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Dear friends, It is heartwarming to see the concern felt for Guido. Please keep him in your thoughts and meditations. However, it seems the rumor mill was spinning recently regarding his situation. Guido was given follow-up surgery in December to relieve pressure that was still being exerted on his brain. The situation is still dire as there are few signs of improvement other than some eye activity and some wrist movement, but these small signs are positive. It is not known where this will lead and whether any rehabilitation can be effective. Sadly, I have nothing more to report at this time, but if I receive any developmental news, I will certainly keep our community informed. Best Regards, Robert

Darcy Brockbank: A Tribute “The captain of his soul” By Robert Hughes Ted Tenold, Darcy’s close friend and longtime business associate had the unenviable task of sharing this tragedy with our community. Thus, we began to mourn the loss of our nihonto associate and friend…. While at the same time, many condolences have registered Darcy’s great achievements and his educational legacy. This is the part that really deserves a life celebration for there is much that he generously shared! Just as one piece of a puzzle never represents the completed work, singular perceptions never define the magnitude of a person’s character. So, from the ever increasing list of heartfelt condolences following Ted’s notification, I have borrowed a few essential elements to quote here. I hope no one minds… By assembling a few shared thoughts, quite an amazing picture emerges. The condolences and reflections are like small pieces of tile, and when combined leave us with a large life mosaic. The mosaic records our sense of loss while recognizing the contributions he made to us. Darcy masterfully bundled three somewhat incongruous elements together: sword scholarship, friendship, and commercial activity. As many have attested, it truly was a blessing to be the beneficiary of even one, if not all three elements. Many important sword and fittings collections arose or were enhanced through either guidance or acquisitions from Darcy. With intelligence and a superb sense of refinement, Darcy had a great eye and appreciation for fine samurai art and beauty in life. With all his accomplishments, he was never vain. A trait he may have inherited from his recently deceased father who had been a well-respected teacher and school principal in Ontario. The apple never falls far from the tree… Mosaic Life Tiles “most respected and trusted scholar” John V. (Glencoe Il.) “inconceivable” Stephen (Iowa)he would do things like get a bunch of sleeping bags and give them to the homeless on the coldest nights in Montreal” Curran (Pirate Coves, USA)“nihonto legend… I’m crushed.” “He didn’t tolerate unethical dealings and fraud.” Brian (South Africa) “no words adequate to express this terrible loss” Ray (Florida) “amazing wealth of knowledge” Greg F (Australia) “a living legend has gone” Chris (Bavaria) "a devasting loss” Jussi (Finland)“ “a leader in the nihonto community” Mark S. (Illinois) “his reach was far, his knowledge was great, his friendship will be missed” B. Hennick (Canada) “he shared his time and knowledge which was more precious” Matt (Virginia) “very passionate guy searching for the truth” Robert (New York) “my mind is in turmoil” Jean L. (France) “and the sleepless nights he spent answering even the most ridiculous of emails and random enquiries in his honest, lengthy, didactic manner. Trying to teach, elucidate, steer. Often taking other people’s burdens upon himself.” Michael S. (UK) And so on…. the mosaic is taking shape….. Those that followed Darcy’s recent adventures know that during the onset of the pandemic, he relocated to Japan from Thailand. Little by little, flight opportunities diminished and Darcy found himself a temporary but long term resident in Japan. It was not a hardship arrangement, as his residency became the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills. As his stay morphed into months, Darcy became a hotel feature and dined regularly with the manager. This, in turn, endeared special treatment and eventually he received a luxury suite for a near regular room rate. As a long term hotel resident, the staff found him friendly and interesting. Even during the winter months, he could be seen in the neighborhood walking around in a black t-shirt and short pants. Growing up in Canada, he had developed some immunity to the cold. Japanese were amazed. During this period in Japan, Darcy became close to Hisashi Saito of Ginza Seikodo. They made a habit of dining together regularly. I often joined them. We searched for venues that remained opened and that served libations which proved to be a tricky arrangement. This was during the pre-vaccination phase. These were eerie nights out because we often found ourselves the only patrons in the venues. Infection rates were like waves rising and falling. During a short window of opportunity when infections had dropped and there was a temporary respite in civic restrictions, the Grand Hyatt set up an evening of entertainment with the great Konishiki Yasokichi on ukulele and his wife as vocalist. Konishiki was the first non-Japanese born sumo wrestler to reach ozeki. Darcy got three tickets and we made the best of a great evening together. As you will see below, sword dealers are big celebrities, so even Konishiki decided to photo bomb our selfie! There were only a dozen tables and we lowered our guard… Darcy was generous as always and he picked up the tab. He loved hearing stories of my four decades in the sword trade in Japan. One night he suggested that I should initiate fireside chats on-line, smoke a pipe, and tell sword stories. We shared many laughs… When I think of Darcy, Henley’s poem “Invictus” comes to mind. Darcy accomplished much and took bold strides through life. He truly had an unconquerable soul, for which he was master and captain. As a fellow Canadian, I am proud to have been one of his friends. I raise a glass of fine Primitivo Di Maduria in his honor! Invictus By William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Please continue to leave individual messages under Ted’s original notice. My intention is not to hijack his thread… Stay well! Robert Hughes

Took a few of the habaki: More bright, direct light pic of blade:

Hello Geoff, As Chris pointed out it’s a fake...100%...all of it is fake ! Regards, Paul..

紀州住氏廣 - Kishu ju Ujihiro

Generally I refrain from commenting openly on someone's proffered sales, Will. It opens up a can of worms and I do not think it is fair on the seller. Am I in the minority?

Repair is always easier, and better than replace.

There is another hidden kanji 関 (Seki) before 住 (ju).

Thank you for posting that picture, Joel. I had always wondered what Darcy looked like, surely a much younger man than I had imagined behind all of the beautifully written and thoroughly immersive articles that he was so generous to give our community. I only exchanged a few emails with him, but they left a permanent impression. I had simply wanted to thank him for the eye candy that is Yuhindo, and part of his response was to ask where my interests lied. At the time I had recently made my first "major" acquisition, a great tsuba by a big name, and his insight on my personal milestone always stuck with me. It was to point out how truly lucky we are to be able to acquire such things in our hobby of choice. That if you were into paintings, sculpture etc. you'd need millions for a comparable piece. I had never thought of it that way, and it instantly gave me a greater appreciation for these items we look after. His last bit of advice to me was to only buy something if it was as good or better than everything else in my collection. As a young, inexperienced buyer who was prone to instant gratification, I took it to heart. Every tsuba that's proudly on display in my home, or chawan I sip tea from was acquired with his words weaving through my internal monologue. I'm sad that I'll never be able to tell him how formative they were for me. So sorry to those who knew and loved him. Legends never die, and I know everyone here will help keep his alive.

Steve, I think whomever told you the wrap was wrong, likely was thinking of the flat-wrap style normally seen on kaigunto. There are names for the various styles, which I don't know, but the majority of navy wrap is the flat style like this: Yours is folded, but I've seen plenty of kaigunto with the folded style as well. There was plenty of variation in every official gunto type. As to your saya, I would think a repair would be easier than finding another saya to fit your blade. Guys have done it, but it's a real hit-and-miss random experience, as each set of fittings were custom shaped to each blade. All blades varied in every dimension. Want to show us the split you are concerned about? @Dave R has quite a bit of experience with such things.

Dear all, Sharing some images of a latest addition to my collection, just to share some excitement. I believe it is still in an excellent state best regards Erwin

I never met or communicated with Darcy but I read almost everything he wrote concerning nihonto and so this feels like the passing of a friend and mentor. My sincerest condolences to all who knew him.

The kin'in (the golden seal is not exactly a kaō) is consistent with Seiryuken Eiju.

There are a LOT of Eiju tsuba on the forum, just do a search for that name. Here's an example.

I thought it would be a good idea to post a few old pictures of mine where I highlighted the considerable differences between Type 95 swords. The original thread is gone and buried somewhere and this seems a natural place to re-post, since it is an educational thread intended to assist newer members of the community. Small differences may appear to a novice to be a tell-tale sign of a 'fake', but it is important to consider the sword as an overall before passing any judgement. There may be several 'issues' with a sword, but that sword will still be entirely genuine. There may be no obvious or apparent issues, but the sword may be a well made reproduction and aged into a fake. There is an overall 'feeling' to swords that I have previously mentioned which I can't really explain. It is just something that you get with experience and exposure to a large number of swords. The components of 95s were made by several subcontractors, so expect there to be differences there. Quality varies throughout production and subcontractor, so expect differences there (none more so than Iijima). Materials used in construction changed, so expect differences there. I'm sure was turn-over of workers and some degree of the process was manual, so expect differences there. Stamps changed so expect differences there (there are several distinctly different Kokura 'cannonball' stamps). Colours/shades used in paint changed, so expect differences there. Swords were refurbished, so expect changes there. My point being that there is no perfect checklist to identify a fake so you must be very aware of that before you start to label a sword, especially when it is a sale that a stray comment could derail. Sword components from various subcontractors are not universally interchangeable and it absolutely is possible to tell when a sword used mismatched components. Stegel often points this out, not just because of his extensive records, but because of his extensive experience. I can pick Polish replicas because of experience, not because of some inherent design flaw. The attached photos should be a reasonable demonstration of some of these differences. The main observations I'd like to point out are; Bohi depth, width and termination vary considerably Blade serial numbers vary considerably in font, uniformity, depth and location Quality of the cast tsuka varies considerably, as does the design Colours vary considerably Kissaki vary in size, definition and pitch We could get into greater detail, but that would result in a huge post and that is not the intent. This is also not intended to be a chastisement or to discourage attempts at authentication, but an encouragement to be thoughtful in appraisal and consider a sword as a whole, while keeping in mind the many nuances of the Type 95.

Hello to everyone on this thread. I am Darcy's younger brother and on behalf of our family thank you all for all of your comments about my brother. This is a tough time for our family especially after dealing with the recent loss of our father and comments such as these help us heal. With respect to preserving his nihonto web content, there is nothing that we would like more than to have his content preserved and remain available for those that share his passion. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like more information. Regards, -joel

I have enjoyed this tanto for a few years and will reluctantly let it go to a new home. It is mounted in aikuchi style mounts with a kozuka and kogai...all in black with black ito on the tsuka. The nakago is slightly suriage and mumei. I have had many evaluations by many knowledgable people as to the timeframe and school of this blade. Most lean towards Mino-den (Seki) but others say possibly Bizen-den (Echizen). To me, it is a beautiful blade regardless. Had it sold twice this past weekend to dealers at the Show of Shows, but neither had cash to pay with and wanted to pay by check. NAGASA - 長さ– 27.9cm (11”) SORI - 反り– 打ち反りUchi-zori MOTO HABA - 元幅 - 2.85cm (1-1/8”) MOTO KASANE - 元重 - 6.3mm (1/4”) NAKAGO - 中心 - 8.9cm (3-1/2”) TOTAL LENGTH - 全長 - 36.8cm (14-1/2”) ERA - 室町 Muromachi (1400’s-1500’s) SHAPE - 平造 Hira-Zukuri HAMON - 互の目 Gunome HADA - 松皮肌 Matsukawa Had it sold twice this past weekend to dealers at the Show of Shows, but neither had cash to pay with and wanted to pay by check. I do accept Paypal or Venmo via friends and family. Asking $2250 Shipped in the USA. International shipping available, but shipping will be additional. Dan

Dear NMB specialist’s, I need to tab into your experience and knowledge in regard to the use of “Grass script” in Mei, and the use of personal seals (Kao) on Tsuba. I have just bought the pictured Tsuba as a small study project. It came without any background information except measurements. Tsuba measurements: 74 mm x 71 mm x 4 mm (seppadai) x 3 mm (rim) Mei: Beautiful cursive Sosho script (“Grass script”) and a golden “inlaid” or painted seal. I have made a few comparisons to other and identical Mei, and believe that the artist could be - Seiryuken Eiju which is the art name of Tetsugendo Toryuken, Osaka, Kyoto and Edo between 1775 - 1800, (student and adopted son of Okamoto Harukuni, master craftsman and founder of the Tetsugendo School). But - that is just my initial hunch as I can’t read Sosho script 🤔 Furthermore I’m equally puzzled by the personal seal as the school probably had many craftsmen working beside each other. So I need your specialist knowledge in regard to: Is the maker Seiryuken Eiju? Can you decipher the seal? Is the Tsuba made for either a Wakizashi or a Katana? Your general comments on design and craftsmanship In the hope you can help 🤓 Best regards Soren

Hello, A little while ago I bought a somewhat cheap digital microscope to see if it would add any value to my study of swords and fittings. So far, I like what I have been able to get from it. Lightning remains the biggest challenge, as too direct or strong washes out the images, but off set weak light imparts a sepia tone to the pictures looking at swords. Still a work in progress. I started with some tsuba as it's a smaller item. What came out really well was the fine chisel work on a kao; you can see the marking and scalloping movement used by the metalsmith to make the fine curves: I took some pictures of a tanto I have. It's hard as you have to pick a certain feature to hone in on, due to the depth of activity in blades. Here I was looking nie and hamon sungashi.

The book cannot be just read and then left lying around, as it is de facto a textbook. You retain some of it, perhaps 10-30% but then you return to it for reference. The back of the book has a lot of in depth useful stuff that helps kantei but there is so much info that I wish I had photographic memory.

You must stop him immediately! Only properly trained togishi should ever touch a Japanese sword with respect to restoration work. Your friend is unlikely to have gone through the ten year (or more) apprenticeship. It takes far more than just understanding of what makes nihonto shiny to restore it. By allowing this, the blade is closer to destruction than ever before. Individual schools often had very different ways of producing a sword, so if he is not familiar with how they were made and how they should be polished, he is likely to permanently destroy it. Amateur polishers are among one of the leading causes of the loss of these objects. Not only that, but you're going to get some very sour looks from the board members here in doing so.

Thank you @ROKUJUROthe German website has the best offering for 40 quid. it will have to do. @Shugyoshathanks John

It is available for € 49,95 at https://www.zinnfigur.com/Buecher-Medien/Buecher/Japan/Nagayama-K-The-Connoisseur-s-Book-of-Japanese-Swords.html Two books left.

This is what it is all about; sharing, learning and having a laugh now and again. Our comrades touch will last in the memories of the people who knew him and the stories they tell. A great memento. John

Bob. Exceptional. 20 years ago I had agreed to meet him in Tokyo to show him around the sword shops and introduce him to the owners. The owner of the first shop had set up a table with one blade, a Tanto, I looked at the blade while Darcy watched. Then he looked and I showed him the traits to look for while explaining to him about MASAMUNE. When we left he was really in the clouds and as we walked he stopped and said to me..” That is the first time I learned how to look at a sword. “ He was so happy and never looked back in his quest to study and own the best he could ever since that day. Rita and I have you in our thoughts. RIP old friend.

Here’s my try at what’s suspicious (still learning 98s): The obvious newly and poorly wrapped handle. The shape of the handle. The very noticeable pattern on the blade makes it likely a Chinese manufacture. The habaki is disgusting. The scabbard throat is very poor. Probably a franken-sword made with authentic as well as fake parts.

A lot of these papers are the old 'green papers' so they're next to worthless to start. And since they've not repapered, it means they will not repaper to anything noteable.

What a great sword for a good price, Stefan. I have also a blade made by Takahashi Yoshimune and I very happy with it. Good luck with the sale.

poor Fake.

Dear Jeremiah, Coincidentally I happen to be at my parents house who's loup it was! It was a Peak 7x scale. Actually a very neat little piece.

Great results! Better than many of my results with fairly pricey models. Which microscope are you using? (I use two Dino-Lites to study things like workmanship, signatures, etc. One is the 1.3 megapixel AD4113T-I2V IR/UV model that can sometimes expose restorations, repairs, or faded lacquer layers. The other is the 5 megapixel AM7515MZT, a high-resolution model. I'm sure the latter is great on a Windows PC but I'm lacking important functionality on Mac which is a shame. It is almost always over-exposed. There is a mechanical workaround, but I don't want to use workarounds at this kind of price level.)

Thanks Tony! I have some shots of that blade from 2019, but your pics are much better. Hey, is that a black saya? Not very often we see a Mantetsu in a black saya.

Hi Bruce as you correctly noticed, an unknown shop logo. Thought would add a better and more detailled picture of this for archive in case you need/want it best regards Erwin

I wonder if the kao has some of the character of the kanji mei - just a thought

And the last pictures..

Although “祥” alone can also be read as Aki or Naga for example, in combination with “正” however, I come always up with Yoshimasa or Shousei. Not listed in Koop/Inada, by the way…..

Komonjo's eBay store is the quintessential "caveat emptor" of the site. He runs the range from actual papered legitimate blades to Chinese fakery. Figuring out what you're getting from him can be a very risky proposition. The easiest tell is "if its too good to be true, it almost certainly is." However, I wouldn't tempt fate. I've done it and come out relatively okay, but for every success, there's many more who are not so lucky. I've spoken with him before, unlike other sellers, he does take returns which is unusual amongst eBay sellers. Though, please do not take that as an endorsement for rolling the dice on eBay. You're better off going with confirmed dealers and sellers and reputable folk from here.

My badly treated mantetsu for you @Bruce Pennington Sadly someone's been chopping at things with it.

Just outstanding, i think you have opened a new way of showing detail. Great shots!

Thanks Bob. Darcy, Ted and you remain in my mind as the three musketeers. 🙏🙏

Thanks John 😊 Here are a few more pics

Thank you Robert I believe you have eloquently expressed the experiences and very deep feelings of many here. Darcy was a one off and his memory will be long cherished and his contribution appreciated for very many years to come. I spoke to him on a phone call from Canada early in February. As always he was incredibly helpful and we shared some ideas and memories. We were talking about him coming to the UK to look at some pieces. I so regret that we hadn't had the opportunity to do it sooner.

Hi Justin, Also, get a proper stand. You don't have to go balls-deep like EastCoast did in the post I'm linking, but don't go cheap on the display stand either. Keep it oiled. If it's humid where you live, oil more than not. If you take it out to look at it, don't talk as saliva will affect the blade--absolutely no touchy with fingers! Use a cloth to support the blade incase you want to use two hands. You can barehand it on the nakago ONLY.

I heard about this and my immediate instinct was to come here which I know he always had a place, I know he was loved by many here, and with good reason. Darcy was no doubt a special guy with a vast amount of Knowledge, and he did contribute so much to the sword community. My deepest condolences to his loved ones and everyone who knew him!!! The funniest and most recent conversation I remember having with him was how he managed to fly where he wanted in 1st class without ever actually paying for it. Darcy was someone where if he put his mind and energy to it he could solve virtually anything. He will be missed, Rest In Peace my fellow Canadian and Nihonto brother.

Some lots I had my eyes on: Lot 636: Nice Gendai by Hokke Saburo Nobufusa went for $3000ish. Lot 664: Kotani Yasunori in beat up mounts, rusted Nakago, blade looked like it needed a polish. Went for a bargain at $1600 Lot 668: Good Type 98 with blade by Ikkansai Kunimori. Decent example, the one Neil sold recently was nicer. Can't recall price. Lot 682: Early Mei of Chounsai Emura in premium early mounts with dual Mon on Menuki. Blade looked pretty bad. Went pretty high considering a polish was needed and saya had damage. Lot 694: Good Kai Gunto with what looked like a blade signed by Shibata Ka, hard to tell from photos. Not sure what it went for.

words for the welcome. Barry always adds to the conversation with insight and wisdom

This is very distressing news. I don't know how he is regarded in the diplomatic world, but Guido is well known and widely respected in this little sword world we inhabit, and has the most delightful sense of humor. We wish him a complete recovery. Les