Peter Bleed

Dear ilovekatanas Fatal schmatal. This is a serious flaw! I see no way it could be "fixed". This sword may have had some life as a weapon, but I see no way that this katana could be loved. I am not trying to be critical or negative, simply encouraging you to move toward quality Peter

John has found the best available listing for this name, but - to me - this looks newer than Kyoho. An unlisted Bakumatsu Edo smith??? Peter

Augusto, Indeed you do present a wonderful cavalry rig. Thank you. You have clearly had to work hard on that material. Let me say that some years ago I, too, owned a very nice Japanese cavalry saddle. I bought it from the estate of a Sand Hills cowboy who had been swept up in the Occupation Army. Of all the wonderful stuff this fellow might have sent home, he decided that he needed a saddle. As a cowboy from cattle country, he also packed up a bunch of odd straps and such.I'm sure it was a pretty rare bunch of stuff. It was very well made and gave lie to the common story that Japanese leather is not good. Still, I had a very hard time find a home for this bit of militaria. I would be interested in learning the history of your kit. Again, thanks Peter

You guys! Trying to engage the wonderful experts who come to NMB in issues that I think are either important or engaging usually comes to naught. But i buy this GD sabre and you want me to come up with specifics. Grrr. Well, let me be positive, Thank you Hamfish and Bruce for keeping me on task. The sword is just 32 3/4 so that makes it a KO, it has matching 5 digit serial number (75780) and has NO leather finger loop altho I could talk myself into believing that the hole in the guard has been reworked. I have NOT attacked it with WD40 and steel wool, but that has been added to my "to do list." Indeed there are marks on the outside of the guard, but they are small and hard to see.I'll let the next owner puzzle over them! Thank you for your interest! Peter

Kris, Mark is spot on. Peter P.S. Tell us about Bird Busters II

Should I be embarrassed to admit that I bought a Type 32 cavalry sword today? Well I did. What the heck, boredom is a terrible affliction, and the price seemed right. Like any new acquisition this sword has also given me reason to do some reading Thank you Jim Dawson and Rich Fuller. I don’t recall a great deal of attention to these guys here on NMB, but I am willing to request advice. This sword is in “as found condition.” It is dirty, has some old oil, and some very light rust. I think it has a blued scabbard which needs to be preserved. I am sure that a responsible IJA trooper could (and would) clean this in something a bit stronger than Brasso to make it presentable at inspection. But what is the policy among collector. Rust on, or rust off, please….? Peter

These are neat tsuba and the thread has been both fun and informative. I have little to add, but... I stopped collecting dote mimi "katchushi" guards (which used to be common and cheap) in part because of tsuba like the one that was at the top of this thread. It is a nice looking antique, but it looks fresh and more embellished that I liked as "armorsmiths'" work. Ultimately, I began to wonder if they might not be "OLD" (i.e. pre-Edo) tsuba that had been freshened up and embellished with zogan that matched the tastes of the 19th century. Thanks for sharing and letting me muse. Peter

Piers, "Trashing" is not the word I was aiming at. I was trying to tell the "truth" about an object that had been presented. We were asked to say whether these items were 'real.' I felt I could comment - at the 99.9% level - about the putative flask. But I assumed the pistol was bad. Politely covering for someone who is trying to sell bad stuff seems inappropriate for this venue. We all need to learn to look closely and with some suspicion. We all - also - make mistakes and have to learn to absorb them. Positively delivered TRUTH is the best medicine. Peter

Tom, The other thing to remember about Japanese swords is that the history of sword collecting is dead/over/gone. There was a time when the world (ie Japan) wanted nice middle rank swords That is how I would rate your sword. That phase of collecting is OVER. Japan is not absorbing middle rank blades and the cost/hassle of polishing has only grown so the world market is weak. In this case the market for swords like his is very weak. Hate to be negative, but that is my opinion... Peter

I fear that I have bad news about the "Powder Flask". I and 99.9% sure that this is a faked object made of two very nice old soup bowls. I've seen a lot of these and this one is nice, but I still bet "FAKE" Peter

Of course this is a real signature. It may even be "good." For heavens sakes just LOOK at it and do some basic research. Do some research and practice making up your own mind. This absolutely is a shinto blade that had some history and then was pressed into service in WWII. Peter

Listen to Stephen! This sword looks fine to me. Peter

Well, gee. We actually can't see much, but I am as optimistic and the others here have been suspicious - especially if you bleieve the "40 years in the attic" story. Please show us the nakago...What we see looks "Japanese" to me... Peter

Okay, I was looking at the wrong stuff. Still, a tough one. Nice work! P

John and Ray, I'll take your word for it, but you guys are seeing things that I don't in this sayagaki. You may be right, but you also may want to get your water tested. Peter

I'm very glad that this thread has developed. This Chicago show was a big success in large part because of the Shinsa. Of course the Show itself was well run. There were lots of people there and lots to look at. The Shinsa certainly added to the mix. It, too, was very well run and I think Chris did a great job of moving items thru and finding room for last minute additions and discoveries. Finally, I have to say that the shinsa team worked very hard. I watched some items go thru th line and there was lots of attention and discussion.Of course folks might disagree with the assessments, BUT the team clearly worked hard coming to their decisions. Are there down sides and/or negatives to the shinsa? Well yes. The team member were some busy upstairs that we didn't get to spend time with them. I really wish that Chris and the visitors had been free to spend more time at the Show. Peter

Indeed, the Show was a barn burner. I bought and sold some stuff - learning lots in both cases. I rolled the dice on a sword that got squeezed into the shinsa - getting results that were in line with my expectation - - if not quite up to what I hoped. The NBTHK-AB assessment exercise was great fun. And the whole event was extremely well run. Mike Yamasaki was a real star! I think Fred is correct that fittings were doing better than blades. Maybe with the Shinsa going on people were flashing fewer blades.There was a bunch of nice kodogu just sitting there on the tables. My experience with the Shinsa was limited to only a couple of mumei blades. but I watched the panel and - of course - saw and discussed a BUNCH of assessment sheets. Those guys worked very hard and I think they were doing a good job. Overall, I think the judgements were positive - LOTS of 74-76's. They were busy. I think that American collectors may need some advice on how to use Shinsa evaluations. I was impressed that lots of guys were putting thru stuff that didn't need or deserve "papers". In today's market, it is NOT wise - to spend 100 bucks for an opinion on a blade that looks suspicious and is in any case - mebbe - worth $300. Peter

Trusty old John Yumoto has all this very well covered as well. It is still worth owning. Peter

Ray, In the old days I would boldly suggest that this dude's name was IWASAKI, but now, with a pipeline to Tokyo it is foolish to even guess. Oh, and he was with the Hanabu somehing Peter

Thanks for this interesting discussion. I have seen a sword by Nagashige but know nothing about it. This was a treat. Peter

Ron, Well, gee, Ron. This doesn't look like a "mei" but I can't read it one way or another. Peter

all of this seems a lot higher than last year. BUT I AM STILL LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GRAND CHICAGO EVENT! P

I bet this sword will polish just fine and be a terrific addition to a collection. Luis points outs a suspicious spot, but I I still think it will be all right. Peter

Fujiwara Korekazu (very questionable signature, broke tip) several offered on eBay at $10.00 to open. Peter

Wow!. Just imagine how this sword will be treated in 1000 years. Like I said, Wow! Peter