Brian

Hi all, I will be away for a short break this weekend, and am leaving Rich T in charge. If anyone has any queries, please expect email replies only Sunday night SA time, or contact Rich. He has full permission to take any action he deems necessary..so play nice :D Have fun all. Regards, Brian

I may be wrong here, but I think that the mei was probably written on wet clay before the vases were fired, and if so...then I don't think the kanji are badly done at all. This is not as controlled as chiselling them onto hard steel, and would account for the sloppy signature. This combined with the fact that some of these artisans might have been close to illiterate...means I don't have too much worry about the mei personally. Of course I could be totally wrong..but it's a possibility. Try write your name in wet (and maybe not too firm yet) clay..and see how masterful it looks :D Brian

Thanks folks..the replies do help. The reason that the votes don't add anymore is that the poll was set to run for 14 days, and then closes. So no problem with your votes Much appreciated, Brian

Knowing as little as I do about tsuba, I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about this one. I was given it by someone who didn't want it after a remounting job, and I have been wondering if it is even a genuine tsuba with any age to it. Very plain, and seems very thin to me? Thickness is only 2.7mm, and it is 70mm at the widest part. No raised mimi, and no sekigane which strikes me as odd? Could this be a tosho tsuba, a plain low quality tsuba pressed into service when there was a need, or just some aged rough repro? Thanks, Brian

In my opinion..this is as suspected. A google search pulls up an old ebay auction. Auction is long gone, but this is the cached version: http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:aEO ... =clnk&cd=1 It went for $7000 from a known seller...back in 2005! These guys really do save these old auctions for a long time before using the description and pics. Wow. Talk about planning. Good catch..I'll report it if there is still time to pull it. Brian

Many swords that came home from WW2 were roughly shortened for the simple fact that they were too long to fit in the duffel bag or trunk that it was shipped in. I have seen a few that were filed partly, and then snapped off in the nakago purely for this reason. Some didn't have the necessary war souvenir paperwork, so were "smuggled back" and if they didn't fit in the desired shipping container..then the shortening was done. Often they were stripped of mounts and these were shipped separately. Not sure if this is the case here, but it is always a possibility? Brian

...Guess who discovered all the new smilies :lol: (And yes...I deleted the video link. There is off topic..and then there is OFF topic. And I have to retain my evil power-hungry despot reputation, right?) Brian

Rob, Welcome to the forum. This is a frequent question, and one that has pages of info in answer to it. The best way is to visit and read the following links. They will give you a very good background on the subject, and will hopefully guide you in your next purchase. Feel free to ask here before you make your next purchase, and we will assist you in the decision. These are all very good sites with a huge amount of info: Read through them over time, and they should answer all your questions, and some you hadn't even thought of yet :-) http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/fake_j ... words.html http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/faq.htm (good links to what to look for!) http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/realold.htm http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/repro.htm http://seaox.com/nihonto/ebay_swords.html http://www.Japanese-swords.co.uk/fakes.html http://hometown.aol.com/machood/ Regards, Brian

I don't think the JSSUS newsletter is behind the N. Cal. one at all. Yes..they have some nice colour photos in theirs, but I find the info and articles in the JSSUS newsletter are superior. Both are wonderful publications, and I don't think I would give up either. Both do an outstanding job, and for the price...collectors should at least be a member of one...preferably both. Brian

Yes..it is thunder. Donder und blitzen = thunder and lightning. (Or 2 of Santas reindeer if you are so inclined :lol: ) Brian

I received my set a while ago, but haven't had the time to really study it in depth yet. But I can confirm that the set is a bargain at that price. Carlo has been good enough to post most of the pics and info, but I can verify that is is filled with great oshigata and info, and for a ring-bound set..it is very well done. The paper is good quality and for the most part the pics have been well reproduced. It is easy to negotiate throughout, with good indexes. Each volume is in 2 parts, for a total of 4 sections. It is divided up by roads and provinces, and then schools/smiths. Each smith has an exerpt from the Nihonto Meikan. There is plenty of info, oshigata and even some colour illustrations. All in all a great publication that belongs in any Nihonto reference library. Brian

http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Samurai-Sw ... dZViewItem You have got to love the humor in that :D Nice to see some honesty in listings. Brian

Folks... I allow discussions about current auctions here. But due to the fact that we are playing with a $25000 sword here, I am going to make an exception here and lock this thread for now and I will unlock it after the auction ends. Please accept this and do not start other threads about it. It looks like a decent blade to me..and may well end up being a bargain for the buyer. If any buyer is prepared to go to this level online, I would like the decision to be un-influenced. I will unlock the thread after the auction. I appreciate your understanding, and if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to pm me. Brian

I know what you mean :D :D Folks..let's please keep the comments to the items and less about the sellers if possible. Just a polite request for now for obvious reasons Brian

That is Christian...a member of some of the other forums. I have dealt with him before, and he is a decent guy. He finds LOTS of swords through contacts he has, and comes across some very nice stuff. The best he keeps for his own collection, but he always has a huge variety of stuff for sale. IMHO..Easy to deal with, and pleasant. Brian

Hayri, I think it is the very helpful Stephen (who is well on his way to getting his desired rank) you are refering to, and to whom you sent the pics? I am sure they will be posted soon. Perhaps if you tell us where you are, we can see if there is a member near you who can assist in person, or guide you to a group who can help. Looking forward to the rest of the pics. Brian

Here are the pics Dennis emailed. Looks like an interesting blade. Folks..please remember that the How-To forum contains lots of info on how to resize pics, upload them etc etc. You can resize using Windows Paint or other free progs..all the info is in there. No harm done though..you can always email me if you are stuck Regards, Brian

Bobby, That is not Japanese, and I don't think it is very old. It looks like it comes from Indonesia, Thailand or Burma, and they are usually made for the tourist trade. That flexible blade is typical of these types of swords. Japanese blades do not bend like that. I am afraid this has no interest for Japanese sword collectors, and I think the info you have on it is very false. At the most..I think it might be 100 years old..but I think it is more likely it is about 40 years old. Sorry to give you the bad news. Brian

Hi Dennis, The pics didn't upload. Please check out this thread: http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... ic.php?t=8 Regards, Brian

Danny, Great article, thanks for sharing. For those of you who haven't browsed through some of the other articles there, take a look. There are some very interesting and unique articles. But ouch! Am I the only one to whince at some of the blades that were tested to destruction back then? Muramasa..Tadamitsu...Norimitsu..Masaiye... I understand the feelings expressed by "The cutting ability should be the first consideration for a Nihonto. Its beautiful appearance comes in second. A true Nihonto should fulfill the first requirement of being a weapon and that is to cut well. The beautiful appearance is only secondary. Art-sword theorists have the priority of this all wrong." but I am not sure I agree with them completely. The function of the sword is the most important thing...up to a point. When it becomes of such age and significance that the weapon aspect is secondary to the cultural and artistic value..then shouldn't it be regarded as beyond weapon status and become worthy of preservation purely for the art aspect? I am surprised that around WW2 this attitude wasn't held more highly. Surely the swords that were dedicated to shrines were not seen firstly as functional weapons, and secondarily as symbolic gifts with a higher purpose? So the question is raised...when did important swords start being awarded Juyo status in spite of hagire or other fatal flaws? Was this before the war..or after? This would indicate a change of attitudes towards the value of historical significance vs the functionality. Only in swords that are above a certain level of course...but i am glad there was a slight change of mindset. Otherwise the wanton confiscation and destruction of swords after WW2 cannot be faulted? Just some ranbling thoughts though. Great article, thanks! Brian

Hayri, My email can't be full...it doesn't have a limit. But I am sure these pics must be too big. Right click on each pic..and check the properties. What is the size of the pics? If they are anything over about 500kb each..then resize them first. I suggest going to http://www.imageshack.us and upload them there, and then post the direct link to the picture in your post. You can upload all of them there, one at a time. The instructions to do this are also in the link above. If Imageshack won't upload them, then each pic must be bigger than 1.5MB which is their limit. Regards, Brian

hayri.. Please edit your post and sign with your name and initial please as per the rules? We will be glad to help with your sword where possible. Read here : http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... um.php?f=8 on how to upload pics, resize images and the maximum file sizes etc. If you cannot upload after that, the pics are probably too large or you are not attaching them correctly. If you still do not come right, email or pm me, and I will try to assist. You can also upload them to imageshack, and link to them here. All the instructions are in that link above. Regards, Brian

I have an old Sony Cybershot 3MP, and a Canon 300D Digital SLR. I use the Canon now almost exclusively for my photos, but I must admit that without a macro lens for my Canon DSLR, whenever I am doing any close up work, I find myself grabbing the Sony which does great close-up work up to about 8cm. I would say that if you plan on doing a lot of close up tsuba and blade photography, then you will find you are going to need a lens with a good macro function. You are not going to get the same results zooming in as much as possible from a greater distance. Spend the extra and get a macro lens, you won't regret it. Brian

Milt's post got me researching a bit on the net, and I came up with some interesting info on Japanese patinas and alloys. Just thought I would share. For those of us who don't have the Japanese Patinas book..these provide some interesting background to the various processes and metals that were used. Of course I do NOT recommend trying any of these to re-patina any original fittings, as you will likely just screw them up, and maybe even dissolve the solder, but they are none the less very interesting. http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/directo ... bject/86/1 Some very interesting exerpts from the book, with pics. There are a few pages of info including on all the metals and solutions. Fascinating stuff! http://www.hooverandstrong.com/articles/?id=36 Has this fascinating info: "In her work with shibuichi, Haga often uses a variation of the Japanese copper-sulfate mixture rokusho. Haga actually has a recipe to make it at home-but doesn't, since some of the ingredients aren't easy to come by. They include urine from a copper-reactive person, distilled pure water, grated daikon (a Japanese radish), plum vinegar, and cupric sulfate....." So who here has copper-reactive urine? :D And on Shakudo: "First they immersed the object in boiling lye prepared by smoldering wood ashes. Then they polished it with a charcoal powder and immersed it in plum vinegar containing salt. They washed it with weak lye, placed it in a tub of water to remove any traces of alkali, and immersed it again in a boiled solution of cupric sulfate, water, and verdigris [a greenish crystalline substance that forms on copper-bearing metals] until the purple-black patina was achieved." There are a number of variations of red in there..which relates to the original question. Regards, Brian

Yes..Shinsakuto is the term for modern made true Nihonto. But you should know that the limited supply, intense study and qualifications necessary to produce them..makes them fairly expensive. It is quite normal to pay anything from $10,000 up to $100,000 for a modern Shinsakuto. You can check Aoi Art's website and others in the links above to see some examples. A reasonable older blade, out of polish, can run you from $500 up to any amount you want to spend. If you buy..then buy from a trusted dealer or collector. As an example..there is/was a wakizashi blade in the for sale section without mounts running under $500. That is a good deal if you are just starting out. Buy books and read as much as you can, and it will all fall into place. Btw..you can click on your profile in the links above and add your name in your signature there..or just sign your posts at the bottom with a name and initial. Regards, Brian R.