Takahashi

Hi Raymond, I wrote you an email. Cheers, Robert T.

Dear members, although this is not a nihonto I stumbled upon an interesting iron Buddha statue with Kanji on the back (see picture). As my knowledge of Kanji is rather restricted to a few Kanji, I would be glad for any help on this translation. Cheers, Robert T.

Well, I would think Takahashi Sadatsugus blades might have a good chance to get awarded with a Juyo paper first. You rarely see one for sale nowadays. Just my five cents. Cheers,

I also get the idea that someone just wants to receive some inside information on how nihonto collectors dieffer between a real nihonto and a fake. Therefore I would suggest not to give the vendor more information on why people on the board think his blade is a fake. There is already enough said on this topic. Cheers,

Interestingly the Yusho papered blade attributed to Nidai Muramasa was not sold. Does anybody know why? Usually his blades are sought after and I have seen some unpapered ones which went for about that price. As I could not check the blade myself I am not sure of its condition but the pictures seemed to be okay and it was papered though I never heard of the Eastern Japan Art Sword Society. Cheers,

Well, and especially never trust a papered ubu, mumei blade attributed to Den-Gimei Cheers,

This reminds me of a saying : In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king. :lol: Cheers,

I can only agree to the comments above and want to thank all the contributors on this board. It definetly is a great forum for nihonto collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world. Although I sometimes cannot get rid of the feeling, that some critics go a little overboard. A few of the people here seem to be happy with a piece of history and do not mind some flaws (even hagire). I appreciate this attitude as this means even a worn out blade gets a nice retirement home. Please think about this before harshly criticizing a polished down blade with flaws and the member who proudly posted pictures of such a blade. Cheers,

Dear members, I just received my copy last weekend and it is a most valuable source of information on swordsmiths. In my opinion even better than Hawleys. Given the price for Hawleys books (I just saw an offer of 650 € for both books) this ebook offer is a real bargain. Well done Markus Cheers,

Thank you for the info Zanshin! I just went to the museum today as I was visiting someone in Rotterdam. :D Even the regular exhibition ist worth a stop. It is not focusing on nihonto or Japanese art alone but I got the strong feeling of being in a budhist temple. The atmosphere put chills down my spine. I highly recommend a visit, especially when the samurai exhibit starts. By the way, the museum does not charge visitors for the permanent exhibtion or an English audio guide. Cheers,

Dear Markus, I read the first volume and enjoyed it very much. Cannot wait to get the second volume. Cheers,

Well folks, look at the website it clearly states that ordering is postponed until further notice. I do not think it would be very wise to take a site down regarding SEO and the loss of page rank. Cheers,

Hi Cabowen, thanks for the fast answer. I realized myself that the mei is different to his post-war mei (e.g. the one on http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisp ... /index.htm) but I was wondering whether this could have been an earlier work. Every swordsmith would have to start and find his style of forging and signing blades. I am not interested in buying the blade just curious. By the way, does anyone know of examples of Sadatsugus pre-war workmanship? Cheers,

Dear fellow board members, I just stumbled upon a blade signed "Sadatsugu" on ebay. http://www.ebay.de/itm/Japanese-Samurai ... 1e70b1eda0 The seller himself seems to doubt that it is made by Takahashi Sadatsugu. I was wondering whether it could be an early blade of the swordsmith. What do you think? Cheers,

Dear board members, regarding the low exchange rate of the Euro these upcoming German auctions on "Asian Arts" might be interesting for international bidders: 22.09.2012 Stahl in Hamburg (http://www.auktionshaus-stahl.de) 13.10.2012 Klefisch in Cologhne (http://www.klefisch.com) 1./2.11.2012 Nagel in Stuttgart (http://www.auction.de) 7./8.12.2012 Lempertz in Cologne (http://www.lempertz.com) In the past these auctions included Nihonto and Tosogu of varying quality. Cheers,