Birdman

sayashi.com seems to be a dead website. I sent an email to Tenold; I'll see what he says.

Sorry about that...forgot it doesn't sign automatically. Is there anyone you can recommend for both repairing old koshirae, and making new koshirae? I realize this will be expensive, but I'd like to find someone who does decent work at a RELATIVELY low price (which is why I picked David Hofhine for my polishing - he has a reputation for excellent work, at under $100/inch). Thanks! Rich

So does where I bought it, what I paid for it, its size, and the fact that it's unsigned and in need of restoration somehow make it "unworthy"? I mentioned in another post that I did not buy it for an investment, expecting it to appreciate in value, or break even on it, but solely for my own enjoyment. I think it's a neat sword, myself. I am currently on Dave Hofhine's list for a foundation polish (waiting time approximately 23 months right now), so in the meanwhile I will get some yellow poplar (the closest U.S. eqivalent to honoki) and make my own shirasaya to protect the blade. The outside appearance might not match the skills of an expert sayashi, but I am capable of decent inletting work (from my experience building muzzleloaders). Hofhine will likely open a window and tell me from there whether it's worth restoring. If so, then I will see about getting a professional to make a really nice looking shirasaya and koshirae. Now, as to the old saya - there are no cracks that I can see, though the wood at the edges of the kozuka pocket is a bit compressed ("bruised"), and the lacquer is chipped in many places right down to bare wood. Also, the koiguchi is very worn and does not conform to the habaki very snugly. Would it be worthwhile restoring this saya - can they be disassembled to clean out any rust or dirt that could scratch a polished blade - or should I just save it so a sayashi can use it as a template for a new saya?

It is a bit hard to see, but it DOES look as though the hamon goes straight back into the nakago rather than tapering off. I did not touch the rust and crud on ANY part of the nakago, even where the habaki covers it, as I have always been told to NEVER touch the nakago, no matter what (the rust can help determine the age of the blade, or something like that). So my scrubbing stopped at the machi. The blade itself is 14.7" from the hamachi to the tip of the kissaki. As for the sword being Edo, that is what Daimyou on Evilbay was selling it as. I have heard that he is honest, though the blades he sells are either very tired or in bad need of restoration (like mine). Are nagamaki naoshi fairly common? The sword came with a battered but intact saya that has a badly worn koiguchi and a kozuka pocket, a rather battered copper habaki, and an old tsuka that not only was apparently of poor quality (the remaining samegawa was not wrapped, and not even in inlaid panels, but pieced together and glued on), but didn't even go with this blade (the mekugi ana in the tsuka did not even come close to lining up with the one in the nakago). I don't know if the saya is worth saving and restoring or not, or if it can be taken apart and the inside cleaned, the koiguchi shimmed to fit the habaki, and the outside relacquered, or if I should have a totally new saya made for it along with a new tsuka. First priority, or course, is to have it polished and put in shirasaya. While I am not good at outside contouring of wood, I am good enough at wood working to inlet the blade into a crude-looking but protective shirasaya that will keep the blade safe after polish, until I can afford to have a professional make proper koshirae.

Were all nihonto made with glass-hard edges? Or were some softer than others? I managed to scrub most of the rust off the blade of my Edo-period wakizashi with oil and a brass bristle brush - it came off pretty easily (maybe just dirt, not rust?). What is left is tightly adhering surface rust. I can see a hamon, but the chips in the edge seem to have been cut into the edge with another blade, with metal being burred rather than broken off. None of the nicks extends to the top of the hamon, so this sword could likely be repolished. It is definitely a folded blade, as I can see grain structure where the crud came off leaving smooth metal. http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm100/DutchmanDick/arms%20and%20armor/DSC01932.jpg http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm100/DutchmanDick/arms%20and%20armor/DSC01931.jpg http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm100/DutchmanDick/arms%20and%20armor/DSC01934.jpg http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm100/DutchmanDick/arms%20and%20armor/DSC01933.jpg Also, any thoughts as to the age of this sword and what school it likely came from? It is mumei, by the way, and my first nihonto. Blade length is 14.7". Mune is narrow, with a high shinogi. Something of a diamond cross-section (not sure of the correct terminology). The mune widens out where it meets the shinogi at the tip.

Interesting that it uses panels of samegawa rather than full wrap. How old is it?

Thanks! When it arrives (probably in a few weeks - it just shipped out via EMS) I'll try to get a better picture of the mei.

Well, since I bought it for my own enjoyment, and not an investment, this does not bother me. When I do get a new set of koshirae, it will be completely to my taste, though not inappropriate to the sword (no cheesy Chinese castings, fake silk tsukamaki, plastic samegawa, modern themes, etc.). Meanwhile, I agree that a shirasaya probably is a good idea until I can get exactly the koshirae I want. Now, about that mei translation...

Planned on sending it to Dave Hofhine. He seems to have a good reputation, and his prices seem reasonable as well. I figured doing it my way would allow me to spread the cost over time. Champagne taste, beer budget, and all that. I wasn't looking at getting a return on my investment. To me, investments are for guys with lots of money to invest in the first place - which I don't. I happen to like swords in general, and I already have one antique (a Punjabi tulwar from the early 19th century with a silvered hilt - cost me under $200. Blade is pitted, scabbard in rough shape, but it's still VERY sharp!). I wanted a real Nihonto, but cringed every time I saw the prices of blades in polish with koshirae. I'd need a bank loan!

Okay, newbie question - exactly what is "shobu"? And would this sword be considered a ko-wakizashi, or an o-tanto? Should I just have a shirasaya made, and a new habaki, then, and assemble an entirely new - and correct - set of koshirae later? What about the repros from Fred Lohman? Are they good quality, and appropriate for a sword like this? It looks like he has an entire "package" where he will supply a complete set of koshirae for a sword - would this be worth my while and my money? Is there a less expensive route?

This is the sword: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=290527752171&si=R4%252FgRm7nMve3C3gv89i7KXsq5aI%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT Before I bought it, I researched online to see just how bad a sword could be, and still be restorable. I also looked into how much it would cost to have the blade polished, and had David Hofhine (http://www.swordpolisher.com) look at the photos. He said it looked like an interesting blade, and that it could probably be restored as long as the sword hadn't been burned in a fire or the deepest chips didn't go past the temper line. I'm not expecting it to be a museum piece, though. It will certainly need a new tsuka, and a new habaki once it's polished. I don't know if the original saya could - or should - be salvaged. Someone told me that it might be possible to split it along the seam and clean out the rust and dirt, then re-assemble and lacquer it (probably get cashew lacquer from Lohman's). But in any case, I do want an assembled sword and not just a blade in shirasaya, though. And I DO like the looks of the tsuba I bought.

Well, as I said, I'm new to this. The wakizashi is 21.5" OAL, 14.7" cutting edge, 1.1" wide blade. What size would be appropropriate?

Hello, all. I just purchased my first true nihonto on Ebay yesterday - a rather rusty wakizashi - with an eye towards having it repolished. A professional polisher I contacted said it looked restorable to him, as long as it hasn't had the temper burned out in a fire, or the nicks in the edge don't go past the edge of the hamon. As the sword was missing fuchi, kashira, seppa and tsuba, I looked around some more and found a tsuba I liked that was within my price range. It has a mei on it, but as I have no experience wth these things, I can't read it. I don't even know which way is "up". Read one way, to me it looks like it couls start with "Yoshi". Turned the other way, it looks like it could end with "Mune". Here is a link to the Ebay page: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=260722434082&si=WW31OgROrL1XYjWedbfTGCTMCA4%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT Can someone please help me out here? The sword itself is mumei, by the way, but supposed to be Edo period. Rich K.