raaay

Hi Vitaly , I take it living in Ireland ! you are aware there is an " Irish Japanese sword Society " I am not sure how often they meet but it may be worth contacting them if you are not already a member ?

Hi Colin , i did see these swords and wondered why they were not being sold as a Daisho , it was the dragons on the Saya that looked like a matching set to me at the time , just your luck that some auction houses do not know what they have for sale , well done , Ray

Hal , ( do not clean or try to remove any rust from the sword and especial the tang ) a light oil will do for the moment , by the way you do have l have a proper professional trained Japanese sword polisher in Australia , check the Nihonto info on the NMB links ASAP .

Mark , ask them at the lanes , they should know , apologies' if it is not one of there ££££££££££ swords .

sorry to say you are correct , anyway it is the thought behind it that counts .

Hi Roger , a few years since I bought some , just got a friend to bring some back from his Japan trip , all with extra cushion/pillows and they were all under £8 each, all from Namikawa Heibei .

Lukas , quick reply , Richard Adams is your guy, i am sure there are others , but Richards work is first class , sorry i do not have his contact details . Try contacting the Token Society -UK , some one will have his contact - email address or phone number . good luck .

Not 100% sure but does come under the heading of a fireman's helmet ??

At first glance i would say it is Ivory , if there is no Mekugi , most likely a pressure fit or glued into the Tsuka ! so it would be difficult to say much about the blade without seeing the tang . most likely a good quality tourist piece ? IMHO .

I haver never heard so much BS all my collecting years ,

if you are going to be there for week , it would be worth buying a Japan rail pass if you plan to do a few visits here and there , it will save you money in the long run .

Hi Haig what part of Scotland are you from , there is still quite few collectors up here and there are reginal Token meetings usually held in Glasgow 2/3 times a year . pity about the damaged Kissaki , it needs checked to see if there is still enough of the boshi left ?

Dale ,sorry , just read your post again , i see you know they are replica tsuba .

Dale , sorry , but all fake tsuba IMHO

Bruno I do not want a fight , but , the polisher in question will not thank me for this who has been a very good friend of mine for over 30yrs . But when you have been told by NBTHK to sit in the front row of the annual polishing seminar, so you can be issued with a NBTHK certificate and told you are now ready to polish and submit your blades for judgement to the NBTHK in front all the polishers and senior judges who attended the seminar , that again is enough of an endorsement for me . as Colin said , no more debate about amateur polishing please.

Bruno the Togoshi lives in Scotland , and before anyone starts ranting about who it is ! i do not want any conflict here , if the NBTHK says he is good enough to polish swords , that is ok by me .

Hi Colin . I have just had a shira saya made for a Tachi blade of mine , handed back last weekend at the reginal Token event in Scotland , if you want a shira saya made contact Mike Hick-man Smith , he has access to some very nice Honoki wood from Japan, and it is now in a que for a polish .

Volker my pleasure , just happened to have the very book in my office drawer , i hope it is what you were looking for .

Hi Volker here is page 141 .

Hi Paz do yourself a big favour join the Token Society , they have reginal meetings through out the year all over the UK , even go to the Birmingham Arms fair and meet fellow collectors and see what's available , lots of UK based dealers as well.

Hi Dave , you have supplied the date , which is dated Showa 1943 , the numbers are generally accepted as factory assembly numbers for matching up the sword fittings .

very surprised, That the tsuba in question would be in any of there sales , especially when they a have a very experienced consultant ?

Hi Inna The sword is signed Masanori and dated 1944 , most likely a showato blade . just my two pence worth ,

Sorry Brian , no idea how it formatted that way ? just copied it over from an auction page .