J Reid

Okay enough bickering between eachother over certain posts and the like. Bottem line is... If you are going to foster a tired old blade and want to talk about it here on NMB. At least do yourself and others the courtesy to aknowledge the faults. If you do not, and present it proudly, then yes, you will get shut down as a noob should.. By words of wisdom. If you are a weathered collector and do not present a piece appropriately to the board, than expect to be viewed and treated as a NOOOB. Every nihonto here is worth talking about and will be discussed appropriately based on the specifics of the post and topic. A noob shouldnt take critical comments as an insult, and a weathered collector wouldnt get critical insults about a crappy blade he admires anyways if he worded his posts correctly.. ex. "Hey guys, I know this blade is old and retired. The horimono sucks etc. But I like it anyways because its signed "_____" and regardless of whether or not its gimei, its probably the closest I will ever get to something along the line of the real thing...No comments nessesary. Just thought id share something that I am happy about. etc. etc." You know? Best, Josh P.s. Again, a special thank you to the NMB, Brian, the mods, and its members.

I would also like to say thank you. You guys are all amazing, and I aspire to be as knowledgable as many of you are, one day. I appreciate all of the input, both positive and critical, posted daily. Whether or not its in regards to one of my posts -its still educational.. I am on here about 10 times a day. Without this forum, I would feel so alone in my obsession with the Japanese sword. :| Josh

me tooooo josh

It doesn't look suriage to me. Look at the hamon and how it runs off the blade after the hamachi. This indicates that by design the ha ends there. The mekugi ana near the jiri was most likely placed there later on as this sword was probably used for tamagashiri. The missing yokote line in the hamon, due to poor regard during a touch up, likely means that this blade was cleaned up for resale by the owner or the dealer. There was a topic recently on: Using a nihonto for cutting. During the discussion a Japanese member noted the different kind of new or antique blades that would be used for cutting and more or less grouped into being considered as "possibly" expendable. This one may have been considered worthy of use in a dojo and expendable to someone. But that does not necessarily mean it isn't a decent blade, still collectable, or worthy of preservation.. Less to the wealthy=more to the poor. But don't worry!! Regardless- it's a good first nihonto for a martial artist. Josh

Do you mean "Who here, in the forum, has an extensive knowledge of the Naginata?" Josh

I'm a sucker for handachi/tachi koshirae and blades with deeeep sori. I also like gendaito solely for their "health factor". Oh we should do a thread on everyones' individual must haves' during a hunt for satisfaction down the road to collection. Best, Josh

Honestly- I can't be more direct. He is your best option. 100%

Bob benson escorts blades to shinsa a couple of times a year. I would trust that guy with my life. He founded the american branch of the nbthk and was the first non-Japanese to receive an award for his skills in the art of polishing. http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com He holds great conversation over the phone as well.. Best, Josh

naginata is only $1410 now with iffy papers.. but still.. At least if you had purchased that, you would have something different to study rather than a rack of wakizashi. Best, Josh

$800 and change from hitendo.. you should have bought the naginata man! $1450.. or the katana in matching handachi mounts for only $2450.. Best, J Reid

Just wondering if there were any fellow nihonto enthusiasts in the general Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. Maybe even the Tri-cities? On a similar note- We need some kind of Nihonto club/ event in Canada. We have nothing (that I know of)!!! Best, Josh

Sorry, let me re word that.. " IF the Mei says "Nagamitsu" -it's most likely gimei." .. It almost definitely says NAGA (something) though..

Jean, nakago is Ubu. 1 mekugi ana. My apologies.. Josh

Hey guys. So this topic has been busy since yesterday.. Okay so I know who Nagamitsu is and his profile in our world. I don't doubt that this is most likely gimei. I just figured it was exciting to find a relevant signature on a purchased "mumei" blade.. As for my original specs- I unfortunately didn't take time to thoroughly evaluate the aesthetics before I posted. I was just anxious for opinions on the mei alone and figured some specs were in order. But since it was 3 AM, I wouldn't say they're my best guess yet. At the time I wasn't up for some photography.. haha. I used john yumatos book for reference and that book is a good start, but lacking details, I find. After reading a couple more books my evaluation on the specs has of course changed. I did take some more pictures today though. Forgive my expert photography skills ( I used my Iphone ). URL: http://photobucket.com/nagamitsu Lets continue. Josh

"Bizen Nagamitsu was the son of Bizen Mitsutada who was the founder of the Bizen Osafune School. Bizen Nagamitsu is thought to have begun production around the Bunei and Koan eras (1264-1287). There are some later works signed Sakon Shogen Nagamitsu from the Einin and Shoan eras (1293-1301). There is a school of thought that attributes swords with this signature to a second-generation smith Nagamitsu. I think that the predominate school of thought, however, is that there was only one generation." Josh

Just a guess, friend. It could also be bizen.. I have a feeling this may be a 2nd gen attribution. I will post pictures of the blade later this evening! Josh

Any more guesses guys??

Nagamitsu is a fair bet. Just by comparison... My eyes can't stop playing tricks now!! Bahh... Josh

sorry the html link didnt work... heres a direct link http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k51 ... 013081.jpg Best, J Reid

Hey guys. So I just picked up this wakizashi. I was told it was mumei and in the dealer photos it looks mumei to me. Upon receiving it I noticed it actually had what looked like a signature. Its practically illegible in my opinion and obviously his too. But just out of curiosity, can anyone make sense of this. Even if you can tell me what kanji you see, I really want something more to go on.. Blade details: -59.9cm cutting edge -muromachi period -mino den -masame/itame hada -notare with nie -higaki yasurime -kaeri-fukashi boshi -fukura-tsuku kissaki -deep torii Any thoughts?

The second nakago ana is a dead giveaway for a blade made for iaido. Reallllllyyyyy nice blade for cutting. J Reid.

Just so you know. Keanu reeves is half Japanese... I'm assuming they chose him to play this role with the intention of him being the intermediate real life version of the Japanese' take on anime-A Japanese person with an image of caucasion features. They commonly choose caucasion people with asian features to play these roles in films. Josh R.

Thanks for the opinions. As for the sellers use of the word "cast". I do believe he intended it be used as another term for "forged" or even "decorated" with dragons and tigers. Etc. Best regards! Josh R

Hey guys! So I was just checking out this Tsuba the other day. 19th C. Looks good to me, I think. What are you opinions on this piece? Original? A cast replica? I'm noooo good with identifying tsuba of this style.. I checked out the details.. Aside from the carvings being slightly crude, the "inlays" look decent, and overall piece looks of decent quality. OPINIONS PLEASE!! :? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/300736232294?ru= ... 3D1&_rdc=1 Best, Josh R.

They're getting smarter. Now if only they would stop putting serial numbers on everything! Maybe try following details- they could actually reproduce NCO guntos. Josh R