Jean

AFAIK, there are no rules

I wonder why the sori changed, it should not have taking into account how it is done.

I’ll say Mino, sue Muromachi

No need to apologize Nick, I will survive 🤣😂 I’ll correct it in the title

Tsuna « Hiro » and not « Hira »

Thanks Bob👍

RIP Larry. I made a purchase from you years ago for a now deceased friend, time is taking its toll in our Nihonto world😢

Peter, Except for high grades ones, koshirae are considered as expendable. Nihonto is probably one of the Art field where restoration is often necessary, polishing a blade, replace koshirae fittings when lost. Along centuries a blade has had several koshirae and not necessarily custom made, pick up a koshirae and try to adapt it was a common thing. It is not rare to have a blade with a borrowed koshirae having 3 to 5 seppa….

Often in his sayagaki Tanobe sama does not mention the « Den », he makes a direct attribution to the smith.

Hadatachi is a very strong/rough hada, not far from coarse. Visible generally on Northern blades (Etchu blades ….)

Nothing new under the sun. READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING TOPIC AND WHAT DARCY’S WROTE ON THE SUBJECT. READ NIHONTO KOZA ON SUE BIZEN AND GIMEI

Bishu Osa (fune)

Ok, point taken

3 inches is the border line between katana tsuba size and wakizashi tsuba size. this is a westerner rule. Japanese samurai did not give a damn about these inches. I have often see katana with wakizashi size tsuba.

Oei Yasumitsu is known to have forged mainly suguha hamon: https://www.aoijapan.com/sunnobi-tanto　bishu-osafune-yasumitsu-1st-generation/

I get the same problem as Barry, before when I clicked on the « Unread content », I went directly to the last unread posts of a topic, now I go to the first page, first post.

Chinese fake and a bad one

3 examples: I sent Grev (France ==>England) two tsuba at the end of last year, the package disappeared after 10 days of the tracking system, I did inquiries, it seemed they were in England. The package was « lost ». Grev did a reclamation, the package was insured, I did the same with French Chronopost, they had 30 days to find it, otherwise they had to pay. A week later, Grev was at home when he heard the door bell, and here was the package. It seemed tha someone had step on it. The package was for three months in a no man’s land, somewhere between France and England. Same thing with Germany but for a juyo sword, the package disappeared between French post and Bundespost, Same thing, disappeared from the tracking system. Same path, reclamation from both the sender (myself) and the sendee. It reappeared 3 weeks later, the package had a nice koshi zori. By chance, the sword did not suffer from the post mishandling. Last example, I order in England a fly fishing spare spool for one of my reel. The store send it to me at once by register mail with tracking. It arrives in France and then disappeared from the radar. The store reimbursed me last week after receiving the package in return after a fake delivery at my address saying there was nobody at the address, that they have noticed me this attempted delivery and tha I did not come to fetch it at the PO. so there is a great chance, your package will reappear along the line, but the sender as well as yourself must raise hell.

It is not the formal koshirae to attend to Court. The Kashira should be in horn, the tsuba is generally in plain shakudo. I have seen a daisho koshirae like this (a court one) for sale a few years ago at Ginza Choshuya for 600 000¥.. Black roiro lacquer.

And the koshirae Jacques?

Glad to see you back, Joe🍺👌

No, I sold it years ago to upgrade my collection. In almost 40 years of Nihonto collecting, I get rid thrice of my collection to upgrade it to finish by:

Rather. « Futasuji »

There is a complete picture of my handgun collection