nagamaki - Franco

Do you have the link to AOI for this sword?

Either fittings must match on both swords, and/or swords must have been made as a set. Two swords simply made by the same smith doesn't cut it.

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Hello, when one sees menuki of the same orientation, id twins, and there usually will be several sets on the tables at shows, three things that immediately come to mind are mass production, look to see if they are cast, poorer quality.

A type of Japanese catfish would be my bid here done in bronze.

Hello, at least to my eye suggest you continue searching as the mouth, fins, and tail are much different on the menuki fish than anything shown so far.

Explain?

Topic has been discussed before, please use NMB search to find.

Be aware that the correct order to follow is foundation polish, habaki, then shirasaya, final polish. Otherwise you might find yourself having to repeat steps.

FYI, http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/samewrapping.html

Hello, to answer the question, in short, yes, glass lens cleaning cloth. However, to be more specific as it seems there are a lot of cleaning cloths that call themselves microfiber these days, Microdear is what comes highly recommended for polished nihonto. And as for washing, the detergent should be free of all the things that would leave harmful chemical residues behind on the cloth like perfumes etcetera. Here at home we use Arm & Hammer chem free laundry detergent and have never had a problem. With the one exception that these cloths become quite popular when others at home discover how well they work on delicate surfaces. While not inexpensive they hold up very well even with regular use. Facial tissue, yes, it can be used, Kleenex soft, free of lotions or perfumes, etc., and do not reuse. Even here one needs to be quite attentive and vigilant in not using too much finger pressure, unlike with Microdear cloths! P.S. It's not a bad idea and suggest reading reviews before choosing and using such products that make claims on your nihonto.

Hello Grey, All, Time and time again you and others have said not to oil the nakago, which if anyone cares to read the NBTHK post on the JSS/US site on sword care, even they write that this is OK and explain how to do so. Also, I have had a number of swords in which I have oiled the nakago not only according to the JSS Sword Care article, but on the advise of fully trained Japanese polishers, and these swords have received Tokubetsu Hozon papers when submitted to the NBTHK! Now, at least on one sword there was a tad of active red rust, which when treated with sword oil, carefully, as recommended, then turned to black rust, which is exactly what one wants to happen. The nakago below was treated with sword oil to help arrest any active rust, the key is to blot any excess oil off to the point where there is only a trace remains. If you allow the oil to soak into the red rust it will begin to transform it to desired black rust. Careful vigilance is the key, and not too much nor too little, but just right. And that's all I have to say about this.

Hello Sean, Although there is the urge to rush, instead learned patience is highly recommended with nihonto. Take the time to begin studying, books, internet, travel to sword shows, etc., so that when it comes time to making decisions you are able to do so from a knowledgeable point of view rather than simply an inexperienced one where too often collectors end up paying for their missteps and mistakes. A good sword deserves a proper polish, it would be wise to take the time to carefully read through the many comments and discussions already here on NMB about polishers and polishing. The martial arts approach to polish does not have the same approach and objectives as an art polish and it is important to learn and understand the differences. At this point your sword is an art sword, exactly at what level is yet to be determined. Think of this as sort of a journey, just how far you go on this journey is up to you. In the mean time take good care of your sword, there is no reason for it not to survive for centuries more.

Hello, this shape looks familiar at 4 AM , reminds me of a late nambokucho sword I used to own, but perhaps a little bit later, early muromachi. This is just one amateur opinion :? , wait to see what others here have to say. The proper way to find out is to submit this sword for shinsa like the next NTHK NPO, and/or NBTHK (if polished). If I were thinking of polishing/keeping this sword, I would seriously consider having a window polished in this sword first, which would offer better clues for the shinsa judges as to what this sword might be.

While cleaning menuki of dirt, grime, and more that is not supposed to be on them is fine and acceptable when done with care, it should be noted and kept in mind that it is not desirable to clean the 'good' out of them, over clean.

Good morning, Cannot recall ever seeing tadpole menuki before, be that as it may, I would venture a guess that they would come back as , if submitted for shinsa. Thanks for sharing (which goes out to all who post images of their goodies as well here on NMB).

As a good sword friend might say, the sword is still looking for the right owner to come along.

Hello, An image showing the entire profile of the sword without habaki from both sides, images of the mono-uchi both sides, as well as good close-ups of the Kissaki and Hamachi, also images showing the moto and saki kasane. Any and/or all of these would be most helpful for evaluation. Thank you.

Hello All, Pete is not the only one confused! Time and time again we have posts of people coming here to ask for appraisal after they have bought a NIHONTO of all things, let alone a nihonto on a sword website where they cannot read the description, and yes, Grey, even before they have a library of any sort !!!

Hello, one must keep in mind that certain "aspects" as they are called are a function of polish, meaning that while they can give some indication of age, they must be taken and weighed as part of a bigger whole as a polisher can change these and even use them to fool. Chips in the ha for instance can shorten the life of the Hamachi in a big hurry and does not necessarily indicate the age of the sword as being old. Kantei begins with overall shape and not any single aspect, there are Koto swords with ubu ba as another example.

Bonjour Jean, I'm almost certain that Robert at ShoShin would be glad to give you a quote. A very tempting package.

Yes, Jean, posted this link for those unfamiliar with Yoshitane horimono, a picture being worth ...... . It might also serve to pop a few newbie's bubbles for getting overexcited about mediocre horimono that drives the price of mediocre swords up.

Speaking of Horimono carver, Yoshitane ...... http://www.sho-shin.com/naotane.htm

Indeed, it is critical that one finds the artisans with the ability and skills and understanding of horimono and sword construction to perform and execute what needs to be done as this is where mistakes cannot be made, period. So, let's talk about "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", as the story goes. As an example of tight margins, the sword imaged below (a naginata naoshi katana), measures 2 mm at the moto kasane and 1.7 mm at the saki kasane, the sword then widens (at most) another 1mm on each side to its thickest point across at the shinogi, giving a total width of ~ 4 mm before narrowing back down to the ha. On this sword the old soe bi on both sides over time had been polished down and not recut, as a result the center section of the soe bi was gone on both sides, with the remaining ends of the soe bi being roughly 1/2 mm or less deep. It was decided to recut the soe bi as part of the new polish. The newly cut soe bi runs 1mm deep on each side leaving (at most), only 2mm in between. Which does not leave much room for margin of error especially when one considers that the newly cut soe bi was cut free hand with no jig or guide used. The polisher then polished the new groove when polishing the rest of the blade. The result (on close inspection to the eye), looks almost like a machine cut groove for both straightness and depth. Which is most impressive especially when seeing the before and after. P.S. wish to make clear that recutting hi is one thing, personally I would not go beyond the polishing of horimono.

This thread presents a good argument of why it is so important for newbies to find their way to the sword shows in order to explore the wide range of choices available and to get a taste of what is out there, especially and including seeing some of the very best nihonto. It really is an eye and mind opening experience that with any luck will help develop one's view of nihonto, so that good swords will begin looking like good swords, and bad swords will begin to hurt one's eye as the Japanese would say.