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

Let's not call it a scam yet... low feedback isn't a true indication, and he does say he has additional pics. There are a few indicators such as posting his email address and possibly foreign syntax...but nothing concrete. Don't want us to tear the auction apart if there is a possibility it is just some new guy posting a sword he has had for a while. Unless we can find the pics on another site somewhere, all we can do is say take care and ask for more pics and info. A query about seeing it in person also does the trick sometimes. Brian

..Link even...or email address No code needed, just paste the link. Here is the link to this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0037056016 At least he could have credited Rich S for the info he cut and pasted I can't find the pics elsewhere..so can't call his intentions. Perhaps he does have it and is just an infrequent seller? But as always..ask for specific pics of certain parts and verify the item before buying. Brian

A friend came across this tsuba last week, and I thought it was an interesting example of what I assume is an older tsuba that was cut (roughly!) for a retention clip. Perhaps it was used on a gunto, and the owner wanted to use his private tosogu for sentimental reasons? Nasty job though, looks like a grinder or file was taken to it. Pics are bad...all I had at the time was my cellphone camera. Pity about the modification, I would have thought it could be done a lot neater, or preferably not at all. Brian

Fake..but much better than normal repro fittings. Just make sure it isn't one of these usual fake auctions where shipping is double the price of the sword. Brian

Could just be that his camera doesn't have a good macro function. I see this often on close up photos on eBay. But I agree that the photos given don't show anything at all. You will need much better close up shots to decide anything. Blade and nakago. Brian

Check out this thread for Fujishiros if no-one has grabbed them yet. The dealer in question has good prices, and my set cost me under $200. They are the most accessible of the oshigata books, and there is an English translation out there somewhere. (electronic and printed) http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... .php?t=253 Worth the money. Brian

Where does Fujishiro come into all of this? Is it a worthwhile second best? Might not be as comprehensive, but is it still up there as a reference to mei? Brian

AM.. I don't see any reason to believe that the info you were given was completely false. Aside from values which are impossible to pin down unless it has papers and has had a proper polish..the rest of the info seems fairly reasonable to me. I wouldn't stress over it. Most of it is visual confirmation that can be seen, and a lot of it is general info. I would submit it to the next shinsa in the USA to get more info, but remember that all you are likely to find in addition to the info you have is perhaps a school or tradition. The dating is possibly close, and the rest is factual info taken from looking at it in hand. Mumei (unsigned) swords are common and should be appreciated for what they are. You are unlikely to get a whole lot more info without a great deal of expense that may or may not be worth it (USA shinsa the exception, they are worth the time and effort, whereas sending to Japan is likely to cost more than it will increase the value at this point, unless you are really in love with this blade) Enjoy the sword, and take care of it for future generations. Brian

Uwe and others.. I think the debate as I see it here comes down to whether or not the gimei signature was done at the time of forging, or later. Many of the gimei signatures were done much later than the original date of manufacture, and were intended to deceive for various reasons. I think this is the case that Darcy is refering to. If a mumei sword was taken 100 or so years down the line, and a false signature was then added to increase value, then I see every reason to remove the mei and restore it to the way it was. Uwe..I think you are refering to cases where the sword was produced and originally signed with a different signature than the maker. I am not sure what the percentages of each occurrence were, but i suspect that far more gimei signatures were added later, and that the original gimei's were not as common. What are the comments about this, and is this a consideration ever? Am I correct in the 2 different interpretations of gimei and reasons for removal? Brian