Brian

Great advice, and I might like to turn it into an article on exporting/importing Nihonto if that's ok. It is very important to label and prove beyond doubt that the sword is an antique (older than 100 years) or the other categoary that Darcy elaborated on. Just listing it as "antique Japanese sword" is not enough, and will often lead to high duties and an inspection of the sword with possible damages ensuing. As a side note, here in SA, antique swords incur a 14% vat on the total price including shipping, and also a small clearing fee. The total is calculated at the current exchange rate, plus an extra 10% added for no other reason except they can. You don't want to pay any more than you have to. Brian

Hi jeff, Welcome to the forum. What did the tsuka look like that came with the blade? Did it have the extra mekugi ana at the bottom? If not, then this would lead me to believe it was originally a Gendaito mounted in the 1944 pattern mounts? Brian

Yeah..I wouldn't mind reading the book. Will keep a lookout for it. Reminds me of when I was in Kyoto recently... we were in a ryokan in a non-descript part of the city. Walking back to the hotel one evening, we were walking past a really plain, ordinary looking warehouse-type building in the middle of nothing much, when suddenly a door opened, and 6 very well build guys in identical black suits came jogging out, and took up positions on either side of the street. Then a garage door opened up, and a black merc with black tinted windows came driving slowly out of the building, with the 6 guys positioned on either side of it. The car drove slowly down the street for about 500m, and those guys at the warehouse did not move or take their eyes off the car for a second, until it turned a corner eventually in the distance, and only then did they disappear back into the building. Must have just been the family saying goodbye to their visiting grandmother :D :lol: Brian

Ted, The torokusho (registration document) in Japan just says that a sword is registered legally there, and is supposedly traditionally made. They don't verify signatures or make any comment about importance or value. It is purely a licence that says "this sword, identified as such and such, is legally owned and licenced" basically. Here is some info on the process: http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/japane ... _laws.html regards, Brian

Ted, The f/k are horse riding impliments. The kashira features a saddle, and a riding crop. The fuchi shows the bit and other horse "tackle" (I forget the names) Just a quick reply while working, I'll look closer in a bit ('scuse the pun ) and see if i can tell you more about the rest. Brian Here is a Japanese saddle:

From a few websites: I remember reading somewhere that when a shirasaya starts to split, just dabbing slightly warm water on the splits with your fingertip and letting it soak for a while will soften the rice glue, and you can then clamp it again and it will stick. Can't remember where I read it though, so maybe I was mistaken. Brian

That is a "bit" steep in my opinion. Together with the sellers fee, they pocket a whole bunch of change. Hmm. So is the tax payable even to buyers from other states and countries? I wouldn't expect this from someone as highly regarded as Christies. If their sale attendances drop, they only have themselves to blade, and I can't see many sellers getting decent prices for their items. No-one wins here. *sigh* Chaos

Rémy, Try and save them with some jpg compression. You have a couple of megs worth of pics in this one post Rather link to the original pics or use imageshack if you have a large number of huge pics. Here is the kissaki pic above saved with some compression, at 1/5th of the file size:

Curran, It is probably me who needs the dunce cap for not explaining more clearly what I had done. I thought it easier to read the mei if the contrast was enhanced a bit and it fitted on the page without scrolling. Ludolf..nice work. I think those are clearly a great match, as good as you can ask for. Brian

Nice site Martin, some great info there. The rice holdings per Daimyo are also very interesting. Gotta compare them with the amount that some of the top swords were valued at in those times. Thanks. Brian

Just tried to enhance the contrast and size a bit.. Brian

Charles, You can get them from any gunshop. Used in gunsafes to protect the metal inside. Personally, I am not a huge fan of dessicants. They do the job well, but by taking moisture out of the air, they can dry out wood and leave it prone to cracking. Just don't use too many, and you should be ok. There are too many brands out there. Just call your closest sporting goods store, and they should be able to hook you up. Camera shops might also have them. Look up dessicants online, and you should fine hundreds for sale. Regards, Brian

Mike is regarded as one of the good sellers, and the fact that his auctions attract more bids than others, shows that others see this too. This thread: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... =yamaguchi also confirms this. As always, read the descriptions very carefully. If he says it is very out of polish or rusty or no guarantee of no fatal flaws, then he means it! Brian

Sounds like Max knows this particular katana more than he is letting on? Brian

Wayne, The NCO swords, being totally machine made, are of course only really of interest to Japanese militaria collectors, or those collecting military swords of Japan. I used to see these on eBay a year or 2 ago going around $350-400 regularly. With the current interest in Japanese swords, I have noticed these climbing rapidly on eBay and on militaria websites. They now go around $500-750 depending on condition and matching serial numbers. I would expect a fine condition one like yours (assuming matching numbers) to go around $750 if you are lucky. Personally I don't feel they are worth that..but it is the current trend among the militaria guys Regards, Brian

Rod, The links page has a link to an excellent article by Guido Schiller on Rich T's page: http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/japane ... _laws.html Should tell you everything you need to know. Regards, Brian

Interesting comments, and likely very accurate. The one thing that I am unsure of is whether or not this would have been a battle measure with that zogan on it? It looks from the groundwork to have had quite a bit of nice decoration on it. Now on a sword that you would be handling often with dirty hands and lots of friction, would you place decoration on a part that is going to have much use and abuse? I would think the silver would wear very fast if handled every day. So maybe this was during a time where there was not much use, and it was more a higher quality mount that was not meant for everday use? Also curious whether or not that kashira goes over the back of the cover and lines up the ana, or if it was a later addition? Regards, Brian

Just got this info to clarify: Video 1. The All Japan Swordsmiths Association video. Katana--The Spirit and Ancient Techniques of the Japanese Sword: A modern challenge. Features a group of young up and coming smiths taking turns through the different stages of trying to recreat a sue bizen uchi-gatana at the forge in Okayama's Osafune Bizen Museum. Illustrates the sword manufacturing process very well. (approx 250 usd) Video 2. A collection of the works by the Murakumokai A group of eight smiths from different backgrounds have got together to exchange ideas and promote Japanese swords by joint exhibitions etc. In the DVD they each introduce two of their works and explain what they were aiming for. There is also a section on appreciating Japanese swords. Through the interviews, you get a real chance to see into the minds of the men who made the blades. (approx 100 usd)

Franco, I was going by the fact that the sword dates to 1807, and the Satsuma rebellion was 1877. The part in question does look like it was in use a few times before ending up on this sword, so I went with the logic that it was earlier than the rebellion. Of course you could always theorise that it was added to this sword after the rebellion etc, but trying to go with the simplest explanation and see where we go from there Regards, Brian Edit to add: Does look to me like this f/k did not originally go with this tsuka judging by the shitodome ana, and the fact that it looks like it probably had a horn kashira with the tsuka ito going under it at one stage. They do match, but unless that iron cover actually slips under and into the kashira so that the ana line up, I don't think they were originally paired.

Hi Phil, You are correct, that is the seki stamp. Looks like YoshiAki to me, and would probably be a WW2 manufactured non-traditional sword. The engraving might be a patriotic symbol for the war. Compare the mei with the example taken from Dr Stein's page (can't access it right now) Regards, Brian

Hi Rich, That is an interesting and difficult one (and I guess others agree judging by the lack of guesses ) The last 2 times I saw metal tsuka covers like this were on satsuma rebellion mounts, but this one defies that possibility with its age and embellished decoration. It definitely does seem to have been used a few times already, and I am sure the inlay work was very good at one stage. The fact that it was re-used so many times re-inforces this. Maybe it was a style used out on campaigns when there was a lack of fittings to redo a tsuka? Perhaps the inlay work was done later. It would have been easier in the field to fit this kind of tsuka cover than find a maki artist to re-wrap the tsuka and fit menuki. Just a theory, although very tenuous. Regards, Brian

Oh my goodness. His schizophrenia and paranoia is getting worse. About 10 sentences describing the item, and another 200 ranting incomprehensibly about sword plots and stolen origami and Texans who like swords and....... err yeah. Can someone please save that entire auction page please, before he amends it. There is considerable libel in there that would be good to back-up. Also, Todd...I suggest you save the page, and then click below the auction where is says "report this item" and tell ebay your email is being used against your will and for libel. I dunno how Kurt Holz (NihontoYa) got involved here too..but he also has a case here It really does ramble on hysterically, doesn't it? More so than usual. So now the USA sword societies are crooked too? Phew..what can you say about him? Bizarre..just bizarre. Brian

Just search the NMB for mackstar, and you will see this is well covered Brian

Consolidating the second post about it....

I'm also hesitant to attempt any straightening work myself. Many of the bent blades I have seen also had a slight twist, which is not so easy to get out. Also, if the ha is bent as well as the mune, you risk a hagire when you bend it back. The hardened edge does not bend as easily as the mune, and hagire, wrinkles, shinae ware and other flaws are frequent side-effects of incorrect straightening. It is also extremely difficult to work out exactly where to have the pivot point and strighten it correctly. Often it will bend slightly lower or higher than where the bend is, and you get an "S" shaped bend instead. It isn't as easy as it sounds, and is really the work of someone who is a professional. Just my 2c. It will bring down the value of the sword. How much is debateable, although I would guess at 10-20% depending on how desireable the sword is. An s-shaped bend is worse than a normal bend, and probably means someone else tried to straighten it as some stage. Proceed with caution as usual. Brian