Alex A

You might be right Denis but my first thought was that oil left on the mune might have soaked into the felt causing a reaction to the glue, its difficult to think of any other reason for it. A tricky one. It wasn't displayed near a radiator was it?

Hi Denis, out of curiosity, was there oil on the blade?, maybe that caused a reaction.

How can one not like Aoi art. Do your homework and ask all the necessary questions, if your not happy then send it back. Ive dealt with them three times, found them to be very helpful, no problems getting more close up pictures and more info. I once bought a Tadakuni wakazshi, they thrown in a "touch up polish"?, was very pleased. There is a dealer out there that makes Tsuruta san look like a saint, they never seem to get mentioned here, so best i dont mention it either. Seems a shame that some dealers can get more bad publicity then the ones who really deserve it. Running a business like Aoi, its impossible to please all customers all of the time.

When it comes to spending big bucks on any expensive antique provenance is everything. A well educated guy with plenty of money can obviously take a risk, but why take a risk?. We know that the NBTHK and NTHK papers are only the opinions of educated folk, but they are widely accepted as provenance. The sword you where talking about without papers, maybe the dealer guaranteed papers for the client. I watched a documentary a few weeks back about a painting that had been declassified as being by Gainsborough. An expert in Gainsborough thought the decision was wrong and tried throughout the show to disprove the decision and get it reinstated. The scenery was typical Gainsborough, there was even two characters in the picture that where a match for another Gainsborough picture, apparently artists do this quite often. The expert was sure, but the test on the blue used proved it was cobalt blue, a later type of paint. Anyway, gone off topic but watching this show made me realize the importance of provenance. Ps, turns out the picture was not a copy, but a Gainsborough drawing that someone over painted in a gainsborough style some years later. Even so, now its back in a Gainsborough museum with a nice new value$$$$$, hope you get my point. Apologies for wondering off topic!

A wise move asking for assistance. Out of curiosity, what was the asking price?

Hi Gheorghe, id be surprised if the guy said he can use it. You have two options, leave it as it is and save your money, or new ito/same. Id be tempted to leave it as it is.

Muscle cars, my brother sold a 68 Dodge charger RT 10 years ago for £8000......now would be at least £35000 , an interest topic one day.

Hello Gheorge, please DONT make a new hole in nakago, bad idea. Keep your blade original, "rehabilitate", as you say is the best option, but only if really necessary. Buying a used tsuka to match a blade is not the way to go, likely a bad fit.

New folk wont have knowledge, so if they have bought a sword with papers they have either been lucky or sensible. Im not sure how one might think he could turn a profit when he knows nothing at all about what hes buying. He might get away with one willy nilly purchase, but to go down this route several times without gaining further knowledge would be a stupid thing to do, rich or not. Hopefully the first purchase would satisfy the curiosity, if thats what it was, curiosity. Its only the educated that can take the risk on unpapered blades, this whole hobby being based on knowledge. It is a rich mans hobby, i wont be spending much more money on swords, think its unwise. Now i have started to get a little more knowledge i may look at cheaper swords without papers, or sell to move up a bit, theres only so much time i will drive round in a crappy old fiesta LOL.

Excellent Markus!, thank you very much. , that's the book I will be after next.

Same question in "facts and fundamentals".

Hello Jesper, According to Mr Sinclairs site there where 12 generations of Kiyomitsu in Kaga working up until the Meiji period. A different line of smiths to the one below (Ju ni gatsu). Seems Kaga had its fair share of Kiyomitsu! http://www.to-ken.com/full.php?article= ... &type=home From Fujishiro... you are talking about Kiyomitsu 1st, signature HARIMA NO DAIJO FUJIWARA KIYOMITSU, 1673 Enpo, otherwise known as "Ju ni gatsu" (December Kiyomitsu), from KAGA. http://www.sho-shin.com/smiths1c.htm I get confused when i see ETCHU, 1661 Kanbun Kiyomitsu listed as "December" Kiyomitsu, see it now and again in sword sales. I know ETCHU and KAGA where next door to each other, am i missing something? As you say, there is a link to the Fujishima school http://www.sho-shin.com/hoku8.htm Wish i could add something constructive, but as you know, the internet can take you on a magical mystery tour, more books required.I have an interest in Kaga Kiyomitsu myself, if you find anything, please let me know.

I was wondering about that myself.

Some info on Dotanuki here Vern. http://nihontoclub.com/schools/Dotanuki http://www.sho-shin.com/sai18.htm Masakuni not your guy but still some interesting information. http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisp ... Nobuyoshi/ Ps. 作 Saku=Made.

A shame George, I was quite looking forward to seeing that. It appears that this thread seems to have sparked an interest for me in early swords used in WW2.

Sure i can see "Hira orTaira 平", probably wrong, difficult. Edit, i am wrong

Hello Adam, im reminded me of this thread which shows early scrolls with uchigatana. Ps, ignore my expert input at the time. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16175&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=0

I find that in 24 years of being in the trade repeatedly stating the obvious is what makes for an hassle free life :D. If anyone as any questions or as anything in mind regarding this project, its good to mention it. As small as it may be, it could help to prevent a mini catastrophe. To keep this thread on track, i will refrain from replying to any shall we say, unnecessary wording...

Im sure the paper will be fine, lets not worry too much about it. Grey sure as enough books to compare with. If you need another opinion, pop a sample in the post...

If your a DIY kind of guy, think of the lacquered sword stands you could make, a business opportunity

Ye, sure it will be fine, cant see it being anything like that cheap paperback paper.

Hello Brian. If it turns out to be a good quality uncoated paper as i mentioned above then that is fine. If it turns out to be low quality uncoated, the kind you see in paperbacks etc (an example book would be Yumato,s The samurai sword), then i would advise against it, top quality is what your after. As for the technical jargon on drying, these days most offset printers seal their matte printed papers and boards with a sealer coat whilst running on the press, whether black only or colour, so no need for dryers. To keep costs down for some customers we have printed many jobs without sealer, they dry, so im not too sure where their coming from, maybe they have older machinery or machinery that tends to mark a bit. Anyway, all thats besides the point, look forward to hearing about the paper quality.

Hello Brian, ive just had a look over the finch page. Difficult to give an opinion on paper quality without having it in hand. They describe it as smooth, thats usually an indication that it is not a coated stock. That being said, these types of paper are widely used for printing books, usually are very good quality and often its difficult to tell the difference between that and matt coated paper. They usually have a silky feel with a bit of shine, an example would be "The craft of the Japanese sword". As long as the paper is around that range then its ok. Be aware that some paper manufacturers like to over boast about their plain old uncoated, that would obviously be a no no. As Adrian mentioned, best to get samples, the printers should send them out free of charge, the only way to be sure. http://www.limitedpapers.com/finch-opaq ... -8004.html Good of you to give up your time for this project!

Hello Zac, you might want to read this as a rough idea. A skilled job, best to get the finish right. If your in the UK, I could recommend a few folk who do this kind of work. Ps, as mentioned above, not for antique pieces. Also be aware that if you come to sell your swords in the future, as much as you like it, some folk might not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_lacquerware

If you contact a printers regarding a low quantity black only run then you will likely get one response....will you go digital?. Printers who specialize in this kind of work buy modern digital machinery specifically for that task. The offset book your looking for will likely be printed on a large offset press that does not usually pump out black only work, usually will be full colour work. Usually they will shy away from black only work because there is better money to be made, OR to make it worth their while, they will hit you with a price that covers the machine time, as if it was a full colour book they where printing. The cost of the paper between a 150 run and a 500 run book is negligible. Its turned into quite a complicated can of worms, Markus a while back in this thread suggested a revised lulu edition (maybe better stock etc, not sure how far you can go with lulu?), that would certainly make the job a lot easier for folk, no money wories, no delivery hassles, less errors etc etc. As Brian pointed out though, seemed id forgot this book idea was based on top quality printing, just cant help thinking there needs to be a compromise somewhere along the lines. I think with enough searching you will find an offset printers that handles individual shipping, hopefully at a reasonable rate, but in my experience, they usually see that as another money maker. I do hope the offset idea comes to light, some offset printers struggle to compete in the modern age of digital