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Cornerst0ne

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  1. I stumbled apon this webpage. Kanshoan.com. Has anyone done any dealings with them? They do have a sword that interests me. Anyhow thanks Hank-
  2. Thats a real beauty... So fresh. Hank-
  3. ROFL, I track animals as a hobby. And it really looks as if a dog, or some canine chewed up and ran that blade into the woods where you found it. serious teeth marks in that tsuka... Hank
  4. I find it much more likely that they would "steel" the blade, over grind it into a rock wall. But a yari maybe.. If you look at the edge of a steel blade under a microscope, no matter how fine a blade it will look like a saw when you get close enough. With a row of teeth that can be bent either direction. When honing a blade (non nihonto) the final step is/can be, running the blade down a circular piece of steel once on each side of the edge. This alligns the teeth in a way that leaves the edge more durable to use. I think it probably compresses them so they stay aligned & sharp longer. I see a very similar parallel between the little knives/tool you find in a saya, and the ones used to steel the blade in other cultures. If i had to guess i would say that little blade / shiv is not a "camp tool" but possibly for or developed as an impromptu ha repair tool, used like a steel. Just a guess, Hank
  5. OK well probably not priceless, but let's still say their most valued possession. I haven't heard of many samurai with a 'winter' sword.. I should add I think uchiko has had its place in history, but today with the conveniences of modern society, and the larrrrge amount it costs to polish a blade its probably not a good idea unless already far out of polish. Microfiber is definitely the friendliest to the blade. Don't forget oil Hank
  6. Let's say were in feudal times. Your a samurai with a priceless heirloom sword. Your duty is going to take you through all kinds of weather, and all kinds of terrain. You must be wearing your daisho and ready to fight. So your sword is going to get rusty. Imagine bringing your best sword camping in the winter for a week.. And having to wear it in the rain because your campground is full of ninjas... No trained polisher within a fortnight of travel on foot. Would you use a rock on your swords rust? Would you let the rust eat its fill while you were traveling? The best thing for your blade would be a uchiko ball. And an oily cloth. It also would not weigh very much. And could probably be kept nice and dry in a gourd with some paper.. I don't believe a samurai had their swords polished at every little scratch. It would use the blade up,way too fast. So as i see it uchiko has had its place. A bushi in feudal times is not going to be ocd about uchiko scratches and perfect polish all the time. Also in a culture where swords were so prevalent I think a polish would be like getti g a oil change is today... Just my 2¢ hope no one's offended. +1 microfiber for preservation. +1 uchiko if camping with swords is your thing.. Hank
  7. I think I saw that bottom bottle listed as a Cameila oil when I was getting some oil for my bokken.. Justgoogled 'sword oil' - http://www.nihonzashi.com/sword_maintenance.aspx There is a smaller newer bottle with the same kanji- that tall plastic bottle with swords on it you have is camelia oil. Most likely with a very low water content, for sword care. Any way I make no recommendation as to what is better. Hank-
  8. Thanks, im going to keep looking. @ mark s - i would like to preserve it. My interest is more a practical 'is this a sword I would like to wield' rather than mei. Im going to be getting Into more kenjutsu, and there's nothing like a 'live blade' in the hand. But I will need a healthy blade to maintain. I have a old tanto signed maybe 'munenaga'...maybe..im still working on it. But it was put to the grinding stone after ww2 and has hagiri from something. But my grandfather gave it to me, Initially prompting my nihonto research. I've made it a habaki and wooden saya/tsuka. I'm not done yet but it houses the blade properly. @bone- but you may get to restore a gem..if your really really lucky. Thanks- hank
  9. Hmm well... It has quite nice flex. Feels great in hand. It has a completely mismatched but in good condition army type 3 koshirae, minus tsuba, seppa, habaki and fuchi and drag. There is a habaki, 1 seppa and an old tsuba. They fit the blade. The catch seems to be he won't take 250-300 for the blade he wants 500 for the whole thing... **how tight are the gunto fittings usually? I If there's a early edo blade mounted in army type 3 gunto mounts, is the saya normally snug to the habaki? What about the tsuka? Would it need big shims to snug on the blade? I'd hope not...these would. The saya is super loose on the habaki... Thanks alot for your help. Hank
  10. I realise there are no pics, and alot more to go on than I'm going to be able to list... But...I could use some advice. What would a good deal be for a tired unsigned koto blade? Looks to have been polished by finger & some compound (large uneven dips in the ji/shinogi/shinogi-ji) some time after ww2. Has signs of 1500 sandpaper and light rust removal. Has seen many polishings, looses about 1/4 of its thickness at kissaki end. Has 2 blisters. One being worse than the other. No boshi visible. Quite pointy tho. The tsuba is early style iron with some simple shapes cut out, shakudo filling on one anchor point. And traces of gold, but no image or discernable design. The habaki is finely made Very graceful rounded and thin copper, once foiled in gold. I also think the wedge in the bottom is shakudo. Very well made. No koshirae Think its worth 250$? Thanks Hank
  11. Nice use of emoticons.... Well I went on a tangent.... Let me compile my actual question. I am specifically wondering if the iriyama-gata tang was a predominant style of an era. Most of the ww2 era gendai swords i have seen do not have this style. Through some comparison it seems more predominant around 1700. Is that accurate? Or am I miles off? So about the "Edo like hamon", I ment it seems quite active. It has some cloud like bits of hamon floating above its main body. I do not know much about defining terms of what I see in a hamon. Sry still a newb. Seems more artsy than most of the shingunto mounted blades I have seen. Thanks- Hank
  12. Hello NMB, First post here for me. I am trying to find out when the iriyama-gata nakagojiri(?), tip of tang, was popular. As I have read it could mean 1600/1700's. It has a moderate curve with a shorter kissaki. The blade is out of polish but shows Edo like hamon. It is in shingunto mounts with a very old iron tsuba with just a couple very simple punched out shapes. Maybe rice fields. Tang is black and smooth with some more recent red rust spots popping up. There is a second tsuka-ana(?) Drilled hole in the nakago. Also one of the tsuba holes that you can tie the sword to the saya with is filled with a copper/ copper alloy plug. It is completely dark green, while the copper shims in the tsuba blade opening are still roughly the color of the copper habaki. Wondering what stands out to a more experienced person. I have no way to post a picture at the moment or i would. Thanks in advance, Hank
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