kusunokimasahige

Can someone post a correct reporting link in this topic please ? I did report sellers/items in the past but nowhere could I write down a detailed report on why I reported a seller. KM

Indeed very valid questions of course. About proficiency in the case of this specific polisher I go by what I see and more importantly : http://刀剣研磨.com/kenmashi-keireki.html As well as several of the swords he polished which are on exhibition. I think any good polisher who receives a sword, even from a novice, will be in touch with that person regularly to discuss progress and will decide how and what polish might be best for any specific sword. In the Polishing business word of mouth is very important especially because it can make or break a togishi. That being said, I think it is important for fora like the NMB and its members to educate novices and prevent ! Swords from being destroyed by hacks. Just like some sword shops use the word Iado for shinshinto or gendaito swords they sell (Aoi-Art), an Iaido polish to me constitutes a polish for swords which are used in Iaido training or tameshi-giri. That means the polish is less elaborate and less prone to damage than an art-polish with a sword which is in use on a regular basis and not merely rests in its shirasaya only to be taken out and appreciated at certain times. Recommending someone is not always done after you have had work done by that person. There are some togishi I would never recommend and they never did nor will do work on any sword I have. (Pm me for a name). Do you really think that some people who have sent swords to Japan via some of the services offered on NMB always had work done before by the specific togishi (plural) who offered their services ? No. Many work with others or go by the word of others. That is the way it works as far as I can tell. It is the same with sword-dealers. People buy stuff regardless of whether they have seen or had it before. Silly example (in your eyes maybe, but not in mine): I can buy Revell Star Wars model kits or I can buy Bandai Star Wars model kits. The difference to me is clear. Revell : Bandai: Though that is not at all directly related to having a sword polished by a togishi the basic system is still there. See. Buy. Happy or not happy, buy again. It really is that simple to me.

Am I correct in seeing the remains of a mei ? Or might that be a trick of the eye ? KM

I will wait till the end result comes in to judge whether this piece of steel has been changed into something or still is what it looks like to me, a piece of steel. KM

No not yet Jim. I have followed him for a while now and I like what I see. And well compared to the often heard 100-200 US$ per inch some Western polishers ask , 10.000 Yen per sun (3.03cm) is not bad as far as I am concerned. Take a katana.with a Nagasa of 63 cm. I calculate for a full polish 1,538.76 EURO (ex costs of shipping registering at customs etcetera) So that is what I call affordable yes. (of course one has to save up for it) Compared to the about 2500 or more US$ quotes I got from some others in the West. KM

Seller location China. Showa22 stuff hijacked. Yup. SCAM. Good for the blacklist on fb. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1082790591750038/?fref=ts Added.

Dear all. The Japanese polisher Tsuyoshi Morodomi now has his own website. His prices are very, very affordable from the looks of it. His site can be found here : http://刀剣研磨.com/ KM

Very nice !

Oh I am very interested in the end result Steve. No my assertion about the sword not being very valuable before polish was based on its condition, the nakago which was obviously shortened way too much judging from the position of the nakago-ana and the horendous misshaped kissaki. But please do show the end result since of course that is the best way to judge anyones proficiency. And for your smelling bad remark. Ah well...

If you know what to look for, sometimes. And I repeat, sometimes, Zen Gallery has something. But I personally would not go there.

Awesome !! Thank you so much Markus !!!

OMFG..................

Having seen what you did there I can only say this.... And that, my friends. Is how you ruin a sword. Not that there was much to ruin. the sword in its original state was already horrible. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Suriage (really really shortened nakago) And a kissaki which was already very misshaped. You will not like my remark. But that is my opinion and I stand by it.

Last weekend I visited my old professor in the Japanese language who also is very interested in Nihonto and history and we had a discussion about the first character on the nakago of my boys day sword I posted images of in an earlier topic. He told me that as far as he could tell the first character cannot be read Tomo because of the, in his idea radical 32 use. He sees this one in it : 支 And not this one 友 I tend to agree with him. We had a lot of Kanji dictionaries out as well as name books and kun-on yomi readings but failed to come up with any viable nameand even checked pre-reform kanji dictionaries. So the combination then would become 支成 Which struck us as very odd. http://jisho.org/search/%22%E6%94%AF%22%20%23names What do you guys think ?

If you want to prevent losing money I would not buy this. It is not a real tanto nor a nihonto. It is a tourist piece and a bad one at that. KM

Video here : Looks like a superb book ! http://www.joanseeuw.com/

If the money is in you account. Ship. If there is no full amount in your account for the item DO NOT SHIP. Bulgaria is known for its massive fraud rings., KM

You do know I hope that a torikusho outside of Japan is illegal ? This should never have been sent with the sword. from Japan it is seen as a crime. Not that that should worry you. But just so you know,

I concur with Grey on this one. Stay away !

Well... Ryoma does that...

Awesome find ! 9 shu ! Tenpo era probably ! cool !!!! Never knew about this kind of wallet !

Wow that is great info indeed Ian ! Thank you very ,much ! I am now reading " The Sakoku Edicts" by Michael S. Laver and I wonder if this story is in there. Super !! Thank you very much ! The discussion on how pragmatic/Christian Date Masamune really was is still heavily debated by several scholars. In the meantime I also discovered that in Japan at times higher Lords were not cremated but buried. So Date Masamune being buried with his armor is not that Christian it seems. Very interesting !!! KM

Just to revive this old topic, the photos of the tomb opening were posted last year on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SamuraiHistoryCultureJapan/posts/609951302416732 KM

To be honest I think that shinobi-ana are especially fit for having it out in armor. That does not explain of course why not all swords have two ana but you tend to see it a lot in earlier blades and blades from the Sengoku era.

As long as the tsuka has not been glued on with superglue you should be able to remove it. Now with the state your sword is in it would be best to clamp the blade firmly in a bench clamp (with cloth around the blade) Put a wooden stick lengthwise against the tsuba and hammer it and the tsuka off. That should do the trick and will not break or damage either the tsuba or tsuka.