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Gakusee

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Everything posted by Gakusee

  1. John, not sure about armour lectures (probably not) but there are two armour focused dealers being there: Giuseppe Piva and Phil Leemans. Probably others....
  2. Being more of a sword guy, I am actually looking forward to seeing/learning more about armour and fittings, as well as some other decorative arts of ancient Japan. The study items (yet to be fully announced) seem to be outstanding as well. sae flyer_double.pdf
  3. Bought tickets already. A no-brainer mega event of some of the most committed nihontophiles in Europe generously sharing their items but also their knowledge and time with the rest of the community. Not only will people be able to view and study top swords but also socialise with great friends. And you could buy some of the items from non-European vendors (normally you would need to fly to Japan or North America to view their items in person) in addition to some of the leading European dealers. Given low cost flying in Europe and actually train/driving being relatively easy there, it should be an easy decision for guys in Germany, France, Belgium etc. And for us in the U.K. - now one can take the train to Amsterdam too
  4. Well done. Great outcome for 500 bucks
  5. It never ceases to amaze me how skilled forum members are! I wish I was that good with my hands, Andi
  6. Still a very good blade at an attractive price. Frankly, on a blade like this, the en suite koshirae are simply a welcome bonus.
  7. Ken, it is somewhere in the new blog. Can not attach it as it is 7MB and the limit here is 5.8. But it is freely available
  8. Ken Firstly, I suggest you download the entire document (available from Darcy’s blog). Next I would recommend reading it all a couple of times. After that you will start intuitively to interpret the odd, beginning-of-20 century translation by a Japanese university student. Glory = nioi, boiling grains - it talks about nie, straight edge = suguha, cap = boshi , etc
  9. Gakusee

    Paris Exhibition

    Jean, thank you for transporting us there. Incredible and outstanding exhibition.
  10. Difficult to agree with the assertion it is from 12-14 century. It has had a few polishes as can be seen from the tapering, but not numerous, and cannot be related to the suggested period. I have looked at Sukenao smiths just to understand what the person who made it / altered it was getting at. A few Bizen smiths, some Osaka, some Edo smiths but not much to point to the workmanship here.
  11. Why discuss problematic swords rather than high-quality or even just good swords? What a good sword can teach us we can never learn in bad swords.
  12. Most of the analysis above, with the exception of Paul’s, hinges on the nakago being pristine. In fact I have seen various blades with removed gimei where the patina, yasurime etc do not like right for the putative age of the blade and yet it papers to something older. I humbly agree that the yasurime and patina here are newish. However the worn down hada does not scream shinshinto. It could have been made to deceive but why put a Sukenao signature on it? Given the state of the hasaki and polish, it could have been an earlier blade which has been polished down, and a gimei placed on the nakago (after filing it anew). One should also look at the thickness of the blade and compare it to the thickness of the nakago and also closely inspect the transition between polished surface and tang
  13. Marius Give us 48 hours. Things are fluid and dynamic. I suggest buying tickets next week to avoid reimbursements etc. As a first event, there are some small teething issues but actually things are getting changed for the better.
  14. Both the venue was changed and the prices were reduced recently. This is due to feedback received around security, ease of obtaining permits and making the experience smoother and more attractive for everyone. What you have here is the final outcome. There are two adjacent hotels to the Expo, and the main organisers are negotiating some preferential rates at the moment. Utrecht is a short train ride from Amsterdam, for those who wish to stay there during their trip.
  15. Even if the second character is unintelligible, this is considered a signed blade.
  16. I like the tsuba. To me it looks like the character “Masa”.
  17. Thanks, Peter Treasure trove could be the poetic , albeit not literal, interpretation. Warehouse / hoard of treasures or masterpieces is another way of construing it.
  18. Tsuruta San is pretty sharp. He would have an idea (and might have already tried papering it, as the wak went on sale in 2017). For the price, you can get a shoshin wakizashi.
  19. Gakusee

    Chokutô Sword?

    Thanks so much for the pricing, Chris! Actually it turns out it is cheaper than I thought and not that far off a shinsa fee! It is definitely worth considering for higher-value swords, where there is a debate as to generations for example or even period. I just need to find some organisation in the U.K. which might undertake it commercially (not necessarily for research), and will also do it noninvasively and nondestructively.
  20. Gakusee

    Chokutô Sword?

    Practically speaking - where can radiocarbon testing be done commercially (in Europe and US) and how much does it cost? If only at academic (bespoke, expensive) level just yet, then it will remain academic.
  21. Gakusee

    Chokutô Sword?

    Alex From your lengthy response about the owner of that blade and how he died and was buried, it is not clear whether you are trying to claim you know the provenance of the blade, participated in the excavation or what? Interesting artefact by all means and it does seem old to me but would need spectrography in my view to analyse properly. Oxford Instruments or Nikon or KM or Canon scientific tools and the like.
  22. Beautiful archetypal blade, with typical traits and elegant koshirae. Great package
  23. Another one of Aoi’s “specials”. Of course, in the rush to read comments, not many of us looked at the Hozon certificate before we commented. Saiha and not disclosed - that is shameful. Time and again we flag Photoshopping and other things.... With Aoi, one needs to be super sharp and analytical when buying only through photos.....
  24. One of the truly great Shinshinto masters. I have only handled and got close to short blades but he did make long blades and beautiful on that. A reasonable number of Juyo rated katana, which in itself is a testament to the quality/shinsa perception, given that he is handicapped by the period.
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