Nickupero

Same here Paul, will be great!

Will be an exciting event, I will be an exhibitor there and hopefully be able to meet some of you in the flesh. Don't mean to hijack your thread Paul, the flyer posted was the preliminary one made to get the word out at the recent Antique Samurai Armor & Arts Fair, for social media we can use this freshly printed version. If anyone has issues downloading and needs the file feel free to email me. SAE_PRINT NO BLEED_Flyer_Final.pdf

Thanks Jean for the words of encouragement! For this I'll send them over to you, when your done with enjoying them just send them back

Outstanding Ben, each image is superb... I have to readjust my jaw from being permanently down throughout the scrolling process. Congrats on your hard work! Jean, One or two of those swords in the last image look identical to some that I currently have, coincidentally they are an Ubu Zaimei Mitsutada and Etchu Norishige

You nailed it Brian, your abilities to moderate are truly a gift. I'm terrible at typing and even more so explaining myself through writing so thanks for setting it straight. If I sounded sarcastic in any way I promise you it wasn't intentional... I'm not a person that likes using sarcasm in dialogue although I do like hearing it from others from time to time. Sorry if there was any misunderstanding Guido, ultimately I was in search for who it was used by and who it could have belonged to. I wouldn't be able to start that search if it wasn't for you identifying the mon in the first place, so to set the record straight I never doubted your source as you are one of the best here. Again grateful for your crucial contribution.

I could see how that may have been interpreted alternately, but it actually was a big help Guido. Before your English and Kanji explanation I wouldn't have even known where to start in terms of explaining this mon to even start a search. Kanji opens up a door of many online Japanese sites to reference. Thanks again.

great, after all these years of owning it now I know what it is

Thanks for narrowing it down a little, much better now than where I first started

are we talking about the same plant?

here is the rest of the koshirae...

Hi guy, just as the title describes, looking for this Mon. If anyone can chime in please? All my books are in boxes so I don't have access to my reference material. While I'm at it I'll post what the set looks like, its a nice solid silver Botan Koshirae.

Jean couldn't have said it better, good advice. $500 will most likely get you a Nihonto Ogre and $500 is a lot to pay for learning nihonto etiquette. Double that budget down the line and an entry level Wakizashi could be an option. But either way if its something you are serious about getting into then books will be a must at some point and the best time to invest is now. Good luck with the journey.

Forgive my lack of technical terms, when I suggested solid gold I meant all one piece and non gold foil (with copper underneath). Ford that makes sense solid gold referring to pure gold, so if there is a reasonable gold content then it can be referred to as simply "gold Habaki". My mother in-law would be a good person to start with, jeweler by trade.... now retired but 40+ years in the business. She has those acid testers but unfortunately no XRF tester, the idea of filing a small portion and pouring acid doesn't sit well with me, but she would be the right place to start. I am curious to find out, have been fortunate to see a good amount of jewellery and color/weight looks right in hand even though it may look off in the pictures, but Japanese metalsmiths certainly have one up... worth investigating. It is real heavy, and technically it isn't even a full habaki. Thanks Malcom for the attempt, Mitsu yes but not sure about the Hito, will have to look further into it.

Hi Guys, to start with happy New year, health and happiness to all you here and your loved ones! I have this incredible looking 2 piece habaki made of solid gold... it is matched with a beautiful Koshirae and equally beautiful Kozori signed blade. The purpose of this listing is as the title describes, what percent gold would a very high grade habaki be? I would think 24k gold is too soft. It is made of 2 parts, inner is 18 grams silver and outer is intricately carved with Mei & Kao, heavy weighing in at 34 grams. And if anyone wants to take a nab at the mei be my guest

I heard of this event, was widely advertised here, but nobody I know was involved. Thanks for sharing it Peter.

Superb Dave, thank you for sharing your experience with us... certainly an experience to remember Definitely a place to visit when I make my way to Berlin one day

Thank you Ray, Joe, and Jean! Jean I'm certainly aware of your well trained eyes and superior taste in Koto work, I do agree with you no doubt when it comes to koto work but I can have an appreciation for all Era's and how history played an influence on them. Generally I stay away from post Edo work, simply because it lacks the historical link to the Samurai, although they still had them during the beginning of Meiji Restoration if you want to get technical. This smith is interesting to me because he is regarded as one of the last Shin-shinto masters and played a crucial role in keeping the art alive. It might have been Sadakatsu that you saw in this style, Sadakazu's son. I've seen a few in this style made by Sadakatsu, always pricey though with reason.

what it looks like as a whole... fittings appear to be solid silver underneath the gold foil

Sneaky of you Allan Some of you hit the nail on the head, answer is Gassan Sadakazu, jidai is Meiji period. Congrats to Jean and Alex Both John's came very close, along with Tom. Barry before submission to the NTHK-NPO Hayama Enshin was my my guess since he was known to make a few of these and well balanced in the various traditions, but I also thought it could have been a late shin-shinto work like some of you guessed (possibly the Yokoyama school). Like some of you the Nakago threw me off, the Jigane was certainly indication of a late Edo Utushi and the 3 Mekugi-ana looks like it could have been re-mounted. The Mekugi-ana closest to the Machi appears to have been double punched or elongated but I think the koshirae that was commissioned for this piece (which is absolutely stunning btw) is original to when the blade was made so a lot of time went into making that nakago look like it was older. Thank you to everybody that participated, sorry if I left anyone out. you can see a few pics of the complete set.

Some very good opinions.... Thank you all who participated so far. All bets in? I'll give it a tad longer for whoever else might want to add their 2 cents.

and a few more hamon shots...

Hi Guys, figured this was an interesting one to take a jab at. It may not be your taste being Kogarasu-maru style but there are a couple interesting features on this piece that make it interesting. What period and which school/ or more precisely which smith could have made this one? Nakago is Mumei. Much of the reason for this kantei is a feature I'd like to point out which I'll do so once we tally up a few opinions. Nagasa is 66cm with a Sori of 1.2 cm Good luck

Just wanted to say a big thanks for everyone's support and input on this piece.... it really means a lot to me, more than you know. Each piece in my inventory is quite personal, if I don't love it I won't buy it.... So again thank you all! A shout out to Darcy for your support, thank you for going out of your way to give your opinion and taking the time to write it up. Your views are highly valued here on the message board especially with your understanding and deep knowledge of the finer works.

and a few more...

some more...