slavia631

Oh, alright. I wasn't sure why you seemed to get the impression that you should "absolutely avoid" nugui, then. I guess you meant that you should avoid doing it yourself ; as opposed to 'absolutely' avoiding considering it at all--even applied to your blade by a pro. If this is the case, then we all agree.

Ted, I think that answers all! Much appreciated. Andrew

Thank you Brian. I had actually checked out that article already. I am assuming that the dragon is considered an animal, and thus kenmaki-ryu menuki would fall under the animal okite mentioned therein. I would have thought the same thing as you about a bare ken's point being the head--it's seems pretty intuitive--but then again, on second thought the vajra could just as easily be interpreted as 'roots', couldn't they? In which case it should be placed opposite your suggestion, according to the plant okite... And it doesn't help matters that I have seen it done both ways, in the past. :? This is a tough one! Can anybody enlighten me [us]?

Grey was not saying that you should absolutely avoid nugui. He was merely saying that you should leave it to a trained, professional polisher to decide whether to use nugui for a particular blade or not. Ted--who is, himself, a trained polisher--further elaborated on this. The point is not that nugui should or should not be used; the point is that you are not a trained togishi and therefore should avoid trying to modify your blade in any way by yourself. The fact that you do not know about nugui only served to further show this.

Hi, Are kenmaki-ryu (ken with dragon) themed menuki supposed to be positioned with the ken pointing toward the fuchi or toward the kashira? I have seen both configurations, and both seem as though they could be correct depending on whether the sword is sheathed or drawn; but I would like to know which of these is the definitive direction to orient kenmaki-ryu menuki during tsukamaki, if there is one. Furthermore, regarding menuki that feature only a bare ken and vajra, which direction should the ken be oriented along the tsuka? Any advice or answers would be appreciated!

I can add more photos when I get the chance, but I am certain that Brian has identified the boshi. Thanks for the input guys, I am sure the owner will be pleased to know these things. Any ideas on the age?

Well, I was sent this sword today to do some custom-mounting work on it. The owner described it to me as a run of the mill Gunto blade, and wanted a new tsuka/fittings to be made for it. When the sword arrived, and I removed the saya/mountings, I realized that this is not Gunto blade. It is an antique nihonto blade: So, the first thing I did was snap these shots to post on here and show you guys: (the mei. these are the only two characters. any ideas? can anybody identify this smith for me?) (suguha hamon. very tight hdada. no flaws...) (...except for this one. pretty big flaw there. repairable, do you think?) Does anybody have any opinions or general information tha they could share about this blade? I am mainly wondering how old it is, who is the smith, and whether it could be repaired. thanks, Andrew

Chris seems to think it's fine. It has a choji hamon that is visible to varying degrees along the entire blade. Only time will tell.

Blade is in queue with Mr. Osborne!

Blade is on it's way to Mr .Osborne!

Chris Osborne has contacted me regarding the blade, and I will be sending it to him for evaluation soon. It is likely that I will eventually be sending it to him for a restoration polish.

Mr. Bowhay, I have sent you a Private Message through the forum. Thanks.

This up-close photo shows the worst of the blade's surface damage. This--in varying degrees--is representative of the blade's all-over condition. Judging from the photos, are there any additional or new thoughts/opinions about this piece? thanks,

Following are some more photos of the blade itself: what first attracted me to the blade was the deep sori. The only noticeable chips in the ha occur in the kissaki, and even here they are very small. the shinogi-ji seems to be okay. Notice traces of the hamon in the lower-left. The entire hamon can be seen under certain lighting conditions, but I have not been able to capture that on camera. The existing hamon looks almost exactly like the Okimitsu blade in my above post. The nagako.

Here are photos of the mei: (more to come)

Hi, I picked up a signed katana blade yesterday at the Louisville show, out of polished and lightly rusted all over (black rust) for $200. With help from Mr. Moriyama, I was able to find out that the me reads: "Oki no kuni ju Okimitsu saku" made in: "Showa era, 18th year, 10th month" (1943). My blade looks almost exactly like this one in terms of sugata, signature, hamon, etc. besides the two-month age difference and, of course, the condition: http://www.nihontoantiques.com/g83.htm I am wondering if anybody can give me any further information about my blade and this smith. Is he the same entity as Hara Okimitsu I, the Jo Saku WWII era smith? Furthermore, do you think it is worth sending for a polish, based on it's merit? (I am sorry I do not have photos, but I hope to post some shortly.)

So, is the translation on the page that I linked above incorrect? That blade is indeed almost identical to mine (in terms of sugata, hamon, mei, everything), save the month.

All I have come up with for the Name translation are the last two characters: "mitsu saku". I am stumped on the rest, so far. EDIT: Oki province? Nope. Sanuki province. EDIT: Okimitsu saku. EDIT: Bingo! "Sanuki kuni ju Okimitsu saku." correct? http://www.nihontoantiques.com/g83.htm ^my blade looks just like this one.

Okay, so the Date reads "Showa era, 18th year, 10th month". Which would be 1943, correct? I suppose that helps, but I still cannot find several of the characters for the Name translation. Anybody?

Hi, Were any of our members at National Gun Day in Louisville this weekend? If so, then I may have run into you! There were quite a few Nihonto folks in attendance, both spectator and dealer. Just wondering, Andrew

Stephen, you're right! He was at the Louisville show today and I saw him talking with one of the female security guards for what seemed like hours. I couldn't get his attention for anything! Nice guy, though. Was anybody there this weekend?

Hi, I just bought this blade today, and am wondering what the mei reads. I have done a little research, and have deducted that it is of 1944 make, but I may be wrong. If anyone would be willing to translate and/or give me some information about the smith, it would be much appreciated. A couple of the kanji are a little difficult to make out, but I have done the best I can to take clear photos. Thanks.

Anybody?

Here are quite a few better photos: http://s361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60/jrobinson1969/

Here is the story behind the sword, as told by the owner. Also, more photos of the entire blade and mountings: here is what i know about this sword... my uncle was part of the occupation during wwii. he brought the sword back with him. the circumstances about how he got it... i have no idea. he gave it to me about 25 years ago. if it is a fake then it was faked more than 60 years ago. i did not do any sanding on the blade or anything. i think what you are seeing is the baby powder i brushed on it to make the kanji show better. i have included some more pics...some that taken before the baby powder. i do believe that this blade was refitted probably near the beginnig of wwii. any alterations or damage was done before i got it. it has rarely even been taken out for as long as i have had it. before that it spent many years in the closet of a war hero. i would ask him exactly how he got it but alas, it's to late for any of that, as he passed about 10 years ago.. here's a few more pics...some aren't that great but soon i will try to take some better ones http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure002.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure003.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure004.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure005.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure006.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure007.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure011.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure012.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure017.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure020.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure031.jpg http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo60 ... ure032.jpg