paulb

As of two days ago there were approx 30 slots still available. I would be happy to help book spaces for you if it would help. Please contact me off board regards Paul

In support and agreement with Stephen and Jaques on this. Firstly I think there are many unsignd shin-shinto swords in existence, I have seen a good number at various meetings and the London Shinsa and I current have two unsigned papered shin-shinto blades.. Also allowing for the little that can be seen in the images, I believe that this sword is ok, probably shin-shinto or even Gendaito but traditionally made. The nakago makes me feel it is later rahter than earlier. Again without better images or seeing the sword in hand any assessment is speculative. I confess to being concerned when colleagues appear to be prepared to make such definitive statements on pieces from relatively poor images. I struggle enough when I'm holding the thing. I think we need to temper comments a little to make sure they are seen as opinion rather than statement of fact.

congratulations James you are now the proud owner of the authenticated work of one of the best (some would argue the best) Hizen smiths. His works are comparitively rare because he died at a relatively early age and he spent most of his working life signing Daimei for his father. It also proves that it is possible (if rare) to buy top rated work from dealers in Japan on Ebay. well done again, I am very envious of your sword. regards Paul

All, the long awaited amendment to the offensive weapons act was put before both houses of Parliament yesterday. The final document is much diluted and still, I think , unworkable. In summary the act does not now use the term "Samurai sword" it effectively bans any curved single edged weapon with a blade length greater than 50CM. Defences against potential prosecution include: 1. The sword was made in Japan prior to 1954 2 the sword was made in Japan at any other time using traditional methods. 3. Justified usage of the blade for re-enactment or sporting activity. With regard to other non Japanese swords, cavalry sabres etc The vast majority of these are covered by the existing exemptions which include any antique weapon over one hundred years old. As has often been said before this is an almost unworkable document which has been drawn up to respond to headlines in Newspapers rather than eliminate violent crime. All parties involved are aware of this but once the government had decided to do it all that could be done was to try and mininse the damage. I think all involved have achieved this. Very many individuals and groups worked hard to prtect our interests over a long period of time. I think they all did an exceptinal job and at least for the moment have ensured we can continue to collect and participate in martial arts within England Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland have introduced their own legislation) Thanks to all involved.

oops!!! sorry I did this early in the morning didnt mean taisho should have been Tensho so a slightly shorter time window!!

Unfortunately the condition does not give too much help in determining age or school. could you confirm the size of the blade? based on shape alone I would not put it down to Kamakura, earliest would be namobucho but more likely later into the momoyama or taisho. uinfortunately the cleaned nakago is a great handicap to telling more. regards Paul

Brian, Not suggesting it is the case with this blade but am I right in thinking that if a smith had to re-temper a blade they would take the edge back (dull it) to a thickness that could withstand quenching? If so is it possible that some of the dull edged blades seen are a result of retempering and where the blade has not been brought back to full sharpness?

Jean, thank you for posting the images of your Enju blade. I think it clearly demonstrates that Kamakura period blades can be and in may cases are very healthy. I think the problem is that until very recently most of the early swords seen in the west were tired and of variable quality. With the openning of the market many better quality swords are now finding their way in to western collections and we are taken by surprise when we see how well preserved they are. I think it says a great deal for a sword that it has been so highly regarded and cared for over so many centuries.

Jacques, I agree about the healthiness of the blade, but there are some very healthy kamakura blades in existence. I dont think this is one of them but it could be. 2. As said before if there was the remotest chance of it being Rai and I lived in Japan there is no way I would attempt to sell it without first putting it to shinsa. 3 While I agree ebay is not the place to get a good price for top rated smiths I am also not impressed wti h Christies current charges (did someone mention 25%?) nor their attitude to both seller and buyer Also Sothebys in the UK have stopped their specialist Japanese sales and that gap appears to have been filled by Bonhams. I have heard some while ago of a member of this board buying a blade in less than good condition having it polished and passing Juyo shinsa. However if you consider the volume of blades sold over the years the liklihood of a top ranked blade selling cheaply on ebay is slightly less than me winnning the lottery.

Dear Andreas, first you are absolutely right there are some absolutely stunning unsigend swords on the market. Infact my favourite swords are all mumei. Some years ago I wrote a paper for the northern token in praise of unsigned swords. If you are intetrested I would be happy to forward it to your pm. secondly, you must follow whichever approach suits you best. there is no right or wrong way. I just think the choice needs to be made based on knowledge. enjoy the book it is an excellent starting point and a volume I refer to all the time. regards Paul

Hi Martin, Its a good looking sword. I dont think it is Rai Kunitoshi, although I cant tell from the images. However if I was the seller and had even the slightest suspicion it might be I would be at the NBTHK ASAP. the hada looks good although not chirimen which is more of an AOE school trend. it does look tight ko-itame and that combined with the O-maru boshi would point more to Enju than rai. As said before I cant tell from the images (and prbably couldnt with the sword in hand) but I do think it is a good looking piece.

I would like to pick up on a few points Andreas made regarding, age, pricing, hyped smiths and going on gut (belly) instinct. 1. Agree totally that age does not automatically mean high value. what contributes to value, (in my own priority order) quality, rarity and finally age. I would rather have a top quality shin-shinto blade than an average quality Koto in poor condition. 2. Where I start to disagree with Andreas is on the "hyped"/popstar image appearing aftyer openning borders. Top named smiths have been recognised and held in high esteem for as long as swords have been made. It is true that Tokagawa Iyesu set up formal appraisal to set values on different schools and smiths works but good work was already held in high regard long before the 17th century. 3. Personally I do believe these top names deserve their reputation, just as top European painters deserve theirs. 4. On a final point I am, at risk of being contraversial, going to disagree on going on what your belly tells you. I think everyone who starts collecting anything probably does this. I did 25 years ago when I bought my first Nihonto. However to continue to use this approach is lazy. While buying what you like is of course the right thing to do,if you understand what you are looking at, the history of it and why it is as it is you can greatly enhance the experience. To write off names and go with gut feel is rather arrogant and an excuse for not taking the time or making the effort to study. As an individual one is perfectly entitled to do this. To recommend it as an approach is I think rather misguided. At final judgement we all as indviduals follow the path that best suites our needs. We can all take great enjoyment from the actvity. However to make definitive statements regarding whether smiths reputations are deserved or not without taking the trouble to research the subject as fully as possible does not seem to be the best course to follow.

Dear Chan, As you probably know the number of crimes committed with swords of any type is very low. I think the BBC's last report quoted 80 in the past 3 years. I did the calculations when this first started and it was something like 0.001% of reported violent crime. At no time in any of the correspondence, reports or meetings I attended was the issue of race or ethnic background discussed. The overall feeling was that crimes involving any form of edged weqpon and indeed firearms was more common amongst the disadvantaged groups within UKs multi ethnic society. Certainly the ratio of gun crime resulting in murder or grievous bodily harm carried out by members of Afro-Carribean and Eastern European communities within London was far greater than the percentage population would predict. I would suggest this has much more to do with Environment than ethnic origin. With regard to the specific question about any attacks by members of ethnic communities using swords, as far as I remember there was one very high profile case when an Afro-Carribean man with a history of mental illness walked in to a church naked except for a replica Katana. He proceeded to attacked the congregation but was eventually disarmed by a policeman using an organ pipe as a makeshift weapon. In all other cases the racial origin of the criminals was not specified. This is not a race issue. As has been said here and in many other areas, this ban will do nothing to reduce crime (as quoted by the ACPO) what is needed is initiatives to address the causes of the problem that make young people feel they need to carry and use any weapon or do damage to others. regards Paul

Hi Franco, I can see what you are describing but dont altogether agree with your assessment. for it to be Koshi-sori the centre of the curve needs to be closer to the nakago and not central. this need only be by a small amount. I think the fact that the majority of the curve is near the nakago and the blade straightens towards the kissaki maybe gives a koshi-sori impression (maybe its my varifocals playing tricks!!)

WIth respect Franco I dont think Mike is suggesting it is the way its measured. He is just showing (very graphically) the extent of the Koshi-sori.

Henry, so far the home offcie have missed every terget date they have published so dont hold your breath. The most likely place to see anything is on the home office website. I expect that those who have participated in the consultation will eventually get some direct update, but I would bank on it. If you see or hear any progress please let us know, likewise if I get any information I will place it here. regards PaulB

sorry something I missed. The boshi appears to be O-maru which is rare in rai work (more typically ko-maru) The enju school in Higo developed out of the Rai school and their work is very similar, one of the main distinguishing features that differentiates their work from Rai is that they produced O-maru boshi. It might be worth looking at Enju work to see if there are any other indicators.

I am doing this from memory so might be wrong but impressions from your pictures are as follows: 1. It is a very good looking Tanto. However the exagerated curve in the Nakago tends to be associated with slightly later Rai Smiths such as Kunitoshi and Ryokai rather than Kuniyuki who was very early Rai (I think the founder). 2.One indicator of Rai work is Rai-hada which are patches of dark grainless steel in the the jigane. I cant see any indication of this in your blade. 3. Typical hada is tight ko-itame with some masame running through it. I'm not sure but I think your blade shows this. 4. A strong indicator of Rai work is Nie in both hamon and particularly in the hada where it can form nie-utsuri. This can be hard to see and very hard to photograph but once you get the light right it hits you in the eye. The habuchi should also be bright. As said above this is a good looking blade and I think you did well at the price. It has strong Yamashiro characteristics in terms of shape hamon and hada. It appears to be of the period (mid Kamakura-ish) and overall an attractive work. hope this helps, when I get back to some books I will look through to confirm the points about the shape and if different will come back to you. regards Paul B

I agree with Peter I think there is something there although certainly not easy to see or well presented in the image. I have often heard the kissaki and boshi are the most difficult areas to polish well. This suggests thats true.

Curran, regarding Southebys in the UK, I understand they atre no longer doing Japanese auctions. Christies have anounced that they will only accept lots with a minimum value (I think it is 3000 UKP, but not sure) This looks a lot like accountants taking the British airways attitude of only wanting to concentrate at the top end of the market and ignore the great unwashed masses (people like me!!) I think the lower end has really been captured by internet sites and auctions and the big auction houses feel it costs as much to sell $100 lot as it does a $5000. The net result is that the average collector will loose out and the auction houses will increasingly pander to waht they see as the elite.

A uniquely french ability to describe hada in terms of goose flesh (if it is really fine does it get to be Fois-Gras? ) I cant remember where but I am sure I read somewhere that Nashiji hada was so called because it resembled the pattern of the flesh of the fruit if you cut through it horizontally. That sort of makes more sense than "skin" which tends to be much less consistent. However I am relying on memory which is increasingly not my strong point. Re: Nashiji vs Konuka, my understanding is that Konuka (which is said to resemble the rice bran used in cosmetics) is a coarser version of Nashiji. In old reference books the two seem to be interchanged quite often. I think the Hizen Konuka was an attempt to copy the fine nashiji of the awataguchi school.

Hi Jean, "I am not sure to see the difference, it seems that koto swords are less shiny than shinto ones." yes I agree I think koto steel looks somehow softer, I think in one of the reference books I read it was described as looking like grey velvet. Shinto blades look shiny and therefore harder. As you say differentiating colour is very much koto related. As the supply of steel unified through the shinto period regional differences in composition and therefore colour was greatly reduced. This is another possible reason why shinto smiths put so much effort into producing loud and blousy (personal opinion only) hamon to enable them to differentiate their work. I knew there were reasons i prefered koto

Hi Jean, its a good question and like most topics there isnt a definitive answer (I dont think) As you say nagare is running itame, basically it looks like the itame hase been stretched and pulled length-ways. At some point if stretched enough it becomes masame combined with itame. At which point one becomes another is as subjective as when mokume is itame or choji becomes gunome. The problem with any form of visual assesment there is a high degree of interpretation. The one that really throws me is when people talk about colour in steel. I can see hue diffrences on occasion when comaring two swords but when looking at a single blade I am always amazed when some pronounces that the steel is black or blue or golden. (I have worked in colour for 30 years do you think I should change jobs?)

Darcy and Peter, Just to add to the Naokatsu discussion I have recently looked at as many Naokatsu as I could find in an attempt to tie down a sword I had recently purchased. I alos own a mumei wakazashi papered to him by the NBTHK. If it wasnt for the papers I wouold have gone with an O-suriage osafune blade everytime. The nakago looks ancient and the workmanship spot on. As you know Naotane and Naokatsu were masters of copying koto work, particularly Bizen and Soshu and they went to great trouble, even, it appears regarding relative thickness of Nakago and blade to give their clients what they wanted. Peter I was interested in yout comment regarding seeing the steel and knowing it was shin-shinto,- how? regards Paul

Hi Andreas, Nice looking sword. regading questions about activity. in the pictures I can see a very good running itame hada (combination of itame and masame) there are sghort ashi dropping from the nioi guchi towards the edge. I cant see any sign of Chikei or Ji-nie. Nor is there any sunagashi. Chikei and Ji-nie can be difficult to pick up in photos but I cant see anything that suggests they are there. regards Paul