johnb

Here's a tanto I found in Indonesia. It cost a hundred dollars...and I'm very pleased with it. Any help with the mei would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Since moving to Indonesia my "swording" as my wife calls it, (and much to her pleasure) has taken a bit of a back seat. None the less, i'm always looking and on the weekend I turned up a nice tanto in a rather sad condition...however the menuki are really nice. any info on them would be much appreciated!

Thank you for your more than generous offer, Brian! I didn't photograph the saya but it sports a very attractice lacquer job. Tragically it's in terrible condition. However, in the short term I'll hang on to this find. And you're right...Never stop looking!

I didn't expect to find anything much since I moved to Indonesia. But surprisingly I came across this tanto. It's in pretty bad shape, but I believe it is redeamable. I din't really look at the menuki closely as they were very dirty...I was pleasantly surprised after a little work with soapy water and a soft brush. Any help with identifying it's origins would be gratefully recieved.

I have recently moved to Indonesia and quickly found that, although the japaese were here in WW2 they didn't leave many swords behind after their departure. However I did come across a very nice and rather rusty Kanmuri-otoshi (I think) Tanto. Whith some difficulty the fittings came off. However the very nice foiled habki is rusted on...and I mean on. Any ideas as how to get it off with the minimum damage would be good??

I spent 10 minutes or so on the internet and found the following articles. It seems that those eager to ban Japanese swords need to spread their net a little further. Garden shears and scissors really should be on the list too! Here are some of the stories I found. "Machetes are becoming a major concern for Vancouver Police after another vicious attack Tuesday night." "At 7 a.m., a man attacked a 41-year-old woman with scissors while she was trying to park her SUV in a lot near Elizabeth Street and Gerrard Street West in downtown Toronto." "A man is detained by police in Cronulla yesterday. A home-made cricket bat and three golf clubs that the man was carrying in his car were confiscated". "New charges have been filed against a youth who was accused last month of attacking several people with a golf club". "Attacked by maniacs with knives, guns (and a pair of garden shears), chased and locked up by the police" "A PRO-DEMOCRACY MP in Hong Kong was attacked by three unidentified men with baseball bats and batons after he attended a protest yesterday". "But as they reached the bridge there, he turned around and ran towards them. He had a 12-and-a-half inch kitchen knife and demanded their property, which they handed over."

Sorry guys, not about the passion, more about coincidence. Richard T, this is John Bailey from Sydney, now working in Jakarta. Ross Tinny said to say hello. (Small World)!