DirkO

.. just don't get him started on the airvelocity of swallows or whether they migrate :D @ Nolan : If you come across a site or an offer that's too good to be true, it almost always is. Also, the search function on this forum is very usefull to see if other people didn't come across the same thing before.

Maybe time to refresh everyone's memory or for the uninformed .... : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5406&p=41974&hilit=armor8#p41974 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5104&p=39541&hilit=armor8#p39541 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3262&p=24033&hilit=armor8#p24033

Some nicer tsuba and fittings + some starter blades + books http://www.klefisch.com./

Jean, you beat me because of my need for a coffee

Well for most collectors a hagire is a definite nono. But if you buy a blade with hagire just because you want to study the activity in the good parts of the blade, then it could be a cheap way to have some hands on experience at home. You'll have to keep in mind that it's not the best addition to a collection.

I remember seeing that nice sukesada naginata before.... too bad I don't have that kind of money lying around http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5253787&sid=cff9b101-ce34-4eb5-83c4-6aa22ef6a78f http://www.nihonto.com/3.5.04.html

Grey, The auction description on that site says : Genuine Wakizashi (short Samurai sword) by Yamashiro circa 1650 A.D. w/ Non-commissioned officer’s metal scabbard Maybe that's a starting point right there :-) http://engstromauctions.com/HouserOct3/flyerforweb.htm

Congrats Brian ! Hope the following year will bring you nothing but good things in your life !!! - PS : Isn't it time to start rallying for the yearly raffle again ? :D -

Guess my more esotheric approach loses out to the more practical one :D

I think the theme is the buddhist wheel of life : http://backpack4life.net/photos/thailand/images/654/640x480.aspx

Yes that was what I thought as well. Registration began with the higher ranked people, so on average this should be better quality than the swords held be the masses. Or at least that's how I remember it.

Yes Andi, It's indeed a sort of registration paper (Torokushu). You can read all about it in this article by Guido Schiller (together with his evil twin quite the dynamic duo here on the forum) :lol: http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/articles/sword_law.pdf Yours seems to be one of the earlier registration, seeing the form and the early number on it. (< 5000 is called daimyo registration if I'm not mistaken ? Can anyone elaborate on that ? Or correct me ? - probably the latter )

Don't forget the one that's partially filled again and I even think the bottom one was redrilled at one point, so that makes 6

Already being discussed here : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5647&start=15

Same here ! Got the mail, not responding.

Is this new NBSK meant to replace the NBTHK in the long run ? Or simply to provide structure for certain areas which got less attention in the past ? Is NBSK supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs ? Does anyone have more info ?

OMG I would give anything for a meet and greet with Mark :-) But yes, apparently there's big scary world out there full of people who don't collect nihonto or even care about them !

Brian, I think you got the Stephen Spielberg bit from the Nat Geo documentary, if I recall correctly. I also think there's a book out there about nihonto in the collections of famous people, but I'm not sure if this is just about FN (Famous Nihon-jin) or more of a worldwide thing :-) PS Clive : I'm more of a Mark Knopfler-fan :D

Now here's something else : http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Tsuba-and-Menuki-Moulds-For-Casting_W0QQitemZ250465961806QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a50ef474e&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 First time I come across something like that on the bay.

You can sign up for mail updates ?

I agree with the fact that the signatures will never be identical, but I think if you were to sign a piece of paper 10 times, you would see : 1) your signatures are almost never identical 2) there are certain characteristics of your signatures which will be consistent, like a certain swirl or turn. 3) even those temporary consistent characteristics will change over one's lifetime Same goes for mei in swords I guess. Some smiths can be dated by the way they signed (and not just with which name). On the other hand it makes it more difficult to be certain a mei is legit. But then there's always shinsa :-)

I would go for a French Renaissance painter. The use of blue is exquisite :-)

Well it seems like a scam. Nevertheless a scam which has more work put into it (which makes it a lot more tempting off course). You can ask pictures and how he expects payments. Also try and find out how they got your e-mail addresses. Try and make him expose himself as much as possible (address, business, tel nr,references, mutual contacts,...) because these are things you can check to authenticate the seller. But I wouldn't really hold my breath. Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but prove me wrong

I hear that expression every so often in regard to Tamahagane and still wonder why Hi Guido, This straight from Wikipedia : Tamahagane (玉鋼:たまはがね?) is a type of Japanese steel. Translated as "jewel steel". Besides the wiki bit, the chunk I have shows off every conceivable color (gold, greenish, blueish,...), so it's not hard to understand why they call it like that.

Hi Ted, The little chunk I have is only 700 grams. But I didn't buy it as a basis to produce something with. It's merely to show people (and myself) the raw material these blades were made from and why it's called jewel steel. And I think that people who are interested in buying this item, are of the same idea. About the price : well that's up to people to decide for themselves.