b.hennick

You present good points that will find many who will agree with you. I am among that group.

I collect mainly swords. Too often I see swords that were polished by inadequately trained people. Those who save money by using people who lack formal training may later learn that they wasted their money on inferior work. 

Lovely! Probably not the word that you would use but aslo the kabuto are lovely.

👍👍 keep up the great work!

Thanks for a good read! I'm sure that it received TLC.

I was asked about a WWII sword. There is a three character mei. The second and third read Kin Shige. I would not find the smith anywhere. I probably mistranslated the mei. Help will be appreciated.

I do not think that your F/K theme is shiachi as they do not have feathers. 

If you are from the Toronto area we have a club in Toronto. Send me a p.m. and I'll provide you with information.

Thanks Chris!

Do you have the URL so we can see what you have accomplished?

I have used foam soap without any fragrance. I use a clean well used soft toothbrush. The combination also works well on kodogu. Dry iron fittings completely or you will get rust.

Welcome Jaykob and Zaia. There is a lot to learn and this is a great place to learn. 

I appreciate the work/effort that has occurred in making this thread.

As I read each post, most lead to thinking about the main points made.

Threads of this level should be elevated in some way so that the thread can easily be found by new and current members. 

Perhaps we need a section of threads of outstanding merit where these threads can be accessed easily. 

Would it be possible for members to vote for such threads? There could be a minimum number of votes necessary to elevate the thread. 

It has a very new feeling for me.

Great start Nicholas! I look forward to seeing more.

Marc, please take a photo of the whole bare blade and another one that shows the mei well.

Thank you, Andy, for the insight. 

An old ivory piano key is easy to shape and easy to use. If you have trouble finding them you might ask a piano tuner for one. 

Andy, I am sad to learn of the depth of your loss. The relationship between a deshi and master is a close one. Your stories showed your thoughtful care and devotion to both the man and the art.

Look at the tang.. Remove the habaki as you do not want to find a  hagire at home.

Here is a Shiachi kabuto

Here is an algorithm that is open for suggested improvements. We should explain that only with the suggested information (photos, measurements) can we get the basic information that we need. We also from the start state that we are not expert enough to state categorically that the signature, if present, is genuine. We leave that to shinsa teams.

Level 1

It seems to me that for the first level, we only need the length of the blade. We need to see the whole bare blade, the point, the temper line and the tang (both sides). Sample photos would be great. They need to know how the tang images should be oriented. They also need to know how to remove the tsuka and habaki.

If the blade is not a Chinese or other copy, more information may be needed. That takes us to level 2.

Level 2

That is where we can ask for measurements and a photo of hada. This is where a diagram of where to measure the blade. Some hada photos would also help.

Level 3

The next level could be a link to an article in kizu. Good photos would be needed. They could take photos of any suspected kizu. 

Level 4

The next level would be the fittings. Again, photos or diagrams would help.

Level 1 will not ask a lot and would easily allow us to point out fake swords, reproduction swords or non-Japanese swords. If the blade is in reasonable condition some information could be provided and we can then ask for measurements and more or better photos. We could probably provide some information to the person based on what we have seen.

Level 2  will provide more information and perhaps lead to School and perhaps era of manufacture.

Level 3 Kizu found may lead us to recommend not getting restoration work done, or let us say there are flaws but they are age appropriate.

Level 4 You rarely find high quality fittings on low quality blades. The mounts may provide specific information such as type of WWII sword even where the mounts were made.

All the above could lead to a summary reply with possible suggestions for sending to shinsa, getting proper restoration done, or suggesting that the piece can be enjoyed for what it is.

So, Brian.  I respectfully request that you “lock me out” of the forum.

Hey Dan: I enjoyed the threads that you started and contribute to. Brian does not need to lock you out. You can stay or leave. I for one would be happier if you stayed. I too know about the old blade that was polished and found to have hada and hamon. I too do not remember where I learned that. As a retired science teacher, I too like to see references that back up presented work.

Dear Forumites

I am without my usual resources. Please help with this signature.

It is possible for the few who could write put the signature in ink on the tsuba or tang and the smith used his chisel  to cut the mei. That would be faster for the person writing the signature. The smith could have a specific order and thickness for each stroke. Another possibility, could be that the learned person could write out the signature and the smith could copy it with his chisel.

I remember reading about a sword smith who was left handed who reversed parts of his signature.

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