Muki

Cabowen, in your estimation... what is your best guess on how productive a smith would be as far as production numbers during a "normal" smithing career?

Well, the "harry knife" with that "shief" could be pretty rare...

AOI-ART.com has a very nice website with many choices.

Would the various stroke methods of the Kunisada daimei signatures be able to then be identified with the same certainty as the smith's particular method of signing? jim

Chris, if only a nakago is seen then are we but collectors of names? It seems a bit like collecting baseball cards with only names and not images on them. Art is appreciated for its context and expression and how can this be realized without seeing the artists work? For example could not a "mediocre" smith not have made an exemplary blade at one time in his life? For what its worth, you are one of the "experienced" members on this board I would dare as a neophyte to even pose this question. Your non-condescending approach in your posts is appreciated, thanks. jim

Will someone elaborate more on other one as well? What is the metal it is made from and what makes this a "tourist" creation? jim

In the little museum of Nakagusuku Castle in Okinawa (near Motobu, Nago) there are some various pieces of tosugu that have been recovered during excavation and they are in very, very, very poor condition. At any given point on Okinawa the ocean is less than a mile or two and the salt air is pervasive. Iron becomes flaky and separates into small pieces in a matter of years. I dont think this is from Okinawa personally. West side looking toward China... North side by Hado Point, close as you can get to mainland Japan... jim

In the risk of getting in trouble Brian, KM is the FIRST poster to actually bring pictorial evidence to the thread. Reinhard, advanced or not, didnt do so and left the rest of us beginners in the lurch and waiting for knowledge. Thanks KM, it is appreciated. jim

Interesting news story! http://blog.livedoor.jp/pfj_blog/archives/50609775.html

Isn't the "munched" part simply the space for a kogotana cleverly done? Forgive me for being obtuse... :?

Ford, I only typed that in a "tongue in cheek" manner! Any given day driving down the street in Japan is a mind expanding event from an artistic point of view much like anywhere in Asia. From the garish Pachinko parlors to the loveable street construction signs it is always an adventure. Following this thread has been a fantastic insight into how you and the other learned artisans and collectors approach and categorize the various relics and pieces that have been posted about here. What I take from all I have read is how much I do not know about nihonto and tosogu. Still, I follow what you and others write with great interest. Please, keep posting photos and writing! jim

I've lived (and continue to live) in Japan for years and still am not sure what Japanese art is or should be...

Ben, do you know anything about that sword with the .45 stuck in the tsuba? I see "Okinawa" on the leather I believe...

I was just told today that the postal system isnt taking large packages.

Are tobi-yaki and mune-yaki created by thinning out the clay prior to heating/quenching?

What does it mean precisely if the muneyaki or tobi-yaki are intended, incidental or accidental in regards to the sword or smith?

This announcement just popped up on FB so if anyone is still looking for people there will most likely be some more disruptions in the near future. Phones, cell lines and internet have been somewhat iffy.

That almost looks like Wiley. E. Coyotes face on the dragon tsuba!

Notwithstanding your belief that a fish is beyond help when its looking at the lure, if a potential or current enthusiast asks a pertinent question about a public auction then why not answer that question? If you see a sword listed and have no opinion then dont say anything but if you see what is obviously a faked mei or retempering or some such malady then speaking up is the moral thing to do. Watching someone walk into a lie and then after the transaction speaking up doesnt make you pundit but a voyeur enjoying a train wreck. Again, in my collecting of ebody mopars the starting price on most is in the $25,000 US range and runs to the millions. Common fakery of VIN, rebodys and fender tag swaps are common. In any given year only a handful of each model was originally produced but it seems that there are more on the market than came on the showroom floor. It is common in collecting circles of these cars to have vocal and spirited discussion of known fakes, dubious offers and crooked dealers. Nihonto collecting may be a more quiet and reserved event than buying cars but the money is the same to the potential buyer. If you have nothing to say because your not sure how to answer a question then just say so to the questioner. However, there are some brilliant minds here on the board with hundreds of years of collective study and experience. If this isnt a resource for the new as well as the old then what is NMB? I have had many offline conversations with two of the members here about swords that have saved me from what I now know were swords I shouldn't have bought. So I didnt. Thank you to the gentlemen who have helped me. jim

I'm sorry Lee, I thought you had meant known dodgy sellers, mea culpa. jim

How can the purpose of the board be to expose "outright fakes and dodgy sellers/buyers" in any worthwhile fashion unless its before a purchase is made? After the fact doesn't do anyone any good except the next buyer who ALSO wont be able to ask questions. Being polite and straightforward by the members when discussing the merits of a sword at an auction are not difficult and perhaps limiting the discussion to the salient "artistic" qualities of a sword such as condition, appeal, truthfulness of mei etc would be ok? Avoiding price questions directly leaves very little argument for a hopeful salesperson to quible with although if price is publicly displayed on a COMMERCIAL auction site then this is too fair game. Auction sites are not private sales arenas in any sense of the word.

In my opinion the internet is a free means to sell just about anything and as such any exposure and discussion is not only normal but to be expected. It is ridiculous to think that everyone will keep quiet when something is so publicly displayed. Further, if something for sale is being discussed as less than represented the public disclosures of a chat room or any other public forum will cause a very much warranted regulation on that very same sale. A person who talks "down" the item will in most circumstances I believe be found out "publicly" by other members of that same chat room and exposed. If not exposed, so what, other buyers need to spend more time researching, maybe even on that very same chat room. I collect e-body mopars and use the internet from cars-online to moparts, public auctions and word of mouth to source cars and fully expect both good information and bad information during any and all exchanges. As both a buyer and seller of these cars I also make it a point to be very up-front about what I am dealing in. If I find a car in an auction and its rare enough I will buy a plane ticket and go to where its at to see it and the seller/agent face to face. Cheaper ones I do the research from afar. If the seller is mad about the information exchange affecting his price and sale then the product is probably not worth it anyway or it will sell easily enough at that price. jim

How does one go about trying to classify age of koshirae?

The clothes of the man in the front and the table have alternating gold and silver lines inlaid. Very very small lines. I have no idea what they are doing at the table under the tree though. jim edit: I forgot to link the picture...

One of those two sites spammed and redirected my browser and tried to phish info. jim