Drago

A beautiful (if grizzly) inscription. Yes, please show us some photos.

Hi Luis, sorry to hijack this thread - the board says you can't receive messages. I apologize for not answering, work and health issues . Please get in touch if you are still interested in the wakizashi we talked about.

Hi fellows, a while ago (1/2-1 year) there was a katana on sale on eBay that was very large/beefy. The seller advertised it as real and, at least to my amateur eyes, it seemed true. The blade was almost double as wide as a normal one and it was a bit longer. The seller also had photos comparing it to a normal sized katana. Does anyone remember this one? 1. Do you still have a link/pictures? 2. Was it real? I can still see it in front of my inner eye, but I can't give you any more details than that. Thanks.

Hmm, I think I saw this one here before... Anyway. It says nagasa 34cm - I mean, we all know that nagasa is measured straight, but is this really alright here? I just took two rulers and simulated nagasa and sori near my hip. You can wear this blade very close to your body and basically draw it following your beltline. But stabbing with it probably is difficult. And sheathing it too... Does it say anything about the history behind it besides being 183 years old? Who it was made for and so on? I can't really imagine a samurai wearing it, I see it more as a presentation/gift piece or shrine offering...

Oh, nice one, Grey! I think we discussed a tsuka similar to yours with iron ito before (not wire!). But I can't find the topic. EDIT: Ah, here it is: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/13902-very-unusual-tsuka/?hl=%2Biron+%2Btsukamaki

Looking at the numbers, the first 5 symbols say "year 2015", although according to the Internet, that's not really how they would spell it... But I only speak average Japanese, not Chinese. 二?一五年金?平?

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/41559099_helmet-kabuto-with-rabbit-ears-Japan Awesome!

I tried using Markus' cursive book, but there are more than a few that look similar... I really haven't gotten the hang of cursive, yet. Sorry. As for "kakejiku fetish" +1! Me too...

What are you refering to? I haven't heard about that. Could you post a link to some info?

Hi, did a member here win either of these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/151798474920 (gunto haikan) http://www.ebay.com/itm/371465513625 (very rusty sword) If so, I'd like to get in contact with you. Thanks!

The shape is called u-no-kubi-zukuri. First nakago picture shows the signature: I can only recognize 國 "province" Second nakago picture shows a date inscription: ｘｘｘ年十二月日 "a day in the 12th month of xxx year" (might be 3rd year of xx era; second kanji for the era might be 永, which would limit the blade to 4 possible eras if the signature is real)

Thank you very much Morita-dono. A few questions if I may: 1. How do you read 敬寫? ケイシャ? キョウシャ? 2. Why did you use 寫 instead of 写? Ah, I suppose signatures really do need to be illegible... After checking Markus' cursive book and the Internet, I would think it looks more like 堂. If you write it a little more compressed...

I see. Thank you very much!

Good evening. I've often read the suggestion that when one considers having a badly-out-of-polish or rusted blade polished, the blade should be given to a polisher to "open a window" to see if the blade is even worth polishing. Do not worry, I have no intention of doing any polishing work myself or having non-trained amateurs do it. This is just a theoretical thread. Now, I'd like to ask a few questions about this practice: 1. Is this commonly accepted/done? 2. To what degree is the window opened (base polish, full polish)? 3. What influence does a window have on a subsequent full-blade polish? I mean, won't the blade consequently be more tired in the area of the window? I doubt a polisher would polish "around" the window...

bump