raaay

Piers it looks like the tsuba has a cross at the top and bottom of the sepa dai and the hitsu ana look like the profile of a priests hat ray

Hi Steve sorry if this posts twice, had a bit of a glich posting. Nagamaki raises a good point about the identical twins there, they should always be checked to see if they are repro or a casting of a possible real menuki i.e one real / and one new copy. I know a few people that used to pick these up because they were general cheap and usefull as spares. If your friend likes them what the hell, He can always change them sometime later. What i also wanted to say was it was not unusual to see sets like these around the UK at Antique fairs etc. There was an Antique dealer not a sword dealer " i stress " who used to make pairs of menuki and also make matching pairs as above , He used to think nothing of aquiring a sword and stripping it down and casting any parts he could and butcher the whole sword and sell them all as single parts. i'm pleased to say i have not seen him aroud for a few years now. just my two pence worth ray

Hi Guido No wonder they say the pen is mightier than the sword. cheers ray

peter very nice looking Fuchi . But is it just me showing my age here ! Wonder if the kashira had "stingray and Troy Tempest " on it , Oops ray

Joseph yep it is nackered "ouch" , got to agree with John on this one ,would not spend anymore on this blade . look on the bright side ,you could almost use it as a saw ? sorry ray

Hi Kyle If you check the links above ,and look at the " collectors loot Web page" sometime back there was a selection of sword stands up for sale. you will see Roy lives in Cornwall , not that far away from you ! cheers Ray

mark sorry IMHO, do yourself a big favor and pass on this one, It may be the pic's ? do not show the blade in a good light but there is enough there if you look too see itis not a good buy ????? just my two cents worth ray

Hi This may help ? try the Florida Token Sword society for help . I think he used to stay in Tampa Florida ?? regards ray

HI Bond fan i think you have solved your own mystery, you say the chap who had two swords ? Well someone has mixed the sayas up . As previously mentioned, it's a semi civillian mounted sword from the Showa period, check if you can, in some off the Fuller and Gregory Showa books you will see these mounts are illustrated. Regards ray

Ford I don't no much about Tsuba manufacture ,but can you cast your mind back to one off the Token meetings in London when Kenji Mishina San came over with sword smiths/ tsuka maki/ habaki makers etc. I had a conversation at the exhibition table of one of the tsuba makers, he lifted up a tsuba and positioned it in front of a small portable lamp which then highlighted dozens and dozens of microscopic Ito Sukashi details.i asked politley how hell did you do that ! he produced what i can only discribe as microscopic wires like strands of human hair and said he had used these wires like using a fret saw technique once it had been holed ! I then asked the question how long did it take you to complete the work, he said 2/3 hours every night after work and 5/6 hours on sat/sun over a six month period Yes i was frightend to ask the cost of this "tsuba" before any one asks . best regards ray

Moriyama san thanks very much for your translation of the Tanto nakago" fantastic as usual " General points 1. tried some web searhes on / shin-shinto - Hirotsuna / no info on the web 2. Interesting section re -Katamono-Dameshi- Kore. ie: this was used for a hard cutting test 3. just to shed some light on the blade shape it is in the style of Kogarsu maru is this unusual or rare for a Tanto sugata. 4. so could the cutting test be as normal using the Ha or did they ever test a blade by using a thrusting technique, like i presume they used on a Yari ? due to the sugata of the blade. best regards ray

Hi all need some help with this tanto translation , posting for a friend ,so i have limited info at this time. i think it is shin shinto ansei 1854/56 ? one luck day in august signed / Hiro Tsuna ! and a possible reference to the tamahagane used . regards ray

jason just a quick reply, i would guess by the style of the Kanji it is a Showa Smith ! you may know that allready of course, but it is a place to start. regards ray

Hi joe There has been for years a group of collectors in scotland scattered all over the compass points as much 20/30 plus at one point,now i only see on a semi regular basis maybe half a dozen . usually these days at the odd Auction or sometimes at the larger Antique fairs . Anyway back to your question ,i once politley got droped right in the mire by a mate of mine and ended up doing a presentation for a local Museum ,and by the way i do not concider my self to be any kind off expert on Nihonto, to be honest i wish i could rember half off what i have forgoten over the years, any way i'm wondering of subject, if it helps i ended up with a basic talk trying to explain the Koto / Shinto and Shin-Shinto periods ,this i tried to do wrightly or wrongly through producing a sword from each period with three diffferent sori's which would clearly be obvious to all the non Nihonto people in the room . and by the way Les Stuart was there that day and done a live polshing demo, it seemed to go down well !!! at the time. and also if you get the chance to get some help from paul even though he is on the otherside of the wall "joking of course" grab with both hands he is a bloody nice guy and studies Nihonto more than i do these days. What part of Scotland are you from ? i'm down in the Edinburgh area. PS. As Ford says Les Stuart is a very good polisher " don't tell him that or his prices will go up again" Regards ray

Hi Barry Sorry for the poor pics , the katana tsuka is in the jabara ito style. not as complicated as the style you are looking for but none the less it must be a very difficult job ! to wrap a tsuka in these ito's ? some better pics i hope regards ray

Hi Barry sorry cant help with your request ! , just when Brian said you do not see many katana handles in this style ? thought i would submit one that i have with a similar ito style . regards ray

Hi last samurai don't no how to link previous posts ! but if you check under raaay you will find six different war fans on my daisho mounts regards ray

Hi mfarrar I here on the grapevine the UK NTHK Shinsa is this year , it is on the 1st & 2nd of November 2008 VENUE TO BE CONFIRMED,THE EVENT WILL BE IN LONDON. regards ray

Adam as Brian said you basicly answered your own question. In my experience you can spot the acid etched polish on a sword from a mile away . but i have seen some latley that looked more natural'ish so YEH TAKE CARE . there is still lots of good dealers etc in the UK , SO NO PROBLEM THERE. i Will not mention any names or sites but if anyone noticed there was a sword sold on Ebay recently and within a week or so, it apperead on a well kwowing web site " in polish !!!" there is your answer again ,it is quick cheap and nasty, of course only MHO regards ray

Hi Frank just a quick reply from work can not see the mei well but could the second kanji be Toshi ? and if a blade is under 300mm i.e. 12"" it would be usually classed as Tanto regards ray

Hi Rolland is it my eyes or an optical illusion that the tip off the boshi has a saki sori ?? type dip !! and could indicate a total reshaping off the boshi area ? regards ray

Hi if you live in the UK , and are in the North ? their is also Les Stewart in Scotland . he is a very good polisher . ray

thanks guys Re my Shinto Daisho Here is one off these old stories ,that we all dream about ,the Daisho was bought in 1967 for £15.00 by a well knowing UK collector from a captain McCadam . The story goes the captain was willing to split the pair up £9 for the katana and £6 for the wakizashi " he bought the pair" and he owned them for over 30 years before i aquired them. and at the time i could not afford them ,and had to sell off a few swords to aquire them and was delighted to get them and still am. the katana - is signed - KADZUSA NO SUKE FUJI WARA KANESHIGE the wakizashi - is mumie the blades at some point ,when i can get some good photos will become an other post ,still fighting with the dam camera for good clear pics off the tang and blades. thanks ray.

Hi all looks like no one likes daisho mounts !!! sorry about the lack of info on the Daisho but thought i would show the Koshirai just to start a new post when it was a bit quiet last week ? have added a couple off pics of the other side of the fuchi's and a couple off the Nanban Tsuba and close up shots off the Fuchi's again sorry about the quality off my pics ,they do not show the koshirai at there best . ray.

added some more pics off the kashira's and tsuba's from my "shinto" daisho. showing the fine details off the gold inlay which is like a 3D effect in places , which i presume must be a more difficult technique ??? rather than a flat finish chased into the surface . ray