Rich S

I have one Kanezane sword in original civilian Showa mounts that I obtained from the Moody collection. Nice two character mei, but the showa stamp is very, very light and not complete. No one had tried to remove it, just it didn't take when stamped. It is one of the Kanezane mei listed in Fuller and Gregory's book. Civilian mounts and hard to see stamps don't necessarily mean a remounted sword nor an attempt to deceive. Rich S

I've been out of active collecting Nihonto for some time, but when I was here are the rules I followed: Buy nothing that you can't live with as is. Collect what you like and like what you collect. IMHO, everything else is just collectors making artificial distinctions for themselves and/or others. Rich S

Both Nagamitsu and Chounsai Emura worked in the Bizen tradition. But as you noted, some made by students aren't as pronounced. Rich S

Perhaps another reference. I don't have it and haven't seen it. Tony Thomas did a index for it that is on my site. "Gendaito Meisaku Zukan". If anyone has it, maybe they could comment on it's usefulness. Rich S

I'm probably incorrect, but I think that is a variation of the Satsuma mon. Is unusual to be engraved rather than an applied disk. Rich S

Are you guys sure this isn't just a "mine's longer than yours" issue :=) Remember, it isn't the length, but how you use it that matters :-) Rich

John - While I can't translate it. It seems to have several numerals. Perhaps the soldiers unit or similar info. Just speculation. Rich S

Robert Haynes had several of this type in his various catalogs. Many attributed to quite early periods; late Muromachi to Momoyama if I recall (don't have the catalogs handy to check). I got my first one like this from Bob at the '84 Chicago Token Kai. He mentioned they were very under priced and under appreciated as many thought them to be shiremono (which some undoubtedly are). Rich S

Martin - You might be interested in my webpage on sanmai tsuba at: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/tsuba/sanmai.htm Note that some of this type have received papers from various Japanese shinsa. Rich S

Peter - Please remove the link to my website from your ebay page. My site is non-commercial and not for use of any ebay or other auctions for personal gain. There is an entire page warning sellers NOT to use material from my site on ebay or other auction sites. Links like that use up a lot of my very limited bandwidth. The linked page has been removed until after the auction to save bandwidth. Rich S

The mei is usually read "Ishido Teruhide"; although I've seen some folks translate it as Sekido. Can't help with the date; looks a bit unusual. Here's my webpage on him. http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/teruhide.htm I have a sword by him mounted in Showa era civilian mounts. Good sword, I used it for iaido practice for years. Hope this helps. I'm sure others will get the date or whatever it is (not sure it is a date, maybe something about the sword or where and what circumstances it was made??). Rich S

Thanks all. I"ll pass along the translation and unfortunately that it is likely gimei. Thanks again, Rich S

I would appreciate it if you all might be able to translate a tang emailed to me by a friend. I can't translate it. Got a new computer and all my translation and most sword software won't run on the new one Any help appreciated. Thanks Rich S

I believe Jinsoo Kim did an English translation of the book you mentioned. You might try contacting him. Rich S

Jon - Depending on the age, condition, make and model of the bicycle, it may be worth more than the sword :-) Old bikes can bring very high prices. Rich S

Looks like a pretty standard Naval Dirk to my eye. 1880's through WW II era. Looks in real nice condition. Rich S

Looks like a pretty standard Japanese Naval Dirk IMHO. As to price, others will need to answer that or you could check similar sold items on ebay. Rich S

The term is "Nakirishi Mei" - professional mei carver or something like that. Can only tell difference by comparison to authenticated mei of the smith. Rich S

He's probably talking about something like Simichrome or similar type polish. While it won't seriously damage a blade, it will make it very shiney and possibly hide some of the hataraki or hamon if done very much. Rich S

I've stored my swords vertically in a gun safe for over 40 years. No problems, of course I store them dry - no oil (or at best only a slight bit of choji oil if recently polished). Still no problems with "pooling" or rust. I keep them at around 70-75 degrees F, and 30-35 % humidity (no cracking of lacquer saya, etc). Rich S

Sorry you didn't find the Nagamitsu page satisfactory. Trust me, if I had that information I'd have it posted on the site. If anyone has that info. please let me know so I can add it to the Nagamitsu page. Rich S

Don't know about auctions, etc., but there has been a way to contribute to NMB for a good time. At the bottom of this page (link) is a Paypal donation link. Why not use it? viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7228 Rich S

Curtis - Yes, when I was attending shows I always carried and used a jewelers loop to examine fittings. No legit seller should ever have a problem with someone doing that. Of course always ask before picking up anything from a sellers table. Rich S

John will be sorely missed by all Nihonto collectors/students of gendaito or other. He was a gendai scholar. I was proud to know him. My condolences to his family. Rich S

Morita san - John lived a few miles from me several years ago when he was first putting together material for his book. Several of my swords are in his book (as are those of many on this forum). I unfortunately lost track of him a good time ago. Seems he moved to Florida (heard that second hand); after that I don't know. Anyway, would you feel comfortable posting the translation errors from his book for us? I'm especially interested in those with oshigata. Having published many articles and been a contributing writer for a couple magazines, I know that everyone makes errors. That is not a condemnation of any writer, just a fact; sometimes it is the writer, sometimes the publisher who makes the errors. I've never felt embarrassed nor "stepped on" when someone corrects an error I've made (and I've made lots of them :-) Rich S