Brian

I'm also happy to pre-pay, and I think I would need about 7 copies for SA members...but this time I want mine signed Great work! Looking forward to it..and the ones after this. Will you be doing them through Lulu again? Brian

Rob, Kasane would usually be the thickness of the blade at the machi (notches) and this is also called moto kasane. You also get saki kasane (measured at the monouchi (kissaki area) The actual width of the blade is the haba...so moto-haba and saki-haba Brian

Would they jail a foreigner in Japan, or just deport him? Hmm...oh well, it's just rumour for now unless proven. But he will be noticed fast if he appears again. Funny character. I still like the 2 items I got from him, but he has very odd days indeed Brian

Well said Guido, all good points. I think we can all think a bit of our tone when replying, especially on the internet where the way it sounds in our head might not be the way it comes across. Yep..I like the FAQ section idea. The existing faq above is a part of the bulletin board software, however I am looking at adding one at the top (Nihonto theme guys see the top row of links) that will go to a faq page. There we can have all the answers to common questions and articles etc. Maybe we could host some of those great articles you have done. I know many are on other sites, but any that aren't booked, would be great to have here along with the ones we do have. I'll work on the page and we can go live asap. I'll ask when i am ready and we can have question/answer suggestions. Rick, sometimes what people who deal daily with $20K swords see isn't the same as we see when we are only spending $2-5K..and sometimes the swords really aren't that bad. Other times people who know something don't want to say it in public. We need to encourage them to use the pm function if that is the case. However there is still a lot of good info, and this is one of the few places you can get info on a dealer and get a general idea beforehand. Thanks all, Brian

Grey, What is the progress on putting the Index online with the JSSUS? I know it is an ongoing process, but when it is done, I think it will be one of the best online Nihonto resources out there (along with Darcy's/JSSUS swordsmith database) Very kind of you to allow it to be put online too. Brian

Dan, I posted while you were posting. After reading what you asked, that does indeed make a lot of sense, and is something I was planning anyways. However it doesn't need a new section, I am going to make a new FAQ page where we can post the answers to all the common questions. I can add the link above the forum...a FAQ page that can address all the issues such as "How do I oil my sword" "How do I disassemble it" and others. Can be added to as we come up with new questions. That makes much more sense than another forum category for questions that will just get buried as more posts are made. Brian

I do have a problem with this, for the reason that it seems to imply that beginners don't get help normally, when they do. I am still not sure what kind of questions would necessitate a beginners section, and who would answer them? If the regular members, then they will answer them in the usual places anyways. And what qualifies as a beginner question? Questions about the basics of Nihonto are answered all over the net, including here. These include everything about manufacture, cleaning, use, appreciation and restoration. That leads me to think that by beginner questions...what is actually meant is questions about poor swords and ones that are in the $500 range that we get asked about so often. Frankly, we answer them to the best of our ability, but I am not going to create a new section purely to talk about swords that most of us are encouraging people to sell and upgrade to items you can learn from. So if the request is to discuss lower class swords more, I don't see it happening. Not least because who will answer those questions? I get asked regularly to be more on topic and elevate the discussion to better quality swords. However I think we have found a happy middle ground. You can get advice on all swords, but are encouraged to see and learn about better swords. That is how any art study works. Many of my own swords are not great quality either...but I do enjoy them for what they are. But i wouldn't want to fixate on them to the exclusion of everything else. Are we not making an issue of something that doesn't exist? If someone comes here asking about a machine made NCO shin gunto, do we tell him what we can about it, and then move on to genuine Nihonto..or do we create a new section for him? I would be happier with some explanation of exactly what this section would address, and why it is necessary. Trying to get people not to buy "restoration projects" that they are going to polish themselves that are filled with ware is not elitism by any means..it is what we should be teaching as responsible Nihonto collectors and students. So what are we trying to address with a new section and to what goals? Brian

Looks real to me. Brian

http://keepvid.com/ Brian

Bad one. I suppose what I would do is tell him "Phew....looks like you got my blade confused with someone else's, as friends saw it at the show and the pics weren't of mine. I think you might have confused my blade with someone else's. However i have someone else interested right now, so do you mind if I send someone round to fetch it, or send it back, thanks" That way you give the dealer a way out, and you can both go your separate ways. Best just to get the sword back and let it go. Maybe the dealer was mistaken. Brian

Dan, Could you give some examples of the type of questions that might be asked? I am just trying to see how feasible it would be, and whether it would already be covered under the existing sections or not. Translations of course already have their own section, so if you could give some examples of what to cover, it will help me a bit to decide. Most of us (myself included) still consider ourselves novices, so I consider most questions to fall in that category. Do you envisage questions about how to care for them, how to disassemble or ??? Thanks, Brian

Dan, One of the things this forum prides itself on is answering all questions, and never calling any question a stupid one. Even basic questions have been answered such as how to oil a blade, how to remove the tsuka, and identifying obvious fakes. I can't think of any novice questions that weren't answered politely and thoroughly? Of course questions on buying low class and really flawed blades will always be given the correct advice that you should save for something better. However that is a fact of collecting, and shouldn't be seen as unhelpful. We wouldn't be responsible collectors if we encouraged people to buy junk. I think that would be for another forum that is more concerned with the idea of a "samurai sword" than actually learning about them and conserving them. But even those questions are hopefully answered tactfully. So novice questions are welcome anytime. Many have been answered before, and a search of the forum will give all the info. Not sure what kind of questions we are talking about though? Maybe some of them are beyond the scope of this particular forum, but we will always try our best to give good info. We are lucky to have people like Grey and others who spend most of their time teaching novices as part of their work with the relevant organisations. So ask away, and I think you will find that the answers are gladly given, assuming they are not counter productive to what we are preaching here Regards, Brian

Rob, We haven't seen any overall pics of the sword yet, maybe with handle on and off, and showing the blade condition and any visible hamon. Helps to give an idea of value. Keep the pics 100dpi or less, and 800 pix wide or less (around 150k per pic) and we will be able to tell more. I expect if a standard WW2 Shin Gunto in fair condition..around $600-800 with a lot of depending factors. eBay..or an ad in the for-sale section here maybe? Or sell on consignment through one of the dealers in the links page, such as http://www.japanesesword.com/ or others. Brian

Rob, No, that is a painted military marking, found on many WW2 swords and of no real significance. An arsenal stamp will be small and stamped above the signature near the top. Not always there either. There is no set pattern for WW2 furniture. Can have a lock or not, variations in tsuba and all the other parts. Lots of different variations, but still standard WW2 Shin-Gunto. I expect your will be more mass produced and oil quenched. Regards, Brian

Dan, Glad you are recovering well, and all the best. I'll give your comment some thought. It is always difficult to decide what is a novice question and what isn't, as often novice questions turn into a serious discussion. But let's see what can be done. Regards, Brian

Andreas, Sorry to see that. To me it looks to verify it is a repro. Even if not, it is a machine made blade that was very roughly ground to fit in those mounts. Little chance it is an older blade that was remounted. That is a nasty job of fitting, and I wouldn't put too much emphasis on it as a collectors sword unfortunately. Hope it wasn't too expensive. Brian

Fantastic! Sorry to hear about the equipment hassles. I guess the best we can do to show our appreciation is to support the new books when they are released. Looking forward to them. Brian

Andreas, A machine made mass produced blade will look the same often, whether a fake or older. I don't think you are looking at an antique blade here though. Even if not a fake, it would be a standard mass produced blade. The tang is what tells you most, as fakes rarely put any real work into it, and age is easier to identify. However, if you have steel there, then it is not a standard mekugi, and don't force it out. You will have to get it to someone who knows something to have them look at it. The groove and blade lines are sloppy on this one, which idicates no real care in manufacture. That tells me the most imho, but I could be mistaken. Is the peg a screw or just a pin? Brian

When I was in Japan, I really did enjoy the flea markets and small shrine antiques markets. A bit of asking around did always turn up a few swords in car boots or on tables. Usually they were low class blades with lots of ware and out of polish, but they always had their torokusho licence with them, and you could buy them if you could get them deregistered legally. But nothing I saw there was any better than the average eBay sword, and they were usually in the region of $1000-2000 anyways, so not many bargains. As anywhere, they knew there was a market for them, and even if they didn't know much about the swords, they were the ones that locals had passed up before. Brian

Another vote for Rai Nobuyoshi. I actually posted that on the first day, and then deleted it to go home and study the boshi a bit more. My loss.... :lol: Yakidashi is one of the big clues in this case. Brian

Thanks for sharing Val, I think we are all envious over that daisho. It is going to be an amazing pair. Great pics, post any others if you have them and are able to show them. What a beautiful view out of that doorway! A wonderful experience to be able to do that. Regards, Brian

Have you tried phoning or faxing, since both numbers are on the website? Sometimes a polite chat sorts out things much easier and less emotional than an email. Brian

Neither Guido nor anyone who uses their full name as their login needs to post a name at the end of their posts for obvious reasons. Brian

Stephen, It is just showing the pics from your cache since you loaded the earlier ones. Just hit "ctrl+refresh" or "shift+refresh" to refresh the page. LOL. This is the pic that the seller has linked to. Nice one, using that technique I showed earlier. Brian

What a charming tsuba! I love the texture added with hammerwork. Very pleasant indeed. Brian