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1kinko

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Everything posted by 1kinko

  1. If you've never tried it you'll never know how. It's not magic- it's patience.
  2. You can buy the wood to make your own saya from Namakawa Heibei. It's cheap, split in two, dry, and arrives in the U.S. in about 1 week.
  3. Yup, silicon carbide is harder than steel but with a brush at least it won't wear down just the high points and the object is to remove the rust. I suppose you could use charcoal powder too but you'll be at it for a long long time. Just an option.
  4. The advantage of an animal hair brush is that it evenly rubs both the crevasses and the hills. Namakawa Heibei sells them. If you wish you can use 2000 grit silicon carbide to speed up the process. I use horse tail hair that I bought online. The originals were Japanese woman's hair.
  5. Just a technical note. Silver or gold leaf is not used. It's too thin. The correct term and substance is foil.
  6. My understanding is that yamagane is just impure copper. Years ago I did XRF analyses on impure copper from several different locations in the upper peninsula of Michigan for another member. They were sent to me as smelted ingots and they were no different from copper in hardness, ductility, or strength. They varied in the amount of arsenic, zinc, and chloride mainly. I have used them in inlays and they patinate only slightly differently in Rokusho/Tampan solutions.
  7. So far, at least another kozuka and a set of matching menuki. Brilliant work, better than Ichigo or Ishiguro and without the team those masters had behind them. Certainly modern equipment helps but it's still incredibly meticulous.
  8. I have no idea of how to copy/paste a link to Utube videos from my iPhone, but I finally found this after searching Facebook-instagram- and finally X. Now I find it can be googled as part of a larger series many if you probably know about- "The beauty of Japanese swords: A new age of sword fittings". It's about the creation of a superb kozuka by engraver/watchmaker Kei Tsujimoto. It's for sale, but costs materials as well as 6 months labor!
  9. Duh, as if this post didn’t include the 2016 summary. Fortunately the museum answered my question. The images were accurate and one menuki faces the fuchi while the other faces the kashira.
  10. This is from the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum book "Late Edo and Meiji Period Sword Guards and Fittings". The fittings are by Ichijo but the circadian nymph menuki would face the kashira, not the fuchi. Do you think this is 1) aikuchi tanto specific, 2) reverse requested by owner, 3, reversed image by publisher, 4) exception to the rule, or 5) faux pas by Ichijo?
  11. If in Kyoto, the Kiyomitsu Sannezaka Museum has excellent exhibitions of late Edo and Meiji metalwork, lacquer, and Cloisonné. Easy to reach on Hagiashyma-dori by the #206 bus and a short uphill walk. Ichigo, Natsuo, Ishiguro sword furniture. Good restaurants nearby. Check with your hotel- there is usually an open-air market by the Toji Temple and Pagoda with antiques including swords (which would entail export papers), sword furniture, polishing stones, lacquer, etc.
  12. You might include a grey card in you pictures. They were very common with professional photographers in the film camera day.
  13. Read the label on paint strippers- some contain acid(s) that can remove patinas. Powerful ultrasonic cleaners can vibrate off electroplated gold. i wouldn't get lemon juice anywhere near patinated shakudo.
  14. OK, I'll bite- what is it, a slug and its trail of mucus? Or a slug on an upside down toadstool? What kind of vibes does it radiate?
  15. Yup, Stephen K nailed it. Dale has also shown that many museum tsuba are casts but dating them, and guaranteeing they are actually old, remains the problem. Some museum pieces probably contain provenance information but I'm not aware of any invasive or non-invasive means of dating any tosogu or nihonto.
  16. How about those late edo period cast iron tsuba? Wouldn't they show where to seppa were placed?
  17. These are salmon returning to freshwater when the tips on the jaws grow inwards to form hooked jaws. This would be the most commonly encountered form that anyone but fishermen would be familiar with. Not usually the best eating but still pretty good with sufficient soy and sake. At least 1 of the dragon fish shown above have jaws that flare outwards.
  18. If you live in the U.S. there are several Japanese sword shows per year. Nothing is better than holding and examining tosogu in person and in the company of other collectors and practitioners. Bring an optivisor or equivalent.
  19. It has an old feel to it? But do you get vibes from it?
  20. Not my field but at least one non-invasive study of armor reported it was not quench treated.
  21. Roman is still doing restoration work and apparently some complete tosogu. Follow the link above and you'll see what he has done with iron tsuba restoration.
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