Marius

Matus, keep in mind that the mounts of the swords in question are much, much later than the blades. You cannot yet distinguish a good blade from a mediocre one, so you may as well go for whichever of these blades (and their mountings) you like. If I were you, I would go for a blade which will be easier sold, once you "outgrow" it. Which one of the three it is, remains to be determined, but knowing that many inexperienced buyers want a "Samurai" sword, which in their eyes is a long sword in mountings, I would point at the katana. Keep in mind, however, that the katana has been shortened. A word of warning - once you buy a Japanese sword and start digging a bit (buying books, studying your sword, seeing more swords, etc.) you may get hooked to the extent that you will stay with nihonto full time and neglect or even sell other parts of your collection.

Shinae will jump in your eyes. I suppose your problem are tiny scratches.

Thanks a lot, Drik

The motif is just not familiar to you :-) I am sure that this someone has meant matsukawabishi - a stylised representation of pine bark. Look at this old thread: http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... 87&start=0 wild geese or karigane - I am sure you will recognise it in your tsuba: http://www.Japanese-clip-art.com/kamon_ ... gane-1.gif ginger or myogu: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... youyou.svg

Dear All, I am not sure where to put this post, but I thought you might want to know that the Japanese Sword Section of the Polish Society of Ancient Arms and Armour has just published a catalogue from last year's nihonto and tsuba exhibition in Cracow. I have written about this exhibition, the first one in Polish history: http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2010/05/j ... rakow.html Now, our Section (on the Board of which I have the honour to sit) has published a catalogue. It carries the title of the exhibition: Beauty Forged in Steel. It comprises swords and tsuba from Polish collections. I must admit that we had to finance this catalogue ourselves, just to make it happen. The Section hwas founded last year, but we have already organised one major exhibition and published a catalogue. This year we will have the next exhibition, this time in Torun. We really want to spread the knowledge of nihonto in Poland. We also want to publish a newsletter, produce articles for specialised magazines, update our website frequently, just to name a few activities. We are selling the catalogue in Poland through our site: http://nihonto.org.pl/, but I thought that the NMB members might also be interested. The catalogue (softcover, 143 pages, B/W and colour photographs of swords and tsuba) is written mostly in Polish, with extensive use of Japanese terms. Articles, including a very interesting contribution from the curator of the National Museum in Cracow about Japanese aesthetics and its impact on sword fittings, are also in English. While I know that this book will not broaden the NMB's members' knowledge, but it is an interesting, and from my point of view, even historical position. I hope that some of you might want to have it in your library. All proceeds will go to our Japanese Sword Section and will be used for all that we love to do, i.e popularising the art of the Japanese Sword. Price: EUR 27 incl. shipping worldwide. PayPal preferred, but you may use wire transfer, too.

The kissaki has been reshaped. It may have no boshi. Anyway, with this "quality" of pictures, buying ANYTHING is not even a gamble, but a sure way to waste money. BTW, the link is: http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Kane ... 3a64825c1c

Marcello, the first tsuba is very very nice. It may be early Edo, it may be later, but it is nice. The second... looks like late Owari sukashi. The motif is ginger and wild geese. Hard to tell from photos, but the patina seems OK (do not ask about its age, though) but... The lighter colour of the seppa-dai and the shining sekigane indicate some attempt at cleaning, during which red rust has been exposed and possibly patina stripped. Looks like an unfinished job. Nice tsuba, but affected by this "cleaning". Now, this is just an opinion based on pictures. I might be totally wrong.

Marcello, be warned. I started with swords, but I have since sold off most of them to feed my lust for old soft metal tsuba (irogane ko-tsuba).

Got the same impression, hence my question about the thickness. Pics can be deceiving...

Marcello, Nice tsuba, congratulations :D How thick is it in the openings?

Sound advice and you should listen to it.

OK, here are two more, plus the mon of the Isawa family...

I have dug out a picture of a good quality Soten (don't know if this is the real McCoy, though). Jacques has posted it here ages ago.

Eric, here we go...

I would never purchase anything (not only a nihonto) with such low-res pictures. Jason, I don't think it makes much sense to post such items - the pics simply do not disclose enough.

Ian and All, your kind help is very appreciated. I cannot stop being amazed how such knowledgeable people are willing to share knowledge they have gained over many years with newbies. This post has another positive aspect - while I am a tsuba enthusiast with interest for nihonto and its historic fittings, I have never really gained any knowledge about katchu. This will now change :-) Many many thanks, also on behalf of my friend.

and... another picture. It is like pulling teeth :lol:

Based on the composition and style - very late Soten style tsuba.

Gosh, my friend is producing these pics rather slowly I will post them as they come. Apologies Here is one of one of the wakidate. I know nothing about Japanese armour (I need to buy Ian's book first) but this looks too clumsy for any kind of Japanese work..

OK, here is what I have got from my friend: "The original urusi was dark brown, and the brows are in this colour. Fukigaeshi are covered with leather and fringed with a cord. The ka-mon of three hats (?) are engraved. Wakidate can be removed. They are made of thin plate, look like they have never been restored." I'll try to get some close ups from him.... Thanks again :-)

Eric, many thanks for your help Since I am posting this on behalf of a friend, I have to relay your questions to him. I will be back with answers soon. An many, many thanks to Ian for his valuable input. Thank you so much Ian

OK, attached is another pic of the kabuto.

Jason, what is most important is your approach :-) I guess nobody can follow the sound advice not to buy anything before having gained some knowledge. I would refrain from further purchases until you have seen much more and learned much more. One day, you'll look at this sword and say: "*****************" and you might still like it, because it was one of the early purchases. A sounder approach would be, however, selling that one above your purchase cost and saving for a good sword. Now, a good sword does not have to expensive, though it does not come cheap. Look at this one (one of many): http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/sword16.html It is o-suriage, hence cheap. Still, a solid koto. One of many.

OK, it is hard to describe, but you might want to compare old patina with "new patina", be it on a nakago or tsuba. True patina is like porn, tough to define, but you recognise it when you see it. Try to compare your sword's nakago with that of a good sword. Spot the difference. You need to see some good swords, with good nakago. Good nakago has yasurime, even if it is quite old. Yours does not and there is a reason for this... BTW, the nakago should not smell at all. Another hint: think how much you have paid for it. I dare say it was not exactly expensive. Think of the possible reasons why: 1. The sword is pretty average 2. The sword is saiha 3. The nakago has been repatinated for whatever reason 4. The sword is tired 5. The sword is otherwise flawed Just trying to tell you that buying nihonto is not that easy. One of my first swords had a hagire, thank goodness I have managed to spot it and return the sword. Another one I gave stupidly to a "polisher" who ruined it by polishing it down and who produced a fake hamon. It still hurts, but I had no NMB back then.

The only pic I have got at the moment.... Doesn't disclose much, does it.