Brian

Not sure what you mean there Grey...but I do like my grain to be on the blade, and not in the photos :D Surprised he didn't add "has a very visible grain" :lol: Brian

Nice tsuba. Not quite priceless...but very nice Same theme as the one Milt posted about here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... php?t=1983 Although his is a parasol, and the posted one is "straw hats" Brian

Yep, they can do that. If the material and cloth is not cotton-based, then you can heat a pin or nail, and once you have drilled through the wood, you burn the edges of the hole so that there are no edges to get caught by the screw. Don't everdo it, just burn the circle a bit so that it won't be visible when the peg is replaced, but the screw can go through cleanly. Brian

That is the big question :D Another ferric chloride polish that hides everything I need to see, and makes hamon appear everywhere. It is nasty stuff...even worse than mild acid I believe. Seeing it too damn often, and ppl should be strung up for using it. I do believe it looks like a koto though. The rust and corrosion on the nakago would bear that out, but I would have to post pics to get more of an idea. The multiple ana would also lean me towards koto. I don't get the impression of o-suriage though. Might be one of those things that I have to forever wonder about until I can afford to have it polished and papered. The ana could just be some odd variation on a whim, or it could be an indicator of what we have been discussing. Didn't see much info on the square or keyhole ana anywhere, but your info certainly does bring us some interesting possibilities on some of these blades. Brian

Pete, It's a wakizashi, nagasa around 43cm, shinogi zukuri. Needs a polish badly, looks like there may be some hitatsura. I'll post some pics when the light is right outside, I get horrible pics indoors. Brian

Pete, Here is the nakago in question. I believe it is slightly suriage, and the nakago has a slight bend too. :? It definitely looks punched that way. The yasurime are not visible, and look to have worn off over the years. Brian

Pete, Your pic brings up an interesting question that i have been wondering about. I have a waki that has multiple mekugi ana, and one of them is deliberately square. I have also seen posts occasionally with theories that square mekugi ana can sometimes be linked to early swords. Looking at the posts of the ones you attached, it would make sense for the ana to be square or rectangular instead of round. Does anyone have any theories or examples of mekugi ana that are not round? I have also heard of them being keyhole shaped, and not caused by 2 ana crossing over into each other. Brian

By CAP FROM THE PEG THAT SECURES THE BLADE IN A TANTO OR SHORT SWORD I assume he means a single menuki. Menuki were originally positioned over the mekugi before they became less utilitarian. Entirely possible. Whether it is part of a saya inlay or menuki or other decorative motif, they all fall into the same category I expect. Quite possible it is a menuki though. Brian

Hi all, I have posted about this one before, but wasn't able to find out any info about the smith, or whether this one could be a gendaito or not. It is signed Noshu Seki ju Tadakatsu, and there isn't much info to be found on him in any of my books. Dr Stein's site only has him as a Seki smith, and made showato. This one has an interesting hamon, but due to the fact that someone (*sigh*) has used that old enemy of Nihonto...acid or ferric chloride...the hamon has gone overly white and the nie/nioi and hada is not showing. I feel that the hamon does not look remotely oil quenched, and those contrasting lines might polish up to show some nice hataraki. I am not sure exactly what the ferric chloride does show, and if the lines that look like sunagashi and chikei would disappear with a polish, or show some nice hataraki. They might just be differing hardnesses in the metal, or maybe follow hada if it is there? A good reason to avoid the use of any chemicals in "polishing" What you see afterwards is seldom what appears to be there. So my questions are as follows: Does anyone have any books with any info on this smith at all? Does this look like it might be a Gendaito, or just a Showato? Looks like the hamon might be choji based, which isn't common with oil quenched blades? Any other comments? The koshirae is civilian and plain, and there are no stamps to be found anywhere. As seen, the mei does match the Showa one on Dr Stein's site. Thanks, Brian

I think if you leave it to set for 24 hours in open air, the glue would be inert and there would be no fumes to worry about. Those white glues are probably the most harmless when it comes to fumes. Might want to wait for other opinions first though, as I don't want to be responsible if your tsuba turns pink or purple :D What signs are there on the existing pieces? I am sure they just used glue originally, I doubt rice glue would be effective given the small working surface. Brian

Henry, I think since rice glue is only used on shirasaya because it can be split later to clean the inside, then I would suspect that proper wood glue would be superior to use on this box, as you do not plan on ever removing the center peg. You don't want that peg comming loose sometime while you are transporting the tsuba, so go with the stronger bond in this case. There are a variety of different wood glues out there, and the best one I have seen is a new clear and thin liquid that bonds very strongly, and comes out of Germany I think? Not sure of the name, but might not be available in Japan anyways. Just go with any good wood glue, and use sparingly. Regards, Brian

Thanks Ted, that is an excellent article. Would like to add it as an article in the archive section. Always good to hear it from the people who deal with it on a daily basis Jacques, that is also an interesting article you have posted there. Surprising analysis of that Sukesada blade, and explains a lot of the flaws and general faults we see in various blades. I guess we would all like to think that these blades were forged according to the ideals pictured, but when forging them, it is all to easy to have something go wrong and end up with an internal crosss section far from what was planned originally. Thanks, Brian

Peter, Although all the references I have seen have the mei on the same side as the mon, I would have thought that if someone was trying to fake this signature, then they wouldn't have made such an obvious mistake that is so glaring? Seems more like a deliberate act to me. Also, sudareba is very typical for the Yoshimichis, and not all that common elsewhere, so that ties in nicely. Not saying it isn't gimei yet, but those aspects definitely encourage lots of further study and info before writing it off as a gimei maybe. The nakago jiri also matches closely the ones I was researching recently. Good luck. Brian

Ludolf, Think I am going to have to change your title to "resident sleuth" :D You really have a knack for going that extra mile with research and filling in the missing gaps. Great work Brian

Jeremy, I think that is impossible to say, even an estimate is not possible. Some blades have thicker skin steel than others. The amount of polishing that needs to be done depends on the damage. Pitting? scratches? Just muted hataraki? There is no such thing as a common amount of metal that is removed with a polish. Some just need to be renewed, others need a full polish from the first foundation stones. Do chips or nicks need to be removed? It all comes into play. One sword might take 10 polishes, while another might be tired after 2 if there was a lot of work necessary. Sorry, but I think that is a question that can't be answered. Brian

Just by co-incidence, I have Twilight Samurai sitting at home right now, and haven't watched it yet. I will be sure to make some time this comming weekend, and will keep an eye open for the other titles mentioned. Thanks all, Brian

Wow John, I really like that first one. Brian

I see no reason to suspect this is oil quenched, besides the stamp (and that is not 100% reliable) Looks like a nice hamon in fact. Traces of hadori finish? The best thing to do is to look closely and see if you can see any signs of nie. Hada can be hidden by the polish, although in the right light you may see it. That is also a very nice horimono. Because this was made before the war, I would probably say tamahagane, although there are always exceptions. But either way a very nice sword by a known maker. Wait for one of the USA shinsas to come around and find someone here to act as an agent to ship it to and submit it. That will tell you more than all of us put together. (Btw..let's try and keep all the posts about one sword in one single thread) Brian

Welcome back Ford, you have been gone too long Thanks Pete, Rich and Milt for the info. (Even if we do seem to develop ADD sometimes :D ) Brian

Pete, Thanks, I agree that is exactly what it is. Milt..I see what you are refering to, but the bottom part of the "crack2 isn't really there, just caused by the loss of gold making it appear that way. This is how the ware actually runs... (I don't consider it too bad, gives it character and I bought the waki, not the tsuba )

Lol Yes...looks like a clack, but if you look at it in hand, and you follow that ware around where it is not as noticeable, then that is where it comes up to the surface of the tsuba, so it is a continuation of the ware, not through the whole mimi. Brian

Yasu..... (possibly Yasushige) Will await better confirmation from others. Brian

"Many thanks for the information. There I will probably have to .... draw conclusions"?? (withdraw the auction as a result?) Brian

All, I know we have spoken briefly about whether or not ware on tsuba are fatal, but I was wondering if anyone has any info on the following flaw on a tsuba I got recently on a wakizashi? I am unsure if it is a casting flaw (doesn't appear to be cast to me?) or a flaw in the folding or forging? The opening seems to run around a section of the tsuba, and then seems to go diagonally up to meet the edge of the tsuba. How badly are ware such as this regarded on tsuba? Any info on the tsuba would also be appreciated. Thanks, Brian

Here are some pics that I was sent today: Thanks for any info you can provide. Brian