Martin

Hi all, there is a nice auction with a great Sasano Collection Tsuba on ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=003 ). But unfortunately too expensive for me... Let´s see if (and how fast) it sells... This Tsuba was listed on http://www.nihonto.us last year. cheers,

Hi Andreas, thanks for your reply. I read about the use of Ibota Wax too and that the use of "Renaissance wax" is somehow comparable to it (see Fords comment: http://www.thecarvingpath.net/forum/ind ... #entry6078 ). As I do not have Ibota available right now I thought of applying the Renaissance wax instead. An additional question would be of course, how many layers should be applied in order not to destroy the "breatheability" of the Honoki wood. Any experiences? best,

Hi all, just came across an interesting site about Japanese provinces. http://www.maproom.org/00/05/sub1/1.html (with automated lookup) http://www.maproom.org/00/05/index.php cheers,

Hi all, is it possible to apply some wax (i.e. Renaissance Wax) on the Shirasaya in order to protect the wood a bit from "daily use dirt" ? Saw some Shirasaya that have a kind of glossy finish (see picture). Any experience or advice would be appreciated. cheers,

Hi Jock, as long as this is your new blade you should be able to see it yourself... Or is this a rhetorical question cheers,

Hi Max, how can you tell the maker of a Shirasaya just from a few pictures...

Hi Todd, check this link too: http://www.ksky.ne.jp./~sumie99/nashiji.html cheers,

Thanks Koichi-San and Ludolf-San :D the excerpt you posted about the "crab-claws" is very interesting. But once again: not a rule... I think there is nothing more certain in Nihonto than exceptions :D So maybe the Mei on my Tanto is from a more peaceful era as the claws are not that aggressively shown :lol: What do you think about the workmanship (Jitetsu, Hamon, length, Sugata). Does maybe this allow a certain attribution? This looks very much like Soshu to me. cheers,

Jean & Carlo, thanks for your help so far. It seems to be still quite a challenge to attribute that Mei... Especially the first Kanji seems to be very narrow and would (having only these Oshigata) best fit to the Fujishiro Shodai example. I would be interested in the opinion of a native speaker/writer if there could be such difference in the Mei being from the same generation. Ludolf also pointed out that it could be a Daimei for one of the masters. But I have no knowledge about the abundance of Daimei in this school or era. Maybe - if there is no similarity in the Mei - the style of workmanship could lead to a certain generation cheers,

Jean, already knew the Sho-Shin pages. Very useful information indeed - and lots of work that Robert put in to it. As for the generation I also got fed up because the sources don´t seem to match. Sometimes the Daiei Yoshisuke is the first, then second or third generation But maybe it´s because there aren´t that many pieces clearly attributable to a certain generation ? best,

Hi Jean, I am surprised too. Maybe there are some translation errors :? . Fujishiro only mentions two Shimada Yoshisuke and calls the Daiei Yoshisuke the first generation. Somehow I have the impression that each Yoshisuke signature I see (even if it´s from the same generation) looks different... But that may only be due to my limited library (Fujishiro, Yoshikawa Sue Koto, Nihonto Koza).

Hi all, Influenced by the great Kantei and Signature discussions we had lately, I am trying to find out who (i.e. which generation of Yoshisuke) made the below Tanto. It is papered to Shimada Yoshisuke but does not mention a certain generation. I am really far away from judging signatures but I would tend to say, that it is made by the Daiei (~1521) Yoshisuke. This at least is what I can gain from the sources I have access to. I already discussed this with Ludolf (thanks again for your time !) and even with his sources it seems VERY difficult to pinpoint a certain smith... Maybe some of you have any ideas or sources that may provide me with some helpful information. Nagasa: 33.6 cm Sori: none Motohaba: 2.73 cm Motokasane: 0.795 cm Mune: Mitsumune Jitetsu: Itame Hada Hamon: Niedeki Gunome Midare Yasurimei: Katte-Sagari (or maybe Kiri?) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks,

http://www2.una.edu/Takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Cu ... of_wak.htm

Hi, does this only refer to a Fuchi/Kashira set of a Daito? I could imagine that a F/K for a small Wakizashi or Tanto (with a much shorter Tsuka) doesn´t comply with these conditions. cheers, Martin

Honestly I also don´t think that this was part of the Tsubakos design. At least I never saw anything comparable with those sharp edges and looking at the design "something" is missing as Milt pointed out. cheers, Martin

Hi Andreas, congratulations to your sword! I don´t want to continue that "other discussion" - but I guess your recent sword was in a Shirasaya as opposed to the other one. Correct? cheers and enjoy your sword! Martin

this is indeed a "Pretty Rare form edo tsuba" :D http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-sword-SIGNE ... dZViewItem ... that must have also been pretty inconvenient (if you had a few kilos too much :lol: )

Just got a message from Tsuruta-San in which he informs me about the (positive) result of the March Shinsa :D

indeed Brian :lol:

Hi Paul & Ed, thanks for your response. I meanwhile also discovered some similar information on Bob Bensons website ( http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/nbthkshinsa.htm ). Seems like we have to be patient (as hard it might be ). cheers, Martin

Hi all, I´m just back from my holidays and hopefully expected to receive an email on the outcome of a Shinsa. But obviously it takes quite some time for the NBTHK to communicate the results. The sword in question was bought at the beginning of March and I asked the dealer to present it to the next Tokubetsu Hozon Shinsa. Upon request the dealer told me to be patient. Does anybody have any experience to share on how long it usually takes to get the Shinsa result and the papers? thanks in advance, Martin

I sadly had to cancel my trip to Oxford (annoying car repair - that money could have really been better spent for Nihonto)... Hope you can get there with dry feet and have a great time ! cheers, Martin

Andreas, I think the best way would be to ask Tsuruta-San about this - at least he is the one that sold the blade to you and you. Sometimes the descriptions are a bit short and therefore you should ask EVERYTHING you want to know about this blade in advance... just my 2 cents of experience cheers,

Guido, I did not feel adressed actually - it´s just that I wish that I could understand all those great Japanese Language Nihonto sources BTW how was your Kölsch/BAP evening ? :D Alaaf!

I wish I could understand Japanese or at least had the time to learn it...