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

If the blade is a star stamped Gendaito, then I am confident the blade is 100% original, and probably the koshirae too. Unusual yes, but during the war there could have been any number of expedient measures taken if there was a shortage of materials. The ito looks original, and maybe just a fanciful choice at the time. (Maybe it was heavily laquered later due to a very humid environment where he was serving?) I think the best would be to maybe contact Ohmura san in Japan, as he is probably the expert on Gunto. Link can be found on the links page. Once again it shows there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to wartime mountings. Brian

Whether or not your email shows publicly depends on what settings you specify in your profile. Btw...I remembered reading a good article on doing oshigata recently, but took me a while to remember where. It is in the book MODERN Japanese SWORDSMITHS 1868 – 1945, An Oshigata Book, by John Slough around page 205. Very decent article. Regards, Brian

Doug, There is a current thread running currently here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... php?t=2194 Regards, Brian

Rémy, I am sure you didn't offend anyone, it is an interesting article and times were different back then. You merely quoted the article, and offence can't be taken if none was meant No worries about it, the intentions were good. Regards, Brian

Ah..the power of the forum and getting the word out to many people this fast I assume the commission cheque is in the mail? :lol: Those who got a good deal because of the original posting...another reason to buy those raffle tickets when they become available Brian

I won't edit the use of "Jap" here since it is a direct quote of the title of the article, but just noting that nowdays some find it slightly offensive and derogatory to abbreviate "Japanese" like this. In 1946 when this was written, it might have been acceptable, but for our Japanese friends and others, I'll just note that it is frowned upon here. In this case, the article uses it, and I'll allow it, but it isn't policy Interesting article though..showing that even back then there was some idea that there were some good swords worthy of preservation. Nice find Rémy. Brian

John, I'm with you there If you look at the positive iron left in between the inlays, then I see the classic geese profile we see so often. If this was all sukashi, and someone later decided to fill the spaces with inlays, it might look like this. Might explain the differen sizes too...at different heights. No use debating it too much I guess..it's not like the original artist can post and say "so and so is right..that is what I was portraying :D " Brian

It is authentic, no dounts about that. Not to my taste, but no reason to believe it is anything else. Habaki have no firm rules, and you will find all kinds of variants such as this one, depending on the styles and tastes of the day. Brian