Brian

Ok, let's see if I can address some of these issues. I had much better comments in my head throughout the day, but few of them lingered long enough for me to post them here. I took a long look at the other forums out there, who was participating, and who I wanted to appeal to mostly before laying down the forum guidelines. One of the hardest decisions to make was whether to allow eBay discussions or not. Quite frankly, eBay is here to stay. There is no getting around that. I think we would all be very surprised if we knew who some of the people are that browse online auctions. Maybe some of them make one careful purchase a year, after carefully identifying their "target" with prior experience, but you only have to have a look at some of the buyers and sellers to know that there are deals to be had if you know what to look for, and lots of mistakes to be made if you don't. Beginners have to start somewhere. Hopefully they don't start with eBay, or otherwise have the good sense to ask someone who knows, before they buy. That is one of the (lesser) aims here. The main aim is as stated above: To promote the study and preservation of Japanese swords and fittings. That overrules everything else. But if people are going to dabble on eBay, then there are very few (if any) other places they can come to before buying and making a mistake. This is even before we come to the pitfalls of fraud and online sellers with lesser ethics. If not here, then where? We were all beginners once, and many like me are still beginners. I still consider myself an absolute novice, and any tiny information I do have comes mainly from this forum, and the books I am clever enough to invest in. So I constantly look at this forum as something that I would have appreciated when i started out, and constantly learn from. Is it the ideal way to learn? Of course not. That comes from studying good swords in hand, and meeting with other collectors. But when those are not available, this is a good second bet. better than nothing at the very least. That all being said, is this forum focussed on absolute beginners and people looking to make a buck? I would like to think not. We have very experienced collectors here who still have time to share what they know, and hopefully still learn the occasional thing along the way. People who don't have to, but sit and translate for people who have a need, without any other reward besides a simple thanks. Others who browse the "For Sale" section and make a buck selling their excess goods without all the auction hassles. Others who pick up a bargain there before it goes to eBay. People like Rich S and Rich T who know all the pitfalls of running a forum like this first hand, and yet still come here and share what they can. Others who spent their lives dedicated to Nihonto, and yet still type a patient and rewarding reply to someone who is just starting out. There are also more advanced discussions to be found..some going into extreme detail of things I had no idea about. Y'know..even a quick look at the General Discussion and Nihonto section shows me a whole page of great discussions, and VERY few of them dealing with anything that isn't relevant. Yes, there is the occasional off-topic post or "financially based translation request, but I really don't see floods of them at all. Even some of the basic questions led to serious discussion about steel compositions, new smiths, school debates and so on. It is easy to pick out one post a week and say that the tone is deminishing or so on...but that is out of a 100 or so posts. We always note the negative and skip over the positive. In an ideal world, we get super-serious, discuss only serious subjects, all the NTHK and NBTHK panel members join, and we carry on as some online super society. But I have my doubts that would happen. Lots of the serious collectors would never participate no matter how this forum was run. Many are not online, and even more prefer face-to-face discussion. And then the newcommers would continue to buy junk on eBay, and once we are all dead, the next generation would have wonderful collections of Chinese junk. And so I try and offer some middle ground. I believe you can have a serious and on-topic forum as long as you narrow the field of interest, as Rich T has done. He has a wonderful forum, and it will continue that way as long as he controls it as well as he has. I highly recommend it for everyone to read regularly as I do. As for Nihonto forums...most have fallen away for the reasons far above. These things take a lot of time to run. If my boss knew how much time I spent online at work, I would be jobless. So comments about "this forum is going downhill" or "I am going to leave if so and so doesn't change" do hurt. Take a look at the Tosogu forum. I think it is a stunning success. Nowhere near as good as Rich's forum, but most of us sword guys read it daily and now have some knowledge where there was none. This is mainly due to 10 or so tosogu guys who answer questions, discuss topics and are not scared to repeat things that they regard as elementary by now. They make it work. If the advanced collectors leave, then that section goes down the tubes. That all being said (and I have rambled considerably) there is not a single post above that doesn't have a good and valid point. I want us to be able to discuss items without the sole purpose being for someone to sell it with an accurate description. I have addressed that before in a sticky, and I honestly don't see it happening frequently anymore. If noticed, you only have to notify me or Stephen and we will take action. I don't see too many fakes being posted with requests for verification anymore. Maybe we are getting somewhere? Yes, there are posts that are questionable, but are they really so frequent? I don't see it, if they are. I see a lot more interesting posts giving info on schools, displays, recent events, new finds and related items. No-one can predict when a "fluff post" is going to turn serious and some of them have turned into the most interesting threads of all. Yes, I do allow eBay discussions here. The reasons I think have been well expressed by now. But I do not encourage them or wish for them to dominate. If you need to ask something, or have a serious question, then by all means ask it. If you need to "check out" a seller, then so so, but try and not turn it into a "bash the seller" thread. The key should be "when necessary" and not "at any possible opportunity" should we discuss ebay. Given the fact that the previous posters do have a valid point, i am going to try and tighten up on the controls and steer eBbay discussions to the section mentioned in my previous post. Let's keep the discussions of eBay and online sale items and sellers in the appropriate section and leave the more serious discussions in their correct place. There are already rules in place for information requests that are profit based, and if anyone sees infringements, just notify me. You are welcome to ask about info on something you wish to sell, but at least let us know when you request it. Lastly, let's not pick out a few incidents and use that as a reason to leave. There are a few 1000 people weekly who gain from experienced posts, and maybe 5% of posts that tempt you to leave. For the sake of the beginners, novices and constantly learning more advanced collectors, please stick around everyone and rather be part of the solution than just pack up and leave. Oneday (hopefully far in the future) I would rather like to turn around and say I helped a few people learn about Nihonto than say I wasn't happy with things, and did the easy thing by leaving. We don't just owe it to the Nihonto world to preserve the swords and fittings for future generations...we owe it to them to pass on what we have learned. Otherwise we are nothing but selfish. Hope I haven't rambled too much. If you made it this far, you have more stamina than me I'll try and keep the ebay discussions in their place, if you all try and stick it out and help where you can. Regards, Brian

Ah..using Dr T's hint, I searched SFI and found these pages with some info: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=64298 http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=38365 To quote W.Y. Chan from that thread (He always has excellent info and sources when it comes to WW2 swords ) Brian

Ian, Yes, like Guido, I has some explaining to do to the ppl around me, when I laughed out loud while staring at the screen :D I go with Guido's explanation when it comes to kogai. Makes perfect sense to me, and hot days on the battlefield would have required such a tool when the hair was done up, and maybe even for reachign those hard to reach places under the armor when you had an itch When it comes to bashin, my own opinion is any of the offered possibilities except marking bodies on the battlefield. That is just too much of a stretch, and you would not consider the work on most of these disposable. Piers, your comments about Kankyu-to are very interesting, and had not heard of them before. So they are different to kogatana, kogai and bashin? If so, and from your explanation, I was wondering if we didn't finally solve the mystery of the item that Dirk posted about here? http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... php?t=2201 Great info from everyone, love discussions like this Brian

Folks, Bear with me for a bit please, I'm having the day from hell here :? I'll respond in detail when I get home tonight. I also want to point out that we do have a section called Auctions and Sales that is clearly labelled as "For the Discussion of Actual Sale and Auction Items or Sellers, and for eBay Auction Topics" Brian

Hi, Please sign posts with a first name and inital..thanks, and welcome to the forum The seller is ok. His stuff is genuine, and he does know what he is selling. He has some junk fixer-upper blades that are bad, and might not have a hamon left. But his higher stuff is ok. Just ask all the questions as usual and get as many pics as you can. The "project" blades are extremely rough though, and I think they have already been carefully examined to see if they could be restored before being written off and sold on eBay. Brian

He's a good seller, with nice items usually, a good reputation and excellent photos. He did say that pics would be up later, so I expect that someone either played with the bidding, or he was made an offer off eBay that made him cancel the bids and sell to someone. If the bidding went that high so fast, he either sent the pics via email on request, or someone was playing the fool. Either way, I bet it was a fantastic sword. Brian

Wow..I'm sorry I missed that when I was there. Looks like it is a definite for the next trip. 4.5M ppl active in building it? Lucky for them there were no unions back in those days :D Amazing history there, and looks beautiful. Brian

To keep this in one thread, here are the pics that were posted later: Brian

Dirk, Sure, no problem. Still a month to go and still lots of tickets available. I'm hoping there will be a run on more tickets soon, as there is a brilliant surprise of another 3 very nice tsuba that were kindly donated. Pics and info will follow in a few days Brian Left: 48,49,53,54,55,59,85,86,106-112,115-119,134-139,141,142 (edited and updated)

Thank you Guido, that is a perfect explanation Brian

Thank you Moriyama san for that helpful reminder of what is termed suriage in the Nihonto world. I know that I too had slipped into the incorrect useage of the word, and learned a thing or 2. I had started to think more in terms of the nakago itself, and not in terms of the blade. Does suriage literally mean "shortened?" If so, then I can understand where the confusion would come from. If I see a blade that is not machi-okuri, but the nakago is shortened slightly, then could I say the nakago is suriage even though the blade isn't? Is there a difference in saying this sword is suriage, and saying only the nakago is suriage? Many of us in the West have come to use suriage when the nakago is slightly shortened, whether or not the machi have been moved, and we use o-suriage when the signature has been lost. However it appears that we have to look closer to see if the machi have been affected. Let's say that an older blade wouldn't fit into a Shin-Gunto tsuka during WW2, and 1cm was cut off the nakago without changing the machi. Then strictly speaking it would be a cut nakago, but not called suriage? Thanks for the input. Brian

Folks, I know this forum is sometimes a little (too) informal and we tend to get a bit too familiar since we feel we know each other and forget that what is slightly tongue-in-cheek might not seem that way to outsiders. I do not want to see posts that might be disrespectful or rude. I would like everyone to remember that there are many who read this forum, and this is a serious hobby requiring tact when replying. Not everyone is aware of what we deal with specifically, and we owe it to the public to portray a professional and understanding attitude. Kee..the answer I would like to have seen you given is a polite request to please sign posts with a real name, however if your real name is Kee Curlee, then that would suffice, or otherwise just add a real name in your signature. This forum is only really dedicated to the genuine article, as modern repros are out of our scope of interest, but we will always help where possible. In this case, the Cold Steel/Chen blades and others are probably better addressed on a forum such as Bugei: http://www.swordforumbugei.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2 They will be able to advise you better. A proper Japanese polish can cost about $100 per inch, so it is certainly not worth doing on a non-traditional blade, but modern sword practicioners will be able ot advise you where to go to have the blade touched up. The drawing is very nice and I like it, and would make a great avatar for your profile, but is a bit out of place in the post Regards, Brian

Pm sent Brian

Hi. Pm sent about the name issue. Since this isn't Japanese, I think it is beyond the scope of this forum, and the best would be to post it on the other forum I mentioned above. They should be able to help more than we can with our Nihonto interests. Good luck with it. Brian

Thank you very much all. Morita san, you and Moriyama san should open an internet translation business :D Thank you very much for that info, it looks like he is a relatively undocumented smith. I received this additional info from the owner: Nagasa: 74cm Sori: 8mm It is nearly straight and weighs 2kg. Medium suguha hamon and short kissaki, I will have to try and get some pics up. I was pm'ed by a member to point out that the nakago is quite suriage, but the mei is in the correct place. Looking at this, it confuses me too. The only explanation I can come up with is that it is only slightly suriage, and had a second mekugi-ana at the bottom. Brian

Hi all, I was asked if anyone can assist with the translation of this mei. Sosho grass script? I'm terrible at these, even though I have the dictionary. Any help would be appreciated. Regards, Brian

Mark, I was also unable to find out anything about Unjosai Katsunaga at all. Maybe some of the members have some of the more in-depth books on WW2 makers, otherwise he is just going to have to remain one of the few undocumented smiths that we don't know anything about. If you look carefully at the hamon, can you see any nie at all? I am hoping for your sake that this is a water quenched blade and not one of the oil quenched mass produced blades. Looks like it might have possibilites? Maybe made from a Western steel or one of the ones in-between fully traditional and mass produced. Brian

Gordon, Allow me to hijack this thread to wish you a warm welcome here. I think we are very priveleged to have someone of your standing in the Nihonto community on this forum. Thanks also to the guys at the Tokyo gathering who must have done their bit to "advertise" the NMB..although from the sound of things a few were assaulted by doors, floors and various objects, and some might not even remember they were at the meeting :D :lol: I look forward to your input where possible given your hectic schedule. Regards, Brian

What confuses me (and him too obviously) is the way he seems to get confused between item #190173810325 (the one you contacted him through) and the one this is all about. He says: This auction hasn't even ended yet, and he seems to be accusing you of fraud with it. Note also the following quotes: "YOUR NON PAYMENT OF HIS GOODS.." and "HE STATES YOU SENT HIM AN EMAIL..." So this is someone else corresponding for Mr Hardy. Does he have a partner who doesn't understand English well? Surely he doesn't speak about himself in the 3rd person? Funny stuff going on here. Brian

Yep, jumonji yari are very expensive and difficult to polish. I know many togishi simply refuse to work on them. I have one myself that I would love to get polished oneday. Louis Skebo in Canada also works on them. You can check the restoration section on the links page above for many other contacts. I don't think you will find one very close to you that will do a very good job. Brian

I always wondered if this Mr Hardy is illiterate or has some medical condition. Is there a free language translator on the net for "Hardy to English?" :D You did the right thing. Now you can feel better about any action that you take. I assume you contacted him to pay him, and he has sent another of his tirades? I would personally just ignore him. Or tell him to take legal action against you using the same lawyer that he just lost the case against. Even better...tell him that since the sword arrived a few days after you bought it, then there was certainly not enough time for him to legally de-register it in Japan, and he is welcome to take action againt you, as you will be sending that info to the Japanese authorities. If eBay contacts you about non-payment, tell them you suspect him of illegal export of licenced goods, and do not want to be involved in paying for his illegal activities. Ah..or just leave him alone and he'll go away. At least your conscience can rest easy that you wanted to pay. Brian

Nice find Pete! Really good article. I wonder if there are other old NCJSC articles in .pfd format floating around on the site there? Thanks for sharing. Brian

Great stuff Ford, exactly the kind of logic and discussion I was hoping for What say the other iron enthusiasts? Brian

According to this (still an amazing page with weeks worth of reading) it may be Katsumoto, or with the thicker width of the bars seen here, I think more likely to be Yamana? http://www.geocities.com/kazenaga23/crests3.htm Frequently runs out of bandwidth, so if it doesn't load, then try again in an hour. Also check out some of the other pages there. Brian

Jacques, I don't think this is necessarily so. The function of the guard is not really to prevent blade strikes, this is the job of the mune. So I don't think tsuba have to be soft. Also, we often hear about good tsuba that they "ring like a bell when tapped" This would make me think that this harmonic ring must come from good tempering and quenching? Brian