Brian

Paul, I seem to remember that F&G Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks had a good section on this? If something else, care to share? Regards, Brian

It is what it is. Den Ishido Chikuzen Koretsugu. The papers say that, and that is what it is. Debating about whether it is by Koretsugu or his school isn't going to lead anywhere. It had some traits that made them go to den instead, and anything else is just guesswork. Why the debate about it? This isn't a place to pick a bone with someone about something. It's a lovely wakizashi. Buyers will decide if it is worth that or not. Brian

Sounds to me like what is being suggested here are second thoughts since it was last appraised maybe? I am sure that happens sometimes as further research is done and times change. You can bet your life that no-one is going to submit it for re-appraisal Still a fantastic blade though. Brian

And just a reminder that we focus on the items here and not the prices so much Prices are set by the buyer. Too much, and it doesn't sell. That is indication enough. Let's focus on items please. We study swords..the prices are an unfortunate by-product for most of us Brian

Good to see you back Reinhard. Great chatting with you in Japan. Can anyone summarise this for us laymen and what are the current theories on Sadamune? Brian

Unlocked. Carlo's point is a good one, and getting the thread back on track to discussing sword useage and armor etc. Anyone want to expand on the changes in armour and sword styles/shapes? Please keep it on track. Brian

Just to add..not a real hamon. Polished on or etched. If it was shipped from China, there is no way they will refund or allow it to be shipped back. Good luck, and keep reading. I will have to find another page to replace the lost "fakes" one above. Might link to Grey's one instead. Brian

The signs of a peg show that this was likely a set of menuki before they were converted with the 2 pins. Quite nice menuki, I wouldn't bother too much with schools in menuki unless they are Goto or something that stands out particularly. Pity about the damage, it looks like good work to me. However if it is only one and not a set..then it really doesn't matter too much anyways? Brian

And that's the last and final word on the off-topic on this one. Mark himself already asked people to take it to pm. The next off-topic in this one, gets to make an involuntary $50 donation to the forum. Care to test me? Brian

I'll post the pics tonight. They show a fairly standard Koa Isshin sword, of the type written about here: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/koa.htm Good steel, and made to work. As this is still in the for sale section, I will prune it and move it over to the General section shortly. Brian

http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/Den%20article.htm Pretty much the definitive article on the use of "den" Brian Edit to add: Moriyama san....You beat me by 3 minutes

Thank you very much Dirk, Jean and Stephen. So we have Dirk and Jean in Europe and Stephen can assist in the USA. In Japan...well, they can just send swords and tsuba instead Please note..shares in US car manufacturers not accepted I am not sending individual thanks out currently, but will post a message thanking everyone in Jan. At the same time..just a reminder to all that it is the end of the year, so time to renew that JSSUS, NCJSC, NBTHK etc membership or take up a new one if you aren't a member already. I would like to single out the JSSUS in particular for their outstanding work in hosting the NKB, Grey's upcoming Index and the upcoming hosting of the Nihonto Kanji pages. I would rather you support a few various societies like these before you send a donation to me if you have to choose. Regards, Brian

Martin, Good to hear from you and thanks for the kind words. I can think of a few ways for the forum to fail, but economic reasons won't be one of them. The members here always make sure of that, and I will never let that be a reason anyways. Opening an account for this is a problem because of South Africa's tough banking laws and huge fees. Cash in an envelope at Xmas time is also not a good idea (Post office sees this time as their cash bonus period ) Let me see what I can organise..maybe even a member who is closer who is prepared to accept money order/cheque and forward paypal once it clears and minus fees? Regards, Brian

Thanks for the kind words Rich. Yes, I have noted some of the upcoming alternatives to Paypal and really hope there is some good competition for them in the works. At the moment paypal has the monopoly and their being owned by eBay is not healthy at all. Too much dictating how things have to be done. Can you imaging your credit card company telling you what you can and can't spend your money on?? The problem currently is getting people to sign up for these other options. It is hard enough getting people to use Paypal without trying to convince them to give their banking details to someone new Thanks to those 6 that have made donations so far, your support is very much appreciated. Brian

Shan, What's the damage on the front face? Looks more like a hit than a layer opening? I like this one..needs some tlc though. Maybe I should find something to trade Brian

Mr Benson, It is an honour to have you here, even if briefly. If you seach the forum for your name, you will of course see many (and only) good recommendations of your work. I don't think much needs to be answered here about this sword short of "Robert Benson was the polisher here" and that answers any questions about where any blame could lie. Everyone here would instantly know that the fault lies elsewhere and was not caused by polishing. Unfortunate that it is not understood that hagire can simply be invisible until polishing is undertaken. Thanks for the clarification and explanation. Hope you will pop by for a lurk now and then when time allows (which we all understand is seldom ) Regards, Brian

It's mostly your interesting facts that are keeping me captivated here Carlo, so by all means don't stop posting your knowledge of battles and tactics etc Since the topic has changed slightly to this battle theme, I wonder if anyone has any theories on things like yanone during a battle. I assume the better and more elaborate shaped heads were reserved for special occasions and incidents. Would it be common for soldiers to then collect whatever arrowheads were launched against them, repair and remove from broken arrows, and re-use in their own arrows? I can't see many of these being left on the field and unlike most other weapons they were launched never to be seen again unless you were the victors? Most would have obviously been simple iron battle heads, but the number of other shapes seen makes me think the archers must have kept quite a few different shapes in his utsubo (quiver) Perhaps a subject for another thread? Regards, Brian

'Society for Creative Anachronism' I've seen them in action here in SA and they put on an impressive display and are very serious about it. I think the full contact stuff revolves mainly around medieval battles and combat? I am sure the Nihonto are reserved for displays and appearance only.. Let's not go too off topic into this one...it is a great thread with lots of interesting facts. Brian

Thanks for the comments, suggestions and advice all. I really don't want to make this a big issue or complicated. I also don't want to make people feel like they have to contribute. The board will always (well...as far as i can see into the future) remain non-profit and semi formal. Anyone who feels they would like to assist is really appreciated. I owe this forum to you guys and the generous ones who donate prizes. Times are tough for everyone..we all know that. Those who can't..well there will be next year which will hopefully be better. This is what I have decided to do: For those that do wish to make a small donation, Paypal is the only option at the moment. You can log in and send the donation (please mark it simply donation or NMB donation or similar) to the email address goth(at)icon.co.za with the @ sign of course. Please don't use the NMB email address for this. Those who know Paypal should know how to do this. Anything is appreciated from $10 up. It would be good if you could include a note with the payment letting me know what your username is. Let me know if you would prefer me not to include your name in a public thanks that I will post at the end of January. What I will then do sometime shortly after January, is to organise with people who would like to donate prizes, and run a free lucky draw. This is a separate issue and there will be no entry fee. I am not posting prize details now, as I don't want to link the 2 events. Donations are not a requirement for entry to the draw, although I may allocate additional entries to those who support the forum financially or with posting assistance So how does that sound? Huge thanks go out to everyone who is willing to assist. I will try and make the lucky draw as fun and rewarding as possible, but that is for a future thread. Regards, Brian Paypal email address for any donations is to goth@icon.co.za Edit to add: You don't have to be a NMB member to donate either. If you are a dedicated lurker and wish to assist, just send your name with the donation and a note to this effect, and I'll keep the details for future reference

Milt, Thanks for that (and a good way to slip in your ad there too hey? :lol: ) I am sure most members wouldn't have a problem with that, and none I am sure would object. It is me that has a slight moral issue with simply selling donated items and not giving them away in a draw. Doing that with a few is possibel though, maybe splitting the proceeds with the donators so that they benefit too. Carlo, that is a difficult one to answer, and clarifying it with PP is hard without asking them for ways around it I think that directly is a problem. Hence the idea of possibly taking donations without any expectation of a prize draw, and then later maybe offering some items for free in an unrelated gift giving that would not be decided upon yet. All very legal mumbo jumbo. PP does this because online raffles are illegal in some countries/states and they are always worried about being sued. Once again, everyone suffers due to the laws of a few. Regards, Brian

Milt, You get away with more "fun" than anyone else :lol: I have considered that, and it is an option. However the fact that most items are still with the donators, and the fact that I am not sure how they would feel about their items being sold instead of donated would go down with them. In that case, we may as well list the items on eBay. Either way, the highest bidders would win, which isn't a lot of fun for those that can't bid or bid low. Takes the fun away from those hoping for something they don't have to buy. Complicated, but an option. Thanks for the comments. Brian

As many of you already know, the NMB is entirely free resource aimed at improving knowledge and educating people. In this respect, I think we have quite a unique resource here, with everything from free and trustworthy translations to good opinions on mei verification and school identification and some fun inbetween. I have always resisted the common move of adding advertising to the website to cover costs, or charging for private ads. I feel that would not suit the forum or the free spirit we instill here. Instead, what I have done is, once a year, run a raffle to raise funds to maintain the forum and cover the considerable expenses. I am sure you all know how much fun this can be, and with prizes generously donated by the members, it has always been a bit of fun that also covers all the expenses and allows entrants a chance to win something. That brings me to the bad news this year. In spite of the fact that we have had some really great prizes offered by NMB members and I was all geared up to running the raffle this year, there is a problem. Paypal has always been pretty much the only way of accepting the donations due to the hassles and complexities of accepting money here in SA. Anything else simply isn't workable. However in their latest policy updates, Paypal has banned any form of gambling including raffles and anything that offers prizes. They are very strict about this, and I have confirmed in writing with them that any form of the raffle will not be allowed in any form. Donations are fine, but when prizes are involved it is a no-go. I have considered every possibility, and simply can't find a way around this. Bear in mind that any form of deception designed to circumnavigate this rule would probably be seen by outside readers who might report it with the obvious results. This puts me in a difficult situation. I could scrap the raffle and find a way to cover the fees myself, sell some items to raise funds, make an appeal for small donations or take some time to see if we can find another method of doing this. However the end of the year is when fees are due and I don't have a lot of time to prepare. The fees for hosting, domain name etc are not huge and aren't a critical problem, but it is good to be able to increase webspace and bandwidth and have some in reserve for emergency maintenance. The raffle has always more than covered everything and with the advantage of being fun for everyone. I am extremely hesitant to simply ask for small donations towards the running of the forum, but if I cannot come up with another method, I may have to go that route. In that case, I would ask anyone who feels that they get something positive out of the forum to offer a small amount (anything at all, from $5 up) completely voluntarily. This has never been compulsory and there is no bad stigma attached at all if someone cannot do it. I have always been amazed at the generosity of the members here, and their understanding. What I would then possibly do at a later stage (early in 2009) as a simple thanks is to perhaps see what donations are offered at that stage by members (and myself of course, as some funds raised have always gone back into the raffle) and do a completely free "lucky draw" with no entry fee and give away some prizes. That is just one thought at this stage though, and entry would perhaps be open to everyone who participates and not dependent on any donations. Donations are fine with Paypal as long as they are not linked to a raffle at the same time with prizes. So I am posting this to ask for your understanding and suggestions. I am not sure which way to go at this point, and have held off posting this as long as possible. However I would like any thoughts or suggestions from the members, as you always have a say in how things are done. Sometimes I am criticized for not being strict enough or not taking a stand, however we do have a unique forum and a unique way of doing things. So what sayeth you all, and would small voluntary donations go against the grain? Remember that absolutely no-one is expected to volunteer or participate, and no-one is thought any less of if they cannot. Regards, Brian

Mariusz, I have dealt with them before too, and the transaction was fairly ok. But make no mistake at all..they are a dumping ground of mediocre stuff that is excess to the Japanese market and easily won't sell there. No treasures, just the usual fair to low grade stuff that isn't worth trying to sell in Japan. Many dealers know full well that low stuff fetches more to us in the West than it does in Japan, and are cashing in. I find his pics are pretty good mostly, but easy to miss a flaw. They are no better or worse than most of the dealers acting as clearing houses in Japan. You think they are going to list on eBay when there is a chance it would fly off the shelf in Japan? Brian

John, Agreed there is no way this is of the Otsuki school, and definitely by the master himself. One of the top kinko makers and quality should be of the highest level. Obviously gimei. The nanako is not done very well, and the kozuka/kogai ana do look like they might have been cut quite amateurishly. I don't think the walnuts have been done too badly, and I am sure they looked quite good when new, but it has suffered quite a bit over time. Not sure of the material. Shakudo maybe? Brian

Henry, See if it is magnetic? Brian