JGC

yes, i think that he was probably relying on me knowing almost nothing about Nihonto when he made the offer. and while i do know almost nothing, the trick of the matter is i never wanted it because i thought it was valuable, i've just always loved Nihonto. :D

i got a call this morning from the man attempting to clean up the blade, i assumed he was going to call to either tell me it was a loss, or that he wanted more money for the work. i was a bit surprised when he called to tell me he was willing to give me $600 for it. now, i may just be a bit cautious, but that screams to me like there's something i don't know that he's not telling me. so i told him that was ok, and that i'd just like the blade cleaned up... he then offered me $700 for it. i told him i would be there in an hour to pick it up. when i got there he told me that he wanted it because "it was like a road map for non-fatal flaws," and he wanted it as a teaching tool. this struck me as a bit odd, because my friend had told me that this man didn't have any apprentices, and no intention of having any. now, while i do see that there are a lot of flaws on the blade, ones that can especially be seen now that it's cleaned up, i still think something fishy was up. he did say most of the remaining damage could be fixed with a full polish. i took some pictures of the same area of the blade i had shown in my last post, and will probably take pictures of the rest of it as soon as i have the time. i'm actually a bit surprised with how well it turned out, though needless to say i won't be taking anything to this man again, and advised my friend to do the same. i'm a bit tempted to save it up and send it out to someone reputable to have it fully polished. when i do, i'll make sure to ask you guys who to talk to. Edit: i'll also say the thing that really feel i should get it back is he assured me that it would take him at least a couple of weeks before he could get around to it, and it's been... 2, maybe 3 days?

no, it was just a joke that came out wrong. i've seen some of the man's work and it's all very nice, and looks as good as several museum pieces i've seen. i've got no doubt at all that if anything can be done to it, this man can do it. i just mean his comment on the matter was "we'll have to see how it turns out." i'm pretty sure he would have told me honestly if there was no hope for it, or if he was reasonably sure he could restore the blade. i just think it's one of those situations where, as he said "we'll have to see."

properly trained polisher... that or just an old Japanese man who has a lot of people fooled and is really good at faking it.

that's pretty cool to hear. it also gives me a good starting point to start looking for information. i'm trying to make the handle as close to what would be accurate for its period as possible.

already have pictures of it. http://www.spuffnet.com/Sword/Mei.jpg i had to come here to ask for help with the translation... or rather, to make sure i had it right. Edit: and i'd hate to go bother him, purely for the reason that i'm pretty sure he's doing my friend a favor doing this for me.

no, i wish i had. i only took this picture right before i left the house, (my brother has a setup for Ebay items, so it was fairly easy to get done quickly.) i wanted it as a reference pic of so i could compare before and after. the way i saw it, i'm probably not going to find something truly great for $200, but it was worth a shot. it still had it's Tsuba too, iron, Seppa, and Tsuka though the wrapping was gone and it was just the bare ray skin and wood. it had Menuki, but they're lost in my friend's apartment for the moment. i've always loved Nihonto, though only since i've bought this have i really started obsessing. i've practiced Tsukamaki in the past quite a lot, so i'm thinking of attempting it myself some time... honestly, this sword alone, even if it isn't great, has turned in to one of my favorite hobbies. :lol: i just wish i could find more information on the maker. the Mei just reads "Norimitsu."

ok, i bought this Wak about a month back, and it's blade was in... well, pretty horrid shape. it wasn't rusted, but it looks to me like someone took it to a grinding wheel in an attempt to sharpen it. it actually pained my physically to look at it, but still... $200 wasn't something i would pass up. i'm providing two pictures, though one is only a negative so that you can see the extent of the damage. this is the worst of the damage, but the marks continued the entire length of the blade, all the way to the tip. it pained me mostly because it was done, obviously, right up the Hamon. i can only assume whoever had this thought that the Hamon was some sort of... i don't know, rust? my mind can't actually come up with what would make someone do this. after talking to a friend of mine who used to do Kendo, he put me in touch with a friend of his. his friend happens to have been in the field of sharpening Nihonto before he came to America decades ago, and even does a bit of work here and there. he said that he was willing to at least attempt to remove the damage, though not polish it for $200 American. he wasn't sure if the Hamon could be salvaged, but he would give it a shot. so, i took it to him today, and he said he'll get around to it in a few weeks (he's retired, lazy, and has a few people who he's been doing doing business with for years ahead of me.) i've seen some of his work, and it's really good, but like he said it's not going to be a polish. so, tell someone who's new to the whole Nihonto world... do you think there's hope for it? James C.

well thanks to the both of you. i wasn't really doubting it, i was just saying my eyesight is a bit off so i can't really tell entirely. that's why it took me about 3 days to translate the two Kanji on the Mei. thanks for the help, i'm really just curious to lean about the Wakizashi and it's maker. and also, what's probably a very stupid question... do Menuki have any special meaning?

the Living in Edo looks dead on in comparison when i look at it, but i'm not very sure about the name. it could very well be, though. i'm sure most of the people here are much more used to reading this sort of thing than i am.

that's actually the site i used for the Mei. to be honest, the real problem i'm having with the Tsuba is that the writing is a bit hard for me to read (bad eyes, no glasses.) this will sound like a completely idiotic question, i'm sure, but what to Tsuba normally say? it is the area they were made, the style, or something else?

I recently bought this Wakizashi from a friend of mine who collects antique weaponry. the blade's condition is actually very good... accept that someone has done something so horrifying to the blade that it actually made me cry the first time i saw it. i really don't want to go into very much detail because i know some of you might do the same. this is just my personal project, and over the past few weeks i've tried to translate what was on the Mei and Tsuba with very little success. i thought some of you might be able to help. the Mei http://www.spuffnet.com/Sword/Mei.jpg as far as i can tell says "Norimitsu" though i've actually found very little information on the man himself aside from a full name... of course, i'm assuming i've been able to decipher it correctly. the Tsuba http://www.spuffnet.com/Sword/Tsuba.jpg i'm at a complete and total loss about, aside the fact that i know that it's iron. if you know of what they might say, or if you can give me links to a site where i might find a good guide to translate it, i'd be very grateful.

Hello. My name is James, and I've been reading this board for a while, I finally thought I would sign up and say hello. I'll be honest, i've never studied Kendo, but i'm not trying to be a back yard Ninja either. i've studied quite a number of martial arts, and the one thing i've learned from them has been "Respect Weapons." I've always been obsessed with swords, as i'm sure a lot of people here have been. I was even apprenticed to a European style Armor/Weapon smith for a number of years. But Nihonto have always been an obsession of mine, though i always figured i'd never run across one. now that i have, i've done a great deal of research, and realized that i know little to nothing about them aside from that they are, in fact, swords... so i figured i'd come and ask a whole bunch of obvious questions of people that know what they're talking about! (i'd like to ad the first thing i looked up was how to properly store it and how not to totally destroy it. i've worked with a lot of antique weapons, and know they all require very specific care and maintenance.) I hope that I don't annoy you all with what will likely be completely obvious questions, I just want to make sure I do things right. thanks for your time. James.