Ken-Hawaii

I would like to announce this year's sword exhibition by the Japanese Sword Society of Hawaii. Here is our poster: http://i42.tinypic.com/2gy2hdu.jpg and our press release: The Japanese Sword Society of Hawaii is pleased to present the second annual Exhibit of Japanese Swords at Soto Mission of Hawaii. The JSSH warmly welcomes and invites all interested parties to attend this exceptional event. The exhibition will be comprised of an extensive range of some of the world's finest Samurai-era art and weaponry, including swords by important swordsmiths, sword furniture, pole arms, World War II swords, children's swords, and various other Samurai objects, all of outstanding quality. The sword collection represents a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in Japan or Japanese culture to experience a quintessential element of Japanese aesthetics. Along with swords approaching 800 years of age, contemporary blades are also to be included in the exhibit, reminding us that sword-making is a living art. Of particular note, swords made by many well-known sword smiths will be on display. Representative work from the five styles of Japanese sword making, including examples from numerous historical periods, is a key feature of the exhibit. Many of the artists included were among the most well-known of their respective eras. Also on view will be a collection of The Hawaii Bonsai Association's premier trees, in addition to Kendo and Iaido demonstrations by the Hawaii Kendo Federation. The exhibition will be held on September 28-29 at the Soto Mission's main hall, 1708 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu 96817, with free parking. Tickets are $10.00 at the door. Please contact Dr. Glenn Hayashi, Exhibit Chairman, at 597-1624, or Albert Keliikuloa at 554-6846 for more information. If you happen to be in Hawaii, please let me know. Aloha! Ken

Bob, you're still not catching on to the fact that YOU have to have some basic knowledge about Nihonto before you start buying. There really aren't any shortcuts to hitting the books. Asking questions like this may get you an answer, but now what do you really know? Grey is a real expert, but having him tell you that "everything looks real" doesn't do a darn thing for YOUR knowledgebase. Go buy a few books so that you can recognize what is "real," & maybe at the same time you'll be able to figure out just what it is about Japanese swords that makes you want to collect any specific blade. Ken

If Roush can be proved to have absconded with swords worth more than around $300, it is a federal offense, & it then becomes an FBI case because of inter-state commerce. I'm not sure of the dollar amount in California, but it's not very high. Wonder if Eric realizes that? Ken

Hi- Brian's first rule is that you must sign your posts. Ko-nie is small nie. But if you don't know what nie is, you're just not ready to buy anything except reference books so you have some vague idea of what you're buying. Ken

Many thanks! Are most signatures that sloppy? I really thought that it was gimei, just because no smith would sign that poorly. Ken

I just picked up a beautiful sasaho yari, actually a te yari in full raden koshirae, but looking at the mei, I have to think it's gimei just from overall sloppiness, but how does it read? Ken

If you decide to polish your blade & want to send it to Benson, I suggest that you ask for Woody to do the polishing. Everyone in my sword club who has used Woody has been ecstatic about the results. Ken

Chris, is it usual for the smith who does the yaki-ire to sign the blades, too? Ken

Great idea, Peter, but how do you separate the the ones who can & will help from the Eric Roushes of the world? Ken

By this, I assume he trains in some form of iaido, right? It's unlikely that he will mount a valuable tsuba on his iaito, & even less likely if he's using a shinken for training. Have you considered something like a jutte (http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Vintage-Ja ... 2ec8d69de3) or (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-Vintage-Ori ... 2a2b1a8783) instead of a tsuba? Or how about a kabuto that was almost definitely worn in battle (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zunari-Kabuto-h ... 51b0cf0e69)? Ken

Hey, Jean, where's our blow-by-blow translation?? Ken

Arigatou, Moriyama-san! He's happy now. Ken

Aloha: An acquaintance in New Zealand just sent me some photos of a katana given to him by his grandfather. Looking at the mei, I'm not sure if there are Kanji characters or just random chisel marks: Can anyone read this? Other than that, he seems to have a decent blade. Thanks! Ken

Yes! And then post it here so we can all figure out how to take better sword photos! Ken

Amen! If you are still at the stage where you're asking people what you should buy, Andrew, you're really at the stage where you should be doing your own learning & research on just what is out there. You may have an idea on what general area(s) you're looking to concentrate on - a good thing! - but until you really understand how to evaluate a candidate blade, you shouldn't be buying anything except learning materials. Take our advice that you will spend less money for a better blade, or collection, once you've done the hard part in your head. Then it really will be a fun process. Ken

Aha! Finally! That's exactly what I wanted to know, Kunitaro-san - it just took awhile to get the answer framed so I could understand it! Arigatou gozaimasu! Ken

As a sword swinger, Roy, that "kirikomi" is at a suspiciously strange angle for it to be a real battle scar. Blocks are just not made to get a cut like that, so my guess is that it is a result of the same process that caused the ware on the mune. Ken

Hi, Mark: As an other engineer, your comment happens to be incorrect. There was a thread on Swordforum.com that addresses the fact that iron filings do, indeed, have elements other than pure iron, including vanadium & titanium. Ken

Yes, that's the place, Malcolm. Ken

Right, Malcolm. Kunitaro posted a photo at http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12916&start=15&st=0&sk=t&sd=a. I'm hoping to attend in November. Ken

So what you're saying Chris & Kunitaro, is that NKS papers are essentially worthless, right? That's really what I was interested in knowing. Ken

Kunitaro-san, what are you seeing on this blade that would make it "a bit silly" to ask the seller to send it to shinsa? I've already done that, but don't feel silly about it. Ken

FYI, fwic2803 is Mitsuhiro Takaya, Brian, but I don't know if he is an NMB member. I've found him to be a very straightforward seller, & hope he responds positively on sending this Kiyomaro blade to shinsa. Like Chris, I've seen several Kiyomaro blades, & none of them have had any major problems, but at least two were definitely inferior in quality to the others. Glad mine isn't one of those! Ken

Robert, you really need to get your photos in focus. It's really hard to tell anything about the blade with the reflections & fuzziness. Ken

If you'll note above, I did ask him about these papers, as well as whether he would be willing to send the blade to shinsa prior to a sale. Ken