Brian

Ford, That is a brilliant find! I have no idea how you searched for those symbols and found that kozuka. To me that is conclusive proof that the markings are original and Japanese. I think this will make an excellent research project for the owner. Perhaps the samurai archives forum could assist? Brian

Very nice Steve, I would be proud to own that. I think with the blade length and mekugi ana, that still falls under licencable blade status in Japan and needed an export procedure? Much as we see larger shrine dedication and presentation blades, I see this as a large presentation kogatana. Cross between a tanto and kogatana? Nice. Brian

I think whoever wrote that was wrong...but let them play with it while we use the good stuff and keep our swords in good condition. Proof again that not everything written is valid or true Brian

Sorry to throw links at you, but there is already quite a bit on this here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1648 viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1397 viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1229 viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2482 viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2225 viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1709 Pure choji is clove oil...and we don't use pure choji. Just a few drops are added to light machine oil to give it that familiar scent. That is the stuff in most kits. Regards, Brian

Eric, I do have strong doubts about getting any form of origami with a hagire in this case. The smith is good, but if you search the forum, you will find other posts and threads that indicate a sword has to be truly rare and unique to pass with fatal flaws. Things like Rai school, early Kamakura tachi, Ichimonji etc have passed, but because they are such important swords that they are worthy of study even with fatal flaws, and are truly remarkable. However a sword really does have to stand out, and be a great example for them to consider this I think. In this case, it is a risk, and one that I don't think would pay off at all. The cost of restoration would also likely have to be purely for your own reasons, as I doubt you would ever be able to recover the cost. Brian

Well said Jean, you expressed it perfectly. The friction here has been increasing lately, and I am not sure if it is due to an increase of members, an increase in lower class swords being discussed, or just personality clashes. However my patience is wearing thin, and if I need to start banning people, then I will. I am only diplomatic to a point, but it is not worth the extra stress. I would normally just delete the comments above, but I think people need to hear this, so I am going to hijack Max's thread for this. I am not only directing this to the people who make rude comments. Some of the blame has to go to people who make statements that can only be seen to encourage negative replies. If someone was to post a message saying "I am a sword sensei, and a Ninja" then can you blame others for not being able to hold in sarcastic replies? However the difference between mature collectors and part time "kids" is that we have to hold back comments that contribute nothing to the aims of the board. Rather let the mods handle them, than lead the thread down a one way path. What I am saying is that I expect adult collectors to have the maturity to either ignore statements that irk them, or just add others that they disagree with to their foes list and not see the comments. And if you post something that is fairly ridiculous and someone does call you out on it, then have the maturity to ignore it, apologise, argue in private, or leave it for someone in charge to handle. I am saying this for the last time. I am going to add another mod or 2 in the comming days, and they will be stricter than me. Both myself and Stephen need less stress, and I am hoping that with more mods, some of you guys can learn a bit of self control. I have seen a good increase in useful and decent info lately, and can't understand why it is often ruined by a single thoughless comment or 2. For the sake of the other 3000 people reading this forum, can we please get back on track? Brian Edit to add: I don't think any of us needs the forum, much as we don't need the internet or need to collect. Some of us do it because we enjoy it, enjoy sharing knowledge, are looking for info, or just like to spend time with others that share our interests. It is not a need, but it is appreciated by everyone that receives help.

Darcy, Have you had any further success getting a full translation done? If not, then we can contact some of the members who might be able to assist, but might not have seen this thread yet. Brian

Hi Nico, welcome to the forum. Sorry, but I deleted a bunch of the pics that weren't really necessary. Thought that 26 images were maybe just a bit much, as we don't need every inch of the saya etc. Please remember folks that you can upload up to 5 pics in ONE post, before making a new one. Just for the future, as I see many are doing one per post. I am not sure how much info we can provide. This falls under the generic mumei reasonable-condition late koto/early shinto wakizashi type in my opinion. Nice, but maybe not worth a full restoration. A few months of care and light uchiko work should show the details a bit better. Mounts are low/fair (although I would like some opinions on that tsuba) and looks like it is a nice, honest complete package. Bit of loose grain, but not in bad condition. I am not sure how much more info could be drawn from it. Looks like a fairly common type of Japanese sale item on eBay maybe, nothing great, but not terrible either. Regards, Brian

Ok..disclaimer noted for the future, no need to use it again...please! You forgot to include the bit about "any and all opinions are my own...the content remains my property...do not copy this..unauthorised duplication is prohibited....contents may be extremely hot....do not turn upside down.....seek medical advice before useage... and especially the bit about "may contain traces of nuts!" :lol: Brian

Who said we didn't notice? :lol: Yes, Cyrus and Mike's website was added to the links a while ago, and I am sure we all noticed when he joined here. Glad to have you here Cyrus Brian

Here you go. NBTHK one is on the right. While there are some small differences, I think it is definitely close enough to consider a polish and submitting for papers. Brian

I also haven't lost a single hair in many years...they are all in a jar next to my bed, and I know where they are :lol: :D Kidding. I blame the forum for my hair loss...it's just a co-incidence it started long before I ran this thing. Milt..how come you manage to always stay out of the pics? Brian

How is it that every time I see a pic of Darcy, he gets younger and not older like the rest of you folks? :D :D Thanks for the pics Milt, looks like fun was had. Brian

The one on eBay is probably Japanese in name only, the rest I am pretty sure is Chinese. Higher level forged Chinese, but I am confident these are not made in Japan. Pretty obvious really. I would bother with them myself. If you want a genuine Nihonto, then go to Usagiya website and custom order one to be made. You are not going to come even close to the price of that replica on eBay though..more like $6000-10000. Brian

Here is a good page on the poets: http://web-Japan.org/museum/others/uta/ ... ka_04.html Going by the pics, the one I can identify is the 4th down with the bow and arrows. he is Ariwara-no-Narihira (825-880) I wonder if the poems listed under their names are the ones in the horimono? In this case "Not even the gods could have seen Tatsuta River Crimson as this, tie-dyed, brilliant with leaves." I suppose it is unlikely these are the quoted poems, someone would have to identify exactly which poems have been used here for each poet. The second horimono is Ono-no-Komachi of course. Moriyama san, are they shown on the blade in the order you wrote them? Brian

Darcy, What a magnificent and unusual blade. What are the dimensions of it? It certainly was a dedication or special order blade. Is it katakiriha zukuri? That is going to be a real challenge to translate, like reading hieroglyphics. However we do seem to have a member or 2 that have a good working knowledge of grass script. Would love to know the translation too. The horimono are superb, almost like painting with steel. Look forward to hearing more, and seeing it in the book. Brian

Is there a smiley for swoon-and-faint? Wow..looks like we are due for some really spectacular books coming up. No shortage of material to include. Must be quite some work photographing them all. How long does it take per sword? Brian

Took me a while to get the com(hard-to-pass)rad :lol: He has an eagle eye for gimei, something that is necessary in this game Maybe this helps. Can't get over the lower left stroke of the naga kanji immediately though? Brian

Hi Ed, Looking forward to the pics. Look at the Forum Guidelines section for info on how to post pics, what size etc. Not familiar with Hattiesburg, MS, but maybe some of our US members can advise you on where your closest sword studybranch is, or where to take it to get a decent opinion. An early Kamakura blade would be a nice find. A few pics will help us to give some advice. Try and get an overall shot of the shape, some of the tang and maybe a few of the blade/hamon. Also include a few dimensions. Regards, Brian

You see max! Looking at all those good swords in polish has totally ruined your eyes for out of polish, average stuff. You should stop looking at good swords, and spend more time on eBay or flea markets! Just kidding folks! It is just a parody. Do NOT follow that advice. :lol: Max, without showing decent hada or hamon, I am not sure how far we can get with it. Anything would just be a bad guess. You already know that you should be sending it for at least a window to see what is under there and an opinion. Cheap opinions are very often only worth what they cost Pics are a bit dark for me, maybe someone can see something that will lead to some hints. Wish I was in the position to go for TH or nothing Brian

Thank you very much Morita san. I think it would be very hard to find a picture of 4 of these yari together. They are fairly rare, and I have yet to see one for sale. I think many of these were converted to tanto. Dr Stein has this to say about them: Fascinating picture. Does anyone have one of these in their collection? Brian

Thanks for the link Martin. Maybe not having that artist's eye, I am not as doubtful as to the item's existence as Ford, but I think before we find a disagreement where there isn't one, I think I will point out that no-one here is calling this a good tsuba by any means, whether it is one, was one, or will never be one. No arguments that as a tsuba, it is bad. As a random iron work, it isn't good either. Maybe as an example of late Meiji period export work it is valid (assuming it is that) but even without the laquer and filling of the ana, it is just plain mediocrity I think. Worst case scenario, it is a plate of iron with laquer added to try and "doll it up" to make it more attractive. Best case scenario, it is a bad tsuba that was messed with to "doll it up" to fool Westerners. Either way, unless you collect Meiji period laquer work that was made for Westerners, it isn't all that interesting to a tsuba collector. I have no doubt there are good tsuba out there with laquer added later for the export market or otherwise, but this isn't one. Agreed? Brian

Ian, We certainly don't mind counter points of course, they lead to interesting discussions. I'll give it to you that rotated, the design doesn't appear as bad, and might not be upside down. However (and i did consider the meiji lacqerwork theory) the ana would have no place on the tsuba if it was not cut out, and if it was just filled, then the shape was bad to begin with. I would put the theory forward (hesitantly) that maybe this was made as a late Meiji tourist trinket piece, but its origin was just based on a tsuba design, and it was never one to begin with? Discuss. Brian Edit to remove the rotated pic that I see Stephen just took care of

Max, That's just nasty teasing us with that as an eBay find. Very nice set indeed. So nice...I think it belongs on display here at my house instread of in your closet (I assume that is metaphorically speaking ) I think the hitsu ana (or bitsu?) have been altered at some stage, but otherwise it looks like nice work indeed. Brian

Stan, What Ford meant was that in this case, the base is iron, not bronze. Not on all tsuba. In most cases the alloys won't be bronze as such, but a Japanese alloy, and I guess novices just call it bronze. Ford is just poking fun at the fantasy aspect of this one...it does look like a joke photoshop job. Don't take the comments about it not existing too literally In this case, you learned a bit about tsuba..which is far more valuable than a bid on this oddity. Don't worry..we all start off from scratch and learn from there. I would love to know what this does end up selling for. Brian