md02geist

I am searching for some more documentaries to watch on samurai and the like. What are some of your favorites?

I saw this on recommendation of a friend a little while ago, I enjoyed it.

Thank you for your input; I did not believe the habaki to be legit. Also if you cannot put them in a display case I see no possible way to show them, and every museum in the world is wrong. I plan on making a display case out of high quality wood, uv resistant glass, and a silk insert.

Excellent input thank you.

Forgive the poor pictures. Also I am aware the blade is not in good shape; I was not responsible for its care until the last six months or so, so please don't start hammering me on the condition.

Will do! I will try to get some tomorrow. My photography equipment and skills are lacking but maybe I can take some that help, at least some close ups. It was a sword my father bought back in the 70s at some antique market for like 70 bucks or something, and he gave it to me for my birthday last year as I'm the only one of his kids who would appreciate such a thing. I plan on putting it in a display box and putting it on the wall in my office.

Hello all, I'm looking for a blade (a katana would be great, wakizashi is fine, naginata is fine, yari is fine) on the cheaper end of the scale. Mei would be preferred, ware is not a problem as this blade will literally only be used for display to have something cool on the wall in the office next to the tsuba I won and the books I have purchased over the years. At this point I have *lots* of books I am reading and studying and would like to put my hands on the real thing so to speak, but don't want to jump into those blades that are thousands of dollars. Pre-Meiji would be great, Muromachi to Momoya would be fantastic, as would something with a relatively positive ID. Again, ware or "ugly" is not a problem right now. Please let me know if you have anything.

I wanted to let you know that this sword was now given to me as a gift from the person I initially asked about it. May i ask what other things I should be looking for on this blade other than the mei, if there are any, to more thoroughly identify it? It does not have any koshirae or saya, the tsuba I'm not sure if it is original or not, and the tsuka is a hand made job done with cheap wood and tape to mimic the tsukamaki.

Hello everyone! I would love to know if anyone has a gunbai they would sell, preferably something meiji or before rather than more recent Sumo use or repro types. Thank you!

I received my tsuba yesterday in the mail and am very stunned by it. It is wonderful and I look forward to mounting it in a nice shadow box and putting it up on the wall. Thank you both to the generous individual who donated it and to NMB for hosting the drawing!

I was contacted and told my tsuba will be on the way very shortly. Very excited!

I sent a PM and an email with my details.

Oh wow I won a tsuba! That's so cool! Who do I talk to for info on this one? I've never owned a non Hanwei tsuba before. Time for a nice shadow box.

That's wonderful; I love it. I wonder what the creative process was to base a helmet on that? In my opinion the Japanese throughout history have just had some of the most amazingly creative helmets.

Very interesting. I would love to see scrolls or pictures of one actually being worn, or an indication of *who* might have worn them during this time.

That's hilarious Well like I said, ignore that *particular* site etc...it was just the reference picture I posted so people would know the style I wished to learn more about.

Well let's ignore that *exact* one as I'm not looking at buying it or anything. I was just extremely curious about this "towel" or "handkerchief" design. When you say end of the Muromachi period, does that mean that there is a good chance a kabuto like this was worn at some point during the Sengoku Jidai? I know there is overlap there, as to parts of the Muromachi being considered in the Sengoku Jidai (if I understand properly). Also if as you say this style was mainly done by Saika/Saiga armorers in the Kii province, does that mean this sort of helmet would likely have been made for Ikko-ikki warriors rather than Samurai? Or does the Saika/Saiga school not have anything to do with the Saika Ikki?

What can you guys tell me about these style of helmet? http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/an-okitenugui-kabuto-edo-period-1742525-details.aspx?intObjectID=1742525 I think they are very neat looking and I have been doing a little research, but am not finding much on the era they were popular in / who wore them / the like. I would *guess* they were a middle level retainer helmet? But that's pure speculation based on it appearing to be a middle range "fanciness." Any information you guys could provide would be very great.

In general, do we find a certain type of curvature (certain degree, extent of curvature, etc) to be more prominent than others? With regards to the full blade, tsuka, etc... Do they vary by individual taste, by individual sword maker, by popularity of time period, by use, or by all of the above (or some combination thereof)? Just wondering if there was a more "standard" curve to some than others.

thanks!

On dou, particularly on sendai dou, was there a popular number of kusazuri to have, or a number that was more common than others?

Thanks for your help!

Thank you for the excellent links. I will certainly look and see what the range is. Problem is however, that just from looking, I have no idea what is low, fair, high, etc, only what asking price is. Seems the vast majority of stuff readily available is Edo.