mtexter

The pics of the tang (nakago) are actually upside down, for what it's worth. An experienced reader can still translate it though I'm sure. Do you have the overall length of the cutting part of the blade (nagasa) by chance? This looks more like a wakizashi to my (inexperienced) eyes than a katana to me, but this length will tell for sure.

Congrats Mike, it's gorgeous!

JP that is a wonderful post, thank you very much! I agree with Barry, it should be stickied or pointed to somehow for others to see Can't wait until covid is overwith, chicago meetup sounds great. Maybe some of our overseas friends want to fly in for the Chicago sword show (assuming it's back on) next year

I love this idea. Chicago is an easy train ride from GR, or just a few hours in the car. Similar for our friends from Milwaukee, I think! And let's not forget Ohio, I've seen at least a couple of members from there. Yay Midwest! I also really want to go to the chicago sword show, once that comes back.

Wow, great stories and advice so far, thank you all. I have a great reading list ahead of me Since discovering this community, I've had a lot of fun seeing so many interesting things and learning just how much there is to know about this one topic. What a beautiful way to spend a few months. It's crazy to think I only saw my family's collection for the first time as an adult just under 3 months ago. I can't wait to see where this takes me! P.S. I'm also attempting to learn Japanese, for some reason; it's fun! Hiragana and ≈50 kanji down, katakana and ... a LOT more kanji to go

Hi Everyone, I find that I'm struggling a bit to learn more about Nihonto. Over the last couple of months since the community helped me learn about my family's swords, my knowledge has stagnated. I have bought a 3-volume set of books on the various smiths of Japan, (and maybe that is the best avenue to learn more) but I'm trying to just grasp what seems to be basic knowledge for many other forum members. What is an itame hada? What does a hakimage boshi look like, versus komaru, omaru, etc? I've been looking for good resources to help distinguish the many, many different types of blade attributes, but have come up empty. (Yes, I have a LOT of books to get around to reading, but I'm also not sure what a good starting book would be.) Did most of you learn just through experience? I'm curious what resources there are to help me learn (besides the wonderful people on this forum of course), other than piecing it together one item at a time and hoping my brain remembers. I'd love to hear 'origin stories' if anyone is willing to share how you learned, or how you got into the hobby, or whatever! Cheers,

In my limited Japanese studies, the + is actually the kanji for '10' (jyuu), followed by the two dashes on top of each other, which is the kanji for '2' (ni). so it essentially just means 12 (twelve), or 12th. So it would be pronounced jyuuni I guess? I've only been studying for a month or so though. LONG ways to go yet

Hi Everyone, I've finally gotten around to putting up a thread to show more details on the 4th and final complete blade that my grandpa brought back. Pretty gorgeous looking blade in my opinion, nice hamon, and seems to be in good polish! Lots of little scratches but it's easy to see features through them. I'm curious about the paint on the other side of the nakago from the mei, if anyone could translate those. Take a look and let me know what you think! I believe we had a translation of the mei already: Gotō Hiromasa 後藤廣正 Pics are here: https://imgur.com/a/MxCiizH but i'll put some in this thread so they survive long-term.

I just started playing this game yesterday. The soundtrack and scenery are incredible, and there is some incredible attention to detail in regards to the main character's equipment. I suppose I'll take this to the Izakaya

I don't have a good way to display anything yet, but I intend to make a wall-mounted rack like yours Mike. I love the torii on top, beautiful! What kind of wood is it made of? I love the idea of framed pictures of the naked blades. I am curious if there's a name for that style of photography, I see it on all the vendor sites and here of course.

Man I've been on this forum long enough to know better! Shame on me, every pic I've taken with a tape measure in is showing overall length, not the nagasa. Shucks.

Thanks guys, this is great info. This piece is likely going to my younger brother, and I'll definitely pass all of this along. (We had 4 complete nihonto to divvy up between 4 cousins, and it's looking like their sizes/lengths will match up with us in age order, roughly anyway) I agree with you Bob, my grandpa brought back some incredible things, we're extremely grateful!

Todd, welcome to the NMB! It looks like you were able to get the tsuba/seppa/habaki combo to move somewhat, it's not in its traditional place by the machi. I'd suggest to keep going at the red rust with the minimum force/abrasion. Then give it a whack with a rubber mallet and it might come loose. Best practice here is to use a block of wood between mallet and whatever needs moving, just in case. Curious if there are any markings on the fittings, but I'd be surprised. Good luck!

Hi All, This is one of the 4 complete blades from my grandpa's WWII cache. Some interesting things look to have been done to it some time ago. In its condition, I'm curious if anyone could tell me much about it. I love the fuchi, kashira, and saya though. Definitely looks old, but I have no real guess as to how old. More pics are here: https://imgur.com/a/pW8GHoZ Thanks for looking!

I showed this to my wife tonight... turns out she thought the fuchi was made of plastic and the saya was made with glitter. I didn't know how to prove her wrong on the latter point (but the fuchi was obviously made of copper or somesuch). How did they get these shiny/speckled lacquers before glitter existed?