Alex A

On the subject of blade style, maybe the smith decided to have a change, try something new, maybe he felt a bit exuberant that day and decided to copy a blade that he had seen for a change, on the subject of bad mei, perhaps he was an alcoholic and had hit the saki to hard before signing it , perhaps he was ill or simply he felt the blade wasnt upto standard and got his apprentice to sign it for him. We are only human, not robots, forgive my naiveness, and feel free to correct me? Alex.

Another Hizen tadakuni blade, popular smiths this week, i have Tadakuni 1st wak, now thats 4 Tadakunis on here in 2 days, great blades! Alex.

Theres a lot of folk out there who buy on impulse, i jumped in with both feet when i bought my first sword several years ago. I didnt have a clue (more clueless than i am now anyway :lol:)i had never read a book, never heard of papers, i just saw it and bought it. Luckily i bought a few books the week it came, worked out it was a mass produced koto blade, then returned it for something with papers!. What im trying to say is, swords dont need papers to sell, just naive folk. "Before you buy it", sums it up fine. Alex.

I know a dealer who doesnt put his swords through shinsa, "it takes too long and costs too much", he says. Before i read all these posts i was under the impression that maybe its because most of his swords are gimei (still might be), now im thinking he may have a point. If his knowlege is as good as the shinsa team, then would it not be a waste of money?. As stated, they are only opinions (written opinions infact). There probably more important to newbies (like me) than to someone who is an expert. I suppose when im spending my hard earned cash i need something to put my mind at rest, maybe i just see it as some kind of reassureance!. From now on though im a bit more open minded, and cautious. Alex

Cheers Jean, roger that. Alex

"Han Bing slong", something else i need to look into!, cheers Jean, seems papers are not as reliable as i thought. Alex.

Hi Jean ,quite straight forward, i was curious as to why the 2 organisations differ so much in there opinions, i am aware that an estimation paper is a low scoring paper (didnt make kanteisho). Sam, yes, ive took another look, certainly says NTHK estimation paper and your right about what im talking about. Thanks again Lance, Sam and Jean. Alex

Hi Peter, maybe the subject of art might tip it in our favour. Alex.

Ive just been having a browse through the internet sites. Ive come across a few katana with 2 sets of papers, NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho and also NTHK estimation paper. Does this mean that the NTHK thought the sword was of poor quality and the NBTHK think the sword was of high quality? I am aware that they judge on different merits, is it a case of the NTHK dismissing the blade because of poor quality work and the NBTHK giving the sword merit for other reasons? I cant understand why the seller would say that it had an estimation paper when it also as a Tokubetsu Kicho paper. Apologies if this as been brought up before. Alex.

Hi, i know there as been a few uk shinsa in the past, i was wondering if anyone knows if there is one planned for 2013? Alex.

Superb!, well done. Alex

Well concluded Keith. Alex.

Ive been sucked in by some of the conversation on here, usually just use an old white t-shirt, but today i ordered some microfibre cloths :D Alex.

I use express gun oil, available on ebay. Alex.

My last go at this with my limited knowlege is as follows: Papers say osuriage (大o- meaning large) so i can only presume that means large cut off the blade. On the subject of the yasurime being kiri (kiyomitsu blades of that age where kiri), maybe it was shortened by the kiyomitsu school (possibly because the sword remained nearby the kiyomitsu school) or a school that also used kiri. Finally, i described the hamon as gunome choji in another post(this information came with the sword on an invoice-worksheet), whereas the nthk papers describe it as ko gunome midare. Im not sure where the choji comes into it, maybe someone could put me right looking it at the pictures below. Excuse the photography. Apologies for bringing this up again! Alex

Thanks again John, think the large dealer down south may have got it wrong or maybe it was just there take on it. :? Hi yes, kiyomitsu is kiri.. Alex

Hi Bruno, if your going to use alcohol on your blade you would be better using 100%. You need it to evaporate fast and completely. Your blade is porous. Wiping it off may not do the job completely. Alex

I see your point David, i would only use 100% isopropyl alcohol. Luckily i have access to it at work Alex.

Ive had a go at translating the hamon on this nthk paper using the glossery, im new to this so apologies!. From what i can gather it reads "ko gunome midare"(irregular small gunome)..That bit i understand. What is now confusing me is that the dealers worksheet says "gunome choji". I cannot find the word "choji" anywhere in the hamon description. I can find "width of the tempered portion", not sure where this comes into the equation. Is it possible the dealer could have been refering to ashi when he uses the word choji? Alex.

Hi Denis, dont get too overly concerned about all this, using uchiko once or twice a year obviously will not damage your sword. Dont leave too much oil on your blade, only a thin coating, and it will be fine. In a modern central heated home in the uk you probably dont need to use oil, its dry enough. I oil my blades simply as a precaution because im away from home most of the day. Alex.

Cheers Jean, just had a quick look to see what there is, plenty of reading, thats for sure. Alex.

Thanks Adam and Jean for your assistance, much appreciated. The hamon does clearly run past the hamachi. The yasurime is also kiri on both sides as Jean stated, thanks for helping to sort out this query. Alex.

Cheers for that Adam, the hamon in this Kiyomitsu 1504 blade looks remarkably similar to the hamon in my 1688ish blade which is nice to see. Alex

Hi Adam, what era is this blade? Alex.

Hi, i wouldnt use coloured cloths to wipe the blade, apparently it can stain the blade, its likely with strong colours that this is possible, so better to use white only. Ive never used isopropyl alcohol to clean old oil off, usually powder once a year, i think it sounds a good idea, less abrasive, that must be a good thing. Im sure if the samurai of old had better methods at that time, they would have used them. Alex.