Brian

John, To be honest, I have no idea how one would improvise the ana after it is complete. Usually they would be drilled before the tsuka is completed. To be safe, I would ask in the Bugei sword crafts forum where Keith Larman should be able to help you out. They know their stuff there. Tell him to pop in occasionally here :D http://www.swordforumbugei.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2 Brian

Welcome to the forum, glad to have someone here from Norway I wonder if the availability of Nihonto there, is as bad as here in South Africa? Judging by the matching kashira, I would have to theorise that this is indeed one of the exceptions to the general rule. The same and wrapping do look like a newish restoration job, but look done in the way it was intended to me. Just need a few 100 years of aging to get that nice aged look to the ito and same Brian

Nostro, Until the forum grows a bit larger, I will keep the armour (armor for our US friends ) forum within the general discussion. If there proves to be more interest in a dedicated forum over time, I am happy to set one up. In the meantime, feel free to post as much as you like about armour in that section. On another note, when I first became interested in Nihonto and the Samurai..I went through my weapon reference library to see what books I had on the subject. One of the first I found was a book that I didn't even remember I had..called The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in Sixteenth Century Japan Great book, and still available at a good price (around $55 ) on the used book searches. Regards, Brian

If you are talking about the width of the hamon, then unless it does run off anywhere..it is not considered fatal yet. If a subsequent polish will allow it to run off, then that will be taken into account before professional polishing. Some schools (such as some Naminohira blades) specialised in a thin suguha hamon called ito suguha..so a thin hamon is not necessarily a sign of an over polished blade. The condition of the machi and the characteristics of the school would need to be taken into account before declaring the blade over polished. Brian

Just curious as to how you purchased 5 Nihonto without knowing exactly what they were or what the papers say? Not a criticism..just curious. Was it a spur of the moment bulk deal from a collector or estate..or was it a long term planned purchase? Just seems odd to spend that amount without knowing even the school of the blades? Looks to me like you got a very good deal though. This blade looks in great polish, and with papered fittings. I hope the others are as nice. Are these your first Nihonto or are you already a collector? Dealer maybe? We will have to wait for someone to translate the origami properly to be able to tell more. Brian

John, Good to have you back here. So do you also travel the oceans like Nigel? I always wonder what it must be like to get back to solid ground after so much time on the seas. Walking must be pretty strange Do you have any form of internet access at all out there? Brian

Looks like all is fairly ok there in Hawaii. No reports yet of any human casualties, but property damage as can be expected. Best wishes to anyone with relatives and family there. Hope Bob Benson didn't experience too much inconvenience, and all is ok with him. Brian

Have that page saved too. It would be up to whoever hosts them whether or not they want to add that page. Not really Nihonto related though..so possibly not, but if the family wants the pages out there for the public, perhaps they want that page as part of his legacy and story. Don't really know for now. Brian

Thanks Peter..good going. If permisison is granted by the family, then either myself or Rich will host them for the future. There are a few pages not archived, but they should be in Milt's backup. Regards, Brian

Milt..do you actually troll the news sites daily looking for these political stories/anti-govt reviews that might just contain some reference to Japan, so that you can post them? :? *sigh* I'll leave it up for now because of the mention of the upcomming movie "Letters From Iwo Jima" told from the Japanese side during WW2..and the fact that I'll make the decision about how off topic to go in a week's time. Get voting if you haven't. Brian

Milt, Thanks very much for the files. Good to see someone kept them so that they can be shared. We will await word from Rich about the permission to share them online. Hopefully the family will be happy to see his work continue. The files are quite extensive, and in word doc format? Would need to be compiled back to html and the pics extracted and new pages written. Between myself and Rich, (given the correct permission) one of us will host the pages again. Rich is far better than I am at webpage design, but you can be assured that if the family is ok with it, the pages will be back online on one of our 2 sites. This shows the importance of backing up pages that might not be there for us all to view oneday. Just as Rich S has done with Jinsoos pages, make sure you save these resources. Thanks Milt and Rich. Brian

I have had this website bookmarked for a long time, and used to go there occasionally to brush up on my knowledge. Haven't been there for a while now, and today I see the page is now gone. http://members.cox.net/jkk/index.htm I know Jim left behind a wealth of knowledge on his site when he passed, and was wondering if anyone has backed up the info there, or is hosting it elsewhere? If anyone has a copy of the site, and it is not hosted elsewhere, I would be happy to host it here. Would be sad to see all that info and research disappear. Brian

For those who are not yet familiar with Jim Gilberts excellent tsuba site, and the bibliography...the webste is here: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/tsuba.htm and the bibliography of recommended books is at: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/reading.htm I am sure most are aware of it, but for the other newcommers, it is essential reading. Regards, Brian

No. :D I'm starting to appreciate it more and more as I study it and get the feel for it. Has a nice solid and dense feel to it..although I can't really pin down what gives me that impression. I take back what I said about plain...have been studying a bit, and there is no plain in subtlety I like it more and more every day. No signs of plate folding, but not a lot of thickness to examine. I would say not though. I saw the tosho tsuba on the tosogu blog, and reminds me of the same texture, although the patina here isn't as dark. Perhaps it is an unusual mokko tosho tsuba...or Myochin as you theorised. Don't tosho tsuba usually have some form of sukashi cutout? Wish Jim and some of the other tosogu guys were members here Thanks for the help Rich. Brian

Simon, Professional repatination of the nakago is often done by qualified people. I am sure someone will provide you with some links. It is done when a nakago has been cleaned such as yours has, or after a gimei is removed. I think a lot of sword polishers offer it as a service, but it can come with a hefty pricetag. I don't think it is something you can attempt yourself. There are various (and some bizarre) formulas that do the rounds occasionally, but they are hard to come by, and can be risky. As to whether or not it is worth it, that depends on the sword in question. You would have to decide for yourself if it will enhance your sword, or if it is worth it. On a military gunto, maybe..maybe not. On an old sword then it is usually worth it if the sword is a nice example. I would think that a decent job would easlily cost $500 to $1000, but the result is very good, and can sometimes not be easily detected. Some amateur jobs can be seen a mile away. Do not attempt to use any gun browning or bluing solution. This is a bad method that does not resemble an old patina in any way. What sword is this? Brian

Thank you very much for that link. It is exactly what I was looking for. The dimensions and style match the set above, and make me more confident in my theory. My friend was surprised that it was such a small set, but I find it more interesting for the reasons that a child's daisho is probably less common than a normal set of daisho koshirae? Are these blades called Boy's Day swords, or is there another term for them? Brian

A friend here recently asked me to purchase a low end daisho koshirae for him off eBay. Seems the one thing he didn't check was the sizes :lol: Difficult to see in the pics, but these are a really small set. The saya of the longer one is only 20.5" (52cm) and the shorter one is only 14" (36cm) yet everything is scaled perfectly, only in small and elegant proportions. No blades, just tsunagi, and both have a nice sori. My theory to him is that they might be koshirae for a young boy's first sword. I have heard talk about Boy's Day swords, and was wondering of anyone has any ideas or comments about if these could have been a young boy's first swords..or maybe they even contained dummy blades? The tsuba do show signs of having been mounted on a blade, but not sure if it would have been a live blade. The blade would have to be very thin...maybe 3mm. Any info on these youth swords, and theories if this set belongs to one of them, would be much appreciated. Brian

Thanks for the replies so far all. I have noted all of them. I am surprised that there are only 23 votes out of over 150 members. Do the others not mind either way? So far there is a clear preference, which is encouraging..but I will leave the poll running for a while longer. Regards, Brian

While looking for some info on the mon identification thread below, I came across this site: http://www.geocities.com/kazenaga23/crests.htm It is a remarkable page, and beautifully set out, with amazing graphics. I didn't have a chance to see all of it, but from what I have seen so far, I highly recommend it. It is huge...with some really amazing resources. How about a page on Samurai Legends: http://uk.geocities.com/rainforestwind/legends.htm Lots of info on mon, and Samurai history in general. A HUGE amount of info to wade through. I am going to spend some time there. Well worth a look. Brian

Grief..I think you just made Milt's day with that comment :D Got that email too?...but I digress... Doesn't match any in my Hawley Mon book. One of the Yama mon, but closest is Aoki. Don't think it is that one though. Will take a look through my other books and see if i can come up with anything, Brian

David, I am happy to keep the discussions to topics that vaguely revolve around our common interests if people prefer that. In fact..I voted that way myself. If it is totally open to any topics at all, it would of course still be moderated, but everyone has their own ideas of what is acceptable, so it will always be contentious. This is not about firearms. The discussion could easily have been about politics or religion. So maybe some controls are in order...but I will still allow some leeway. If you want to discuss photographing your collection or places to visit in Japan or Oriental food...that would be fine under the second option. I will run the poll for a few days and let the members decide how they want this forum to be run. If anyone does not agree with something, please approach me. I am not closed minded when it comes to polite disagreement Brian

In light of the recent discussion that was hotly debated, and believing that this forum should run as a democracy, I thought we would run a poll to give the members a chance to have their say as to how the forum should run. General discussion was created so that we could have a place to discuss off topic matters without disturbing the discussions in the dedicated forums. The question is however, how off topic should we go? a)Should General discussion be for any matters we feel like discussing at all? b)Should it be moderated for topics that vaguely concern Nihonto, Collecting, Japan, the Samurai etc? c)Should General Discussion be abandoned in favor of the existing dedicated Nihonto and Tosogu Forums? Feel free to have your say, and please cast your vote. Thanks, Brian

Bobby, Take a look at this link: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... c.php?t=84 I think this is very similiar to yours. I am pretty sure it is a Thai or Bhurmese Dha. You can search the net for more info on the dha. I don't think you will get more info here...since we only do Japanese swords, and this is definitely not Japanese. You can also post here: http://www.swordforum.com/ They have forums dedicated to swords like this. I still do not believe it is very old at all due to the condition and look of the decoration. Good luck. Brian

Michael, I think eBay is your only option for repro tsuba like these. I don't think there is a retailer anywhere for them, and if there was, they would be a lot more. I think even repro tsuba go for $50-100 on average. You won't easily find anything in the $25 range. These are priced around $40 plus $10 postage...but they list them very low with high shipping to get around the ebay final value fees...the same as some of the fake swords. Regards, Brian

Hi, Welcome to the forum. Please sign your posts with a name and initial as per the rules. Did you try http://www.Japanese-swords.com ? Best selection of repro tsuba I have seen so far. However I am not quite sure about your question though. These you are refering to in your post are already repros from China..so you can't have repros of repros :D The won't go very high, since they make their money from the shipping..so if you are looking for bizarre tsuba like these..why not buy these off eBay? You won't get a fake for much less than that. Btw - Just about every tsuba out of China is a fake. Brian