Bungo

Can you clarify which pic of the tsuka is the omete ? Thanks, Ford and Brian. milt

4th pic ( shi2.jpg ) to pic 1 ? milt

I am going to pop the No dancers menuki off this tanto and replace with the shishi....... the kiri tsuba matches a kiri design on the saya so I'll keep it as is. Question........... which shishi goes to which side ? milt

my personal opinion........... I wouldn't call it " vulgar ". I think the design on the omete side is quite balanced. The gold vine balance out the tree trunk at diagonal opposing side. The wasp is well done though I wish it has a wee bit more different colored metal, but the detail is there. Also the " soft " vine is a nice contrast to the " harsh/hard " tree. If submit to NTHK shinsa, most likely will come back as Mito kinko or Kyo kinko ( which means they aren't telling you anything you don't already suspect ). I like the tsuba. milt

it'll work if I ever need to take down 10 paintings at the same time !! milt

newly listed on e-bay, the ever popular sayagata theme tsuba. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001 milt

From what i understand...............NTHK ( Yoshikawa ) will not give paper to anything while the maker is still alive and kicking. milt

I had a katana bend correction done at the Chicago show ( Mr. Chris Bowen's )............ it's is very scary to watch esp. it's your sword. I do not recomend it ( just like all fathers should stay out of the delivery room during C-section ) p.s. no heat used, just a wood block milt

condition at 6 O'clock could be problematic but not " fatal ". In my opinion, the design is quite balanced, like the treatmant of the waves.............. a good candidate to trade and add cash for something better. milt

Shoami, mid to late Edo ? milt

I stand corrected but your Hi-resolution made you see hamon ? milt

under 61............ it says silver mumei tanto milt

and I shall hijack it back !! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0252420045 be sure to click on seller's ( that's me ) other items. Bid early and often !! or make " sensible offers " ( nonsensical ones set to be auto-rejected ) milt

" If you are satisfied with just holding a myth in your hands (or what you are taking for it), you can easily find a cheap piece that suits these purposes anywhere online. It's up to you. reinhard " This could turn out to be " funny " but we are giving advice on a serious issue so I stop...... Yes, why not wait a little longer and save up for a polished wakazashi ? Most beginners start with a wak ( polished one allows you to study most of the features mentioned in books ) and then move on to " better " swords by selling the first to another beginner. This is by no means " cheating " the next " newby ", treat it more like selling a used book when you are done reading. p.s. a slightly out of polished or in " old " polish wak costs about 500+ and up ( i think ) milt

better picture of cormorants fishing.......the other pics are quite " interesting " too. ( pic 7/11 ) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery ... =334070733 milt

" A bunch of you picked up copies at the show in Chicago. What do you think? " Even though I am more into kodogu, I think the book is EXCELLENT and well worth the price. milt

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/to ... Id=4210263 interesting pic from Reuters, they add new pics daily so I am not sure it'll stay up milt

how about Louis Skebo ( spelling ? ) of Toronto ? Like they say...... what happened in Vegas, stay in Vegas ( sub. Vegas for any Canadian town of your choice ). milt

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3173 milt

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0251689576 bid early and often........... milt

Secret agent man, I was looking at several catalogs/books etc. Most of the koz with that style are labelled Ichijo ( some signed as such ). I quote from one entry........ Kozuka : shibuichi, hira-zogan of silverand shakudo, with touches of katakiri. Signed Hokkio Ichijo ( and kakihan ). The Goda Collection of Japanese Sword Fitting. milt

yeah, as seller we HATE " sniper "....... but the program does save you $ in the long run as it helps you not get into a bidding war early on. Try it and use my " user name " as reference when you sign up so I get 3 free snipes ( so i can outsnipe you for free as my joke goes ) milt

After one week, my memory comes back......it's a very nice kozuka ( illustrated in tetsugendo site ) milt

" The big guns never give a straight answers, in fear they might look bad. We can't have that. So they speak around the answer, never giving one. And the answer is TAKE IT TO SHINSA ! " Lee, you can't have it both way.............. Look at what happened to " Felix "......... straight talkin', no holds barred and people called him " rude " ( well, he is sort of........ until he backs up with illustrations and facts ). Big gun or tiny wee pee shooter, it doesn't matter. No one can give you a straight answer as few has the arrogance ( I hope ) of acting like the shinsa judge when they are clearly not. The only time we guns of whatever size can expect to give a straight answer is those fake Nihonto coming out of Canada, Australia, China , Indonesia ( just about all nations of this world ) and usually we give some facts to back up the answer , eg. kissaki shape, tip of nakago, the ji-hada etc. Even now as we speak, it's getting harder as they ( the fakers ) are getting better . By the way, I do not belong to any " clique " , that's why the moderators labelled me " ronin ". milt

Secret agent man, based on the style, I think the koz of the prunus is Ichijo school. milt