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AndreasU

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    RC-Models, Nihonto, Underwaterphotography

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    Andreasu

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  1. And another pretty example of a "mixed" Koshirae where the Tsuka has been cutted to stick on crappy Kogai .....Alone this would leave me miles away from this reseller....
  2. Hi Judas, I can understand some of your thoughts but let me try to explain it that way. We are talking in this board about "historic antique swords" In the day these swords were made, their main purpose was to fulfill a task, protect the daimyos prpperty through the "employed" Samurai. Then the swords were handed over generation by generation, have been used more or less but have been preserved and polished a few times (most of them at least, easiliy recognisable as "flatter" the Ji got... latest then, the main purpose, beeing a weapon, was lost more and more as the sword got weaker and weaker. I am quite confident that most of the current swords available, yet high priced swords, are even weaker than a newly made modern one simply by the fact that they are old! But this doesn't matter for us as we mainly appreciate the skill and the craftmanship. Undoubtedly any "old" Japanese" sword will be more reliable then any old European sword you might find from the same age... if there is any in a healthy condition.... So your idea to "use" them is that far away from beeing realistic as can be. Your comparison with cars is not even close enough as most of the engines still used in US made production cars are simply old-fashioned technology based ones where improvements are just minor. Then it is better to have a look into the Japanese engine market where there is a lot more innovation if you want to compare this or of course into the german made engines To get a spare part for an old mid 50th 8cylinder US engine is a simple task where it is nearly impossible to find a complete authentic Saya with tsuba, menuki, and Kogai that was done for the specific sword in Edo or earlier. Simply because due to profit situation most of the Japanese resellers have disassembled these Sayas (mounting) to get most profit possible by seperately selling the Kogai and Tsuba. AOI art is a pretty example sometimes. Just some days ago he was "advertising" a stunning sword with matching Saya where it was obvious that the Tsuba was in best case to be described a washer...... Having said this, If you want to have a "real" Japanese sword that is as close as possible to the "old" Japanese swords (collectors items) have a look out for Gendaito made in the WWII using Tamahagane (no mass production ones) In my opinion, even a highly skilled swordsmith did them, they are no collectibles as they are done far after the last real Samurai's exist (pre 1868) and have in my eyes no "soul or spirit" left, simply said, they have NO HISTORY! This sounds drastically but is my way of appreciating these Swords. Even I like to look at a modern Gassan sword and truly he is a stunning Smith, they are "just" representing the tradition but will never have the same meaning any more than pre 1868 made ones. If I had the money to buy a sword in the price range of a modern made Gassan one or a antique made Yasutsugu, I would always go for the Yasutsugu or any other valuable Smith. This just as example. So to use a gendaito for any practice will bring you as close possible to what you are looking for but will net destroy any value or valuable Sword. Regarding the full set of "mountings" (I will leave it with this, for better explanation have a look here: http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/nihonto.htm please keep in mind, as all the pre writers did already, NO ANY of the historic mountings that will be offered with a sword, will be possible to be used as they simply will fall apart! They are mostly not matching, seppas missing, Tsuka weak, Habaki maybe for the sword and so on....They are simply old! like an unrestored old Ford A type with good paintwork. It might drive but will not last long... It was normal that in the lifetime of a sword, the mountings where renewed frequently as humidity, wear and tear happened. If you want to have a full mounting newly made for a sword, you will easy spend more than 2.000 US$ just for this, likely even more if you will order one in Japan. The chinese junk offered is a "lookalike" but not nearly there you need to have it when you want to practice!!! This simply is dangerous! Simply said, would you expose a Rembrandt to rain and sunshine and carry it with you? Or would you go for an artistic reprint instead?
  3. I have seen some swords in the river city bangkok shopping center near the orchid sheraton hotel. There are a lot of antiques shops in this center operated by chinese and thai traders. Very nice but also very pricy Stuff there. Swords did look interesting but as i cannot read kanji, it was impossible for me to determine the swordsmiths. Price tags were very high!
  4. Sure I can do some photos. What I mean with crappy was a bit harsh maybe. It is a solid silver one and it is a solid work, but in my eyes it does not show special skills (being aware that even I could not do such) It is for sure not an old one as it has no corrosion inside. I had seen some silver foiled or gold foil or even solid gold ones wich were much more impressive by make.
  5. Thanks for the link but this is a bit to pricey for me. I do have the Conossours book of Japanese swords and I am sure that this will do it first hand?
  6. Hi Axel, thanks for your reply. I am wondering which Habaki you mean as I did not post any in this thread. you mean the Habaki of the wakizashi or the one of the Katana? The Wakizashi one is a cheap modern age made silver Habaki without copper core, so quite a crappy one, the one on the Katana is traditional made copper core one with thick silver foil. Where I am not really sure it is 100% silver as it is a bit goldish. I tried to find this out by trying to clean one of the edges (Stooop no I will not remove the patina, it is on the Tsuba part which is not visible!!) to find out if it is silver but could not remove any oft the slight blakish Patine. Either it is a mixture of Gold and silver or ist is an very unusual silber. The rain fence pattern (Bamboo Forest??) on this Habaki is very very nicely done. Katana Habaki Wakizashi Habaki Katana Hamon
  7. Hi Geraint, even I would do better photos of the Katana, you would not see much more than the whitened Gunome Midare and the polishes line between Hamon and Ji. There is not big activity than with the Wakizashi. Total different polishing and forging style, obviously. I can see some Inazuma and some Tobiyaki , but thats all. I mean, maybe this shows the quality? It is a very dense forged sword, with obviously more layers than the Wakizashi.
  8. Thanks Franco, no I would not be able to do a correct kantei of these swords. This is beyond my capabilities. The main issue is that there ar no collectors nearby I would be able to share my thought's, at least none I know of. I do not know Yamanaka's Newsletter. Where can I find it? Andreas
  9. Right, just made a mistake in writing
  10. Hi guys, the one or other had seen that I purchased just recently a Katana to finish my Daisho with the Tsuguhira wakizashie I own already several years. I was always in love with this Wakizashi as it is a beauty to look at. Now I do have the Katana in my hands, it is difficult to reach the same point with this. While the Wakizashi is "just" Hozon the Katana is Tokubetsu Hozon with some Sayagaki of Tanobe Michihiro. How to express my feelings? First I was so triggered to find a matching Katana I did not realize that it is quite short for a Katana with being just 62cm. This is just slightly above being a Ko Wakizashi. While the blade itself is very healthy meaty and in excellent polish, it does not show the same activities in the Jigane and Hamon than the Wakizashi, for my eyes it is hard to find anything than a flashy whitish wavy polish. There is no big activity visible, the masama HAda is the only thing prominent for me, while the Hamon is alsmost flatish The Wakizashi shows plenty of Nie and Nioi and ara nie where the Katana is done in Ko Nie which is much more difficult to see and is a bit "boring" in my eyes. So, what do you think about my observations? Am I wrong? Is the length typical for a katana. I have read that beginning 1650 it was not unusual to have Katana that short to make them useable with just one hand. On the other hand it is a quite heavy one for just one hand :-) Am I not trained enough to see the beauty of this blade? To make it clear, it is no complain to the reseller. the communication and description from his side was 100&% correct. It is just that this sword is not "igniting" my feelings. Katana Wakizashi
  11. Right, I can tell you that I had once Choji oil and putted it on one of my older blades. The oil itself was yellowish. After just one day, it turned into a slight red color and the blade went darker straight forward. Luckily I did see it early enough so I could clean the entire blade with cleaning gasoline. Keisho polish for free..... Since this experience I do stay with light machine oil. Easy to have access to and constant quality.
  12. Just to correct this one as it may leads to the impression that there is "water free" alcohol available. This in 99.9% is not possible as Alcohol is Hygrophobic and will, sooner or later, absorb water from the surrounding air. So any isopropyl you can get for medical use, is OK to go as it contains some +95% of pure alcohol and the rest is desaturated water. As long you will not leave the sword four hours after such a cleaning, it will have no effect at all. Even the "poor quality" Tamahagane will not corrode that fast. For preservation I am using a slight wipe with machine oil (sewer machines) so that there is barely a film visible. The nice smelling oil wich sometimes is used on blades (original Japanese choji oil) is the worst you can use. To be honest, it was used in Japan because there was no better alternative available some hundred years ago and stayed for "traditional" reasons and now more for mystic ones.... a light machine oil preserves any steel better than this Japanese choji oil can do as choji oil it still contains acid.
  13. This looks interesting. Thanks for the hint!
  14. Hi BIG, I think I know the one who is working for Prill and Strebel. If I am not totally wrong, this guy is located on the country side of germany (I lost the city). To be honest I did not like what I had seen. The workshop itself was chaotic and how shall the work be nice if the shop is like a mess? Bottom line, I did not like his work. But thanks anyhow for the hint.
  15. So, after waiting for almost two weeks, finally, the gem arrived. Big thanks to Danny Massey. Flawless support, very friendly communication and everything solved as promised. So, first time united: and "undressed" So, now I am looking for collectors in Germany, ideal nearby Düsseldorf, I can meet and share my opinions about this sword. Anyone?
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