Jean

Of course :lol:

Hi Milt, J It wil be the same probaly with your Shiiremono tsubas :lol:

One of my worst experience already mentionned in the NMB was the purchase from a dealerof a Kantei sho NTHK katana (tensho - Kanatsune) which after polished revealed 2 Hagire. I got a full refund from the dealer but lost the polishing fees ...

Peter, I would not advise newbies to go for e-bay. I repeat : Newbies keep shut from Nihonto e-bay!!!! Peter, congratulation for your Naokatsu, a friend of mine got a Naotane for 50 bucks. But how many got burnt??? Unfortunately, we see almost everyday in NMB, people asking : Ihave bought this sword for xxxxx$, what do you think of it? Chinese fake!!!!!! There are a lot of shysters on e-bay, see NMB various posts including the last one from Thailand ..... :x

Hi Rich, What haunted me is the amazing amount of money wasted on unworthy blades/tsubas which prevented me buying the real big one by lack of ready cash.

Hi Rich, Don't be to hard with yourself, I find these flowers very becoming Reinier, I have done the same as Rich with Tsubas and even worse You cannot imagine all the mistakes I made in Nihonto collecting : - I bought Shinto suriage blades (never do it) - Gimei blades Both things are to be avoided if you want to resell them in order to upgrade your collection, you will lose money. Advices from someone who has lost money in this field. Stay free from e-bay Experience is very expensive, take as much advice as you can before investing on an "object" - especially from NMB members (Rich, Guido, Henry, Nobody ....) Prices can be discussed with the seller (Difficult sometimes in Japon but it is worth a try. When you buy something, buy from a well famed dealer, you are probably going to spend quite a lot of money, but it will (generally) be worth the investment.

Thank you guys, you are wonderful. I was just whistling "with a little help from my friends". BTW, If any NMB member is stopping by Paris, do not hesitate to contact me for a free drink and a view of my small Nihonto collection. Contact me through PM

Thanks Rich, I'll go for the Nihonto koza (I've got all the Nihonto volumes), though I must confess the English is a bit awkward due to the Japanese syntax. I was waiting for AFU translating the 2nd volume before going after them.

Hi Henry and Rich, Thanks for your help. Any idea of a simple book, for a basic knowledge on Tsuba and Schools (and where to get it)?

Thanks a lot Rich, I have learned something today :D

Ataboy, I knew someone would answer my provocative question Thanks a lot Rich, I really do not mind to know if it is crap or not, I am with tsubas as are newbies with fake chinese Nihonto :lol: In fact I do not even know what means "shiriiemono" I guess the equivalent for kazu uchimono(or perhaps worse). But why? You shall have to be patient with me because I am here to educate myself and you are all my teachers

Thanks Ludolf for the answer, but are you talking about the Shishi Tsuba or the samurai one (Another identification post)?

Hi Milt, I saw the tsuba before reading your post and it looks like plum branch and snow flakes, what is surprising is the position of the moon, it looks like a view at the sky from under the plum tree. But on another end, it could well be the famous one-eyed three-teeth Great Pumpkin celebrated by Charlie Brown :lol: BTW, Milt any idea for repatinating the other identification tsuba I have posted and that NMB members seem to be at a loss for identification

Hi Rich, Atari!!!! You were right, the Seller has answered : - Aizu Shoami - Mid Edo. BTW : I posted another tsuba and as so far without any reply from NMB members, can you give me a hint (soten ...). It is extraordinary as NMB tsuba collecting members seem more interested in sukashi tsubas than in other kind of tsuba ...

Hi, this one I have bought years ago and which was depatinated by the former owner. What can I do? what school? when was it made.

Hi Rich, Thanks a lot for the information. BTW, when I post the message this morning I was just recovering from a late heavy Cognac stroke night :lol: Jean

Hi to All Tsuba Worshippers :lol: , I do not know any thing about tsuba so I have bought one from a reliable Japanese reliable site (Sei....do, I am not mentionning the name as I could be taxed of doing hidden advertising :lol: ). Here is the link http://www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~sword/tuba/g0037sisi.htm Any idea of the school, century ...... Thanks a lot from an Ignorant Sword Worshipper :D Sorry: I am in my Mystic Phase

Thanks Darcy, Always glad to have your kantei point, splendid, I was close with Juttetsu but did not get the right one (I would not have dared a Masamune reply). The blade was so outstanding that it could not have been less than a first generation after Masamune (or perhaps Sadamune). Take care

ust before getting back to work : Period it looks like end Kamakura/ beginning Nambokucho suriage blade School slightly elongated kissaki, wide mihaba, running itame, jinie, chikei. Ko notare gunome, sunagashi, kinsuji, lead to Soshu (unfortunatelly my eyes are not so good and I do not see distinctly the boshi). Smith: I would place it directly First generation after Masamune, one of its juttetsu, makes me think of Naotsuna or Kaneuji or perhaps Sadamune Waiting with anticipation to NMB members' kantei

Mike, You should go in partnership with Milt as his unsigned blades are Bungoed :lol: :lol: :lol:

Another point of view (in fact its my own opinion and I share it - French pun difficult to share -) My blades went trough Hozon shinsa, they were fine blades but as Kamakura/Nambokucho suriage blades I wanted an attribution : One got papered to Nambokucho Nio, I clearly saw Yamato influence in the blade but it had not high shinogi. Another one came with Kamakura Enju, I was close as I thought of Rai school. Last I got, at the beginning of the year is a fantastic Naoe Shizu blade (that I probably shall submit to juyo one day), but I would have been unable to kantei it having never seen one in real in my whole life IMHO, Shinsa is not made to say if we have a good sword or not, it is made for kantei when we are in doubt. We must be able to see the quality of a blade by ourselvelves

Milt, You forgot "Merci"!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hi Ludolf, THat's NTHK standards and not NBTHK

Splendid!!!!

Hi John, I shall stick to sue Mino and from the start it made me think of Kanefusa (end of Muromachi) though the hi is typicall of Nambokucho tantos : A copy of a Nambokucho tanto : http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/tanto/3sword08.html An original one : http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/tanto/04289.html Question : Nie deki or Nioi deki hamon? This suguta is typical of End of Muromachi/beginning of Momoyama where we can find this kind of sunobi tanto/ko wakizashi. Have a look at this link : http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/06359.html Look at the oshigata and the Jizo boshi