drbvac

Apologies to Kevin - I had saved the pic and forgot where I got it and just posted it without attribution. I could draw them out again or scan Fullers but - no offense meant

You should be happy, shinto and the price is great

for those without a book or a blade

If for no other reason than to not let this die I will post these - only 2 pics I have of stamps and unfortunately one is - less than clear as it is only into the blade on 3 sides - must have been cold stamped ! I hope this goes on as a stickly under Military 1 is showa and I know there are hundreds better pics 2. is Gi gifu district from other members post

Markus: Received mine as well - great resource and :signed:

Here's some more - I may see if I can zoom in on one - and another of the "hamon" on the non-traditional, non machine made, non-gendai, showata

Chris: There seem to be chisel marks on parts of it especially around the perimeter - but - what do I know ! There is a blade on e-bay with a horimono almost identical and claimed to be Tadatsuna showata - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26otn%3D2

Well for sure the detail and scales are crisper on the top picture. That said I have seen much worse than both and on much older blades. I haven't seen a lot of any type of horimono on showata - so even if inferior craftsmanship - not a lot of wartime smiths seem to even have attempted same - even if machined. I have often wondered why anyone would have even bothered unless to hide a flaw, but here I don't think that was the case - just for practice?

Good synopsis - thats why you are a moderator - my Kanefusa is not gendai either and I wouldnt sell it as such either but it is by a known war time smith and I probably won't sell it at all :D

Please if at all possible POST any pics you have of the blade - I would love to see them in any way I can recieve them and I do have e-mail but I am sure all board members would like to see it :D

Mine doesn't hurt but it is spinning a bit - I think I need to make and/or look at some type of table with materials on one side, stamps on the other and try and cross reference them.

Well not to beat a dead horse but were there blades made before 1930 that were cold stamped after or were they all stamped in the foundry? The showa stamp on this is half pressed and maybe isnt showa cause the corners are all rounded - were there acceptance stamps similar that indicated the blade could be mounted in gunto mounts and used in the service? In light of Chris' comments on nakago I will re-post a couple of pictures some of the new members may not have seen.

This has been on the site hundreds of time and as stated further up the line the two factors for "non-traditional" as far as I can tell are 1. Steel and 2. Method of developing the hamon. SO - IMHO - .please correct me - it happens all the time. "IF - using steel that is NOT tamagahane but water quenched they would stamp it - and - if oil quenched - doubly non-traditional. I can't imagine a war time smith using tamagahame and oil quenching but how could you tell. I am almost positive I have a Kanefusa 23rd blade that as it is stamped and has to be "non-traditional" however it has what I am sure is a water quenched appearance so it is must be the steel. I know Chris has stated and I know he is the man for these but I wish I could send this blade to him - others on the board have stated it sure as heck looks water quenched. I don't know maybe he made this one on his day off at home !

I would want to REALLY know what it is before putting it on anything ! Alcohol or lighter fluid on something covered with grease maybe but I would be VERY careful

Ordered it from Amazon.ca and told will not be available until September

If the book is as straightforward as the review it should be a good read. Sometimes hard to get a good understanding of many basic premises that have been around for a long time when many authors are hesitant to write what they really think, and in the west many "facts" are often just interpretations or re-statments of others thoughts.

Actually I was serious about the shipping, and how I send blades - Ray went into loonyland.

Waving my banner

Looks pretty nice to me - ! Are you going to tell us how>?

I ship both UPS, and Fed ex and call the item Japanese decorative wall hanging or Japanese antique and send away. I wrap the blade in saran wrap, after oiling it really well, and then wrap with newspaper. The last thing you want is for it to slide out so I put a peg through the mekugiana into a piece of board, baseboard moulding works well and then drill small holes on either side of the blade and attach it to the board with those cable ties or you can just wrap it to the board with duct tape. Put the saya inside bubble wrap and put the whole thing in a box- Fed ex has a triangular one that they will give that fits most. NEVER had any problems all over the world ! Knock on wood

Really nice Todd and the pics are great! Can you pm me please with a short technique review ??

Amen Ron and never mind the art of the sword - how many billions of articles from the mid 50's to date are floating around peoples houses, from trinkets to other types of art that when turned over say "Made in Japan"

Isn't that beautiful - need my 2 cars to get around though !!

Markus: I would be honored to order one directly from you for full price and pay all shipping if you would sign a copy !! \\ Dr B