Ed

Damn, Does that mean I will not be receiving the new home theater I ordered ??

This tsuba appears to be mokume, not carved to my eye. Generally, in carved examples the lines are much more prominent or exposed. Looks like tsuguhira to me, 継 平. Seppa - no clue, but looks like regular seppa would work resting flat against the high points. I have one shaped like this as well as two other mokume tsuba, all by Tsuguhide.

I just wanted to inform the sword community of the passing of Dean Hartely, Col. USMC Ret. Dean passed away early this am. Many knew him, many more knew of him. He was one of the US sword communities forefathers. He was President emeritus of the JSS/US and was instrumental in the formation of most, if not every sword club in the US. Dean was like a father to me, having been a friend and mentor for many years. He was a gentleman and a scholar, and will be dearly missed.

If you are looking at restoration then selling, depending on what you have in them, plus restoration costs, I think you will have a hard time recouping your money. Imho neither look worth spending money on restoration, but I respect a man's right to do what he pleases with his own money. Not like Obama wanting to rebuild Haiti with money we don't have !! (yeah, yeah, I know stay on topic) What was interesting to me is that the one with the turtles, depicts "soft shell " turtles. I have never seen that before, very unusual.

Stephen, Keep looking, maybe by the time you find one my new pond will be full of water and fish. Then you can mosey down south, sit on the bank and catch a mess.

Peter, Very nice, the nie has formed gorgeous sunagashi. Thanks for sharing. Jean, Wow, very evident in peters eh ??

Grey, I have sent 4-5 swords to France, without difficulty. Sounds like Jean has given you all the info needed. The only thing I would add is with the "proforma" or Invoice. I always attached one to the outside of the box and boldly mark it "Customs Invoice" and also send a copy via e-mail to the customer to have when claiming the item.

Some of those older guns mentioned, like the Le Mat, or your Colt Patterson should be allowed as they are percussion guns and don't use a cartridge. Funny you should mention a Le Mat Jean, I was looking at one a few weeks ago. Guy wants to sell, but it has a lot of pitting and he wants a lot for it. You know it's designer Jean Le Mat resided in New Orleans, and it was designed with the help of General Beauregard of the Confederacy. It was a great gun, nine shots, plus one round of 16 ga. buckshot from the second barrel. Kind of gun you want at the poker table,

Mark, George , Thanks for sharing, Nice Tanto's. Jean is right, scanners if used properly can produce quiet satisfying results. Personally, I prefer photos(if they are good). I think the problem with George's photo it was not photographed or save with high enough resolution, making the photo impossible to enlarge without it becoming grainy. Jean, I don't really know how to reply to your nie question. It would be quite a task to research enough period pieces to establish a pattern regarding nie vs nioi in shishinto yoroi doshi and the smith's rationale behind it. To me, I would venture to guess that it was a matter of school/smith preference/ability or as you said perhaps something related to the period or style of the times.

Bummer, I wouldn't want to see it turn into a modern gun show, however I would like to see cartridge era guns like Sharps carbines, old Winchesters, Colt pistols, etc..

Mark, You have me on the ammo point :lol: . Seriously though, I know the importance of a good knife and if I had to choose between gun or knife in a survival situation it would be the knife without second thought. In years past I was able to participate in a few Tanto jutsu seminars as well as spend some time in Batangas Phillipines where they are notorious knife fighters. Though I did not train long enough to become skilled, it was awesome to see and learn some of the vicious techniques of these Mantasdaga practitioners. If you can locate more photos of your tanto post them, we would like to see them.

Thank you Jean and Eric. I really like the other two as well, the nie in Peter's is great and the Ayasugi Hada in Erics is equally good for a shinshinto sword. Peter's appears to exhibit more of a standard shinshinto muji hada (could be the pics) but the nie really shines. Wish we had some better photos of Peter's. While not as pronounced as Eric's, the atypical hada in my own is what first attracted me to it. I do like shinshinto swords with retro hada. Jean, Ok, I'll bite. Where are you going with the yoroi doshi related to nie thing ? Forging / Yakiire ? Period preferences ? Smith preferences ? Functional ability ? Aesthetics ? ???????????????? In closing, if I had to be in a knife fight, I'm bringing the Glock !! It was either Confucius or Boudreaux who once said, "one should never attend a gunfight with a knife", or "one should never show up to a knife fight without a gun". Remember boy's and girls, God made man, Sam Colt made them equal.

Eric, I suspected I misunderstood your meaning.

Per the original request of this post, here is another Yoroi Doshi Tanto for your viewing pleasure, hopefully. Tenryshi Masataka; c. 1830, Chusaku. Grandson of Ozaki Suketaka, son of Takashige. Worked in Settsu then later in Kyoto. Produced mostly suguha in nioi. The motokasane of this tanto is just shy of 0.5". tight ko-itame with horimono of suken on ura and dragon on omote. http://yakiba.com/Tanto_Masataka_merge.htm Eric, I may have misunderstood your post regarding the Kama, "we don't understand it's use", if so please disregard. The Kama is an Okinawan weapon, originally a farm implement. This particular one is the smallest I have seen, but it is a kama no less. There was one for sale a few years ago on one of the Japanese web sites, full size, in koshirae(guess you call it that), mounted for use at any rate, not shirasaya. Would have bought it, but alas it was sold upon inquiry.

Hi Clive, Yes, I wasn't going to mention names, but that is what I heard as well. Though I did hear he was planning to combine antique guns with the sword show. Who knows, guess we will see next year. Regards.

As we know the Florida Token Kai will no longer host their annual show after this year. The good news is that I am hearing rumors of the show continuing through other means. One rumor is that one of the long time collectors may take it over and change the venue to a sword and gun show. My guess is they will anounce something at the show.

Himeji Castle was affiliated with numerous clans over time, including the Ikeda. Towards the rear of the castle there is a display of tiles related to these various clans. I am including a small photo of it here, however you can not distinguish the individual mons. If you care to see a much larger photo there is a provided link as well. http://yakiba.com/Himeji_Mons.htm

Just FYI, the kabuto is a Paul Chen, Hanwei repro.

Now that it seems this topic is nearing a close, I just want to say three cheers for such a great discussion. I was proud to see such honorable behavior, though a couple of times I thought the gloves were coming off. Although in truth I don't see where an answer was agreed upon, merely a resolve to converse further, perhaps privately. It has been a really great read and I think (hope) it has made everyone involved(readers and participants alike) stop and think about their own view of the subject. For the most part I could simply copy and paste Barry's comments as they pretty much reflect my own. I too feel swords are swords, and tsuba are tsuba old or new as long as they meet at least a general criteria. Whether or not you like them or validate them is purely a personal opinion. But, I do agree that personal opinion is subjective, it would seem difficult to give a objective opinion on anything in which you are involved, ie; objectivity: intentness on objects external to the mind / external reality. I have owned several shinsakuto and fully appreciate modern tsuba. Again, like Barry my problem has always been that for the money I could buy a wonderful old sword or tsuba. And honestly for me, in my humble and subjective opinion, modern swords and modern iron tsuba (none I have found) do not have the quality of steel seen in the hada of older swords or tsuba. There was one shinsakuto I thought I would have always kept, but alas just recently someone liked it enough to trade me a Kanemoto Tanto with koshirae and presentation box. Forfeit the new for the old ? Hell yes I traded. Once again like Barry, I have contemplated one or two of Ford's tsuba that were not for sale and would love to own that Tiger one. I always liked the one I think he modeled it after. I am including photos of two modern iron tsuba made by Mr. Tomoaka which I like a lot. In closing I hope we will see follow up on any revelations brought about by this debate.

Eric, Great fun, normally I don't have time to participate here. However your timing was perfect as I am currently stuck at home nursing an injury. I knew that one looked wrong as stated in my post, yet I dismissed it due to it's smaller size. Though no one else stated a problem seeing it, but I could not see it that well enough to scrutinize it. Perhaps it's my monitor, surely not my eyes. Again, thanks for giving me something to do.

Eric, Found a mistake or two in my own post. Should have read "E" left and the two in table "D". This should have said "E" left photo. That top right kanji looks to be hachi (. I clearly read and knew he died at age 79, but was concentrating so hard on the mei themselves, smooth let that slip by(I suffer from sometimer's disease, somtimes I remember sh*t, and sometime's I don't ). In reminding me of that you may have given it away. I will stick with my answers even though I every time I look at them I want to reverse their order. :D

Ok, here's my little stab in the dark along with my rationale. Viewing only the mei in my humble opinion is a crap shoot. First there are so many variations in Naotane's mei, related to his works spanning over fifty years, that I don't think the experts could be sure looking only at the mei. I think even they would have to see the entire work to be sure, or at least make an educated guess. A couple of examples have hot stamps, and he was known to put them on works from different areas as he traveled about. But for kantei they mean nothing (to me) as anyone could have placed these. The nakagojiri as well as the yasurime looks correct on all examples, best I can see. The one thing that seemed to stand out in all of the oshigata I looked at was the Kao. There were only a few which did not have a Kao engraved. Yes, there were variations in the Kao shape as well, but no matter the small nuances in shape or style, the one thing I noticed was that regardless of his age the Kao always appears very refined, easily flowing from his hand. Now to the examples show in this little test. There are only three examples without Kao, "C" left and the two in table "D". Both examples in table "D" look poorly executed with the one on the right being the worst looking mei of the entire group. The example in "C" while not cut great, is signed as done when he was eighty something years old, so could be just one of the many variations seen. Moving on tho the Kao. The Kao in table "B" center photo right off gave me a bad gut feeling, but it is too small in the photo for me to see well enough to say yes or no. However, I do have my doubts regarding it. The rest for the most part look well cut with the exception of one, table"C" far right. The kao on this one is the worst looking one of any I have seen. It shows areas where the chisel literally went astray a couple of times, and just does not show the integrity or have the feel of a masters work. While it is dated as being done when he was sixty five, there are much better examples from when he was much older. My choices were formed omitting table "B" center photo due to not being able to see it clearly, leaving me two choices. Again both examples in table "D" look poorly cut but the one on the far right being the worst(I'll be surprised if it is shoshin), and table"C" far right. First choice: Table "D" far right, just a gut feeling, looks so poorly done. Second choice: Table "C" far right, based solely on the Kao. Ok, curious now to see how far off I am.

Mark, I won't go into your responsibility to read fully the seller's stipulations as I think that has been fully covered. I would like to say that any time a seller ships outside his/her country it entails considerably more work/aggravation. However once the process is understood it is not that difficult. As a dealer, I have sent swords to almost every continent, including several to Australia. All without a glitch (minus one instance were a sword was damaged in transit). Several things to remember and which may be helpful to you in the future: If you use paypal and are a "confirmed" user in your country, your status in the US is most likely "unconfirmed". Before you say "why", I don't know it is a Paypal thing. International shipping causes seller anxiety over exactly what your seller disclosed "afraid of losing goods(or more specifically, his Money)". All that is necessary is that the buyer stipulate goods will not be shipped until money has actually been RECEIVED into his bank account. Once the money is in his account, it is a done deal. You may mention this to him or at least remember this in the future. Another point to remember with Paypal, instant payment, is not actually instant. Yes, it shows on your paypal account as instant, but that money is not "in" the sellers Bank account. Messages like "money sent", "you have money" are somewhat deceiving indications of payment, payment which has not actually been received upon receipt of these messages. Money must be transferred from sellers paypal account into sellers bank account. Just because you get a message saying "money sent" or "you have money", does not mean it is physically in the seller's bank account. It takes time for my bank to collect the money from your bank, and with international transfers it can take up to thirty days. While this can be frustrating, as long as both parties are aware and understanding, it is no reason not to conduct business internationally. Personally, I stipulate that regardless of the payment type or destination it must be "IN" my account prior to shipping, period. And even though I accept most any type of payment, I recommend some methods over others in order to speed up this process and get your item to you asap. One other point regarding E-bay is you may want to buy more things on e-bay to increase your standing, I have noticed where many buyers demand various numbers of positive feedbacks before they will sell to you. While I disagree with this, apparently it does not violate any e-bay policy, so you have no option but to abide by it. You need not buy big, expensive things, just stuff to up your numbers. Also, you state you have 7 positives, but didn't mention any negative feedback. I will assume you have none, but know that negative feedbacks are deal killers. Simon, I agree with you that Marks deal is senseless, the buyer had a sale and backed out. I suspect a lack of knowledge on the sellers part regarding International shipping or how to ensure his payment, caused him to cancel the sale, pity for both parties. I sense some hostility towards the US Market. Please know that as far as I am aware there are no dealers in the US who refuse to business with our Australian allies. The lack of knowledge regarding International shipping I suspect is responsible for most "US only" policies. It is doubtful that it is discrimination towards Australia or any other country. While I don't personally agree, E-bay is a entity of its own, and individuals have the right to do whatever they wish within e-bay policy. So many senseless e-bay policies are what prevent myself from all but rarely doing business there. You stated "If the seller has already received the money, it is no longer his sword." This is technically correct but as I explained above "received" is the key word. Messages like "money sent", "you have money" are somewhat deceiving indications of payment, payment which has not actually been received upon receipt of these messages. In regards to your statement, "we are, by and large, starved for good pieces in Australia". Just my worthless opinion but, I would recommend venues other than E-bay as the place to find good swords. Not to say there are never good swords offered there, but there are many cons, scams, rip-offs and just plain dumb asses to sort through.

Lee, This post causes me some ambivilance in that I wish someone could have provided some more conclusive information, yet I feel better that I was not the only one who exhausted my references looking for this particular maker to no avail. As Pete pointed out, it is undoubtedly the Akao school. I too speculated at Akao Yoshitsugu but it is clearly not the Tsugu character seen on any mei example I was able to reference. See this one for comparison: http://yakiba.com/Tsuba%20Akao%20Yoshitsugu%20Descipt.%20pg.htm It would be great if someone could shed some knew light on this mei/maker. Ps: I think Lee meant to say Akasaka style tsuba.

I don't post often and generally avoid e-bay, but this morning while drinking coffee and having nothing better to do, I was cruising e-bay I ran across this. It gave me a good laugh, so I decided to share. http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-Japanese-SW ... 0321875925 Seems this "obvious" Masamune school wak had the mei removed to hide it's value. That's something a lot of folks are guilty of, hiding the value of anything.