Kevin Adams

Congratulations to all Board members who participated

Please do take some photos, Henry - I'm anxious to see the scope of work in this year's NBSK competition

For some reason, the round seppa-dai makes me think of the round washer used to hold the tsuba in place on a shinai....

Alright, I'll ask the obvious question - what could this have been mounted on, given that the nakago-ana appears to be basically rectangular? Fitting this back onto a sword seems to require further modification of the nakago-ana through the installation of sekigane...

Barry, of all the fittings you bring to our meetings, that mokume rabbit tsuba is always one of my favorites :D

I can't open the preceding zip file on my Blackberry to see what it is so I hope I'm not repeating anything, but I found a tsuba with millet by this artist in "100 Tsuba and Sword Accessories" by Kazuo Iida and Michiko Hiruta (page 102). It's not a large image, but I'll scan and post when I get back to my computer/scanner, if no one beats me to it

Opened fine for me, and I tested maybe 20 of the links - I hope to test the whole thing in the next day or so. Thanks so much for doing this, Rich - I've always found your site to be invaluable. :D

**slaps forehead** Of course! I have Rokusho #28 as well, I just haven't looked through it in some time. Number #34 as well, you say? Seems I have a bit of shopping to do :D Thanks Lorenzo!

I recently picked up a book showing some of the works of Kano Natsuo, and it has been quite useful in showing the range of work that he did. Is there a similar book of Goto Ichijo's work? I am curious to research his work further to explore for myself Ford's assertion that he "ain't so good". To date I have only found the pieces on the MFA website/catalog, the pieces for sale at Tetsugundo.com and Aoi-art.com, and a few random pics that have cropped up on the internet (sources long forgotten). Anyone know of such a book? Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a second to announce the October meeting of the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre) Token Kai in Toronto, Ontario (formerly known as the Toronto Token Kai). NMB members in the area are cordially invited to attend. JCCC Token Kai - "Appreciating Koshirae/Kinko" The purpose of our next meeting is to continue to build upon our knowledge of various peripheral topics, within the field of Japanese swords. Chris Leung will pick up where he left off at the last meeting, and lead the group through a presentation dealing with the appreciation of koshirae (full mountings of Japanese swords), leading to a discussion of handling and evaluating kinko (soft metal) fittings. Chris will have several examples from his own collection on hand for inspection, and encourages members to bring clean examples of koshirae and kinko from their own collections for inclusion in the discussion. We will also have a "sell and trade" table set up for our members. Date: Saturday October 30th, 2010 Time: 1-5 PM (second floor Multipurpose Room) Contact: Kevin Adams (Secretary) - for more details, please PM me on this Board, or email at thekevinz(at)gmail.com Thanks everyone!

If Barry doesn't take your extra copy, I will! Otherwise, I'm in for a group purchase...

This is a great idea - count me in too!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a second to announce the June meeting of the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre) Token Kai in Toronto, Ontario (formerly known as the Toronto Token Kai). NMB members in the area are cordially invited to attend. As this is the beginning of our membership year, the focus of this meeting will be on our new members, and recapping the basic skills that allow us to appreciate Japanese swords. We will have some short presentations on handling and looking at swords, as well as a guided discussion about the basic features of Japanese swords (led by forumite Barry Hennick). We also have a few "show-and-tell" sessions lined up, followed by a presentation by Chris Leung about sword polishing, with examples from his own collection showing swords in an unpolished state, hadori polish and sashikomi polish. It is hoped that novice members will learn a lot through these sessions without feeling overwhelmed, and be encouraged to begin building on what they learned. We will also have a "sell and trade" table set up for our members. Date: Saturday June 12th, 2010 Time: 1-5 PM (second floor Multipurpose Room) Contact: Kevin Adams (Secretary) - for more details, please PM me on this Board, or email at thekevinz(at)gmail.com Thanks everyone!

Thank you for posting that picture, Reinhard - it is very helpful to me in keeping the design portion of this discussion in perspective

Hi all - has anyone ever seen a tsuba like this before? It struck me as highly unusual and was curious what people thought of it... http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270354581320#

You could also try to get in touch with Doug Blain through the Toronto Token Kai...

John, thanks so much for the clarification! The link that Brian provided, and a few other tidbits that I managed to dig up, point to that exact conclusion. I had already surmised that the Nara "school" was mostly geographical, and mostly tsubas, but I also don't like dismissing an idea until I've double-checked from a few different sources. Just trying to learn as much as I can without asking too many redundant questions Now I just need to figure out what these ARE, now that I have an idea of what they're NOT... Thanks again!

Hi everyone, I was wondering if I could pick people's brains for a bit...I've recently been given a wakizashi to do tsukamaki, and was looking over the fittings. I'm a big fan of katakiribori, so the fuchi struck me as particularly nice, as was the carving on the kashira. The gentleman I'm doing the work for suggests that the fuchi/kashira is of the Nara School, and while I somewhat agree (for the kashira, anyways) based on pictures I've found of examples from this school, I can't find any reference to what might be "typical" for this school. Of course, not being satisfied with half an answer, I decided to take some pictures and see what I could find out... My questions, therefore, are: 1/ What are any thoughts that NMB forumites may have on this set of fittings, and 2/ What might be (if any) defining characteristics of fittings from the Nara School that could be used as a reference point for mumei fittings? Thanks in advance, everyone

Hi all, I was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of the board with a couple of questions... I was given this tsuba to mount on my sensei's sword and was wondering how best to clean it up...there a few greenish stains visible in the lefthand picture and I am trying to figure out a gentle way to remove them, brighten up the gold/brass inlays while preserving the patina...a tall order, I know Also, can anyone tell me anything about this tsuba i.e. is it anything of note? I'm not very knowledgeable about tosogu, but there seems to be a certain level of craftsmanship in the inlay, even though most of it has come loose and disappeared.. Thanks everyone!

Yeah, I saw that one yesterday...had to read through it a couple of times and was STILL astounded...

John, I absolutely agree with you! My original plan was to commission a custom blade from Walter Sorrells or Rick Barrett since they're closer (well, in the US, anyways) and can therefore be more involved in the process...getting on their waiting lists are another thing altogether! But that's beyond the scope of this forum, I think... For now I think I'll just keep my eyes open and wait for an opportunity to appear...I still kind of like the idea of using a Japanese-made blade for a Japanese sword art - keeps it "in the family", as it were... Thanks again, everyone!

Thank you very much for the replies guys! This topic has caused a few arguments on my end so I wasn't sure how to broach the subject... I'm torn between the two extremes in this case - finding an older sword thereby continuing to use it in "the matter for which it was made" (paraphrased from an emphatic comment made by one of my more over-enthusiastic sempai :lol: ), or getting a shinsakuto made, preserving the antiques for study and "supporting the craft", as Paul said. I realize the criteria I listed above are a little too exacting...what it really boils down to are length, balance, bohi and condition - I suppose it's one of those things where I'll have to keep hunting until something jumps up and makes itself noticed (kind of like how I bought my Koto wakizashi)... Think I'll head over to japanesesword.com and have another look at the 30" shinshinto blade they have over there... Thanks again!

Hi everyone...I realize that this may a touchy subject with some, but my sensei has not-so-subtly suggested that I should consider finding a nihonto to practice iaido with. I was therefore wondering how realistic it would be to find something that was in a "budget" price range. I realize that this is a little much to ask for, but I'd be willing to look at swords that may be a little "tired", with kizu and have maybe been over-polished. By no means would I want to train with a sword worthy of preservation and study (since I also enjoy studying them like everyone else here). Here's a list of a criteria that I came up with... 1. Age - Koto or Shinto, but I'd consider a Shinshinto blade as well. Part of the appeal of this idea to me is training with an old sword. Also, I find that these older swords are sometimes slimmer because of several hundreds of years of polishing, and a little more bearable to use during longer practice sessions... 2. School - I'm still learning about characteristics of different traditions, but I'm on a Bizen kick right now since I'm reading Robert Benson and Darcy Brockbank's book. I also like swords that I've seen of the Soshu school. Not overly picky here. 3. Does not need to be "perfect" - A somewhat tired blade with kizu is fine, depending on the condition, of course. It will see a lot of movement in and out of its saya, so it should be solid enough to take that, but non-fatal flaws aren't a big deal. 4. Does not need a full polish - Self-explanatory...I'd consider a blade that needs some rust spots cleaned up, but it doesn't have to have an "art" polish. 5. MUST BE LONG ENOUGH FOR ME! I'm 5' 9" so a 28.5" - 30" nagasa is optimal. 5. Should be decently balanced - It's for iai after all 6. MUST HAVE A BO-HI! One of my senseis is trying to find someone to put a bo-hi in his sword, and is having a really hard time. I'd prefer not to go through that hassle. 7. Koshirae not necessary - I plan to get it completely remounted, so a bare blade is just fine. So there you have it. I'm trying really hard to be realistic in what I'm looking for, and I certainly don't want to offend anyone by using an antique for iai practice. I'm merely looking to use a blade that may not be used for anything else, or appreciated because it's not in great condition. I cruise most of the websites that sell nihonto on a fairly regular basis, but they all seem to keep swords that I'd rather stare at for hours with a magnifying glass and would feel guilty training with. I was hoping that people here might be able to point me in the right direction, or at least let me know if I need to revise my criteria somewhat...I just can't seem to find anything like what I've just described, so maybe you guys know of a seller that might have something... Just to clarify, I probably won't be seriously in the market until 2008 since I have a trip to Japan to pay for in November, but you never know when a deal will pop up... Thanks everyone!

YEAH! What happened to the cigar shop on Bloor and Avenue?! Much sadness... As for the Toronto Token Kai, it is without a doubt worth joining just to see the swords that members bring in to each meeting for show and tell...

I'm kind of new at this so I can only infer, but according to the NBTHK/NTHK origami comparison page on http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/origami.htm, that column contains the "appraisers seals" (the example shows two). My guess is that your assumption is correct: each seal corresponds to a judge that is present. Now let's see if I'm right...