Marius

Excellent suggestion, Kunitaro-san. I will adjust my post accordingly :-)

My gut-feel is: And here are the reasons:

Ken, that does make sense :-)

@Chris That is the problem with zogan. The iron gets better with handling, the soft metal inlays are best left alone. @KM You hang it outside and you handle it with bare hands. Unless you live in an area with a high level of humidity or industrial pollution (acid rain and such), you will be OK. Fact is, you cannot get fast and good patination.

When I look at the package, habaki seems to be the best part of it. $999 and a reserve? Good luck to the seller. Ken, why would you like to even consider this tanto?

Very nice, simple yamagane tsuba with loads of lacquer. Well done David Are you joining us weirdos who actually appreciate this kind of tsuba?

Brian, Casting can be pretty detailed. But the seppa-dai of cast tsuba are invariably "lifeless" - I have no idea why. I am sure this one is cast. Robert, you may want to have a look here - the last tsuba could fool some people, and the signature is pretty crisp: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/tsubacastiron.html

Robert, sorry, a cast copy, painted with some black stuff. You have done the right think with the books, congratulations :-)

This is a very loose interpretation of a tosu. Still, looks nice :-)

At least a Japanese letter opener :-) http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Kyoto-ha ... 70942.html http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... Opener.jpg Tosu knives are extremely rare and as far as I know, very very rare (found only in shrines). I have seen once a photograph of a tosu reproduction - they were carried in a special saya accommodating several of them. I vaguely recall Toshiro Mifune carrying such a set in the Kurosawa's classic "Hidden Fortress". He played general Makabe Rokurota was disguised as a peasant (I think that was in the scene where he and his companions are carrying bundles of firewood and get inspected by some samurai).

This is not a tosu, but a letter opener. Sorry.

Add: http://yakiba.com/welcome.htm http://www.nihonto.com/itemsale.html http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sw ... _sale.html All excellent dealers, with great items and great customer service. Bought from them all, excellent experience. Of course there are more good dealers, no doubt.

Robert, sell it, buy some books :-)

Oh dear, Chris :-) Yes, "Kaneie" will always pop out in such tsuba :D As will "Nobuie" in a mokko tsuba with a turtle-shell carved surface Robert needs to get some basic knowledge about tsuba - perhaps "Tsuba. An aesthetic study" by Torigoye/Haynes would be a good point to start? A good and cheap book.

Robert, maker? Some late Edo tsubako. This is one of those nondescript tsuba which were produced in large quantities. Attributing to any school or maker is nearly impossible. Genuine, but not particularly good. Bad condition, too. Sorry

Got the idea, sorry.

Brian, I could not agree more. Please, no Facebook.

Should be great news, but only for ppl with a US bank account. Leaves us, Eurotrash and the Brits out

Alex, that fuchi turned out great! congrats, mate I am sure with a horn kashira and some good, restrained menuki your Tensho koshirae will look great! Can't wait to see the results, please don't forget to send pics to the former owner of your excellent old yamagane tsuba Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit... But Alex's example should be encouraging for the OP. BTW, a horn kashira is often a very good way to go, especially when you have a fuchi that you like and for which you will most likely never find a matching kashira... A restrained koshirae (e.g. Tensho-style) does not need to cost a fortune, unless you insist on mounting an expensive tsuba. A plain iron sukashi tsuba (Owari/Higo/Akasaka inspired) or plain yamagane ko-kinko tsuba will do the job credibly.

Words of wisdom, Chris.

The "kaeri" is just kesho. Donny, if I were you, I'd buy some modern blade for iai anyway. If you like to buy a nihonto, stop. Get some books first. Gosh, how many times have I said that? :? Seriously, Franco and Adam are right. Don't do it.

It is funny how statements as to age made by dealers impact the bidding. I will refrain from comments on a live auction, this is just for your enjoyment and a cautionary tale for newbies: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121190933497?ss ... 1423.l2649

A remarkable career of one of our most senior members described in this article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2 ... k_MMtLwmSp Thank you Paul, for you valuable contribution to the nihonto world

Oregu, please sign with your first or last name (tat is a rule here). If you want people here to help you, you might want to: 1. try to read the signature yourself with the help of this wonderful resource: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/kanji_for_mei.html - this will be appreciated not because people here need help but because it shows you are seriously interested (and it will be great fun for you) 2. take pictures of the whole sword (without handle and habaki), the hamon (if visible) and the hada (if visible) and post them For nihonto terms (should they be unknown to you) go to this glossary: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/nihonto_glossary.html

Magnus, we need to see the whole sword, the boshi (that is the hamon in the kissahi or the point of the sword (kissaki). It would be good if you could take a picture of the back of the sword (mune) so that we can see part of the nakaho (tang) and part of the blade - this will show if the sword is healthy of polished down. Also pictures of the hamon would be nice - you could try to take pics holding the sword against a light source (difficult). Examples here: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/hamonpatterns.html Before you commit to a polish, keep in mind that there are risks involved. A bent blade must be fixed, which may result in hairline cracks (hagire) - a fatal flaw. A polish is expensive (very expensive). I am not quite sure if there are qualified polishers in Europe - do not take any shortcuts or you might ruin the sword. You might want to study a bit before doing anything with the sword. Do not rush, as a wrong decision will cost you a lot of money and might ruin the sword. Sometimes it is better to leave a sword as it is. Remember to apply a thin (very thin) coat of choji abura (clove-scented oil used for nihonto) or machine oil. Don't use gun oil or any vegetable oil. Here is a thread discussing proper oil: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/hamonpatterns.html Buy some books (recommendations abound - viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15682&hilit=beginner+books+nihonto+nakahara) Also, please read this very practical information here: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/hamonpatterns.html Again, don't rush. Straightening a sword is serious business and must not be done by some amateur. Polishing is even more serious, and there are too many self-styled polisher who are prepared to ruin your sword and charge you big bucks for it. One of the many discussions about polishers here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6164&hilit=polishers+europe Hope that helps.