raynor

Drop it like it's hot. As another newbie - don't buy a sword until you have first seen the real thing live first. Once you have looked at a real one for more then two blinks and paid attention you are able to rule out the vast majority of fakes out there, quality does not lie.

I also see ghosts every time I drink enough beer, the spirit in the fridge is particularly malevolent.

Hi Robert, Yes, my emails and facebook correspondence have been with Moses directly and someone else reading the incoming emails on his site. Radio silence since late October.

Still nothing, I know my email and facebook message have been read. As Mr. Yoshikawa, the head of the NTHK sadly passed away recently and I know he and Moses were friends I am letting this rest for now. Eventually though I would very much like this sorted, a $400 loss for Shinsa and origami is no disaster but it is not very hard to respond to a message or post a letter either. Still, if anyone knows how to reach the NTHK I would be grateful.

When in Miami I started looking for options. For the foreseeable future I am working in Norway, where the nihonto community is non existent. I got myself a copy of Pechalov's book as the next best thing. If you have the opportunity to attend a real meeting with real people and real swords count yourself lucky and jump in..

This is silly. And a katana was made to cut people not paper.. theres a reason why the edge is appleseed not razor shape.. Uneducated buyer and apparently auction house too.

Visually, koto hands down. Functionally, which to me is also an important part of art and why I prefer say nihonto over most paintings, statues etc. I am not sure. Shinshinto swords tho less rich in the jigane were made more uniform (or with lesser skill to some) and with newer steel, thus perhaps more durable in use? Then to counter that argument I've read some suggest utsuri might been a way to strengthen the blades without falling into the trap of tempering the whole blade and thus go to brittle town. Still rowing along on the lake trying to find the sweet spot.

I do believe we have a bullseye.

I'm glad people are getting their origami, I'll give this til over new years before I try contacting the NTHK. Hopefully someone there read English.

I bought my first nihonto here on this forum. Prices are more then fair and more importantly anyone offering items for sale here with more then a handful of posts under their belt will be trustworthy individuals whose ads are placed under the eyes of many knowledgable forum members. Raymond Singer at the moment have some excellent blades up for sale that you should take a look at, even with photos of blades and authentication papers I would be very very careful on ebay around antiques unless you are way past the greenhorn stage.

Very elegant mei....................................

Made my evening, thank you. It is clear that you understand Japanese social workings quite well and that I have no idea how to get my sides back from orbit.

I'm no expert but the nakago looks a bit strange to me. The line where nakago and unblemished blade meet looks splashed rather then an even line natural flow of blade into rusted nakago. The rust to me looks like it was sitting in the sea rather then oxidizing over time.

Interesting nakago if Showa. For comparison a late shinshinto blade.

Thanks all, Ray he is who I had help me with the Shinsa at the start of the year as offered on his website. But either he is too busy or whatever to get back to me. I know most of the kanteisho is distributed to recipients now with tracking numbers and if there is some that is a later batch and mine being one of them there is no problem with that, but weeks and months without even replying to several inquiries.. I'd rather ask the NTHK directly.

Greetings, I wonder if anyone know where to contact the NTHK, Yoshikawa branch in Japan to obtain Shinsa origami? I sumbitted a katana for the Shinsa held in Tampa, Florida earlier this year and it passed to kanteisho. Unfortunately I have been unable to get anything but the worksheet from the session despite several inquiries lately. I know people have obtained their origami by now so after several unanswered inquiries I now consider it lost and would like to get in touch with the organization directly, rather then through the agent submitting my blade to get what I paid for. Any help appreciated.

No turn back of the boshi? Or is that a thing on post Edo blades?

Not a good advertisement for the auction house this. Hopefully it works out in the end.

Great examples, thanks Uwe.

I've started to consider my next blade purchase, and have run into a bit of a dilemma. For my next purchase, the main goal is blade quality when forged. I am not yet locked into specific schools, periods or smiths, tho I think I am turning into a bizen and soshu fan given a few more years to ripen. I will probably look for a Koto blade, and paper level not that important but at least hozon level. My dilemma is should I go for the signed dated ubu freshly polished blades, or the mumei osuriage slightly more tired blades within a similar level of papers and price range? If I am aiming for quality will I not with careful vetting be able to get a higher quality blade at my set budget if I accept conditions such as mumei, suriage, older polish and even other factors such as non fatal kizu or even tiny traces of old halted rust? The reason for asking is both seeing what others experiences and opinions are but also that I have seen blades with some and even all of these "detrimental" conditions sometimes strike me as equally or more beautiful then others without. For example I saw a osuriage mumei koto blade with old rust damage to a small part of its hamon near the nakago on one side with tokubetsu hozon papers (didnt know scarred mumei shortened blades could pass TH) awesome elegant shape and a flawless chu suguha hamon that left a striking impression not matched until deep into browsing Juyo blades after pretending I had no bills to pay for the rest of the year.

Someone didnt put on their glasses before selling..

Oh wow, that escalated quickly. And here I am skipping the line on slight buyers remorse for a tsuba I picked up in the $200 range to mount on my practise sword.

Am I correct in assuming practical tsuba, as in made for mounting on a sword meant to be used would very rarely if at all have any of the decorations bleed into the seppa-dai?

Maybe shibuichi? With definitively some wax or lacquer or God knows what on it to boot. Beyond my eyes to tell, but seems like a similar material as this one, is this also a fake?

I agree - they're cute. It is very diplomatic of you to call it not spectacular workmanship. It is quite clear it is not something Gotô Ichijô pulled out of his sleeve but charming still. I actually find the sloppiness of some of the lines humorous. Maybe too much sake in the workshop, or the start of someone's career.