Brian

Yep, that is a good idea. I have used a .22 one, and an air rifle one before (.177) Use a nylon brush, and you can wrap a cotton patch around the brush. Work gently and before you do it, give the brush a few hard tugs to make sure it is securely attached. You do not want the brush comming off at the bottom of the saya I had that happen to a junk gunto scabbard, and it caused very real problems. I don't think the saya is too contaminated, and I wouldn't go overboard though. Brian

Dr Stein's site is a very popular one, and very often exceeds the bandwidth allocation daily. However it is usually up a few hours later, so the best is to just keep trying and you will get in soon enough. There is also a mirror site here: http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm Regards, Brian

You 2 replied at the same time. :D Apparently 3-4 drops of oil is unanimous Grey said it all. Btw..don't use pure clove oil. The oil is just slightly clove scented, but we know what you meant Remy Brian

Henry, Firstly, I think you need to clarify that you mean oiling and not polishing. Unprofessional polishing is frowned upon officially by the forum, and I do not advocate any self-polishing here. However your situation is oiling and preserving, and not polishing hopefully. The provided oil and also light machine oil should work. If it is beading, then your blade has not been cleaned properly, and has a residue on it. You need to apply the uchiko properly or wipe with pure alchohol to remove the residue first to prevent the beading. Search the forum for "oiling nihonto" or "cleaning blade" and you will come up with a lot of info on this subject, including all the recommended oils etc. I would not recomend car wax. You do not know what the long term effects will be due to the additives. Just stick to the correct oil..making sure you clean it first properly, and solve the beading problem. Remember it is a very light coating of oil, I think you may be using too much. Also..consider one of the better quality cleaning sets. Some of the cheaper ones have bad quality oil and uchiko. Brian

I think it's the forum that deserves the agency fee :D I wonder if I can convince them to buy a raffle ticket? :D :lol: I sometimes wonder why some of the dealers don't take forums like this one more seriously. I am pretty sure quite a few good sales are initiated here, and seems like a good marketing venue that reaches a huge overseas audience. Ah well....glad we are able to pick up some of the nice items because of good hints from members. I would love to see some dealers get more involved..say some free advertising on the forum occasionally in return for a slight discount for the members, or maybe free shipping. Future plans to work on I guess Brian

Stephen, Can't say I have come across their auctions before. Is this one of the eBay live auctions? I find many of those vendors are unprepare for proper online auctions, and have usually steered away from them based on the fact that you are competing with a room full of people somewhere who have access to the item, and are more likely to outbid you during the auction. Sounds interesting though... Brian

Rich, You have to be a purist drinker to have had a bad experience with sushi and sake, give up the sushi and carry on with the sake I love my sushi...would rather blame it on the sake and still continue with the raw fish :D :lol: I had some great sake in Japan, and even as a relative non-drinker, it does go well with a Japanese meal. The guys from the NMB gathering there did their best to show me that it isn't the sake that is the dangerous drink in Japan..it is the shochu! So many kinds...all nastier than the last :lol: Brian

Of course I just have to clarify that my comments were directed at the original post, and not the posting of the Kinmichi kogatana. Sashko had already said: So I was of course referring to "flower steel" and not anything hamon based. If it was directed at the hamon, that is an entirely different matter. But when spoken about in reference to the steel pattern on a fake sword, it can only mean a real or fake damascus pattern, where rose pattern is one of the known variants. However on a fake, it is likely not even damascus, but an etched pattern, and does not need to be elaborated on too much here. There is a ton of info on the net about early damascus steel and patterns, but it is beyond the scope of this forum That kikusui hamon is very interesting, and well done of course. Does not appeal to most Nihonto purists, but is an art form on its own. Not my taste exactly..but I can see how much skill it must take. Regards, Brian

Darcy, Thanks again for a very educational exercise. Although I was way off, it is a great way to learn, even if I have to fight off my fear of looking foolish when posting :D Hopefully more will have a go when you have the time for another one. We also have to get the idea out of our minds that we will always be looking at one of the top 10 or so makers when you post a kantei. We are so used to seeing the very best from you, that it is hard to look elsewhere. I do need to calibrate my monitor though...pics are very dark on mine, and I have been meaning to do this for a while to make out finer details. All in all a great exercise. I look forward to the next one. Regards, Brian

Ok..both the orakaeshi mei (if we are correct) and the jizo boshi point to koto. Mid to late Muromachi? Blade appears quite stout and although not easy to see with the nakago whited-out, it appears to be curving through the nakago. Shallow koshi sori? Hamon looks to me to be nioi, with nie and sunagashi. Hada looks a little coarse? (Although my monitor profile is a bit dark and hard to make out) Has definite Mino traits, but I'm leaning towards Soshu in the Mino tradition. With the Mino influence and ample sunagashi, long kaeri I am leaning towards Muramasa too, although there are a few points that lead me away from that. Still an amateur at this. I would have to take a look at Masazane too to see if that is closer. Brian

Darn, I was reading this on my cellphone the whole day, but couldn't reply from there. I was waiting the whole day to say it might be orikaeshi mei to me, only to see John and Martin pipped me to the post :D Now we have to go back and take another look. Will take a look at the high res pics and see what I can come up with. Brian

I think this isn't referring to a Japanese steel, but a technique used in damascus steel where they have the ability to forge patterns into the steel. Also seen in ancient damascus steel and wootz. You get ladder damascus, rose damascus etc etc. Not a Japanese thing though, and of no real value in this case I assume. Brian

Thierry, The French members of this forum have been too kind! Thank you very much, these catalogs are invaluable to collectors. I only wish I could enter my own raffle..there are some great items :D Wow...the response to this has been amazing, couldn't do it without you all. Brian

Just a final appeal to anyone that has anything to donate... and a huge thanks to those that have offered items. We have a very nice selection of tsuba, books, videos etc. If anyone has anything else to add, please let me know by the weekend, as I will be putting up the raffle purchases live on site soon after that. Does anyone have a kogatana, yanone, menuki, kozuka etc etc lying around? I do understand that not everyone has the means to donate, but you can always purchase an entry ticket or 2 It is by no means expected or compulsory by any means, and those that do have my sincere appreciation. I am still looking for someone in the NCJSC who can facilitate a Paypal membership if the winner should happen to choose that subscription. Anyone who can assist, please pm or email me. Regards, Brian

Darcy, Wow..that is stunning Must be amazing to see in person. Still waiting for Barry to pop in and tell us more about the sword in the original pics...is it his, or on loan for the photos? Very educational post. Once you get the hada, it is easy to get to the smith. Brian

Rich, That is the best news I have heard in ages. I have had many emails asking if I had heard anything. You have lots of friends and fans out there Take it easy, get some well deserved rest, and keep us updated. All the best to you. Brian

Sashko, These fake mei don't usually have any real meaning in English. They are just a combination of gibberish designed to look like a Japanese signature, using whatever characters they felt like using on the spur of the moment. Sorry...definitely fake. Brian

Just an amateur guess, but I would say this isn't ubu, but is o-suriage and machi okuri? Probably a wakizashi at some stage? The difference in patina on the nakago, way the machi are cut (especially the mune machi), hamon and hi continuing into the nakago all make me think this. Also, the sori seems excessive for a tanto of these dimensions. Let's see what the others have to say. Brian

I also think your choice has a nice tight hada, and all things being equal, it seems that well cut hi do increase resale value. I think it's a good choice. Suguha is also supposed to be the "refined collector's choice" once we have gotten past the flashy wild Miono stuff. Kind of like the old iron tsuba refinement over the flashy kinko items. I'm still a beginner though..so flashy and wild still intrigues me :D Brian

Andreas, I hope it is you that has it on hold I'm a sucker for well cut Bo-Hi and Soehi. Add to that a good polish, great condition, nice hada and healthy hamon with nice hataraki, and all for JPY250K with papers? Sounds like a good deal to me. Don't think you can go wrong with that one. Brian

Ah..I think I have it now. Cheated slightly as there is a give-away, but I found it very interesting. Not a feature I have seen much of in person, and hence did not recognise that pattern associated with the smith. I won't give it away just yet..let others have a go. I'll give another hint though: http://www.nihontocraft.com/nihonto_jigane_vari.html If you can identify the pattern, you can probably find the smith. Beautiful! Brian

Here you go: http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_002.htm He is in Japan, so I think keep the English simple, and hopefully he will be able to shed some light. Btw..he has a notice on his site that says he is unable to answer emails between Oct 4th and 22nd, and asks for emails to only be sent after the 22nd. Simon Rowson knows him, and would have been able to pass on the enquiry, but he seems to have dropped off the planet lately Brian

Barry, Great photos, nice work Just a quick glance while I am at work on a Monday morning, but looks like Gassan Ayasugi hada to me? Brian

I have been provided with the dealer's details and the emails showing acknowledgement of the debt. Because this is between 2 dealers who are trying to work out the details, are not part of the forum, and there has been no legal opinion yet, I am not going to publicise the dealer in question here. I believe this was also brought up on another forum. However I do urge the dealers to sort this out for the benefit of the community. If there is a lack of funds to sort out the matter, then the dealer should offer other stock Nihonto as surety until the matter is dealt with. Otherwise if there is really no other option, then legal action should be taken. Out of state should not pose too much problem. Be careful of consignment and any item transfer without payment. It is simply not a good idea unless you are willing to take the risk or know the dealer personally. Brian

Hi Joey, Welcome to the world of Nihonto. If you look at the links page above the forum, you will find most of the informational pages there, and browsing through them should provide you with many months worth of reading. One of the best pages to start out with is Rich Stein's Japanese Sword Index, and pay special notes to the books page, with excellent recommendations. Feel free to ask any questions you might have, but be aware that many of them will be answered in the pages above. Regards, Brian