Marius

I am awfully sorry to bother you with that, but depending on the result I might or might not purchase a sword. Could I kindly ask for a rough translation of the origami here? I am mostly interested in the nakago, is it ubu or suriage? Thank you and - once again - sorry. Best regards

Yes, I have bought a few pieces from historian333 (Mike Yamaguchi). Mike is 100% trustworthy (I wish all nihonto dealers were like him) and he never hides anything. You only have to know what you are buying. Study his photos carefully, read his item descriptions as well. He will always have honest descriptions, with all flaws listed (and visible in his pics). Do not expect him, however, to explain basic terms like "hagire" in his descriptions. BTW, Mike has now a second eBay ID - komonjo, which he uses for his consignment swords. Best regards

As for the toilet paper - as the late Jim Kurrasch has once written (admittedly quite cockily) - if it does not leave slinters in your ... ahem... then it is unlikely to damage steel. But taking microfiber is much more respectful, I agree. Use pure alcohol to remove older oil, avoid uchiko at all cost (it is abrasive after all) and do not apply to much oil (soft cloth like flannel will distribute it properly). Also, keep your sword in a horizontal position, lest the oil flows down to the tip of the scabbard. Careful when cleaning the area close to the tang - try to avoid moving the tissue up from the nakago - the tissue might catch some rust from the nakago and scratch the blade. Use choji oil or any other oil recommended by people on this message board. Aha, move the tissue in one direction - from the tang to the tip. Never ever move your hand up and down - you will cut yourself badly some day. That's all, I guess. Have I forgotten anything? regards

I have read on Richard Stein's "THE Japanese SWORD GUIDE" website that sword canes have been of inferior quality and that they were thin. This one seems really odd... Regards :-)

Dear All, What do you think of this one? Looks like an omi-yari converted into a... hm... into a what? http://tinyurl.com/3dgjjk Best regards :-)

I have once bought a sword from this seller and it was great. The seller is reputable, but his reaction was overdone (see Brian's thread). Best regards

Dear Board Members, I have started the Gassan discussion and I have subsequently been contacted directly by the seller. I agree with Brian's reactions, it was fair to remove the offending picture (since the sellers has not authorised to use it) and it was polite to remove the seller's eBay nick. I have sent the seller the following reply: "I do apologise for having used your photographs. I shall not do this again and I am sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused to you. I am afraid that I cannot comply with your first request (about not discussing the seller's swords - MK). I have never discussed you as a seller and I never will, but I do have the right to discuss the swords you put up for sale. Once you put something on eBay, it is subject of public scrutiny. The Nihonto Messageboard is a place where swords on eBay are being discussed and where people seek advice from experts." Best regards

Is this Gassan from (removed) real? Seems like damask steel and not the Gassan hada. It also seems like the hamon is missing ? http://tinyurl.com/29fmh9 Any opinions?

I have just bought one :-) Can't wait to get it :-) Hope you will sell thousands of these :-)

Dear All, I know, it is just a plain boring Mino nihonto but I wonder what your opinion would be about this naginata (signed Kanemaki). It has been bought from AOI Art and it is nothing really special, but If you had any info on the smith and any opinion on that naginata, I would be very obliged. You will find my amateurish pics here: http://web.mac.com/mariuszk/iWeb/Site/Naginata.html I attach AOI Art's picture as well, with oshigata. Sword data: Blade length: 38.3cm or 15.08inches. Sori: 3.0cm or 1.18inches. Width at the hamachi: 2.34cm or 0.82inch. Nakago length: 30.9cm or 12.17inches. Thanks in advance and best regards [/img]

Hm... there is a reserve price. Regards

Dear All, could you help me to assess this tanto, purchased from daimyou54 on eBay and now offered on Allegro.pl, the largest Polish auction site? Pictures are to be found here: http://top.net.pl/~marco11/TANTOXIVw/index.html It seems to me that this tanto (or wakizashi) is: - very tired - suriage or o-suriage - has two very strange mekugi ana (drilled?) - has a ruined nakago, bent and possibly cleaned with something - never never never a Kamakura (as claimed by seller) - gimei, with the false signature done in a very clumsy manner Are my remarks correct? Please treat this as a learning opportunity for a nihonto beginner :-) Thank you for your time :-)

I will definitely be a buyer :D Wonderful that you will hacve it published. Thanks a lot Darcy :-) Please do keep up us here up to date

I have been googling for nioi deki hamon recently and I have found several pages from the excellent nihonto.ca site run by Darcy Brockbank. Since Darcy has no swords to sell at the moment and he has taken down the swords that have been sold, a big piece of educational material is missing, unless you google for it, that is. I would like to take advantage of this forum to ask Darcy if maybe he were prepared to publish all the information about swords that were once shown on nihonto.ca? Darcy's descriptions are simply excellent, his photographs are very detailed, so that every bit of information on his site is (or was) highly educational. Having everything in one place would facilitate studies. Obviously, it is Darcy's decision and I would understand if he declined to run a part of his site for purely educational reasons. I know it would take some of his precious time (which nobody has to spare) and I am sure such a site would attract traffic (which means costs of bandwith, hardware, etc...). Besides, he has put an enourmous effort in those descriptions and pictures. So, in a way, my proposal is indecent as the realisation of it would in effect be a free lunch at Darcy's expense... Maybe, should Darcy be so generous and agree to release his materials, we, the board members here could find a solution, maybe someone can host this, etc etc... Maybe someone could publish a book with Darcy's descriptions and pictures? (this one could be for profit, obviously). I know, that is quite far fetched, but I am just exploring the possibilities.... But the first, necessary step would be for Darcy to say yes. If he does not, I am sure everybody will understand. So please treat this as an idea only. I hope I have not put Darcy in an awkward situation. If I have, I would kindly ask Brian, our admin, to remove this post. In any case, please keep in mind that this is just an idea and it may simply be too much to ask for. Darcy, do not be angry with me, please? Best regards

Steve, the shinogi has been flattened. No easy way to repair this withouth removing too much "meat" from the blade. Besides, pictures do not indicate everything, while when you hold a blade in your hand you will feel that too much "meat" has been shaved off. Regards

Peter, that is a very interesting story! Wow, it is unbelieveable what idiots can do to a good blade. The polishing has been done by Kokaji (Kashima sisters) or am I wrong. Nice sword, it is wonderful that you have managed to restore it. Best regards

This makes sense :-) Thanks for the information :-) Regards

I thought that when you send a sword to be polished, you always get a new shirasaya. Right? Best regards

Before I forget: Many many thanks to everybody here for those very warm and encouraging words :D best regards

Just to sum up the topic: 1. Thanks First of all many thanks to everybody. It is great to see so many people responding to a novice's question. Great education, too :D Thank you ever so much, it really was a great experience :D 2. Verdict: The sword is a gimei and not a Hizen Tadayoshi. The giveaways are the signature which difers from the original and the lack of nie. The crisp look of the nakago may indicate that the sword might even be gendaito (I'll have to look at the nakago again, I do not think the patina looks as "fresh" in reality as in the pics) 3. Conclusion for the buyer (me ): Still, it is a nice sword and I should be happy having purchased it for $2300 (correct?) At least that is what I hope, but being a novice collector, I am not confident in my own judgements, so I do need assurance from experts. Please understand :-) Best regards

That is true, but I guess it would be necessary to notice (for all message board members who do not know him), that historian333 never makes any misrepresentations as to what the sword he sells could actualy be. Also in this case he has indicated that the mei is questionable at best. In other words, he has warned buyers that it is most likely gimei. BTW, many thanks for your opinion about the looks of the mei. It looks as if this sword is indeed gimei. Best regards

Dear All, I have recently bought a nice shinto katana from Mike Yamaguchi, whom I like and respect very much as a very honest, trustworthy and friendly nihonto dealer. Mike has sold this katana as gimei, probably being upright and honest as akways. However, I am not so sure, given the quality of the konuka hada and the suguha hamon as well as the boshi. I am a novice (for three years now), so I don't claim I can assess this ora any other sword (I wouldn't even recognise it as Hizen-to if it were not described as such). But if I had to make a guess, I would say it could be 6th generation Tadayoshi (please do not ban me for my arrogance) I am probably totally wrong, but regardless of that, I feel that I have purchased a very nice sword that I love (just got it today) at a fair price. Which is a good thing ina nay case and which gives me great joy What do you think of this sword? Am I right or (most likely) wrong? Is it Tadayoshi 6th generation or not? You will find the sword's pictures on my page: http://web.mac.com/mariuszk/iWeb/Site/T ... atana.html Sorry to bother you with that, but the friendly attitude of this board has encouraged me to post this question. Best regards :D

Grey, The problem with your Fraud Aletr auction is that most of people looking fo nihonto on eBay filter out the junk by setting a price minimum (I certainly do it). So maybe you should raise the asking price to, say $300? Best regards

Well, good idea. What about another - describing the story and sending it to the press. Best regards

Brian, your advice is good. I will comply even though it is hard to accept that you cannot do anything about this criminal activity. Best regards