bubbles

probably the wrong place to post this but here goes. after trying for what seems forever to take good photos of my swords with little success i decided to video them with a digi cam corder.hey presto perfect pics.when i learn to get stills from that part of my computer to another and then learn to upload them ill post them.hope this is helpfull.

hi,just seen the mon on a piece of 17th century pottery described as the nabeshima clan but it didnt go into any more detail.hope that helps

thanks for the advise i understand what you mean,i will be keeping this sword but like i said earlier i think the one thing that lets it down is the hamon,as you suggested i really need a polisher to take a look and decide if he could improve it.back to my first query,could anybody advise me where to get in touch with one also im not rich but what kind of figure are we talking for polishing and new scabbard (roughly) many thanks

yes mr Tait you could be right,im in chingford london england. Brian

i dont know if you have seen the photos of my sword (sa naginata)which i now know to be not sa but which i really enjoy.i like the feel and the look .if it had been sa i would have sold it and bought a dojo however like i said i really do like it,the only downside is the hamon.this is just visible in good light but you have to angle it just right.the polished blade seems to have a bluey grey tinge to the steel like oil has permeated it,sort of cloudy,so does anyone think i should get it polishedand if so could you recomend a good polisher.i have tried in the past but never had any replies.cheers Brian

thanks for the link Mark,very interesting and thankyou Reinhard,i know what you mean about seeing the blade itself.polihed blades are so hard to photograph and dont do them justice.think i need to find somebody to sit down with and have a good chat about swords.

thanks Martin,Japanese swords, its complex.as an amateur its taking me alot of time to understand Japanese terminology but happy time.getting back to the scabbard,on the handle is a mon of three oak leaves in a circle(yamaouchi-yamanouchi)does anyone know if this was normal on ww2 swords. Brian

CHEERS MARKUS,ANY IDEA WHAT IVE GOT THEN.JUDGING BY THE RUST FOR WANT OF A BETTER WORD AND COMPARING IT TO ANOTHER SWORD I OWN DATED AROUND 1870 IT WOULD APPEAR TO BE MUCH OLDER. BRIAN

Here's the best i can do - it's hard to take pictures in unnatural light (it's evening here). Regards, Brian.

thanks Jacques,that just confuses me more, is the one on its own also correct. merci beaucoup,Brian

thanks for the reply but what does a genuine one look like and where could i see one.i believe that people copy famous smiths is there any referencies i could read.its an art in its self trying to follow these things

hello everyone,my name is bubbles and would be grateful for any input you may have.i bought a sword 3 years ago knowing slightly less than i do now about katana.becoming curious as you do i had several people look at it all with different opinions.one said it looked like a 19th c copy another said he was not sure but it had age and another said he thought it was an old cut down naginata.having worked in engineering all my life all i can say is it is a fine piece of smithing.if anyone could help me research this further i would be most grateful.