Brian

Mr Pedersen, Thank you for those comments. I couldn't help but notice that you list your location as Japan, and your occupation as polisher. I am sure I speak for everyone here when I say it is very interesting to have a Tôgishi on the forum, and if you are willing...I am sure we would love to hear a bit about your background etc. Are you currently apprenticed to one of the known togishi, and how long have you been studying in Japan? Would be great to get more insight into the world of polishing in Japan..especially from a Western point of view. Regards, Brian

Was just watching this one that failed to sell recently, and thought it looked to my novice eyes to be a bit unusual. The edges are not just folded over...it appears to be this way both sides? I find it quite interesting...but cannot say what appeals to me. The patina and overal look of the metal doesn't seem to be too good, but it does have something. Looks a bit rough and unrefined though? Just wondering if anyone could enlighten this tosogu novice with any comments? Brian

Guido, Thanks for that excellent article. I added it to the new Archives section linked above the forum if you don't mind. Brian

Hi Carlo, I think the problem is that many of the sites are still under copyright or have been taken down due to copyright violations. The best we can do is save them for ourselves and occasionally share some of the info that they contained. I know some of the members seem very good at saving pages that they use a lot, and Rich has been working on possibly hosting all of Jim's pages again once he has permission. A very useful page is here : http://www.archive.org/index.php It will pull up archived versions of pages that have long since disappeared. Well worth bookmarking...use the waybackmachine. Brian

Waisted basically means it has a waist...ie it tapers inwards and then outwards as is so common on Higo fittings. Not as prominent on those fittings in the link..here is a clear example of waisted: (Yes...I guess the meaning is meant to involk images of the waist on a nice slim model) Brian

Here is the info from Jim's site..taken from an archive search: Regards, Brian

I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of our USA members and readers a very happy Thanksgiving. Regards, Brian

Deron, I edited and re-uploaded the pic to bring it down from massive to huge :D If anyone wants to see the original pic..it is here: http://registrar.cmcc.ca/goldmenuki.jpg Just wanted ot prevent the page oversize scrolling, and reduce the download time. Brian

I don't normally do this, but I would urge everyone to take a look at both links..especially the last one detailing the circumstances, and please donate anything you can if you are able. Genise works for Swordforum Online, which I am sure you all know and participate in. It is a great forum too, and this cause is a really worthy one. I would like to wish Genise all the best and our thoughts go out to her from all at the NMB. I will be seeing what I can contribute in some way, even though my finances are not very stable currently. The sword bags are a great deal, and well worth a bid. If anyone would like to contribute in any way, you can post at the link to SF, or contact Carlo directly. Regards, Brian

Ouch. HaaaaaGiri! ..bless you :D Nice blade though. Did you discover that after the purchase or before? You have seen the pics of my hagiri blade....before I traded it. The rest of the blade didn't justify keeping it. Exactly the same place as yours. But I could overlook a hagiri if the rest of the blade made up for it, as this one seems to do. Brian

Moriyama san, You do come up with the most amazing info That is an excellent resource that I had not come across before. Great to see some have listed email addresses and/or websites. So the figures for registered tosho are approximately 300 currently? I know that list is from 2004, but I doubt there were many new ones since then, and I wonder how many of those listed are still active? Brian

I am pretty sure pics are going to be necessary here. As an aside... Eiji Yoshikawa wrote the Musashi novel, where Musashi's main opponent was Sasaki Kojiro Maybe someone is using the 2 names out of irony. Haven't heard of a swordsmith with that name. Brian

Franco, Wow..great find. Thanks for the link, will take me some time to go through it all. Kudos to the Inverclyde council for making that catalog available online. Wish the pics could be enlarged, but it looks like a nice collection. Brian

Ken, While I don't know too much about the process in Japan, at the top of the forum there is a link called "Japanese Sword Laws" that is an excellent article that should answer many of your questions. The link is http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/japane ... _laws.html Guido Schiller is very knowledgeable about this topic, and is a member here. Hopefully he will see this and chime in with some additional advice. Regards, Brian

Wow..Milt. That is a nice yari. Love the horimono, and I think it must be quite unusual to have elaborate horimono on jumonji yari. I like it. I plan on making my next purchase a jumonji yari...I think I have a thing for the polearms Brian

Hmm..he makes it seem so easy. It is really not that easy at all. Usually the base metal is sanded and/or polished, and then there is a flash plating (usually copper) done underneath to assist the chrome with bonding. There is usually a way to remove the chrome via reverse electrolysis, and ammonia etc, but I think the blade is going to look a bit rough after that, and would need a proper polish. I found this on an old list..just as a warning: I once found a koto blade which had been chromed, took it to a chrome plating company who assured me they could get it off. When I picked up the next day, they had placed electrode clips at each end, and left what looked like small weld scars... which were not bad, but did damage the sword Brian

Yep. Probably 99.9% of all NCO's are just mass produced with no tempering or folding. They appeal only to the militaria collectors. That Yasukuni blade in NCO fittings must be a very rare exception. Brian

The blade length is measured in a straight line across the back..from the tip to the notch where the brass habaki sits against. See here : http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/measure.htm Just the nagasa would be necessary for now I think. I am not an expert..but that mei does definitely look badly cut and looks a bit high on the nakago? I wouldn't let that get to you though...appreciate the blade, not the signature. Does look like a nice sword, let's see what the more advanced guys say. Edit- Looks like it might be around 25.5 nagasa? That would make it a katana, and looks to be in decent condition with no obvious signs of damage. That doesn't rule out flaws..but have seen a lot worse. make sure you go through the links above for info on how to care for it. Brian

Michael, I think you did very well. Looks like a decent sword. I do like those fittings, and Milt has a good expression there...I understand when fittings seem too nice to mount so they go in a box to appreciate on their own. Very unique (to me) menuki. Wonder what the theme is? To me the mei looks like it was cut much later. Could be wrong, but it doesn't look original to the blade. But shouldn't detract too much from the overall sword. Catch comment on the Boy's day Sword theory until we know the sizes. Especially the blade length/width etc. I also lean towards the handachi guess unless the dimensions are unusually small. Take good care of it, and maybe take it with to one of the sword shows for a closer examination. Brian

Stephan, Yes..these were mainly used for ceremonial and presentation use. I guess they could have been a status symbol judging by some of the amazing examples that exist: http://www.arco-iris.com/George/yanone.htm Brian

I think it sounds like a great idea. I have yet to see a Nihonto collector with no interest in other aspects of Japanese culture. Will be an interesting show, and one that you can definitely take the partner to, and they will find something of interest. Perhaps it might be time for me to finally plan that trip to the USA that I have been wanting to do for years. Hmm. Wish you good luck..and hope for lots of Japanese participants. Brian

Tatyana, Jû means "resident of" so it is Fujii Kaneoto, resident of Seki, made this. Brian

What Rich said. Do not clean. If you ask any antiques collector (in almost any field) they will tell you that the biggest mishap that can happen to any antique, ever..is cleaning by non-professionals. This goes for all fittings. Leave it to the guys who are experts. I have heard of people cleaning off what they think is paint on old tsuba..removing the intentional laquer layer that was put there. If someone would like to write a short post titled "Do Not Clean" or similar...I will make it a sticky at the top of this forum as a warning to newcommers in the future. Brian

There is this one in the links page: http://www.lostdays.org/shinsakuto/Default.asp Shinsakuto.org Would be worth a browse through there I think. Brian

Does resemble, I'm afraid. The sword is not a legit WW2 shin gunto. There are some odd things about this one..even for a fake. Upside down mei is not unheard of on the Chinese fakes..but I haven't seen them copy a real smith then. Could be a tang that is cut off another sword and welded on..but not really sure. Nobody was correct in that the ana is far too low down. I think they used a picture when they copied the signature..and scribed the signature the wrong way round since the pic probably didn't show which way was up. That makes sense. But either way..I'm afraid it is probably a fake. Btw..what do the fittings look like? If we can see the tsuka and fittings..that will probably tell for sure. Brian