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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/14/2022 in all areas

  1. Hey guys, we all like to find Tassels for our swords, but what about hangers? Considering every officer would use them with their sword, they aren't often sold with a sword. One potential reason is the hangers remained attached to the belt, so if the officer hadn't surrendered (willingly or otherwise) the whole rig, he likely kept the hanger. This would be a good chance to show: Swords that originally came with a hanger/belt Different examples of hangers (chain, leather, dress etc)
    3 points
  2. Hi Jay, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this appears to be a chinese made fake rather than an authentic Kai Gunto. The appearance of the steel is a dead giveaway, along with the crudely inscribed Kanji which are probably plain gibberish. Additionally the mounts are of very poor quality, and the wrapping of the handle is not even close to traditional methods. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's best to seek a refund if possible. These fakes have been made for decades, so age is no indicator of authenticity. Here is a link to a authentic Kai Gunto, you will quickly see the difference in quality and workmanship: http://ohmura-study.net/733.html See below links for more information & examples of fakes. I've re-uploaded your pictures as JPEG as well. http://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/repro.htm
    3 points
  3. Hi all! So, it seems that this thread is winding down. My personal opinion from reading this thread and doing my own research is that - cast iron tsuba were made during the Edo period. Now, the one item missing from all the research conducted is that there are no extant writings of how cast iron tsuba were made or who made them. Then again, there are no extant writings of how the pyramids were made or who actually made them! I have added a humorous spoof on the subject - “No way! No way! It’s impossible! There is no way that thousands of years ago the pyramids could be built. There is no way that many thousands of men could move stone blocks (that weigh an average of 2.5 tons each) across miles of desert from a quarry to the building site. There is no way that those blocks of stone could be placed one on top of the other and so close together that even a piece of paper can’t be placed between the stones! And then to build a structure in this way that is several hundreds of feet in height is totally impossible.” Yet, there the pyramids stand in the sands of Egypt (the proof exists – or I believe something like this can be called “Res ipsa loquitur”- or “the thing -or object-speaks for itself”). I believe the same scenario could be applied to Edo period cast iron tsuba. “Res ipsa loquitur”, the papered obviously cast iron Edo period tsuba shown in this thread speaks for themselves. I never underestimate the innate quality of man’s ingenuity. To do so would be a mistake. With respect, Dan
    3 points
  4. G'day Guys, In the 1930's T Nagahara & Co advertised Gassan Sadakatsu's blades for sale. They could be ordered in Ayasugi or Masamune's secret process. I was never quite sure what Masamune's secret process looked like. I have tracked down about 50 of Sadakatsu's long blades on the internet and about 50% of them are ayasugi and 25% masame. My blade has tight masame hada with a gunome midare hamon. Recently AOIJapan have put up a Sadakazu blade on their site which has Motte Soshu Kamakura Masamune Den on the nakago. This blade looks very similar to my Sadakatsu blade. Is my blade an example of Sadakatsu's Masamune's secret process? T Nagahara & Co produced a booklet called "Nippon Toh" to sell these swords. I have never seen a copy, but assume it included illustrations to show what the swords look like. Does anyone have a copy they can post some pictures of? Below is a shot of T Nagahara's advertisement, AOIJapan's Sadakazu katana and hada and my blade and hada. Cheers, Bryce
    2 points
  5. Gassan Although Sadakazu and Sadakatsu are two different smiths, (spelled and pronounced differently) this is just a quick reminder for anyone who is not aware not to mix up the two.
    2 points
  6. Thomas, Geraint, Jacques and all others who commented...thank you. Yes, I agree that it is too difficult to be too precise. Obviously this is why the Japanese experts and texts leave a bit of "leeway" in their interpretations. I will (actually already have) follow your recommendation to stick to the Tokuno position as (as you say) he is specifically discussing the features of this connected line of smiths. So, I will leave it as 'sunagashi' and not take up too much space discussing the "other possibilities" like inazuma, Imozuru etc, etc. Your description is short, relevant covers the situation and explains it all well....so thanks Thank you all for taking the time to assist in this matter. Love the NMB. Regards, Edit to add ... An hour has passed...I've just adjusted my file text...all simple and clear now. I'm smiling. Thanks guys.
    2 points
  7. Does anybody on the forum own a blade by Kaboku. I would love to see some examples. A dream of mine is to own one in gunto mounts. Thanks in advance
    1 point
  8. Here are my shin gunto hangers . They range in length from 33 To 53 cms. Ian Brooks
    1 point
  9. You could try to match them with these pictures from the museum's website: https://colbase.nich.go.jp/organizations/1/collection_items?locale=en&limit=100&organization_id=1&with_image_file=1&only_parent=0&free_word=katana https://colbase.nich.go.jp/organizations/1/collection_items?locale=en&limit=100&organization_id=1&with_image_file=1&only_parent=0&free_word=tachi https://colbase.nich.go.jp/organizations/1/collection_items?locale=en&limit=100&organization_id=1&with_image_file=1&only_parent=0&free_word=wakizashi
    1 point
  10. G'day Guys, I would say the jigane of my blade is pure Yamato Hosho, while the hamon is more Soshu. Below is an example of a Sadakatsu blade which I have been calling "Soshu" style up until now. It is sort of a mix of masame with sections of ayasugi...ish. They seem to be much rarer than then masame blades with a gunome midare hamon. It is interesting to me that Mr Tsuruta seems to differentiate between Soshu and Kamakura Masamune Den in relation to Gassan works. The blade by Sadakazu (Sadakatsu's father and teacher) which I posted above seems much closer to my blade, than the example below. Admittedly the photo posted on the AOIJapan website isn't of the highest detail, so perhaps it does have more of the ayasugi...ish hada than the photo shows. Maybe I am reading too much into this. Cheers, Bryce
    1 point
  11. Item No 221 Daisho pair of Iron Tsuba 7.28 cm x 6.96 cm x 0.53 cm & 6.83 cm x 6.52 cm x 0.48 cm Subject of Aoi Leaves signed but not translated - look to be Bushu / Choshu ? Item No. 222 Iron Tsuba 7.69 cm x 7.63 cm x 0.52 cm Akasaka - difficult to make out subject matter on this - there are possible hints of Mantis and other bugs. Hazard a guess anyone ? Smooth , intact patina.
    1 point
  12. Tks Rayray, Dont know how i got unjoined. Needs a site besides FB many here dont play in that sand box.
    1 point
  13. It actually is in Samurai mounts. I'll post some photos shortly. The sword has an unusual blade shape as well. --Matt
    1 point
  14. A leather hanger which originally came with this type 3
    1 point
  15. At the sword meeting on Saturday night two of the members were invited to show a blade. One guy brought an iai package of Kazu-Uchi Sukesada in unusual Koshiraé, which he had put together but then thought might actually be overall out of balance and too heavy for him. Anyway, the Fuchi and Kashira caught my eye. Russet iron with shinchū byō rivets. Has anyone seen anything similar? (He said he had bought the Fuchi-kashira some years ago at a small stall under the railway arches in Kōbé.)
    1 point
  16. From what I've noticed, Sadakatsu, used Ayasugi, Itame and Masame. I believe the use of Masamune den, just means Soshu, and just an advertising ploy. Also, Masame, is usually used with Yamato den.
    1 point
  17. I think to find one in any mounts would be a dream for most... -t
    1 point
  18. I think gimei have been often removed from blades in order for them to be submitted to shinsa.
    1 point
  19. Well, I’ve decided to join! It’s my first forum/social media platform so it’s all a bit new. However I’ve been heavily into Japanese history and arts for over 40 years…..ever since a dealer showed me a Japanese sword. I was totally hooked. Collected swords but then sold them all more than 30 years ago. (I try not to think about it!!) My interest expanded into different arts….Meiji metalwork, cloisonné, okimono, netsuke etc. Dealt in all these for over 30 years in parallel with a corporate career . Now fully retired from everything. However Nihonto always tugged away at my subconscious. I’ve just sold my whole collection of Japanese art and am returning to swords…ie where it all started those many years ago. It’s like coming home really. Haven’t been this excited for quite a while. Really looking forward to being part of this superb forum. When I get the hang of it I will seek your assistance and opinions on a sword or two that have already entered the household. Meantime best wishes to all of you, stay well in these troubled times. Colin
    1 point
  20. Item No. 219 Iron tsuba with gold highlights 7.27 cm x 6.97 cm x 0.46 cm Subject of blossom on water - can anybody read the signature , please ? Bushu Masatsune ? Nicely done compact design giving a real sense of flowing water. Item No. 220 Iron Tsuba 8.07 cm x 8.12 cm x 0.43 cm Subject of kiri mon in positive and negative silhouette Very dark , almost black patina - not a casting !
    1 point
  21. Roger you might be correct but how then is it that both sides of the tsuba have identical images, wouldn't that require enormous precision indeed, much much more work than hammering into a form? Not that I am an advocate for both sides being identical, it is rather boring. Surely there are examples where each side was made as you have described and they would have the freedom of two similar designs but not identical. There must be examples out there so please show us. [meaning the members] Is it once again a story of two 'levels' of construction, custom pieces and cheaper mass [but hand] produced?
    1 point
  22. 丸ニ劍カタバミ (= 丸に剣片喰) - Maru ni Ken-katabami That is a name of a family crest.
    1 point
  23. Nice signature and early date...might be good...any chance of more pics?
    1 point
  24. I think it it is - 崎陽住松林政重造之 - Kiyō jū Matsubayashi Masashige kore o tsukuru
    1 point
  25. Thanks for the comments guys! Trystan, that's good information and those photos are excellent. And, Chris, yes, those figures are not the best, but I had to make due with what I had. The one you mentioned, does look strange - getting hit by gunfire and, presumably, has dropped his rifle. The helmet, rising up, looks a bit like a German paratrooper helmet. Anyway, I included the scene for fun. My focus was on the Japanese officer figures with the swords.
    1 point
  26. Dear Bob. If only things were that simple! It is actually quite rare to find a sword and the koshirae that was originally made specifically for it. Given that we could be sure of the age of the tsuba then it still would not add anything to your knowlegdege of the blade as it is very common for koshirae to be replaced and/or modified throughout the swords life. Sometimes this is the result of changes made while the sword was still in Japan, sometimes later by dealers and collectors. It is very rare to find a koshirae of any great age though a tsuba from an earlier period added to a new sword is quite common. For what it's worth I have personally always thought of sanmai tsuba as earlier rather than later but I can provide no evidence to back up my hunch, perhaps others have a more informed view on this. Your best hope of getting some thoughts about the age of the blade would be to post some overall shots of the whole blade without any fittings in the Nihonto section. Given the condition the sugata is about all we have to go on as details of hamon and boshi will be hard to see. All the best.
    1 point
  27. Here are some pics showing the layering & copper core....Really, I am trying to determine the approx age. The link kindly provided suggests sanmai tsuba age is debated Assuming the blade and fittings are original to the build... Do the fittings provide a clue to approx. age... (shown previously) The blade is rough, nakago is unsigned.... but assuming original to the tsuba, does the blade suggest approx. age? Nagasa = 27.5", one mekugi-ana
    1 point
  28. I dunno about that, it's a very mutilated blade if it is, with no base "kerakubi" to the blade. I would also say that even the very short styles of yari, for inside a litter or Kago/Palanquin have a different style of mount, yari sometimes even mounted as daggers/tanto! I think we see a Meiji period Western style triangular bayonet mounted as a yari here.
    1 point
  29. The list of the so called B team used to be and is a lot longer. Many exceptional polishers in America have passed on and didn't advertise. I remember finding one that lived 45 minutes from me. He wanted to know who told me about him and wasn't happy until an hour of convincing . This was 25 years ago. His apprentice works the same way. I believe what Adam wrote should be used and the other academic purist ad hominem Parriot should be left behind. People aren't buying it, it's 2022.
    1 point
  30. Hi Jean, I’d like to respond to your recent post addressed to me. But first, I’d like to say thanks for engaging in the discussion. Without that back and forth, and inputs from everyone else, I might never have read all these different articles or gathered that information. I have learned a ton and am very grateful for it. I hope everyone else has enjoyed this thread as well. 20 hours ago, ROKUJURO said: “at the beginning of this thread, I have explained that cast iron was a part of the normal output of a TATARA process. So this material was always available, even in pre-EDO times.” That is true, but this is the brittle type of cast iron, so I think all of us would agree that this would not be suited for making tsuba. It’s the use of the softer, less brittle, decarburized cast-iron that would make more sense for the production of tsuba. And again, that was only produced in Japan, as of 1691. And to be fair Jean, you actually started off by presenting this view: On 1/27/2022 at 9:49 AM, ROKUJURO said: “it was not possible to produce cast iron in Japan. But it may have been possible elsewhere, perhaps in China.” The details about the Tatara producing some cast-iron were added in one of your later posts. With regards to this statement: 20 hours ago, ROKUJURO said: “I also explained how difficult and complex the iron casting process was, and how ineffective it would have been in the production of large item numbers.” This one still comes across as a matter of opinion: Lissenden had the opposite point of view and suggested it would be quite reasonable to make many wax forms from an original, carved wooden master. Lissenden also justified the use of this technique when trying to create tsuba with elaborate piercings or sukashi like many of the Nanban tsuba (which would be very similar to the NTHK papered "birds tsuba" posted earlier). The time saved in not having to chisel or drill repeatedly through a steel plate by hand, would outweigh the labour needed to make one wood mold, many wax forms and their surrounding matrixes (the hard casing that goes around the wax form). I could see your statement making sense for producing a tsuba with a solid plate because the solid plate would probably be faster to make using hand forging techniques. But for repeated production of something more elaborate, like Lissenden explained, casting would seem to make the most sense. With regards to this statement: 20 hours ago, ROKUJURO said: “…papered EDO period cast iron (papered as 'cast') TSUBA” Unfortunately, I suspect you might always be left wanting for that… but I’d love to see one too. Here’s a question to consider: What reason would any group that papers tsuba, need to use the words “cast-iron”, when “iron” would be perfectly sufficient to describe what the tsuba is made of? Between cast and forged iron, we’re really only talking about a few percentage points difference in the Carbon content mixed in with the iron, so both of them are simply varying mixes of roughly 95-99% Iron, with the remainder being mostly Carbon and a few other elements. A question for anyone reading this post: Is there a particular way that the NBTHK or NTHK distinguishes between different types of steel that may have been used in the making of swords (other than Nanban steel)? And do they even call it “steel”, or just simply “iron”? Hopefully some "sword people" might know that. In any case Jean, it seems perfectly reasonable for you to hold out for more examples, and I respect your choice. And lastly, to address the “mass-production” aspect: I suppose I look at it as: anything that is “reproducible” in quantity, whether that is 5 at a time or 100 at a time, doesn’t really matter at all I suppose, as long as you can repeat it. That's where Lissenden's "carved wood form" Jean, I suspect you’re probably right in thinking that one-off pieces (and probably small batch productions) may have been the norm, rather than cranking them out like an assembly line. I think there’s no doubt that the real “mass” production hit its stride in the Meiji period. In any case, the only real pursuit for me was whether or not the Japanese were making cast-iron tsuba during the Edo period. And now that seems to be likely. I’d like to end off by bringing back a quote from the first page of this thread. At the time, I found it to be an amazing quote from Markus Sesko, but I didn’t know enough to be able to put it in proper context. I really wasn’t ready to wrap my head around such an early date for cast-iron tsuba: On 1/26/2022 at 5:08 AM, JohnTo said: “Markus Sesko has a small reference to cast iron tsuba in his book the Japanese toso-kinko Schools (p 129) which states that the kinko artist Daininchi Fucho (active around Horeki, 1751-1764) learned his skills ‘from Ugai Gorozaemon who belonged to an Osaka-based family of kettle casters who produced cast-iron tsuba as a sideline.’ Now that mid-1700 timeframe makes so much more sense…
    1 point
  31. Your knowledge sounds to me like western tv shows. simple basic science and u got it all wrong.
    1 point
  32. maybe a broken blade to refit for short guy?
    1 point
  33. You would be surprised at how much stuff was made using "patrices" and "matrices", positive and negative moulds for thin metal stamping's. Its a technique that goes back thousands of years, for fine detail you hammer into the negative mould, usually using a lead filler or back. Most of the foils on Roman and Germanic items were done this way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torslunda_plates Silversmithing 101. D. Rushworth 22 BA Hons', 3d art and design Google will disappoint, because google is silicon valley stoopid.
    0 points
  34. I knew that looked familiar!
    0 points
  35. Seriously this is like arguing with a child who believes in santa claus. The things you are saying are myths. And categorically untrue.
    -1 points
  36. I think this is the main point. Send it to whomever… top of the line polisher in Japan or Sam the butcher… and spend $1 or a million $… it’s not going to matter. There won’t be enough left to worry about. So throw away the money, but please post pictures of a toothpick made up of core steel if even that is left. Rather than fight with someone who doesn’t want to hear the benefits of proper polishing on a blade that can’t be properly saved/polished by someone who couldn’t properly polish it anyway, let him spend money on grinders who work on blades that aren’t worth it. That way, hopefully, he won’t buy blades and ruin them that ARE worth it. Let’s face it, he is spending $$$ on a $1 blade that will end up being worth $0. It’s hard to convince someone otherwise. Looking forward to pictures.
    -1 points
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