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george trotter

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Everything posted by george trotter

  1. Be good for Bruce's records to know if that Matsu 22 RS Star Tsugunobu's fittings have a katakana/number?
  2. Good info Thomas, thanks for that. It sure clarifies the tang katakana we see on RJT blades.
  3. Hi Thomas, Here is an oshigata of the Masakazu tang marked 'Fu' 37. It is signed "Iwashiro ju Masakazu" and has the RJT star. I'm not sure if it was in RS fittings, but it does have two ana. It was published in "Gunto Kumiai Shimatsu - Rikugun Jumei Tosho no Shuen" 1994 in Aizu Pref. (shown in frontispiece). I think I gave Bruce the details but maybe not the pic. Hope this helps...
  4. Hey Bruce, no need to apologise...we "older" folk do it all the time...
  5. Hi Bruce, no...I just wrote down those details from tang pics over the years...I only have them in writing....sorry.
  6. Just for general info, I can remember seeing a few WWII photos over the years where the Japanese soldier is holding a sword with the tassel tied to the scabbard ring. Probably not "regulation", but it seems it was done.
  7. Hi Bruce, Over the decades I have seen one or two of his work in hand, which were also seki/showa stamped... I can't remember ever seeing a gendaito by him though. Keep up your much appreciated work Bruce, you are a 'goldmine'. Geo.
  8. Shoda Masafusa WWII gendai smith from Gifu.
  9. Seki ju, Ishihara Yoshisada saku. Seki smith can be seen in F & G #131
  10. While I once collected koto/shinto/shinshinto blades, in my later years I have concentrated on RJT/gendaito of WWII. Among any of these swords from all periods I will not ever consider buying a sword that has been polished/repolished in hadori/kessho. I do not find much attraction in suguba so I do not buy them, (I have passed up about 4 Yasukunito because of this)...if it has some small portion of irregularity in the hamon, then OK. Mountings condition is not a major concern to me as I expect field wear or damage in RJT/gendaito WWII mounts....it is always the blade I buy. Of these blades, some are a bit dirty of have minor chips or scratching but all are in "good" or perfect condotion. I don't have them repolished but my swords are all capable of being repolished, so are all 'treasures' (IMHO) for some later generation. Hope this helps,
  11. Wow 7 silver mon....must be pretty senior person in a senior Imperial department. I think the most likely personal Imperial family mon is likely to be this type of single mon. Interesting topic.
  12. On the Imperial mon question, I think Matt H is on the money. Looks like the multiple kiku mons on that sabre indicate the Imperial department they were issued to. If it was an Imperial family mon it would almost certainly be silver...and only one mon. I have seen maybe 3 or 4 images over the years of what must be Imperial family member/relation mon...all silver. Interesting....thanks.
  13. What Dan K said. "Whatever speaks the most to the collector himself". It may not become famous. It may not speak to all collectors...but if it satisfies the interests of this collector, he/she will research it and gain knowledge. He/she will gladly share this knowledge with other collectors of a similar interest, and/or other individuals who are building a collection of their own. In a nutshell, a collector collects what interests him/her. I do not know of any genuine collector who collects to please others/to gain the approval of others. I'm not sure if such a person would be classified as a collector. Hope this helps...
  14. I did not think anyone but an Imperial Family member could display the Imperial kiku mon....may be this sword was carried by a family member?
  15. No Jace, sorry. My friend (Max Binns) died 20 years ago and his "odds & ends" (including several nihonto and many antique firearms etc) were all sold off to dealers by his widow. I think many went overseas. Regards,
  16. Yes, an old friend of mine, dead now, told me of his service in the Australian Army in PNG-Bougainville Is. He was a machine-gunner on a landing craft there and when the surrender happened, he said a large pile of Japanese swords was put on his craft and they were ordered to take them out beyond the lagoon reef into deep water and toss them in. This they did....he did keep one for himself though...a nice civilian buke-zukuri mounted samurai sword in lacquered scabbard. Having been working in these areas myself in the 70s, I can tell you that the humid climate is NOT kind on war relics...I would say anything that has been damp/wet for 70 odd years is "gone". Regards.
  17. Hi Charles, I think you have a pretty good set of books there...all/most of the necessary English language books we all refer to. Of course, always keep your eye out for more/new ones, but I think that (without knowledge of Japanese and ability to read Japanese) you have a good coverage there....and of course...you can always ask questions on NMB!! All good, Regards.
  18. Here is an oshigata of Tsukamoto Kazuyuki from the 3rd Sword Exhib. of 1938. This rubbing came from an original sword magazine, kindly sent by Morita san. Hope this helps.
  19. Hi Adam, yes I have seen that "wrapped" saya as well - also was on a Type 3 mount with RJT star stamped? blade. Hilt was the typical lacquered Type 3 binding style. Regards, PS...the two other examples I saw mounted gangi-maki like mine were both private order swords...not sure if this is important, but one was 23rd Gen Seki Kanefusa (OA pic) and the other is owned by a member here I think...it is by Ikkansai Kuniteru (hilt pic).
  20. Interesting thread. Just to add to this ...I am interested in WWII examples. Here is the gangi-maki hilt from my WWII gendaito. Not sure what the binding is...seems leather. I have seen 2 other WWII like this ... not common, but they do exist...all have been true gendaito. Regards
  21. Hi Ray, Same story. I was in Bougainville Island (Solomons - Guadalcanal etc) in mining in 1976-77 and I also saw local natives using WWII Japanese swords to cut crops, grass etc. Amazing. I never had a close look so don't know what sort of quality the blades were. That was how things were done there then.... Regards,
  22. 50 years ago I owned an Echizen Yasutsugu 3 Gen sword - in Type 98 mounts with mon. I also owned a Dewa no Kami Hokkyo Minamoto Mitsuhira in bukezukuri mounts. Both were Juyo smiths. I sold them when I joined my local state museum (to avoid ethics conflict, can't collect AND curate). Ysutsugu is 3rd on the large pic and Mitsuhira is 4th on the large pic. Here are the tang pics and the oshigata....enjoy (sorry for the lack of quality of my 50+ years old pics). Regards, P.S. speaking as a history trained ex-museum staffer, I can say that "museum quality" is a bit confusing as an I,D. terminology. It is valid if the museum is dedicated to ONLY the best quality items in a narrow dedicated sphere of objects (e.g. oil paintings of Queen Victoria). It does not apply to a general history museum as they collect historically related objects...whether they be top quality or low quality...as long as they are relevant to the history of that state/town/subject (e.g. history of cars).
  23. Bruce, gotta watch out for Poms and Kiwis...we Aussies have heaps of them running loose here haha. I have to admit though, even though I am an Aussie, I spent 3 years in Kent in England...I worked in a pub there, they liked me and called me their pet kangaroo (I used to say "watch out you don't upset me and get me hopping mad") - we'd all laugh...great times. I also spent time in US and Canada (in mining). I married a girl from Chicago...great. She has been to kiwi-land...I never went there...(if you have lived/worked in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alaska you have already seen heaven...no need to go anywhere else like Switzerland or New Zealand)... BTW, I drove Landrovers as my 'car of choice' from 1966-2010...great car, great times. Regards,
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