Moley

Hi Grev - Gwyn here.... JEALOUS !

I know the rules and so it should be in normal situations, But in this case I agree with John J . A new seller appears with few previous posts. NMB has an impeccable reputation for quality, honesty and sharing knowledge. People feel safe buying from sellers here. This reputation has to be defended.

Interesting... I wrote a bit about this for our Iaido magazine - "Obi". The Naming of Swords by Gwyn Mowll Whilst cleaning my Nihonto the other day, I noticed how over the years I have given them all names. This was not intentional at all, it simply happened. It's very useful as well because I can reference which one is which when writing up on them and cataloguing. Some are indeed named after the smith that made the blade and I have two Gunto's (WWII Blades) named Yoshe Tsugu and KaneTsuna. The very first Nihonto I collected, an antique Chisaii Katana (Small Katana) is called Hiroda after the name written in ink on the inside of the leather combat cover that it was found in. Another Katana I have has very nice Koshirae of two friends or scholars doing various things like having tea together, so this one was named Tomodachi (Friend) because of the theme on these lovely fittings. The Koto Nambucho blade I have came with both Iai fittings and with a spare set of original Koshirae. It was originally Oshita Sensei's sword. On swinging this sword, it has a deep sultry sounding Tachi Kaze, hence I named her "Marlene" (after the singer and actress Marlene Dietrich.) The sword made by Sada Toshi is housed in magnificent Koshirae made by Ford Hallam. The Tsuba, Fuchi and Kashira depict reeds on the river whilst the Menuki are Dragonflies resting on a pebble. This riverside theme is enhanced with light green Tuka Ito and Sageo. She is called "River Song". Another Chisaii Katana I have is very old and the steel is now "tired" (probably won't take another polish) She is named O-Baa Chan (Grandmother). My iaito is called Tsugi Kage (Moon Shadow). Naming swords is not an unique thing, throughout history we have heard the legends of famous men and their swords and these swords had names. Perhaps the most famous of all is "Caledfwlch"; Arthur's sword known more famously as "Excalibur". Caledfwlch which translates from Welsh as "Hard cleft" was first mentioned in the ancient Welsh oral stories known as the "Mabinogi". These oral stories were originally the basis for Geoffrey of Monmouth's much later writings that gave birth to the Arthurian legends and it was he who gave the sword a more French sounding name hence Excalibur. Caledfwlch is described in the Mabinogi in the story called The Dream of Rhonabwy, "Then they heard Cadwr, Earl of Cornwall being summoned, and saw him rise with Arthur's sword in his hand, with a design of two serpents on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two serpents was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look." Most people think of Caledfwlch as a Cross hilted sword, however that design came much later and the "real" Caledfwlch probably would have been based on a Roman Spatha or Cavalry sword as it is believed that the real Arthur was a post Roman era (Romano Briton) war chief struggling to defend this land "Prydain" against the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. The Japanese also have their legends and the most famous sword in all of Japan's history is Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, a sacred sword found in the tail of a slain monster which became one of the three sacred treasures. In the Tale of the Heike, a collection of oral stories transcribed in 1371, the sword is lost at sea after a naval battle.There are many other famous swords some real, some fictional that have entered the history or story books, the following being only a few: Colada and Tizona are the legendary swords of El Cid, Campeador of Spain. Zulfiqar the legendary sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib (cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) Joyeuse - Charlemagne’s sword. Legbiter - a sword that belonged to the Viking King Magnus III. William Wallace’s sword. Honjo Masamune - The most famous of all Masamune swords is named Honjo Masamune. The Honjo Masamune is so important because it represented the Shogunate during the Edo period of Japan. The sword was passed down from one Shogun to another for generations. In 1939 the weapon was named a national treasure in Japan, but remained in the Kii branch of the Tokugawa family. The last known owner of Honjo Masamune was Tokugawa Iemasa. Apparently Tokugawa Iemasa gave the weapon and 14 other swords to a police station in Mejiro, Japan, in December of 1945. Shortly thereafter in January 1946, the Mejiro police gave the swords to Sgt. Coldy Bimore (U.S. 7th Cavalry). Since that time, the Honjo Masamune has gone missing and the whereabouts of the sword remains a mystery. Honjo Masamune is one of the most important historical artefact to disappear at the end of World War II. Gwyn Mowll Gwynedd Seiro Kan Dojo

I have this one.

Wow Mark, RESPECT man. I hope you make as full a recovery as possible soon. And all this in Leeds ? OMG. I visit Leeds regularly for an Iaido residential course with Eikoku Roshukai and l am quite shocked.

Hi Guy's, Is there an quick & easy look up chart comparing different type Gunto koshirae explaining the differences etc. Thanks Gwyn

How do you tell if it's a stainless steel sword ? I have a signed Yoshe Tsugu that I believe has no hamon. Hard to tell because of it's condition. Also it has artificial Same. Sho Wa (Period) Ju Hachi ( 18th ) Nen (year = 1943) Ju Ichi ( 11 th November) Gatsu (Month)

Hi Guy's, Sorry for the delay posting the fittings photos. (I had to re-size them). So here they are for the Shona Mizunoto Hitsuji (Spring 1943 ) Serial Number Yu 432

Here you go Bruce.

Hi Bruce, Are you still doing the survey and compiling the chart ? If so here are details of my Mantetsu. Shona Mizunoto Hitsuji (Spring 1943 ) Serial Number Yu 432 Gwyn

and IMHO quite a nice item in itself. So I would like to ask why bother going to all that trouble and expense to add the box (Which I think is also nice), the cloths and the Mei. How much MORE money would they have made faking it as a Mantetsu ? What do good Mantetsu go for ? £2,000 approx ??????

I belong to an Iai group in the U.K. (Eikoku Roshukai) . I received the monthly newsletter just now and there was an article in it by one of my Sensei (Neil Kemp) about restoration for Iai. He mentioned Les Stewart and the Editor added this " Editor note: I have confirmed with a friend in the to-ken society that the only active sword polisher in the UK currently is the Scottish gentleman, Les Stewart (lesstewart@btinternet.com ) he is indeed very busy with a long waiting list and quite expensive, but definitely worth the wait and money. The other two UK based polishers are now retired. "

Lion Dog ?

Ooooooooooh that is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. CONGRATULATIONS.

Unfortunately Menuki do not match. They are dragons.

As l said before, koshirae sorta compensated for it, nothing special, but l kinda liked them.

I think John has an idea here, also a very important history lesson... i.e. “Look what they used to do in the 1980’s, let this be a lesson to all would be polishers.”

Yup...'Fraid so"... Time to MOVE ON. Gonna trash the blade and host the Koshirae in a Tsunangi.