email bushidoswd@aol.com or through my website : http://www.togishi.com.