Brian

Eek. No....just no. Gives off all sorts of "wrong" vibes.

I don't value shinsakuto any less than older swords, rather judge them on their quality. There are some amazing modern pieces and to have one made to your specs is really a dedicated act of support. If that's what you want to do, go for it!

Thanks all.

Hi all. This is (printed?) on a jinbaori and is repeated in a few places making me think it’s part of the design. But was wondering what it says? Thanks.

Sho stamp. Definitely Showato

Just scanning through the Bushido articles , I'm amazed at some of the valuable info therein. But one passage stood out for me. Bear in mind, this was way back in 1980, and in an interview with John Yumoto, John had this to say: How prophetic was that... I still believe physical books have a strong place in this field of study, and know many prefer them. Nothing like having a book open in front of you while you study a sword. We need to actively support sellers like Grey and others, and many references are still only in hard copy format. But he was right about the world changing, and how info would be disseminated.

I confirm that Mr Benson has given us permission to share these with the NMB. In his words.. ".... I am always interested in seeing all Japanese Sword information disseminated...." I think that is an amazing gesture from someone considered one of the pillars of the Nihonto community in the West, and my thanks go out to him and also to Rayhan for facilitating this. Bushido magazine contains some amazing info, and everyone should grab this opportunity. I'll upload them in a day or 2 in individual editions for those who battle with the above transfer. We are awaiting response from other organizations to see if they will allow sharing of vintage (not recent or current) newsletters, many of which come from before the internet. Enjoy all.

That star is always such a nice revelation :-) Guaranteed Gendaito, and an instant upgrade.

Let's get the docs, and then myself and Rayhan can work out the logistics. I suspect this forum is currently the largest English online repository of Nihonto info in the world currently, so we'll do the best we can to share what we can. Thanks Rayhan, PM sent.

This design is almost always Wisteria.

I'd be not only happy to do it, but grateful for the info. Can either transfer via email, or use one of the filesharing sites. I can research some options if you like @Rayhan As far as the space, if necessary I'll take more hosting space from my hosts and happy to compile into documents if needed. Whatever works for you, consider me in. Thanks for the offer, I think we'd all benefit greatly.

No, it is more reasonable to deduce that favours and leniency allowed these blades to pass shinsa. I'm betting the vast majority are oil quenched, and that the ones that passed shinsa would not have passed without some exception being made for various reasons.

The exceptions are so rare as to make it fairly reasonable to assume that swords stamped this way are not fully traditionally made. This isn't an old blade, and it can be assumed reliably that it is a wartime "Showato" that is most likely oil quenched.

I think just a mis-translation, they mean post-war tsunagi most likely.

Komonjo special maybe?

I like projects, and seems to me with Tanegashima there is always a way to find parts or make them, and it isn't seen as badly as messing with swords. So I say go for it. As for the other dilemma...seems internal politics there overrules desire and decency. You may have to do something, doesn't mean I would do it under the same circumstances

Nothing this side preventing it, can only be your pc. More details. Cell or pc? Use a pc. What error are you getting? Right click and save link as...?

It's a lot better than the guide you wrote Jacques. Oh wait....you didn't write one. Hmm....how about you do one for us, make some good use of your time. You can make it all scientific and academic-y if you like.

Fantastic display Tom, wish I were there. Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Bad Chinese fake.

Done, it's in the downloads section and highly recommended. Much appreciated.

Thanks Rivkin. If ok with you, I'll convert to a .pdf and add it to the downloads section under member articles for future reference? Edit to add: Sorry, I see it's already a .pdf, so if ok, I'll go ahead and upload. It's a great article, with lots of important points. well done.

The shortening would explain the shinogi zukuri tanto thing, which as well all know is a bit awkward and more suited to wakizashi. Maybe the front end of a broken longer sword that was completely redone.

Go into your profile, click account settings. On the left, content view behavior. You can choose where it goes. Also, if you click on the subject heading you are going to, it should take you to the last read comment. If it's not, clear your cookies and try again. But you can also click on the highlighted dot next to the subject....which will take you to the first unread comment. If you hover over that dot (on pc) a popup will tell you where it is taking you.

Absolutely love them