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Lee Bray

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Everything posted by Lee Bray

  1. Masanori. May, 1944. I think.
  2. Sandpaper might proof troublesome if it leaves any grit in the liner. I'd stick to the scraper. Be wary of the glue used also. Some are known to cause rust, such as Titebond II. I've used Titebond and Elmer's wood glue (not nihonto) with no bad effects to the steel.
  3. There is no plural. You have 1 wakizashi; I have 10 wakizashi. So there...
  4. Simon, respectfully, this is a nihonto site. I do not know the history or the vocation of any members of this board. Not that I don't want to but it is irrelevant to the information here and the reason I read the board. Now with just a few posts you have managed to tell us all several times that you've had 120 swords, a Kotetsu, etc, etc, you've lost 2 fortunes, you're having bad times and you want a new sword... Some people will like that, some won't. That's the way of the world. We all have our problems, etc. I've got plenty. I come here to forget about them and study swords. You've got input to add to the site, I'm sure. Please keep it nihonto related and you'll get on fine. Ask for translations and sword advice but keep the rockstar and the tameshigiri comments private, please.
  5. By the way it is signed, I'd say spending any more time looking for Kaneuji is pointless. Stick to identifying the traits of the sword and take it from there. The mei is fake and just a red herring, in my opinion.
  6. I have a knife collecting friend from Singapore. I'll drop him a line and see if he has any info. Singapore tends to have very strict rules and laws. If they tell you something is not allowed, you can pretty much bet it isn't and there are no ways round it. Unless you fancy being caned or hung. As for the storage option, you do know how close HK is to Singapore, yes?
  7. Singapore is quite strict when it comes to engine emissions due to its small size so the bike could well be a problem. They also have some expensive rules regarding the taxation value of old vehicles, I believe. If I were you, I'd stick to the metro over there. Much cheaper and very efficient. Taxis, on the other hand... Can't help with the swords unless you fancy sending them to HK and occasionally coming over to visit them...
  8. "Remember Astroboy?" No, but I'll do some searching and take a look. Thanks for your interpretation of inome.
  9. I've always wondered at the artistic license needed to translate a boar's eye into the heart shaped hole we see on koshirae. Having seen many a boar's eye in person, they look nothing like a heart, they're just regular shaped eyes. The snout(nose), on the the other hand, looks remarkably similar.
  10. Hi Lorenzo, I previously owned this piece, viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6203, which appeared to be Tembo school. From recollection, there appeared to be 1 or 2 lines that I could see in the nakago ana, so possibly either 2 or 3 layers. They're just about visible in the photos in the thread.
  11. It's not the seppa, it's the back of the copper plate still in position on the tsuba...it's not photoshop. The nakago ana on the iron base is obviously larger than the nakago ana on the copper plate. Reinhard - with respect, I've seen work of less than fantastic quality come out of Japan. Edit - Further 'evidence' that it's not photoshop - check the 2nd and 3rd pics of the whole tsuba. The 2nd pic, the iron nakago ana is flush with the copper plates either side. The 3rd pic, the iron nakago ana is offset from the copper plates. The seki-gane also shows that the mounted sword is offset to one side of the iron tsuba base. Looks to me like a yoroi-doshi tanto tsuba that's been reworked for a slimmer tanto.
  12. Happy Year of the Tiger, John. Kung Hei Fat Choi!
  13. To my mind, Nihonto means Japanese sword. Therefore, a sword made by the traditional methods by a native Japanese person would be Nihonto. I don't believe it matters where it is made as long it meets the above criteria. Case in point - I saw a katana on Aoi-Art a short while back made in Hong Kong. "FAKE! FAKE!" No, it was made by a smith(I forget the name) who was part of the team of smiths sent to Shanghai to repair the damaged swords during WWII. Apparently they returned to Japan through Hong Kong (occupied by Japan at the time) and this sword was forged. So a genuine Nihonto forged in Hong Kong... Would love to own that one. :D In my opinion, the exception to this rule would be foreigners trained by a 'qualified' Japanese smith such as Keith Austin. If you do the proper apprenticeship and are recognised by the authorities in the field, I think you deserve to use the correct label.
  14. That is Rich Chen that I mentioned above. This link shows him making the steel, forging, tempering and polishing. http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=14133 It's "iron sand from North China" so 'Tamahagane' is a falsehood.
  15. This is the original 'Shabby-chic'...
  16. My apologies for the butchering of your language, Moriyama-San. I was refering to Hama-mono and I shall amend the title accordingly.
  17. Brian, I think Ford's referring to the knackered seam as opposed to the 'worm holes', though I could be wrong... I wondered about silver nunome zogan for the worn area as you say, Gabriel, but it didn't look right. I put it down to wear because it seems limited to that area of the kashira compared to the rest of the fittings, with the exception of the kozuka, and I figured that area would get the most 'wear' as I imagine the tsuka made for a convenient wrist/hand rest when the tanto is worn on the obi. Shibuichi makes sense. Thanks Ford. Thanks for the input, guys. The saya is something new for me with regard to the 'Japanese aesthetic' I've seen it on modern Western made koshirae (I think on a piece designed by Antonio Cejunior) and also with Western carving so that gave thought to the recent topic of Hama-mono. Thinking more, I realise that death/life and decay/rebirth is a popular theme and this fits. Thinking even more, I realise I now need some koshirae and fittings books. :D
  18. I hope I didn't inspire your 'rant' from my final question as I realised at the time of writing that it was a little simply worded and to generalise the Japanese 'aesthetic' was foolhardy. :D However, as I was asking about Tama-mono in specific, I thought I'd get away with it. I've seen enough tiger striped tachi and furry saya to know that "reserved naturalistic asceticism" is only one aspect of a much more complex subject. However, because of the era and probably more because of the saya than the fittings, as similar examples are well recorded, I just thought Tama-mono. It's simply a term I wasn't familiar with until the Hisanori thread and wondered at this piece. Nothing to do with the baleen, what interested me with the shakudo was the colour. I tend to associate shakudo with black, although I know it can be manipulated to a variety of colours, but what interests me with this shakudo is the richness of the brown and how in the areas of wear(kashira) it has rubbed down to a silvery grey shade.
  19. https://www.aoi-art.com/auction/en/auct ... 1213703271 In case some of you don't follow Aoi-Art regularly, I thought the koshirae in this auction maybe of interest and some good eye candy, if it's to your taste. Having long admired the wave theme and the Omori style of deep carving and also very fond of decayed wood and the shape and textures of driftwood, I think this koshirae is stunning. The patina of the shakudo is, for me, unusual and very appealing. However, given I'm a Westerner with probably Western tastes(though I've lived in Asia nearly half my life), the lavishness of the koshirae and given the date of the tanto(1857), this makes me think of the term Hama-mono as mentioned by Reinhard in the Hisanori tsuba thread. Is this Hama-mono or a Japanese aesthetic?
  20. Bruno - no problem. I wondered if it was a language problem and it was.
  21. Sorry, you said you were interested in buying it which is why I wrote my post.
  22. There are several 'good' smiths in China. Funnily enough, most I know are called Chen. Paul Chen of Hanwei/CAS Iberia, Fred Chen of Huano Swords(?) and Rich Chen(posts over on Don Fogg's site) Rich Chen smelts his own steel from black iron sand. There are good swords being made in China, not just the crappy Chinatana. This looks to be a good one but no guarantees. The hamon does look acid etched as it very dull and lifeless. Unfortunately, whilst being a worldwide phenomenon, Chinese sellers continue to flood the market with fakes thereby undermining their own market. As ebay is such a crap shoot anyway, I'd recommend buying direct from the smiths authorized dealer. Their prices are competitive and it is really not worth the risk going through ebay for a Chinese sword.
  23. I've never been one for moderation myself, which probably explains a lot. Appreciate your effort, Ted. Always a pleasure reading your contributions.
  24. With mei? Unless it's gimei, it must be shobu-zukuri no?
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