Blundemo

Thanks for the photos. It seems the identity of this smith is not completely settled. Ignoring that, the blades are still rare and excellent quality.

Here is an example: http://www.token-net.com/juyotoken/201305-53.html The small grain, prominent utsuri, and irregular hamon and boshi look identical to Magoroku. But the shape is not what I expect from Magoroku. Fujishiro lists him as a different smith.

Hi, Is there any information on this smith? His blades are very good quality and they look too similar to Magoroku. A brother or the same smith?

Thanks very much, Markus. I'm eager to purchase your book when you've finished it.

Hi, Yamada family tests were typically done at the request of a high ranking samurai or smith. Besides Yamada family cutting tests, what other families performed cutting tests in this age? Was their tameshigiri style similar to Yamada family and did they also inlay it with gold?

Will you be the first?

I visited Paul Martin's website and Fujishiro oil & uchiko do come up in his store section. This looks to be really dated though, as half of the links on that site lead to nowhere and his paypal isn't accepting any payments. I will try contacting him. Thanks.

Thankfully no permanent discoloration and I discontinued usage of the Windex when I was able to realize it's inefficiency. Good thing too because I'm preserving blades worth upwards of 10 grand. It was recommended to me by an American polisher as substitute for Uchiko. It will strip the blade bare naked of any oil, but it leaves streaks of blurriness or color that makes the blade difficult to see in lighting than with the oil. Standard Uchiko from Japan is crap and should never be used on Hadori polish. Polisher Uchiko is better quality, but still, I would not use it on Hadori polish. It is good for Sashikomi polish. But very few blades are ever polished in 'true' sashikomi. The blade you think is sashikomi polish is, in all actuality, most likely a mix between hadori and sashikomi or sashikomi with a touch of acid. Fujishiro Uchiko I was told is not actually real Uchiko. Because Uchiko is bad for a modern polish, Fujishiro Uchiko is supposed to be only part Uchiko and a mixture of other things that's similar to Uchiko which minimizes scratching of the blade and preserves the polish. I don't know what that mixture is supposed to be. Standard choji oil from Japan is, in my opinion, also crap because it will leave a slight residue on the blade and does not evenly disperse. Machine oil is good or sewing oil. I'm not completely sure what Fujishiro oil is supposed to be comprised of, but I was told by other Japanese collectors that it is superior to everything they've used for Nihontou in particular.

Anyone know an online vendor selling these? If not, what's a good substitute? I don't use standard Uchiko on blades with hadori polish. I used to use window cleaner (Windex), but it doesn't really clear the surface that well and it leaves streaks like alcohol. So, I'm not sure what to use now.

Thanks for sharing your collection, it's inspiring. That's another problem with acquiring European swords. Newcomers always think Nihonto as relatively expensive compared to what they're used to purchasing, but when you look at a good European sword of equivalent historical value, the cost is much higher. This isn't only limited to European swords, but also Islamic and especially Chinese swords. Collecting these beauties is much more difficult and you need deeper pockets than collecting Nihonto...

I think he would have really let me have it if I said something similar to that. Glad I kept it minimum, lol.

I gotta admit the way he said it made me feel some sort of internal guilt afterwards, as if I betrayed a family member or something. I'm trying to get interested in European swords, but I just can't. Maybe swords weren't our strong point and I should be focusing on guns.

A friend came over to my house to discuss a building project that we're involved in and he caught site of my sword collection while inside. He was impressed at first when I told him about the hobby, but then he asked if I had any European swords, seeing as we're both Caucasian. I said no, because I thought they were less interesting than Japanese blades. He jokingly called me a Japanophile... which I couldn't really argue with. I don't have any European memorabilia or antiques as such. Does anyone here collect European swords, or are we all a bunch of Japanophilic iron fetishists?

I can barely see a thing, let alone the grain besides prominent rough hada. Not sure how you're able to. Looks like bad polishing to me.

It is their toko taiken approach to ranking. I dont think gendaito blades would fetch values such as these...