Alex A

Thanks Pete!, appreciated. Alex.

Cheers Chris. Alex.

Cheers Chris, another good reason to leave a blade in shirasaya. As you know, traditionally made new ones are expensive, thats the only way i would consider going, if i couldnt find an old one. Alex.

Ive yet to come across a decent large fuchi, ive been looking for a while. Most are edo and seem to be around 37mm in length. Would anyone be able to tell me roughly what size a large fuchi would be for a stocky blade?. I know they made stocky blades in the late edo period too, where as all the large fuchi gone? Alex

Totally opposite for me Alex, Fedex have never completed a delivery, items always get held up,then the royal mail finishes the job with a charge for there assistance. The only time an item does not get held up is when there is a low value on the box. Stu, a good buy, now with hozen papers!, you done well. Alex.

Hi Stu, how did the papering go?, nice blade Alex

Rob, you just told my story, :D Alex.

I understand, no wories. :D, sure you have heard it before. There as been a lot of talk on uchigatana lately and its got me thinking on where they stand on a battlefield. I will look into it, then maybe start a post to try and find out more. Alex.

Hi Mariusz, i know what your point is, excuse my novice curiositys! When i say tachi/katana i was refering to length only, as you know uchigatana where used in the late muromachi period when the katana was in use, i was simply refering to sword length in a battle situation. As far as tactics go, again excuse my naiveness!, i cant help but wonder how fast tactics go out of the window in the full heat of a battle and when what you have in your hands is all that counts, a valid point, by my thinking, sorry to interfere with your intended responses my good man A

Interesting and good to be able to read across the scroll. Quite a few guys with naginata are carrying uchigatana in the pics. That seems to make sense, a smaller weapon as reserve. Ive always been slightly puzzled about the uchigatana being used in battle. Yes, if you have one in each hand i can see how it could be of benefit, but one, as in the pictures makes me wonder why the shield didnt really catch on, off topic, but hopefully someone will put me right on this. Is it also possible that a lot of the uchigatana where uchigatana because they where broken tachi/katana?. The point im trying to make is, was the uchigatana a reserve weapon for folk carrying yumi,yari and naginata?, if not, then id jump to the naginata que :D Alex

Hi Nick, i will presume that Fedex will not deliver all the way to the buyer. Deliveries from the US by Fedex are usually completed by our service (royal mail) in the UK. I have only ever lost 2 parcels abroad, on both occassions it was in Italy with recorded delivery. Italys postal system is not the most reliable (sorry italian folk), i dont post to italy any more, and i know a few folk who think along the same lines. The only advice i can give is be extra careful. Alex.

Im guessing cheap copy, although im no expert. Alex

Last year after a dozen or so pints I decided to show a few of the lads one of my swords, wasn't a good idea. Lucky my misses was there, told me to put them away and grow up :D : l. Dread to think what could have happened, they get put away now. Alex

And possibly chemical residues from cleaning products, aswell as bits of grit (not saying you have a gritty floor by the way) etc. Alex

Yes I agree, I have used disposable rubber gloves from work, but maybe its best not to bother now I come to think about it. Alex

Maybe the use of gloves when handling blades is a good idea, over the top maybe, but less risk of damage to the blade. Alex

Thickness is also important Denis, half a mm in either direction will cause fit issues. Alex.

Is this guy taking the p----, he bought, or rather pretended to buy?( using ebay buyer protection to pull off his little gamble). If this was not on ebay would you contemplate giving him his money back?, i certainly would not. The best you can do is speak to ebay, he altered the item, admitted altering the item, hopefully shouldnt be a problem for you. Theres no defense for him, if he wished to take a gamble then he should learn to live with his loss, as gamblers do. Alex.

"Antique Japanese sword", i suppose is the honest title, be nice if parcelforce etc would take "antique" into consideration. Alex.

Hi Peter, i couldnt help but wonder, will "artwork" work with a katana etc, presuming so. Alex.

Cheers Paul, so where now only left with Fed-ex?, how long before they throw the towel in, i wonder. Alex.

What ever you do, don't start sweating, whistling may help :D Alex.

The insurance with the royal mail is limited, £2500 is the limit with airsure, you add the level of cover you want. If you want more cover then you could insure independently or try Fedex. As long as the labeling is correct, ie Japanese antique (if you do put "antique Japanese sword" i dont think they would notice, the guys in my post office wouldnt, just glad of business), and they take it over the desk with no questions asked, should there be a problem?. I would leave information for the customs in an envelope taped to the box, as someone recently did for me, a good idea, hopefully it may help to prevent unnecessary rummaging. Alex.

Im not sure if this is correct, but i was told this a short while ago. If you go into a post office and they take the item over the counter, then they are obliged to get the item to its destination. Ive been into the post office 2 or 3 times with swords and ive never been asked whats in the box. Ive posted hundreds of items around the world, and again, ive never been asked what is in the box, or have they checked the label. Within the uk ive posted de-activated grenades, guns etc, and again ive never had a problem with the royal mail or been asked what is in the box. (again). Are you by any chance telling them whats in the box, in advance?. Alex.

Denis, i know where your coming from, ive spent the last 3 or 4 months asking folk about nakago ana size, if i was selling a tsuba i would add it, just to keep everyone happy. I dont see anything wrong about swapping a non original tsuba for a better quality non original tsuba (with a good fit, correct date and match to the fuchi kashira), thats down to personal taste. How many swords do you see with original tsuba?. Ive shelved my latest plan to put together a tensho koshirae for a sword i own, kind of come round to Mariusz,s way of thinking. Its expensive, and as Grey mentioned in a previous post, potential future buyers wont give a hoot about what you have spent, so basically you could be throwing money away, money that could be spent on better investments such as yari, tsuba, naginata and tanto and beer. On the other hand, i suppose if someone wants there sword in koshirae then fine, is that not just a posh shirasaya?, a way of storing and keeping the blade safe, but beware, when you come to sell, some folk may be put off by other folks taste, bit like selling a house with a pink bathroom suite . Everyone to there own, i suppose. Alex