Guido

I'm not sure I can slip out of the office for a couple of hours without my boss noticing , so I probably have to go there on Sunday.

I have edited the above post to protect the privacy of Todd M. and others. I'd have this thread deleted since the accusations by Todd M. are obviously unfounded, but that would have had the Alkens deprived of the opportunity to set the record straight. I don't, however, see the need to continue this topic, and will lock the thread. If the parties involved want to add anything, please PM me. Everybody else can form his/her own opinion.

I'm holding the catalog right in my hands: all blades are described as either "unsigned" or "signed", no matter how dubious the signature is. If one goes to the back of the catalog, an explanation says: 'signed' Has a signature which in our qualified opinion is the signature of the artist. 'bears signature' and/or 'inscribed' Has a signature and/or inscription which in our qualified opinion might be the signature and/or the inscription of the artist. I agree with Reinhard: they did a fine job being misleading. If giving them the benefit of the doubt, and assuming it was unintentionally ... well, there goes their "qualified opinion" ...

From today's Japan times:

Are you two related? I'd be very careful with that. Chances are it won't go back over the Nakago after the wrap, which by default should be very tight if done properly.

I think the word you're looking for is "novelty item" - like the set in the attachment from Gungfu Martial Arts (I'm not making the name up!) which can be your's for just $ 39.95!

Well, it's Kikugata and iron, that's two out of three. Is it Katchu-shi? I have to admit that I'm just recently scratching the surface of the collecting field of Tsuba - so take everything I'm saying with not just a grain but plenty of salt - but I think it's possible, although it doesn't have the trademark Dotte-mimi. In any case, even if it's Saotome, it's basically Katchu-shi since Saotome is a branch of the Myo´chin who also were famous armor makers. The Hakogaki might not be 100% correct, but kind of close enough :D.

Neither have I, FWIW, but I don't think they were ever made. Matching Tachi and Tantô is rare enough, matching Katana and Wakizashi or Tantô are plentyful, but who would want to walk around with three blades?

Looks like "Katchu-shi Kiku-gata iron Tsuba".

That's because you've married a Japanese. Try a southern italian next time. :lol:I hope you read the remainder of my post ... in any case, many foreigners here complain that the Japanese language is so vague - heck, that's the beauty of it! I couldn't pull off that stunt in any other language! And there will be no "next time", unless I can convince my wife that polygamy is a natural lifestyle for a healthy male. And nothing wrong with Southern Italians, I'm all for cultural diversity! Yeah, fat chance ...

You guys are pathetic. Don't you know that a successful marriage is based on trust and understanding? I *never* would ly to my wife about a new sword, I bring it into the house in plain sight of her. If she askes if I bought a new sword, I tell her I had a new Habaki / Shirasya made, or a Sayagaki done, or a sword papered. This is all true, but maybe not neccessarily for the particular sword I'm just carrying. See, that's a big difference to hiding things away, or even outright lying to your rightful wedded wife - that would be disgusting!

Congratulation for your French This expression is quite "americanized" by now. "This is deja vu all over again" is a famous quote by Yogi Berra, made into a song by John Fogerty. No, I'm not *that* much into recent American history, but I heard that song just yesterday on the radio, and the dj explained the background .

I can't see the first character clearly, but the second one looks like "mitsu". Just off of the back of my head: the "roundishness" of the Kanji reminds me of signatures of Kaga smiths, and many of them used "mitsu" as a second character indeed.

Sorry, but I think you're reading something into the Tsuba that isn't there - the ficus religiosa, or so-called pipal tree, looks decidedly different from the one depicted on the Tsuba (see attachment); in any case, it wouldn't explain the prominent rendering of the wasp / bee. Eric, I think you're getting a little defensive over some imagined (as I see it) talking down of the Tsuba and Koshirae in general, when in fact what you really get is a rather thoughtful analysis. Reinhard and Ford made some very valid points, but that doesn't mean the Koshirae is in any way undesirable. The way *I* see it: the fittings are not en suite, or even have a common theme as a whole. This is quite obvious when looking at the Tsuka and Saya fittings, they don't appear to be made by the same hand, or put together with a certain "story line" in mind. Which is perfectly o.k. Although it seems to be the general consensus nowadays that all fittings of a Koshirae have to match, it's only true for a very small percentage of Koshirae; Tachi and Kamishimozashi-DaishÅ-Koshirae are in fact an exception, many - if not most - high class Koshirae, including not a few JÅ«yÅ TÅsÅgu, have fittings selected for their individual merit, not because they matched in theme or material. That's were it gets a little tricky: appreciating pre-Meiji period Japanese taste, and especially distinguishing between Samurai and merchant taste. To give just one example: Kaneie and Nobuie Tsuba never became mainstream taste, partially because they didn't appeal to non-Samurai. There were some Tsuba "made in the style of" much later when merchants tried to mimic nobility taste, but almost all of them fell short of what the originals represented. But back to your Koshirae: it's of good quality, well preserved, and has a fascinating, well documented history. I wouldn't be ashamed to add it to my collection. I hope this doesn't sound condescending, because it isn't meant to be. Enjoy it for what it is, not for what it isn't. If nothing else, it's way above of what we usually look at here.

That's simply great - takes a lot of pressure from non-paying bidders ...

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't get it. I'm giving out my bank account details for about 33 years now - I really like it if somone sends me money :D. Maybe it's different in Germany and Japan, but what I remember from living in the US in the early nineties, account number and bank name alone are not enough to successfully scam someone. Or did he ask you for your PIN?

Should be available from amazon.co.jp. If not, PM me.

Well, honestly, Ford, it would be kind of difficult to expect it to be any other way. The open and closed mouth relates to "AH" (open mouth), the first letter in the Sanskrit syllabary, while "UN" (closed mouth) is the last letter - at least the guys have the last word!

If I'm not wrong, it's the weekend after the DaiTokenIchi (i.e. November 7/8/9) at the Keio Plaza Hotel (http://www.keioplaza.com/index.html).

Andy is much more qualified than me to comment on Magari-Togi, but from what I've heard, the most heat a blade is exposed to is boiling water, and that only if the temperature is very low, before putting it into the Noshi-bô / Tamegi, or straightening device. Hammering the Shinogiji is a last resort; using a blowtorch might get rid of the bend, but also of the Hamon ...

A friend once told me saw the face of Elvis on the belly of a lobster.

Very much worth reading is also the excellent, original article by Bob Benson in regard to "Den": http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/Den%20article.htm

Posting from a laptop at home: where can I get that calibration software? Never even heard about something like it, sounds intriguing! Not *all* of the description' date=' just the stuff we can't see in the picture; let me give an example: if you post a photo Kantei of Osafune Tomomitsu, you'll get many bids for Embun Kanemitsu. Not just because the workmanship is indeed very close, but not knowing the measurements we miss the important Kantei points that Tomomitsu's blades were much more slender and with a thick Kasane, as often seen at the end of the NambokuchÅ period. Well, you're making my point!

That's the main problem: things we don't see, and things we imagine to see for lack of clarity. I really can't make out the typical Rai Hada, and I'm also not convinced we look at Hakikake or Kaen. As you said, let's wait for the answer, since we're getting close to the realm of reading tea leaves ...

Not trying to be a party pooper, here's *what* I see: Suriage, more probably Ô-suriage, late Kamakura. Nie-deki (rather strong Nie with dark Ara-nie) and Kinsuji in the Bôshi that is Ko-maru Kaeri-katai. Chû-suguha based Hamon with slight Notare; tight Itame-Mokume Hada. I thought I saw some Sumigane and Utsuri, but since the Hada isn't Chirimen, and it doesn't have an Aoe-bôshi, I ruled out that school. But that still leaves us with enough common characteristics of both the Yamashiro and Yamato tradition to make it very hard to narrow it down further.