Alex A

UPS? or the others. Just to add, there doesn't seem any slow down with knife dealers. Sold 4 to a dealer at the arms fair a few weeks back. Im assuming when he sells them he wont be travelling around Britain delivering them in person.

For those that have ever wondered about the reason (?) for the hairstyle, that became popular for Samurai and non-Samurai. Never really thought about it, had the NHK series on record and it just popped up. Appears full series here, SAMURAI CHONMAGE TRUTH - Time and Tide | NHK WORLD-Japan

Just to add, spent a few hours this afternoon sorting it out. Scraped with a fingernail, cotton bud with a touch of white vinegar. Alright now, but where it was bad it is now slightly pitted, although the patina is intact. Not telling folks to do this with expensive tsuba or anything of great value. Anyways, they are coming back in the house, definitely over winter Just glad it wasn't some expensive bronze cannon or something

Thought i would put this here as i know some folks collect bronze etc. Bought these Bronze temple lions many years ago, at least 15 years now. They have been sat in various positions over that time and never had any issues up until very recently. They are mass produced and were not expensive at the time, though i do like them. Anyways, for the last six years they have been in the conservatory, its not heated unless we are in there during the winter. They were fine and then they weren't , came as a surprise as never had issues. Last summer they were looking dusty so i hosed them down outside and let them dry, then Ren wax. That was the first time i had used wax since i bought them all those years ago. About four months ago i moved them, one ended up in full morning sun on one side, the other in the shade. Just happened to notice an issue last week. Check out the side that got the sun compared to its other side in the shade. Looked like white spots, now on closer inspection looks like green, Verdigris. The other statue which was in the shade has no Verdigris either. Now moved them back into the shade, will have to do something about the verdigris.

These Saotome threads always end up with a size discussion Did have one once, not so big as you guys (sounds well) Surprisingly heavy, got the impression ok for a battlefield,

Dale, are you sure its not a wagon wheel?

Another reason for the difference in condition. Didn't some Samurai walk about with just a wak a lot of the time? at the end of the Edo? Sometimes, 2 swords where size was not that much different. As in nakago ana size. Guess we will never know. Can understand someone wanting a matching set of these type of tsuba in particular, I do............ lol. Have one similar made from copper, had a chance to acquire one to match but other commitments. Kick myself a bit for that, would have made a nice display.

Hi Piers, no expert The most obvious difference is one seems to have delicate thin metal around the kogai ana, the other quite thick. Patina, level of surface pitting seems to differ between them. Both large as you point out Get the impression someone paired them together at some point. Impossible to say when but who knows, perhaps a previous owner in the past knows they were paired together, family history.

Amazing Piers, what a vast array there is.. We are very lucky to have you on NMB!. Do you know if all those cannon were manufactured in Japan ? .No expert, some look Japanese and some Western, i guess maybe influenced by Western Cannon around at that time, especially the one on the Naval carriage. One reminds me of a lantaka. A lot to take in, appears quite a few could come under the "swivel cannon" type. A really nice ornate cannon, looks bronze. Like the one on the carriage with the wood stock., that's fantastic, i want one. Lots of various cannon balls/shells. They actually remind me of that Sherman round from ww2. Absolutely amazing collection, id have a field day in there lol

Yes please Piers, love cannon, cheers Ps, about stuff in boxes. Was curious about the pocket pistol above and contacted the dealer. Always have doubts so asked if the box was original to the gun. Appears not, even though looks it. Live and learn, pays to be curious about such matters.

Wouldn't look forward to moving house with some of those cannons, look really heavy!

Boxed stuff, great to own. Like you only see in high end collections or via forgotten weapons etc on YouTube. Above, wow.

Piers, yes, those small fully stocked flintlocks. The only relevance to this thread being what Michael was saying. Been looking for several years and you just don't see them, good ones anyways. Then all of a sudden one dealer in particular seems to have a no ending run of them coming onto his site, its as though an old collector is giving it up and consigning his collection . Cant remember ever seeing one with the box, this type, same dealer A Small Cased Flintlock Pistol (garthvincent.com)

Piers, when something rare comes along that you have been after for a while then you have to pull the trigger (even when skint lol) Who knows when it will turn up again, maybe decades Well done, looking forward to seeing them Ps, coincidentally, also noticed a few rarities lately. Seems to be quite a few of those pocket pistols around lately that i like, does seem like some old collector has sent them on to the market.

Briefly read about the fleur-de-lys symbol and it is linked with Christianity. One issue i have is whether or not the pattern on the Kabuto is in fact fleur-de-lys decor ? Very little linking that symbol to Japan and its use there, but who knows, maybe I'm wrong. Just seems a very bold claim. I guess biased beliefs come easier when your on the selling end.

Know the feeling Russ. You see a random flintlock and then end up reading about Blackbeard Must work for them.

Well, this dealer is known for the odd cheeky monkey prices and write-ups. Also, possibly the "Shogun effect", a situation where dealers take advantage of tv shows. I fear some inflated prices ahead

That's a corker, with the old carved waves One that if i owned and sold, one day i would regret it.

Really ? The Lanes Armoury | A Beautiful and Most Impressive Nanban-Nari Kabuto High Conical Samurai Helmet. Likely of A Christian Samurai, Known As Krishitan, Momoyama to Edo Period. With Menpo Face Armour

Paz, There are differing opinions regarding papers. Some folks want them for every sword they own whilst others maybe when it comes to buying expensive swords. Others feel they don't need them at all. Depends on folks knowledge and how deep their pockets are. Some folks rely on papers because they have no interest in wanting to learn about swords, it can be daunting and time consuming so they see it as a shortcut to knowing a sword is authentic. Horses for courses. Thanks Jussi, a surprising amount of data to take in there, wow, 207 examples of a Nagamitsu swords. Makes me wonder. As you mention, NBTHK is a business and i kind of would feel slightly disappointed if they were not making headway down there regarding compiling information/images onto a pc and learning something new from it. Maybe i expect too much though. They have the opportunity to look further with the numbers they see and record, though obviously that would have to be independent of Shinsa. schedule.

Come back for one more point as this thread is interesting. Well Kirill, i understand what your saying. Folks can work stuff out if they have some knowledge and know what they see and give an opinion, obviously. Unfortunately, an Alex Hozen or a Kirill Hozen etc don't cut it in the sales market. There are more sought after opinions from wiser folks that give opinions with blade in hand and not images.

Seriously John, never going to happen but if NBTHK made ALL info regarding ALL Hozen mei available to the general public. Regarding all the well known smiths, I would assume it will blow anything we own out of the water and make those that think they have it sussed realise that they don't. Would bet even eyebrows get raised down there as to what got passed in the past. Though the ongoing nature of what they do puts them in charge and they get to see it in a perspective we will never likely see. Made the point, don't want to keep coming on here and upsetting folks. Will end on that, again lol. Bye.

Hi Thomas, not angry, just frustrated, with the hobby in general. Actually taking a break from the hobby but will come back just to clarify a little. I'm not pulling theories out of thin air by the way. We all look at things differently, some of us may have seen stuff out of the norm with blades we own and swords we see for sale online. Ive seen, own, blades by WELL KNOWN smiths (with HOZEN) where the mei has a discrepancy, an obvious discrepancy. You look in the books, usual Fujishiro or whatever and noted discrepancy is NOT in there, no record of it. Over the years, that FACT as got me wondering about NBTHK data. If said blades where the mei has a discrepancy (yes, using that word again) have HOZEN, then that means the NBTHK MUST have ACCESS to much more data than any of us here. Either that or they have no choice to give hozen as the rest of the blade speaks for itself and the mei is as they might think, close enough. I cant imagine the NBTHK not compiling info in the hope of pushing this hobby further. Anyone here can look at online stores, look at mei from well known smiths. At times it can be quite surprising and enlightening. When folks here state stuff like "I believe using the same references that the shinsa teams" then to me its not entirely true. As stated above, its a mistake to think any library we own can compete with the data/knowledge of NBTHK, folks that do this for a living. So when i see folks here debating a mei and coming to conclusions they think are FACT, without looking at the blade first, in polish, then it starts to niggle a little. As said, nothing wrong with opinions if they if's and maybe, see someone that knows better etc. Our opinions are formed by what we see and they are always changing as we see more, often contradicting what we think we know. We here toy with the hobby, we just don't see enough or know enough. In that respect, we are way behind and its wrong to state opinions as FACTS In me eyes a lot of it is still a mystery, the hobby is surrounded by BS and think we are still somewhat in the dark ages. For me, that's the issue with Japanese swords. It needs to advance, its too easy for us just to sit here and talk about stuff we think we know. Have been impressed with Jussi over recent years, its folks like him that are pushing this hobby further with compiling useful information and very kindly sharing it. I guess there is some light in that respect. Anyways, just making a point and thats all i want to say again on this subject, goodbye for now. Best Perplexed Al

I surely don't want to have to comment again in this thread but feel i would be doing anyone new to the hobby a real INJUSTICE if i don't make this point. On that basis I'm just going to state it and bail out of this nonsense for a while. ALWAYS assume gimei, especially when a lot of what we can see of this sword is an unpolished bar of steel.. Especially when there is a lack of detailed information such as dimensions and pictures of a certain standard. Cant judge blades in any way when the images look like they were taken in a dark broom cupboard with a camera phone from 2001. DO NOT make the mistake of judging a blade by what little can be seen here and DO NOT let your own bias get in the way. WITHOUT all the necessary information then i think its arrogant and ignorant to state whether a blade is factually gimei. That is up to someone that knows better with the blade in hand.. Folks here can have opinions and you know what, they could be right but that's not up to us as as we don't have all the relevant information at hand. Basing an opinion just on the mei, well, that's FUNDEMENTALLY WRONG. There's a THOUSAND reasons a mei might be off. We here do not have the database of seeing many many examples in hand and documenting them. Studying what you do see and maybe coming up with matches that are far beyond what went into old books many years ago, Modern tech is way past that. Its ignorant to think any library we have now is worthy of making such decisions. Bias can be a strong element in making decisions. Lets say i think the horimono is not up to the standard of the smith. If that's the case then i may posibly ignore the painfully obvious fact of the lack of information available. Again, we can look at the horimono and think it is not of the standard of the smith but should we base our decision on that fact?. As we don't have a time machine available then we do not know for sure who may have done the horimono. For all we know, it may have been an apprentice at the forge or even someone far later down the line, maybe even done during WW2. Who knows, we certainly don't The point to this ramble. Its ok to have opinions, just don't claim them as FACT without having all relevant information. Not commented on this sword for that reason Would be like watching experts on tv discussing a picture by Constable, only with a blanket thrown over it and just showing a signature and some of the painting. That's what i see happening here.

Agree John, they just come across as thick and trying their luck Though i bet they get lucky from time to time. The thing for me, hardly know Chris but getting an obvious made up sob story