Brian

Ok..funny guy (the seller) Not quite sure what he gets out of this, but it is good for a laugh. He can't be hoping for a sale...so it must be just a joke? Brian

No..not criticising anyone..just heading off any arguments before they happen Healthy debate is fine, but I just want to make sure that it doesn't go too off track towards emotion. This subject seems to have strong feelings associated with it for some reason . Brian

Let's not get too caught up in the discussion. I know there are members who love them, and those who don't. I think this has been thoroughly hashed through before. Personally, I haven't had much exposure to them, so haven't formed an opinion. But in a battle of opinions, no-one can win As with any collectible item though, new reference works always lead to new interest. I believe there are some stunning examples, and some that are just so-so. No problem discussing them at all, but let's not argue too much about whether or not they deserve their reputation..some people have very "firm" feelings about these swords Brian

Mr Chan, I believe it is Pierre's master, Kiyota Jirokunietsu, that entered the competition. I think Pierre has a few years to go yet before he is qualified. Kiyota san has a great looking sword in one of the books I brought back from Japan, but I will have to post a pic to identify the book in question. Brian

Welcome to the forum Tom I met Tom at the Kyoto sword show. Seeing this TALL westerner walking around and chatting to the Japanese dealers like he had beeen doing this all his life, I took a chance and introduced myself. Was very glad to meet someone I had read posts from on the various groups. Tom was a big help, and assisted me translating with the dealers. Another great addition to the forum, love the JSSUS articles too Sorry for the off topic, back to this sword. Brian

Pierre, It is an honor to have you here. Pierre was manning the All Japanese Swordsmiths Association stand at the Kyoto show along with Kiyota san and others. I could be wrong, but I think Pierre would be the only current Westerner who is officially training in Japan to be a swordsmith? Great webpage too, with lots of info. Good to have you here Pierre, and nice to be able to get some insight into the world of current tosho. On another note, am I correct that you can maybe facilitate a deal if anyone is looking to have a shinsakuto made for them, or are the waiting lists very busy right now? Regards, Brian

Takanoha yasurime is a strong indicator usually. It isn't used frequently by all the schools. Combine that with the other info, and you are on your way Brian

Yeah..umm...right. Chinese samurais.....finger cutting...puntang?? isn't puntang something else? Wow...that has to be a joke, right? Brian

Peter, Thanks for the write-up and the pics. I was hoping someone would come through with some info. Looks like it was a big success. Can you give us some info on Tony Norman (who you refer to as a UK polisher?) Anyone else make it there, and who would like to give us additional info? Did you manage to get your piece of tamahagane, and what do they go for nowdays? Brian

Ok..you got me there :D Can't argue that one..lol Stephen..that does seem to be a steal at that price, especially since it looks to have full and decent koshirae. I wonder who on the forum is gonna snap it up? Hmm..hitatsura katana..looks unusual and quite interesting too. Oh well...I'm out. But sure someone will have a go at it. Brian

Nigel, Just cos you are furniture around here, doesn't mean you can stop signing your posts with your name :D :lol: Thanks for the tip, that is something that I quickly discovered in Japan: Some of the best and most fully stocked shops do not have an internet site, and I guess their trade is mainly through "word of mouth" The majority of the dealers at the Kyoto fair, I had never heard of, and they worked only via snail mail or at the shop itself. Cash only. Seems wierd, but I think the majority of their customers are repeat business and remain fairly out of the whole Nihonto world. So where are the pics? Brian

So this one was bought off eBay for $1500? Looks like we were all sleeping that day :D Peter..well recommended to Anthony. Brian

Thanks all for the help, great info. Regards, Brian

Michael, Values are always a difficult one. Too much to factor in to give an accurate estimate. We would need to see more pics of the blade condition, decide if it is an Emura or one of his students, and judge what the market is currently doing. Then online values are different to those in shops, and to those on real auctions. Best bet is to google the maker and see what other Emura swords are doing out there. I know there are quite a few that are for sale online and elsewhere. Value can be anything from $3000 up to maybe $6000, but that is of course just an estimate. Brian

Darcy, Great news, and I wish you and Bob all the best with the sales of the book and the upcomming volumes. This looks like it will be a must have. Can you perhaps post some info on the book, such as size, no. of pages etc? Will the info in it be only on the swords pictured, or will there be a bit of general info on the featured traditions? eMail inbound.. Brian

Franco, Just about every chemical has health warnings like this. Used properly, there is no more risk than many household items. http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelin ... ition.html Don't smoke while cleaning your swords, and keep the area well ventilated Brian

On looking at it again...something struck me as odd. Isn't this signed fairly low down on the nakago? I could be imagining it, but it does seem a bit odd for mei placement and the characters do seem spaced a bit far apart? Correct me if I am wrong... Brian

Frank, Nothing too complicated about it. Just use a clean soft linen cloth, or even better the usual unscented tissue paper, and wipe the blade a few times after putting the alchohol or other cleaner on it. Once you are done, then go through the standard cleaning method of uchiko lightly followed by choji oil application, then wipe off, and you should be done. You can skip the uchiko, some people use it, some don't. You should be able to use any of the mentioned degreasers as long as you clean it off afterwards and do the oil application. I would not go near anything to do with charcoal and meths. Btw...you say that pure alchohol needs a licence in the UK? I expect pharmacies will have something close to it that will work. Brian

:D Lol...no. It's not a rule or anything. There are enough translations out there for ppl to practice on, and there will be more conundrums. Nothing saying you have to wait. It's more for the experts in Japanese language who sometimes give the rest of us a chance. You are included in "the rest of us" :D Brian Btw..Mikolaj... Judging by your link in your profile ( http://www.yogoro.org/album%20tsub ) you have a nice collection of tsuba, and a very detailed page (albeit in Polish) on Japanese arts. How about filling us in on how it is collecting Nihonto in Poland, and a bit of a background? Nice webpage

If you just drop your resolution to around 100 instead of always 300...your filesizes will come down a lot Here is the same image at 100 pixels per inch. Less than half the size and clarity close enough. Make width max 800, and you are good to go. Check here for easy programs to resize: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... ic.php?t=7 Brian

Michael, Nice graduation gift It is a WW2 shin gunto, signed Emura saku. If this is not gimei (false signature) then it is a good name, and a good find. Your pics are upside down, so I have uloaded one the right way up. I can't tell if the signature is real or not, but it does have some similarities to some of the known mei examples...but there are some differences. Check out the page here: http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/emura.htm Brian

Thanks Henry I had a feeling it may have been katakana, but ruled it out because I had not seen it used before, and forgot Ockhams Razor again :D Yes..looking up the katakana tables, I see it does say Masafusa. Now the question is why is this signed with a name in katakana, and if this was ever done as a signature or is this more modern? I do pull up a reference that old personal names were sometimes written in katakana, but don't know if this relates to signatures on jajiri or not. Perhaps something to do with the very limited space available to sign on? Hmm...puzzling. Brian

Thanks Koichi Am I correct that karahana is a Chinese flower? Looks to me like this is the one. Does this tsuba look a bit awkward with the large sukashi like this? Doesn't come across to me as simple and elegant as some I have seen. Brian

Doh!...I should have gotten the sakura vs ume :D Too quick when looking at the various mon designs instread of thinking a bit further. Ume does have rounded petals. Doesn't the sakura usually have 2-lobed petals though, where this has 3? Thanks Pete. Brian

Hi all, I have been pondering over the motif of this sukashi for a while now. On first examination, it is easy to conclude that there are a few parts that are broken off or missing, but close examination of the sukashi does not make this obvious. It is very possible, but even with some extra links in there, I am unsure of what it represents? Of course the ume blossom part seems fairly obvious, but what is this combined with? Thanks, Brian