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Hi Yurie, Please keep up the fantastic work! I deleted the comments about the spelling. You do amazingly well, considering English is not your first language. Assisting with corrections I am sure is helpful, but there are better ways for our members to do that, and perhaps it does not come across as polite as it is intended. Thank you from all of us. I hope oneday this whole project will be published.

Hi Brian, Please don't worry about it. I need all the feed back and the corrections. Especially the one like we are discussing about now. Unless somebody mention it, the misspelling "worriers" would stay for sometime. That is more embarrassing. I am working with my editor diligently. I am hoping I can publish the book maybe the early part of next year. Thank you. Yurie

It is a statistical outlier and I was surprised when I saw it first time. I have been following Naminohira swords (pre-Edo). In general old Naminohira swords tend to have relatively large curvature on average. For 14 signed old Naminohira Tachi I have tracked down they average the following Nagasa: 73,6 cm (some of them are suriage) - Sori: 2,6 cm - Motohaba: 2,9 cm - Sakihaba: 1,7 cm For 14 Mumei tachi with Ko-Naminohira attribution they average Nagasa: 76,8 cm (some of the are slight suriage) - Sori: 2,4 cm - Motohaba: 3,0 cm - Sakihaba: 1,7 cm For 11 Mumei katana with Ko-Naminohira attribution they average Nagasa: 68,7 cm (all suriage) - Sori: 2,0 cm - Motohaba: 2,7 cm - Sakihaba: 1,7 cm For the 4 Mumei tachi with Naminohira attribution (most likely made after Nanbokuchō) they average Nagasa: 78,1 cm (all ubu) - Sori: 3,2 cm - Motohaba: 3,0 cm - Sakihaba: 1,7 cm For the 19 Mumei katana with Naminohira attribution (most likely made after Nanbokuchō) they average Nagasa: 71,6 cm (most suriage) - Sori: 2,2 cm - Motohaba: 3,0 cm - Sakihaba: 1,9 cm Of course this is not in any means definitive analysis but based on available examples that I have for data it is easy to see that in general pre-Edo period Naminohira swords are quite long and with strong curvature and average width. For comparison I do have a mumei tachi attributed to Naminohira and Early Muromachi period, it is 77,2 cm with 3,7 cm curvature. Quite the opposite in shape to this example in the opening.

Hi I'm having to rethink this diorama I'd like to sell it but it can only be picked up from my house It is a real dust trap and really too big to have on display The diorama is OK but the scene especially the trees are real naff I could remove all the figures and create smaller groups that can be covered Sell off the individual figures and houses There are over 70 figures with only a couple of duplicate figures What do you think? Also I'd like to know a bit more about the figures Possible age and whether they were hand painted or or supplied already painted

Thought I'd share my recent acquisition with you. Signature is fairly certain to be gimei. Also not sure of tsuba signature.

This is an exquisite mumei tanto by the Shin Shinto smith Shinkei Tanemitsu. This is an exceptionally beautiful tanto by a student of Taikei Naotane, with equally beautiful mountings made in the late Edo period. Comes with two papers, NTHK-NPO papers giving it to Tanemitsu, as well as dreaded green papers attributing it to the same. Chances are they are both perfectly valid attributions, but you decide... The koshirae has no signatures though is pristine and very possibly the original mounts for this blade, which was also made in the late Edo period. Tanemitsu is also documented as one of the retained smiths for the Tsuchiura clan, though there is no known link necessarily between this blade and the Tsuchiura clan. Just an interesting fact. Midare Gunome with Muneyaki and Tobiyaki Hira-zukuri Nagasa 9.75" SOLD Open to offers. Photos by the merchant I acquired it from. Used with their permission.

Sold

The customs office says the post is responsible. On Monday I will hand in all the documents to customs and then go to the police.

A tanto made the same year here : http://sanmei.com/contents/media/A69560.html

if the tanto is found, I will donate $ 150 for nmb.

Sold!

Dear Don. I surely hope that you are in for a nice surprise with this one. Tell me, did you see it in person? All the best.

Looks like a fine running masame hada with a suguha-ba hamon and a dense noi-deki. The polish is bad, you see that on that dark shadow of center and after a professional polish the blade would look like great. Looks like you have a nice sword ankh.

Gents there is evidence of polishing the Nakago as the yasureme at the highest points are rubbed flat. I had a late shin shinto 1870 echizen tanto signed Kanetsugu years ago and there was literally no rust or patina on the Nakago it looked new but the yasureme was not flattened out as this is.

Wow...nice tanto John! This should fly. And if you have 2 organizations giving it the same attribution, I think the papers are safe. Good luck with the sale.

Adam, Condition is a key factor in any collecting and what is or isn't acceptable is a very personal choice and will vary from person to person. For some anything less than perfect is unacceptable and if they have a sword with a fault it soon becomes the only thing they see. For others different aspects of a blades structure, history or rarity make them more forgiving. Only this month The Kantei blade in the NBTHK magazine shows an important work that has lost virtually all of the boshi which in most circumstances would make it totally unacceptable but in this case the blade is highly regarded. As a general view collectors tend to be more forgiving of tiredness or shintetsu appearing on older blades. They have been around longer, had greater exposure to potential damage and likely had more polishes therefore it is understandable that some core steel may start to appear. The amount and whether it is acceptable is up to the individual buying it. In newer blades there is far less reason that this should happen and if there it suggests poorer workmanship or mistreatment. Its a bit like us, a few crags and wrinkles as we age becomes a little more acceptable and may be regarded as "character" whereas in one of the many bright young things that adorn our tv screens a wrinkle or grey hair may be seen as a fatal flaw😃

The pictures looks promising Ankh.

The flash seems to help, see if you can get more photos with the flash on different sections of the blade.

I've seen them for sale here, but whether they were imported from the U.S. or U.K. first, I don't know.

Steve I knew these PLA cavalry swords are mainly in the US, but also seen in Canada &UK. I assume there must be some get to Australia.

John, MEI looks like GOSHU no JU NAOTSUNE to me

As in for sale, in collections or have I owned one? To answer simply, I've not seen any in other collections (Not that I see many other collections in Australia, though I've seen them for sales a couple of times in auctions here. I've never owned one, not my area of collecting.

Steve Do you saw any of the PLA versions of Type 32 in Australia?

Markus, I (genuinely) am not concerned with the delay. I love the books and would like to see them in my library as a complete set, in whatever form that takes.. I must say that I am not a fan of having a PDF copy though. I fully understand and appreciate your efforts, in order to assist non Japanese readers in this field. Please do not stop. I too would be willing to pay any 'bridging' cost for better quality printing, if that was where you thought this project needs to go, to see it to completion. Although I paid up front already, it was pittance for what we received (in all fairness), so I feel this additional cost to help, would be worthwhile. I hope others feel the same way as well. Barrie.

Page 306 - Patrolman and Sergeant Sword Style #2 He says the blade is factory made, but tempered, and an actual weapon. Yours is identical to the one in Dawson's book! Cool find!

Pierre is a great bloke, but I'm not sure why he attributed the sword to Chinese. They had their own sword, but like Trystan said, it may have been captured or purchased. Unlikely to ever know. It's a genuine example of a 32 though, so much better this time around.

It seems you got it from PCAY. This sword is not the Chinese version but the real Japanese Type 32 甲 . It could be captured by PLA and reissued to their cavalry troop before they start to make the replica. But not 100% sure, since this is the only Japanese Type 32 painted to PLA green I ever saw. Here is the Chinese version

C’mon Adam, you describe yourself as logical and free thinking and going against the herd when all you do is invent some bullsh!t and dogmatically defend it to the death. At least the so called “gurus” on here attempt to back up their arguments from verified sources with a view to resolving a question that has been posed. You’ve bleated about people’s unwillingness to study, well it’s actually because they have studied that enables them to construct a logical argument or hypothesis. You can’t because you haven’t, but you expect your view to be given equal credence to theirs. Then you start throwing your physical size into the argument as though the threat of physical violence would make your view correct. As George says your lack of self awareness is truly staggering. Spend some time reflecting on what you say and do - ideally before you say or do it. It will make you a better person.

Good morning Gentlemen, It sort of makes sense now, given the magnitude of the Burma Railroad, and the intentions to go into India, that there would have been a host of civilian employees seconded to the Army. And, adding a little more to Bruce's post, I have heard that a number of the elder generation of Japanese Martial Arts Shihan, who were conscripted into the Rikugun, in the very latter days of the conflict, took ancestral blades to their induction and training camps. This was not a matter of rank, as there were often no other weapons available. I wondered about the choice of Bamboo as a subject matter, and was reminded of something the late Donn F Draeger wrote about a Yagyu Tsuba with a Bamboo leaf theme having a secret symbolism reminding the swordsman to recall the principle of Yawara (Pliancy), in respect of the Bamboo in winter bears a great amount of weight of snow, bending to an almost impossible angle and then shedding the snow, to return to standing in a swift springing action. Of course the Tsuba we are discussing bears no similarity to a Yagyu form, it is the concept behind it.

Markus, Just a mention. This forum software has very good store/commercial features where electronic downloads can be purchased and downloaded with proper control. If you wish to make use of it to sell/distribute any of your items including existing books, I am willing to assist in any way possible.

My understanding is that it is thicker at the kissaki to allow for the sword to more easily penetrate when thrusting. It decreases the chance of the kissaki breaking if the thrust is done improperly. In my old ryu, we used to practice thrusting with our katanas.

An interesting blade forged in masame by Gassan Sadakatsu https://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/070/00.html

Ah, the old debate.... I will take a well done hadori polish over a sashi-komi in almost all cases. Why? Simple: A properly done hadori polish brings out the hada and allows one to see all the detail in the hamon as well. You get your cake and can eat it too. Hadori gets a bad rap for two reasons: when it isn't done right, it is god awful. Most have seen cheap, poorly done examples. Secondly, many aren't aware of the proper way to view a sword and fail to appreciate a good hadori polish. It is all there if you know how to look. Can it hide flaws? Superficially, but again, if you know how and what to look for, it's all apparent. True, it doesn't photo well. I can live with that....Frankly, it isn't a debate that can be settled from photos. One needs to see swords in hand to properly see the differences. Some cling to sashi-komi as "traditional". In truth, polishing has evolved throughout history, just as swords have. I doubt many would want a polish as it was done 1000 years ago. Hadori is another step on the time line. It is the current standard. With most WWII era gendai-to, the hada is quite tight, often tending toward mu-ji hada. With a sashi-komi polish, it remains rather indistinct. A good hadori polish will bring out the hada and a new sword emerges. I have seen this time and again in gendai-to I have had polished. Franco's comment is spot on: first learn what a good polish is in both styles. Educate yourself, then your preferences will follow. To each his own though...plenty of room at the table for all....

I need help . If someone is offered a tanto with the signature Hideaki, Mikasa battleship, please think of me. Today I was at the German customs to pick up my package with the Tanto. The package was opened at customs and was empty. It was opened on the way and the tanto stolen. The seller is serious, I've known him for a few years. I have some pictures. Please keep your eyes open. Maybe it will be offered somewhere. Thanks for the support. Michael