Bazza

Same problem here - no avatar. BaZZa.

J Jorgensen, could you please show us a clear, good picture of the kojiri (the end scabbard fitting)? Regards, BaZZa.

Robert and All, yes, I believe the "stripe" pattern is rusting of the masame hada, not a sensuki (shaved) or other file type. Best regards, BaZZa.

Is the blade signed?? Can you put up a shot of each side of the whole tang?? You would be amazed at what a professional polisher can do for a poor condition blade. I have seen worse chips and rust completely disappear and the blade take a Tokubetsu Hozon paper. The caveat always is that the blade must be worth the time and expense in the first place. Well... not always... it depends how much one loves "The Art"... Regards, BaZZa.

All, I have a very long list over 45 years of people who have helped me along the way, people who (all around the world) unselfishly gave me their time and knowledge to make me such a collector as I am. I help out wherever I can as I consider it a sacred duty to pass on the knowledge that so many others have helped me to gain. I want to acknowledge here my debt to them, and indeed - time waits for no man... Best regards, BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas.

All - I have been seeing these conversations online for 15 years. I have been collecting and studying Nihonto for 45 years and have seen enough polished blades to make a comment here. No great diatribe, no long point-for-point comment, just the simple statement "Chris Bowen is right on the money. Any other opinion is delusional bordering on willfully ignorant". Chris used the word "hubris". Spot on again. Time to lock this thread... Barry Thomas Melbourne, Australia

For many years now I've had a sword by HOKKE SABURO NOBUFUSA that is 2 shaku 3 sun 4 bu nagasa (70.9 cm or 27 7/8 inches). With a kasane of 5 mm and mihaba of 3 cm I think George could handle this with ease!!! Regards, BaZZa.

MMMMMMMM... Magnificent. I'm blown away. Would love to own it, but just to see it is extremely, very extremely satisfying. Wonderful work Ford, just wonderful. To say "congratulations" on your achievement seems almost trite in the face of the piece and its quiet strength. I look forward to your revelations on the colouring technique as copper/yamagane and its colour is my favourite next to iron. Best regards for the New Year and your continued success, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

Hello George and All, Aluminium or zinc, or some other alloy of zinc or "white metal"??? I was looking at one of these recently in knocked around condition and I felt the exposed metal surface and oxidation colour didn't look like aluminium. Another question: I know nothing about metal scabbard making, but if there is a join/seam this would be hard to make in aluminium as its difficulty in soldering is well known. Even welding, these days argon arc welding ( or MIG??) being the norm to exclude oxygen in the process to effect a good joint. I'm not sure that shingunto metal scabbards were made without a seam, so it seems unlikely that "white metal" scabbards were solid drawn. I haven't made any serious study of this, so the nub of my question then is does anyone have definitive metallurgical analysis that "aluminium" scabbards are in fact aluminium??? Regards, BaZZa.

I'm pretty sure I've seen such a blade "at work" in an ukiyoe. I can see it in my mind's eye and maybe someone knows the print. Regards, BaZZa.

All - I remember a Per Terje Norheim (sp?) nearby in Sweden many, many years ago. I have often wondered if he is still active. If not, I guess his books could have migrated... Regards, BaZZa.

Henry, no wuckin furries, Mate. You're cool. Bestests, BaZZa.

This is all a very interesting discussion about iron tsuba. Over many years I've observed kinko tosogu, particularly shakudo nanako, that seem to have some "grot" all over the surface. Study under magnification clearly shows such grot, and gentle probing with a sharp toothpick reveals a waxy type residue that comes away. Some while ago I acquired a wakizashi with excellent mumei shakudo nanako fittings in a mitokoromono set. The menuki were considerably obscured with a "grot" that appeared to have dust etc etc embedded in it. It was a miracle the menuki were still there as the binding had pretty much rotted away. Again, observation with a 10x loupe and gentle probing with a sharp toothpick clearly showed "something" that came away from the surface. The menuki were very much obscured compared to the kogai and kozuka. Having observed this stuff was one thing, but I have never attempted to clean it off. However, these menuki cried out for rescue. I've attached two images that show the before and after. My question here isn't so much about the cleaning (which people seem most reluctant to go anywhere near where shakudo nanako is concerned), but whether (say) ibota wax was originally applied to shakudo nanako to either improve or preserve the polish on a finished piece. The next question is, if this is so, what happens to such wax over 150 or more years?? The two images here clearly show some stuff has been removed from the surface of the menuki, and having once been removed it became obvious that the kogai and kozuka were also coated with "something", but I have left these as is for the moment as their appearance is acceptable. The tsuba on this wakizashi is also shakudo nanako (Momoyama Ko Kinko) and it too has "something" coating it. Is it simply the dust of ages combined with oils from handling and decades of neglect that present this appearance, or does it originate from an original treatment of the pieces when they were made??? Regards, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa

On a par with breaking up suits of armour. A friend has a magnificent 16th century Myochin kabuto with its mempo that were separated from the rest of the armour, I presume to make a better profit for the seller... Regards, BaZZa. (aka Barry Thomas)

Do we think that the serpentine has been bent at some stage of its life??? I've not seen one with the "wiggle" that this one displays. I'm betting the barrel is by a Kunitomo artisan - the bamboo-shaped flash shield locking pin is on all three of my Kunitomo guns. Also, the mon is I think KASHIWA (White Oak) - I have it on one of my guns and will try and get a picture up. Regards, BaZZa aka Barry Thomas.

I think this has ended quietly and decently, as indeed it should. Having been on these many and varied electronic/internet forums since 1995 I have assiduously recorded in great detail and at great length (dozens of pages, hundreds of megabytes) numerous discussions on the subject of this thread as well as hundreds of others. I did it in this instance as I very early on realised the central importance of correct polish for the restoration and preservation of Nihonto and for my own education went out of my way to compile these electronic discourses for posterity, as I knew the opinions expressed would never be written up anywhere else. This thread has been little different to those I've recorded over the last 17 years in terms of the pros and cons. For my personal journey I have in the meantime had numerous of my own blades polished by different sources and have bought blades already polished. The worst, most abysmal polish (seen in another collection here in Oz) was by a little-known American. The second worst was on a (later) Tokubetsu Hozon wakizashi from a Japanese source. My experience has been wide and varied at a personal level and it has taught me much and I do my best to share it with my fellow Aussie collectors on a one-to-one basis. Now, to put it on the record - I take my hat off to Chris Bowen and in terms of this thread I sit firmly in his camp, as it were. His vast experience on the ground in Japan and his interactions with artisans across board at all levels of Nihonto and restoration skills over many years are unparallelled and undeniable. I have assiduously recorded Chris' writings since his earliest days as an internet presence with his token_kenkyu_kai discussion list and as a person who has never been to Japan and am unlikely to do so for varied reasons, have devoured his personal experiences with all manner of artisans. For those who have never experienced Chris' earlier personal recollections moving amongst the artisans of Japan I want to record here how grateful I was for the tremendous commitment of his time to convey these to Westerners. This commitment is still evident to me in his large presence here to inform and enlighten all of us sharing this passion. In the same breath, I take my hat off to Brian for his Solomonesque wisdom in keeping us under firm control and for a similarly Herculean task in administering NMB. Finally, I have particularly enjoyed this thread, even if it amounted to a same-same update of earlier discourses... Best regards to all, Barry Thomas (aka BaZZa).

Many years ago I watched a TV program made in Australia by a still-popular science show where it was claimed that the samurai used ball-milling techniques to pre-process the ore used to make swords. Even a professor from a famous Australian University was on the program talking about it. I phoned the very attractive researcher/presenter to tell her this simply was not true, and all she wanted to do was get me off the phone so she could "move on". No interest whatsoever that she might have been guilty of peddling sensationalist untruths. Does any Aussie remember this show??? I also wrote a letter to the professor asking what his sources were, because I had no such information in any of my references, nor had I heard of it in all my years of study and collecting Japanese swords. No reply. I still have the video and my copy of the letter I wrote somewhere in the chaos of my "library". I can only think that somewhere, somehow, someone confused naturally occurring "sand iron" with the manufactured product from a ball-milling process. Now I suppose someone will tell me that the samurai DID use ball-milling... I hope Simon strenuously resists any kind of sensationalising. I wonder if a reading of "Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai" would add a social dimension to Simon's research into the samurai era. Incidentally, I just discovered that Musui in this story was the father of Katsu Kaishu, the captain of the ship to the USA escorting the first Japanese delegation to San Francisco in 1860. Regards, BaZZa aka Barry Thomas.

The apprehensive look on the face of the figure on the tsuba seems to say it all... BaZZa.

Sean, Not hiragana. Looks like cursive style of kanji called gyosho, if my memory serves me correctly... I'm sure someone else will hit the nail on the head... Regards, BaZZa.

HAHAHAHAHA - no, but I once sold a tanto to afford a "new" (as in another) car for myself. That tanto was 'bought cheap' and 'sold dear' 30 years later. The car depreciated to 'rust bucket' status in 5 years... The immutable reality of automotive 'investment'... Best regards to all the newcomers, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

I am most jealous of the gun!!! Ron, it looks like a Kunitomo piece; at least, it appears nearly identical to my Kunitomo gun signed KATSUMASA. Is yours signed?? I love these shorter, heavier pieces with the internal coil spring. Very neat, streamlined appearance. Regards, Barry Thomas.

> - what is the cause of the "ripples" you can see on the kisaki? Could it be a corrosive agent, traces of a faded hamon, or just marks left by age and water? The ripples, Dear Sir, are IMHO heavy corrosion caused by rusting. Even though unsigned I'm struck by the good sugata of this blade. A good shape speaks, at a first glance, almost above all else. If the blade has quality (I see an indication of sugu hamon) it may well be worth a polish. I have seen equally or even more severely rusted blades come through a polish and turn up trumps. Of course, all sorts of disasters may well be waiting in the steel, but... I know I'm not going to get back all the money I've put into polishing blades, but Nihonto are an ineffable and captivating Art that give much back in appreciation for money spent. And unlike large amounts of money spent on fine wine, Nihonto keep on giving without a hangover... Your sword needs to be seen "in the hand" by someone very knowledgeable. Do please keep us in touch with your ongoing findings. With regard to the just previous email, some of our swords here back from Japan in a very bad condition "as found" have had a pit or two left in as the polisher kept the conformation intact. It is a small price to pay to bring a good sword back to life even if one would not wish the pits to be there. Best regards, Barry Thomas (Melbourne, Australia.)

The best pair of menuki I have ever personally discovered came to me on a wakizashi of almost indescribable mediocrity and poor quality... Regards, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

I'll have a wild stab and say it looks like a sanmei with a fukurin rather than a solid piece as "yamagane" would suggest. Regards, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

I have a ca1600 Kanemoto katana in Shingunto koshirae that has a polisher's mei with date Taisho 6 (1917), so it appears it was occasionally done well before WW2. I think I have a note somewhere of a polisher's mei in Meiji period?? I recall seeing a sword with a mokume pattern done in that place where the polisher's mei occurs and have a photo of it somewhere... Regards, Barry Thomas.