EdWolf

Hi Bruce, The pattern is called Sayagata. A pattern of interlocking Manji. Regards, Ed

Very beautiful. Wish I had that kind of skills.

Hi Barry, Hope this photo will help. Regards, Ed

And another one.

Some really nice habaki. Here's one of mine.

Hi Jussi, Both beautiful blades but personally I like the left one the most. I find the sori more attractive and I like the smaller kissaki. Regards, Ed

Geraint, your absolutely right about the craftsmanship. It's a joy to observe. Regards, Ed

Thank you guys! Cloisonne and shippo are the search terms to use. Not much hits but it's a start. HIrata school seems plausible. I'll try to research the Hirata and Shibata school.

Just to share with you my tanto koshirae with some unusual fittings. The copper gilt fuchi-kashira and menuki are decorated with colored enamels. I have searched for other similar fittings and unfortunately can't find any. Does anyone know more about this type of fittings? Maybe a school to research? Please feel free to comment. Regards, Ed

The holes are called udenuki ana. You can read more about it here Regards, Ed

Hi Fredd, The definition a of a wakizashi changed over time. You can read about it here: https://markussesko.com/2015/08/11/the-wakizashi/ The site of Markus Sesko is very informative. Best regards, Ed

Piers, That's a great story!

Hi Piers, There is some writing on both sides but it's very hard to read.

Here is my contribution to the small knife thread. The saya is well made and the arrow is painted by someone with good skills. The blade length is just under 11 cm. Regards, Ed

Nr 7 for me. Yellow and red makes a nice combination.