drbvac

On the other hand, I too have bought stuff - found it not exactly as described - But - kept them anyway and as long as you dont intend to list it again yourself and are not going to spend any more money on it for shinsa or polish maybe you paid what its worth. For sure you paid what yourself and the other bidders think its worth. If you are not intending to sell it yourself - learn from the blade, keep it as a first purchase and carry on. I he had said it was by a bishu smith would you have kept it? I would hate to count the stuff I have bought that no one else likes!

Its yours to do as you wish but make sure its really no good first cause when your done it may be worthless :? I have tried to polish some very rusty worthless blades just to give me an idea of how hard it is and how big a mess you can make of anything in 2 minutes that may take a month to fix! Kozuka may be no big loss so do whatever you like!

No need to apologise for stating facts in the face of questions versus "opinions" based on theories and thoughts. I get the same stuff from patients who have decided a week of reading websites trumps 35 years of learning and practice. So hold back if you must and I can empathize with the tiredness that comes from stating the same thing every second week to the next wave of newbies. Lurk in case you see something you can't ignore Your knowledge will be missed and as I always say if you don't like an answer to a question make up your own answer and keep quiet, same as heat and kitchens. Enjoy the Sake or Sapporo if you want to be able to talk for at least a couple of hours!

Well there is no doubt that certain impurities or rather other metals in the iron mixture will oxidize in different ways and show the uneven surface textures that result with other than iron oxidation. I am not sure that this is the same as the inclusion and appearance of Nie and Nioe particles present on a blade that come out when polished and ahve never "rusted". That said why is it the "dreaded nie"? I think it reflects the age and the fact that the smelting and processing are not perfect and in some instances entirely expected depending on the age and storage of the Tsuba. I think it looks pretty good!

Thats what I thought and the beauty of ethyl alcohol is as a dentist I can order 99.9% ethyl and after I clean the blade I can mix some with Grape juice to make a drink we used to call purple Jesus and it is quite a rush! Thanks for the input - the process may not be as soothing as uchiko until after but probably safer on the nihonto.

Gentlemen: As a point of interest I know that the powder in the Uchiko is "slightly" abrasive so I wonder why it would not make more sense when renewing the oil ( choji or sewing machine) to use a solvent ( mild) like lighter fluid that would not cause ANY abrasion. BB

Brian: I have 10-20 of those little green Hawley paperbacks on different schools and other topics I will mail to you if you pm me the address. The aren't very expensive each but in a raffle everyone would win something!

any pictures?

Anyone know of this seller? Nice blade? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3DWatching

Stephen: I am assuming you mean here on the board cause I don't see the market in general dropping as much as the Dow Jones Wonder who would pay 12 million yen for a blade on the internet : http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/sale/08169.html And I have still learned the hard way, once in the market, they sell for 1/2 what we can buy them for so we are pretty silly aren't we !!? Like the guy on the TV who buys the painting at the auction and then wants to re-sell it right after!

I also thought it was an older family blade - - but reading Dr. steins note on the terms, some use gendaito to mean made by any methods after 1876 until the end of the war while many collectors use it often to mean blades made during the same time from tamahegane in the traditional way. From the look it is made traditionally and it could be older than gendaito as checking Hawley, the kanji written as it is for Tadayoshi was shinshinto, and the gendaito smiths signed differently - but what the heck do I know! Can someone who does help and put me out of my misery

Beautiful isnt it - age aside many of these new smiths can produce some great work.

I have a kanefusa blade with the showa stamp and I know it is made in the 'traditional way" as he made blades both before and after the war. The stamp looks very much like the one on this blade as it isnt clear and only goes into the nakago part way as it is cold stamped on the blade. I am of the opinion that this was the case on family blades that soldiers wanted to be mounted in gunto mounts and the stamp is an acceptance stamp only - showing the blade is "OK" to be mounted and carried into battle. I believe it is Gendaito and TAD 305 or TAD 306 in Hawley 2 cents

Have these on my Katana - may be same school - hope so anyway! Any thoughts from u experts?

I believe that the silk threads go through little brackets on the back to help secure them. It could be easy or a nightmare and I dont want to get into that. If I can have an idea - thats fine and closer the attributiob the better I guess but its just a part of the total package. As long as I have an idea for describing the furniture, Tsuba is Kinae of Echizen , ealry 1800 and fuchi kashirae are signed Tsurahide (Kotani Tsurahide) early 1800's so I am happy --its the blade sitting in it I am more in love with - Attributed to NAoe Shizu - now being polished but all together it is quite nice and as the fittings are not just mass produced - whomever had the blade must have thought highly of it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/9093-JP-Samurai-Swo ... 911.c0.m14 This link led me to the item on e-bay and also led me to wonder if the menuki on one of my Katana mounts were gf this school ? The only real difference I can see as they are well done is the gold dots for eyes! Any opinions will be greatfully accepted - mounts are not my thing! I dont want to mess up the lacing taking them off either, so don't really care if signed, but I know it would make it easier.

Perth Shop Just ordered one gentlemen: $21.95 au plus postage from Kirsten, just call with credit card!

Rest of the blade, cutting edge, area at the point, grain in the steel, . ( Didnt use proper terms to make it easier for you!)

Same for me on the other side of the globe!

I purchased a yari in mounts from Zen gallery and it was just as advertised and arrived quickly. No problem - that said they all can be off at times so dont expect a real hidden treasure. At least they describe the pieces accurately.

Stephen: The warning is in the photo section - have to scroll through them!

Quite an experience John, Thanks for sharing it with the crew.

SOLD - Missed it by 1 second, 50 bucks - 3950.00

Thanks Remy!

1200 x 800 works great, scrolling no big hassle and still best Nihonto site in cyberspace!