jt nesbitt

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Hey Gang- Apologies in advance for my lack of participation recently. I have been completely immersed in getting the new motorcycle into production..... Presented for your consideration is a little slice of completely wore-out nihonto, of dubious origin. The jihada is ayasugi, mixed with mokume, but very faint due to neglect and age, the mei barely legible and the first character now lives really close to the mune-machi. I used talc to bring out the mei, and a little trick lighting with digital filters to make it as clear as possible. Please help me identify this strange Wak. I bought it on Ebay for $700 cause it looked like s**t, but was interesting. I have hit a wall because it doesn't really fit into any category that my limited library of reference books has. This is a thin blade measuring 5.28 mm at the mune-machi But polished to death cause the nakago is 5.9 at the widest point. The nagasa is currently 40cm (15.75"), but was probably shortened from the tip down considering the position of the first character of the mei which now lives under the habaki. This does not make sense when considering that the blade has what appears to be a nice healthy boshi.... Width at the ha-machi is 28.2mm Please help me learn a little bit about this junk, keeping in mind that ALL nihonto has value....it's just relative. Thank you! -- JT

The little motorcycle hanging up in the front of the shop is a Simplex. I keep it as a wall hanger because in 1952 (when Indian went under) New Orleans was the home of the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the US. As a motorcycle designer working in NOLA, I find it equally as inspiring as the Japanese Sword collection. The first floor is dedicated to design and construction of prototype motorcycles, and a small assembly line. Thanks for all of the compliments, and if any member finds themselves in NOLA please let me know. -- JT

The Car is the "Magnolia Special". I built her from scratch, and she now lives on the second floor of building that I also built from scratch. Check it out, thanks for asking! Brian - Apologies for getting off topic.-- JT

Hey Fellas- I finally finished my sword display and study space. Thought you might enjoy taking a peek into my little world. The swords displayed on the table usually live in the the bedroom/Livingroom, but I rotate them out in the display case from time to time. In total, I have acquired 18 pieces in 3 years of active collecting, 6 of them are "mystery nihonto" the rest are papered. I think that my next step should be to get a professional appraisal of the whole lot for insurance purposes. any suggestions for how to go about this? Thanks for helping me get this far! -- JT

Crazy.... It is so interesting to me that a sword made at roughly the same time, by the same group of dudes, who used the same source of inspiration, with the same techniques and materials, would be valued so differently. The sword you referenced is 25x more expensive than the one that I bought. Is it nicer? Yeah, I can see that it is a better work, more finely made, probably a special order because of the length, lovely bohi, yeah....Nice. 25 times nicer? I just don't know. Goes to show how little I know and how far I have to go to get up to speed on this subject material. I think that this is where the industrial design component ends, and the art world begins...and brand becomes REALLY important. I wish I had some more reference material on the Ishido school. - - -JT

Jeremiah- Thanks for the stamp of approval. Do you have any idea whether any Ishido work has made it to Juyo level? Any resources you could direct me to so that I can learn more about them would be really helpful. Thanks -- JT

Matt- You want to hear something crazy? My offer on the Ishido Yasuhiro was accepted on the very day you made this post. What are the chances that of all the THOUSANDS swords for sale in the world on 7/12 - a guy from Melbourne, and a guy from halfway around the world in New Orleans - Would be saying "yeah that one is awesome" while looking at the same sword at the same time - Then meet up on a message board a week later?!?! Please tell me why this one? I kinda stumbled into it as I am not even close to being on your level.....I would love to hear why it appealed to you. Also - I heard that some Ishido work made Juyo, any info on that would be awesome. Thanks -- JT

Steve- Is it possible that there is a little word play going on here? Perhaps taking the first part of his name is "Toda" and he made swords in the style of Ichimonji - (To-Ichi) - AND he thought it was cool to have Atari (a win/hit) association? A PORTMANTEAU (taking the first letters of several words to form a new name/brand, ie - BiMoTa motorcycles) that is also a double entendre? Quite a coincidence that the inspiration of the Ishido school is the Ichimonji school and this sword has Ichi written on it, don't you think? -- JT

Hey Steve- Thanks for the info! What does Tou- Ichi translate to? I can't find a translation for tou (to?) sword? Are the examples that you posted dated? I have seen a few 2nd and 3rd generations with Kiku mon, why is it not present on this sword? Thanks so much for your assistance! -- JT

Yeah, don't buy swords online when you are drunk. After losing out on an auction recently, I got all butt hurt about it and went and impulse bought something. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE this sword, but I don't feel like I did enough research before pulling the trigger and now I am struggling to find a comparable signature. I "mei" have made a huge mistake. Here's the thing- I can find a pretty good amount of info on the Ishido school, and Yasuhiro, but I cant find any nakago/oshigata images with this particular signature or with the "ichi" character. When I was in school (Fine Arts Major), students were instructed to make direct copies, and original work "in the style of" old masters. We were instructed to sign this work "after" - so a signature would read "JT Nesbitt, After El Greco". Is the Mei on this blade a similar philosophy? Is Yasuhiro paying homage to Ichimonji in writing? This sword is longer than most Ishido work, 29", and does not have a chrysanthemum, does this mean that it is an earlier (Yasuhiro 1st) Edo period? It's not too late for me to cancel this purchase if the consensus is that I got ahold of a bogue here....Thanks Ya'll for giving me your time!! -- JT

Well dang. I just got outbid. Lost this one by 1,000 Yen. Bummer. Thanks to everybody who posted and paid attention. -- JT

Markus- You on a HNL (hole nutha level), like, Yoda style Brah! If you ever get down to NOLA, please let me know! In the meantime, could you please give me a recommendation for another one of your books? Anybody else? I am not afraid of putting it out there, getting made fun of, subjecting my taste to critique....I am used to it, big part of my professional life so I have thick skin. Is the sword in question worth the price of admission? Thanks all! -- JT

Jussi, Markus- Your dedication to this subject is beyond my comprehension. I am, and will probably will always be, a dilatant here. An rank armature interloper. My final question is this: I don't have anything like this blade in my humble little collection of mostly Ebay stuff. Does this sword represent good value at 750,000 yen? This would be the most expensive piece of nihonto that I have bought by a 2x factor. A little sage and salubrious advise would be most welcome. Thank you for your time! -- JT

Two more questions please - Because this sword was probably made in the 1750's, It would NOT be classified shinshinto as I had originally assumed but rather, late shinto - correct? Where would I go to find out more about Ujishige? Is his work generally held in high regard? Auction ends tomorrow, so - tick tock. -- JT

Markus- Here is the reply from Aoi after I asked them to verify the generation of the smith by providing an image of the NBTHK origami- "Dear Sir Thank you for your reply. No, the NBTHK paper does not write it is the 1st generation, but we can know it by the signature. Thie signature of this sword is 氏重(Ujishige). Only the 1st generation sign 氏重, thereafter 2nd generation, they sign 氏繁(Ujishige). The 1st used different characters on his signature, so we can know this sword is the 1st generations. Kind regards" The "reset" of the generations of Ujishige is hard to grasp, but I think I have an understanding - Please correct me if I am wrong: 1st through 3rd generation signed - 氏重 (1655-1750's) The 3rd generation changed his signature in the 1750's to 氏繁 Meaning that this sword was made by the 3rd Ujishige BEFORE he changed the signature - sometime in the early part of the 1750"s.... Some 45-50 years later, somebody got curious about how that old Ujishige would perform as a cutter and tested it out....in 1800. Do I have my facts straight? Thanks -- JT

Steve, Markus- Thank you so much for this info!! I have some Nihonto royalty posting here and I am honored for the kind donation of your time! I will ask Mr. Tsuruda for the origami to provide further clarification. I like this blade...I hope that you also see value in it. PS - Markus - I have a copy of your encyclopedia....It has helped me countless times. Thank you for the dedication that it took to create this tool. -- JT

Hey Geraint and Chris- Thanks for responding! Do Ya'll know what the cutting test actually says? The smith's name is really confusing as well....Was this sword made by Banshu Fujiwara/Fujishige/Tegarayama/Ujishige? I am totally lost and unsure of what name to actually try to research.....

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-banshu-ju-fujiwara-fujishige-first-generation/

Hey Gang- I haven't posted in awhile, been covered up with getting a prototype into validation. I promised myself that I would put the nihonto down until I got this motorcycle on the road. I have been a good boy for an entire year....now it's time to have some fun! This flashy Shinshinto caught my eye, but there is a lot of info to try to wade through with the description. I am assuming that the red lacquer is some sort of cutting test? Is the cutting test from kansei 12 (1801), or is the sword made in kansei 12? Any analysis from our wise forum members would be appreciated, I am thinking about bidding on this sword. Thanks -- JT

Adam- The current Administration here in the US is in the process of de-funding our Postal service for political reasons. It is shameful, but as it stands, I would not rely on USPS for the next few months. Apologies from everyone in the USA. We will be making a correction to our priorities soon. -- JT

YAHOO!! I just took delivery of two fantastic swords from Aoi Japan!! They finally broke down and did some kind of deal with UPS (who had previously informed me on the phone that they do not ship "weapons" - no way- no how). I had to pay an additional $38 in customs fees, and provide my social security number to some lady at UPS over the phone. I am not in the habit of doing that, but whatever, got the shipment through. Whew, that was a rough 5 months, but I think worth it. I hope that the group will too, after I post a few shots of these swords next week. Thanks to everybody who followed this thread. --- JT