Brian

Ok, rotated the pics and re-uploaded to ensure you don't have to stand on your head to read them Brian

I am not 100% sure they do supply Namikawa, but they do supply many of the shops. Franky, with the genuine, helpful and polite service I receive from Namikawa, I am more than happy to deal with them. Brian

If you know the Highlander series...the phrase "There can be only one..." will ring a bell...and Nigel already has that stunt booked :lol: Sorry..English (at least first names) required in addition to any Katakana, Cyrillics or other foreign languages Btw..nice gear. Link us to a short video of the "action" if you have any. Brian

I think this is who you are looking for: http://www16.plala.or.jp/katana-iimura/ ... glish.html Not sure what grade stones they sell though. Namikawa will find you any grade you like if you ask them, they have lots of good stuff that is not on their site. Brian

Well there goes your anonymity out the window :D Think you can now start signing your post with at least a first name. Brian

Tifs should display fine, but not sure why all that open space? I cropped and enlarged, but this is the best I could get it. Send me any better pic you have of it, and I'll replace the top image. Brian

Nice looking sword. Just a theory about the ring on the kashira. I think it is as simple as not having a place to hang a sword tassel from, and so someone either screwed or brazed the ring onto the back of the kashira to have a place to add the tassel. Unless it came with a tassel attached, this is of course just a theory. Brian

Amazing analysis Darcy, This is a wealth of information. With your permission, I would like to edit this thread a bit and copy it as an article to the archives section. Lots to learn from here, thanks. Brian

Pete, That was nasty. Funny....but nasty Rich, feel free to ban him from your Tosogu forum for that :D Brian

Nigel, Looked through my references, but couldn't find anything. Hopefully someone will have come across him before. Brian

Yes, I am pretty embarassed to have missed it myself, but the 6th August was the first post besides my own on this new NMB (by Stephen) and therefore I would regard that as the 1st birthday of this forum. Yep..1 year old, and a lot of lost hair :D No big speech, just a big thanks to all you members for making this a success, and wishes for many more (without so much hair loss! :lol: ) Huge thanks also go out to Rich T and Rich S for beginning this huge venture that I hope to continue, and to Stephen for the constant assistance. Lots more of you out there, but you all know who you all are Regards, Brian

That doesn't look like an outright fake to me. It looks like a much bigger naginata blade that was broken, and reshaped. Same as you would do with a katana blade that has a hagire? Machi are moved way up past the hi, and the dimensions all look reshaped. Some of those late naginata have these badly cut hi filled with the red paint. Not something that I believe is restorable, but I think it probably had its origins as something that was ok. The other possibility is a ceremonial polearm that has been worked on. Brian

Ludolf, Outstanding work! Great way to compare signatures, and a good example of how to start studying strokes. Each signature has some similarities, but enough discrepancies to make me agree with you on the gimei. Of course just opinion, and subject to shinsa. Let the blade confirm or deny as usual. Thanks, Brian

Darcy, How about donating it to the owner of this forum for all his hard work? :D :lol: :D Kidding. Great find! Nice to know it will be spared and restored. I think this would be an excellent candidate for a proper polish by Bob, and shinsa. There is no telling if it was sold by the family at one time, captured or lost, so I think the decision is yours and yours alone. I would be very interested in following the progess of this one as it gets restored. Sometimes these things just find their way to the right owner. Nice one! Brian

A good place in the UK to find decent priced Shin Gunto is at Michael D. Long: http://www.michaeldlong.com/ They aren't too familiar with Japanese swords, and I wouldn't buy an expensive Nihonto there, but for WW2 swords, they have some decent deals. Feel free to ask for opinions if you are looking at something. Also, I have never heard anything bad about Bill Tagg, so that advice is good. You should be able to pick up a Shin Gunto for around $1000 from the USA, and a bit higher from the UK usually. Regards, Brian

He either reads the forum (quite likely) or the dealer Koichi was in contact with contacted him (more likely) Brian

Hmm..that is very interesting info, especially with the papers having the same number on them. Can you ask them to take a look at the auction and see if those pics were taken by them? If they are different pictures, it would be interesting to know where he got the pics from. I wonder if they have it on consignment from someone who is also selling it through this seller? Doubt it, but there must be an explanation where he got the pics and info from, as he usually does have what he sells. Brian

Richard, Thanks for sharing. Yes, I have heard of this before. Sword cuts with broken off pieces of blade still in them. I guess you have to be extra careful when doing the uchiko work Regards, Brian

Thanks, So it has Juyo and not Tukubetsu Juyo? Hmm..does anyone want to contact Token Sugita and ask them if this is the same sword, and why it is being offered at $20K starting bid on eBay, and $100K on their site? Maybe he put it there on consignment, but doesn't explain why anyone would take that much of a knock. Brian

Nice listing Grey I see his new auction now states that it may be modern, and the price has been dropped. Based on this, it is in his best interests to contact you, offer you a refund, and you 2 mutually withdraw feedback. But sellers very seldom do the right thing in these cases, and must therefore suffer the consequences. Brian

Max, Not sure what to make of this one. He does say it has Tokubetsu Juyo papers. What is that origami pictured there? It also does look like the same sword pictured by Koichi, and he says it is listed somewhere else. Same sword or similar one? We all know that you are not going to get a TJ sword for $20K, but the seller does have what he sells usually. The problems usually lie elsewhere. I have seen all those swords claiming they are "Juyo candidates" or will "easily go Juyo" but this is the first time I have seen him actually say it has T.J. papers? This is a curious one for sure. Brian

Peter, Can't make out what is happening with the mune there, but the shinae ware, condition and fact that the mekugi ana looks punched would rule out Showa for me, and since there is indications that the nakago was well rusted and corroded before the cleaning, would say it is at least a shinto, maybe late Koto. I don't see much to indicate Showa there, and the fact that the nakago seems shortened maybe (not that well) also gives me that impression. The yasurime though are still a bit too clear for too much age, so perhaps we are looking at a Shinto indeed. Difficult one from pics, and the best way to come to a conclusion would be to try and get it to a sword meeting near you, where they can look at it in hand. I don't think the shape of the mune is too much indicator here, as it could have easily been changed with an incorrect polish by an amateur. Regards, Brian

Cosmoline is nasty stuff. The gun guys know it well, as many surplus rifles come caked all over them. There are many ways to remove it, but you will have to take care with a sword, and properly apply liberal doses of oil afterwards to prevent any corrosion. I use petrol or diesel to remove it. Other good methods are kerosene and Ronsol lighter fluid. All of these should be done outside in a well ventilated area. be careful not to get there near any fittings that have any plating, as I don't know what they will do to soft metals. WD-40 and other solvents work ok, but will take more time. Basically you need a degreaser. Remove the bulk with very hot water, and the rest with a solvent. If you search google for "remove cosmoline" you will come across many pages on this. The best is to use common sense and try a method in a very small area to see the results. As I said..be careful of fittings and any non-iron parts! Oil the blade properly afterwards and I suggest keeping them well oiled for a while afterwards to make sure no traces of any solvents remain to cause corrosion or rust. Brian

Hmm..I've found that the kashira is usually just small enough to almost fit into the fuchi, or close to it. If they are the same size, usually they are not a pair? This just from the few that I have here. I will have to measure a few of my swords to get a closer assumption, but depending on the style, I would not rule the pairing out. What are the others' obsevations on this? Brian

Jock, I would like to move this to the auction and sales section, but that will mess up your direct link on eBay to this post. Please don't use this as an eBay photo hosting site? :? Brian