Robert Housley

Thanks Mark, The saya is wood. Good to know. Robert H.

Hi, I am new to collecting tsuba. I bought my first earlier this year and I worry that I am not treating them properly. I have a few made of iron and one made of copper. I know that removing patina would be horrible, but I am wondering if the iron should be oiled, or maybe waxed. I tried searching, but I keep getting sidetracked by more tsuba images than I have money left to buy. I would hate to damage these pieces. Any advice, or search directions would be very helpful. Robert H.

Hi all, I posted this right after I bought it, but didn't ask about the koiguchi. I did some searching for other examples of this fitting, but could not find any. I am wondering if this is rare or if I am just not searching in the right spots... Any thoughts would be appreciated. Robert H.

Grey, ROTFLMAO! That is funny... The sad part is that it's also true. That is a hot mess. Robert H.

Thanks Joe. The blade is fairly nice. I think it would be a nice cutter. It's quite sharp. I have another showa-to that is longer and has a meatier blade. I will keep one of the two and pass the other one along. I bought 2 other blades for a project from Ebay. I sent both of them back because one had a chip at the ha-machi and the other one had been the victim of a grinder on the mune. I guess to remove rust... It was nasty! I do woodworking as a hobby and I have some experience with lacquer. I figure this winter will be busy... I have some projects to mount. Robert

Hi all, I recently purchased this showa katana and had a couple of questions. The lacquer of the saya is chipped in several(most) places and I was wondering if the value of the koshirae would be lowered by repairing the lacquer? Also, the tsuka and ito are in great shape, but the tsuba and seppa have a bit of a wiggle. Would replacing the seppa with slightly thicker ones hurt value if I resell this and keep the originals for a buyer? I may keep the the sword and remount it, but even if I do I would like to restore the saya. Here are some pics. Thanks for looking. Robert

I purchased a WWII seki stamped blade with what I think is a nice hamon. When the blade arrived I found that the hamachi was chipped and slightly rounded. I can return the blade, but I was thinking this may be repairable. Any thoughts on this would be great. It is a small injury. If you look closely at the picture, you can see it because you know it is there. The other pic shows part of the hamon. Thanks, Robert H.

Hi everyone, I purchased these after the fact from a dealer I met at the Chicago show. I am hoping to get some ideas on age, school, etc. They are 8cm long. My pics are huge, so I posted them to Photobucket. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks, Robert H.

Hi all, I attended and this being my first show, I was very pleased. Everyone was very pleasant and helpful. I bought a couple of tsuba from Mark and Grey and I am very happy with them. I want to say thanks for going to the trouble to arrange so much to Mark and everyone involved. I spoke to most everyone who had a table and learned new things at each turn. I hope to have the chance to attend next year. I would also love to get to the Tampa show next year. Robert Housley

Sounds really great! I am looking forward to meeting fellow members. This will be my first show. Robert H.

Chris, Yep, I missed the one pic... I was looking closer to the mekugi-ana. Using your outline and looking at another pic of the right area, I see the weld. When you said offset, I was thinking from mune side to ha side, not bottom to top. Robert H.

I am now and will probably remain a noob, but I am wondering if the nakago was possibly bent and cracked at the mekugi-ana. I agree that it looks as though it has been welded, but maybe only on the one side? The other side seems to be, at least to me, without the seam. I am also wondering if the indentation further down the ridge was part of the initial damage. I agree with Chris that it seems to be a quick repair to make the sword serviceable. I just wonder if the lines are off because it was twisted, straightened, and quickly filed to try to bring it back to flat? Just my half a pennies worth... I am a decent welder, but I am an expert at breaking stuff:) Robert H.

I saw it a couple of days ago and wished I had not spent all of my money;) I have a production shobuzukuri blade that I love. It is an intersting blade and I like the saya. Robert H.

The link worked for me. Robert H.

paulb, thanks, but if I keep this up, I will probably be living in a cardboard box in 10-15 years! But, it will be a cardboard box with a ton of sharp steel inside :lol: Robert H.

Thanks for the input. I did a ton of research both here and other web sources. I will work on trying to read the NBTHK paper. Once I have a go at it I will post my poor attempt and a pic of the paper so someone can correct my mistakes;) I am sure there will be a few... I read somewhere that the mid Muromachi period was a point where swords were being produced quickly for war and that a lot of those were lower quality. I am a noob, but this blade did not seem that way to me. Aoi art's pics are pretty good and I have worn my eyes out both before purchase and after, during the wait for shipping. I am very happy to have not been disappointed once the sword was in hand. I have found tons of great information on this forum and would like to say thanks to all of the members who contribute their knowledge. Robert H.

Hi everyone, I received my first nihonto katana today. I purchased it from AOI Art and I am very pleased with both the the sword and the service. The katana is NBTHK Hozon mumei attributed to Shiga Seki Kanenobu mid Muromachi period. Very well described by AOI. It is in shirasaya. I have a couple of pics not posted on their site. I will try to get a few more if I can find the cord to hook my camera to my laptop;) Hope you enjoy. The photos courtesy of AOI Art. Robert H.

Thanks to all for the info. Robert H.

Thanks for the advice. Robert H.

I was unable to attend the Tampa show and it sounds like I missed a good one. I planned on going, but I disabled myself with a shovel and some ice and missed a week of work. Didn't think the boss would be happy if I left for another weekend! I am in Cincinnati, Ohio and can easily make the drive to Chicago. Tampa was to be my very first show. I really have not heard much about the Chicago show and was wondering what to expect. Will it be on a par with Tampa? Any info from those who have attended these shows would be of great help. Thanks, Robert H.

Thanks for the info. I received the tsuba today and I am smitten. I don't know if the price paid was "GOOD" or not, but I feel fine about the purchase. I am always thrown by how small these items are. I collected production katana for several years and I figure they are made for larger people. The blades and fittings on those seem huge compared to antique items I have seen. I was disappointed that the tsuba didn't come in a display box, but the seller did not list one, so no foul. It did arrive in a nice cloth bag that seems to have been made for it. Robert H.

Thank you for the info. As far as fittings, I enjoy the look of koshirae. It also makes the sword more "mine" if I do the work I can do. Yes, I am a bit crazy Robert

Thank you Raven2. Robert

Thanks for the help! Just figured out the "made" part. Thought about it and checked "Japanese sword glossary". The tsuba has NTK Authentication. Hope that is good. Pretty new to nihonto. I just purchased a Shigaseki Kanenobu Katana from Aoi Art and bought the tsuba for that blade. I am going to make fuchi and kashira and buy or make bamboo menuki in my spare time. That should take about 30 years! Robert

Thanks, I see the choshu, and haji I read is area, what is the saku? Also, what is your opinion? I was taken with the style from hello. Robert H.