patrick7813 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Posted June 24, 2011 All I have a WW2 period Kai gunto with a handmade, water tempered blade forged by Noguchi Yasumitsu in excellent condition. There are no stamps or arsenal marks on the nakago. Unfortunately, the koshirae was in poor condition and deteriorated to the point of being extremely unattractive. Because I wanted to display this sword, I contacted Fred Lohman about creating a new koshirae with as many of the original fittings salvaged as possible. The result was a new tsuka with blackened rayskin and new mid military brown colored Ito, a new black lacquered wooden saya and new gold gilding on all the original metal fittings (e.g., kabuto-gane, sarute, menuki, fuchi, chu-ha, koi-guchi, ashi, obi-tori, semegane and ishizuke). The original seppa and tsuba were restored to their original finish (shakudo - blue black). This restoration project required about 7 months elapsed time to complete to Fred’s level of satisfaction. I received the finished product yesterday. It certainly exceeds my expectations and was, to use an old cliché, well worth the wait. I applaud Fred for his patience with my endless inquires about completion. It has now assumed the central focus point of my displayable collection. Included are a few pictures for everyone to enjoy. Cheers, Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted June 24, 2011 Report Posted June 24, 2011 Very nice and adds to my confidence that Fred is a great restorer. KM Quote
kaigunair Posted June 24, 2011 Report Posted June 24, 2011 Very nice! Is the special kojiki original to the set of fittings you had restored, or are reproductions being made? This is the second example I've seen of his gunto fittings restoration work, and I like it! Quote
Bruno Posted June 24, 2011 Report Posted June 24, 2011 May you post the before restoration photos if you have some? Quote
patrick7813 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Posted June 24, 2011 Very nice! Is the special kojiki original to the set of fittings you had restored, or are reproductions being made? This is the second example I've seen of his gunto fittings restoration work, and I like it! Yes, I’m very pleased with its appearance. Fred did contact me during the process indicating the ishizuke was damaged and was uncertain it could be salvaged. If he couldn’t repair it sufficiently, he would replace it with one from his collection. Quote
patrick7813 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Posted June 25, 2011 May you post the before restoration photos if you have some? I went looking through my archives and found many pictures of the blade but none of the mounts. I only keep sent emails with attachments for 6 months and any I sent to Fred are now gone too. Sorry! Quote
Bruno Posted June 25, 2011 Report Posted June 25, 2011 If I can make one critic, it would be that Fred did not put the screws the fix the fittings. One can see than at least on the ishizuke (empty hole). Kevin has some for sale that can be gilded and this would be a nice final touch to your restoration project. My 2 cents Quote
patrick7813 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Posted June 25, 2011 If I can make one critic, it would be that Fred did not put the screws the fix the fittings. One can see than at least on the ishizuke (empty hole). Kevin has some for sale that can be gilded and this would be a nice final touch to your restoration project. My 2 cents Nice catch but not Fred's fault rather mine. I uploaded a pre-completion picture by mistake (I can admit that). Here's one showing the added screw on the Ishizuke. I checked all the other fittings requiring screws and they're all there too. Sorry for the confusion. Quote
Bruno Posted June 25, 2011 Report Posted June 25, 2011 Patrick, OK for the screws, but where is the tassle???? :D Just jocking, very nice result! Quote
patrick7813 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Posted June 25, 2011 Actually, I have the tassel but thought I could show greater detail in pictures without having it attached (in most of them). Actually, you can barely see it looped through the sarute (in the one of the kabutogane and sarute). Now that it's displayed on a stand, it is attached. Quote
Weidas Posted June 30, 2011 Report Posted June 30, 2011 Incredible! Its a pity that shipping of swords from Lithuania is very complicated. i Have one or two swords worth investment on restoration of koshirae... Quote
katanako Posted July 6, 2011 Report Posted July 6, 2011 I bought a nice Minatogawa Jinja blade in shirasaya, but I wanted it in a traditional black lacquered saya with gold fittings. I sent it to Fred Lohman, along with the metal saya fittings which I bought here and there. Damn! Fred Lohman is indeed a miracle worker! My sword came back, looking like it came right out of Minatogawa Jinja. Absolutely MINT!!!!! I vouch for Fred Lohman! He has polished 6 blades I sent to him (Samurai and guntos) and I have never been disappointed. I would never send him a Gassan Sadakatsu to be polished (it would be sent to Japan). However, if you have a garden variety Samurai blade or gunto blade, send it to Fred. Reasonable prices and great service. KATANAKO Quote
kaigunair Posted July 6, 2011 Report Posted July 6, 2011 KATANAKO Where are all the signature police? Guess I could have gotten away with KAIGUNAIR, or WAKIZASHI or TANTOKO, or MENUKIKO.... :lol: Quote
Stephen Posted July 7, 2011 Report Posted July 7, 2011 i second the motion...we need real name per the rules Quote
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