Klop

Ken, In a similar situation I had some trouble finding white eggs, but I did. Used xxactly the method Ian described, but without the seafood. From experience I can tell abalone is very hard and it takes a whetstone to polish it, sandpaper didn't work very well. Good luck, Eric K.

Hi Tobias, Not sure about this particular finish, but finely ground stone (like uchiko, or pumice powder) was mixed with laquer to create a hard base layer/filler. Ye olde 2 component resin :-) If you get the viscosity right it should be possible to compensate the thickness (1 mm) and structure by patting the semi-hard stuff with a sponge or something to match the bumpy surface. Test the behaviour of different thicknesses on a scrap piece of cardboard first... Namikawa sells uchiko by the kilo and also says this is for foundation layer. http://www.namikawa-ltd.co.jp/cgi-bin/i ... te=14&no=9 Good luck, Eric.

Knowing full well it was probably useless, I asked this seller during the auction how they managed to present this thing as original 1850-1900 when it is a chinese copy supposed to look like WW2. As far as I know that was somewhat later... Provided them with a link to images of the real thing to see the huge differences. I was very surprised they even answered, and said they would "look into it". But strangely the didn't bother to post my message in the auction Maybe it didn't really sell -highest bidder one of their family- and we'll see it coming around again soon. EricK.

That one 's better then mine, hot stamps look cool :-) Best regards, Eric K.

Bruno, Grey, Thank you for the input! I believe Grey is right, a google on Katsumasa led me to a sword which seems almost the same, from signature via yasurime to the date and stamp. That one is just a few numbers higher; see http://www.shibuiswords.com/gunto.htm Best regards, Eric K.

Dear members, I just acquired a gunto which has several markings, If I'm not mistaken it boils down to production number 133 in january 1943, Na(goya arsenal). The smith however is a problem to me, because of the hasty inscription I can't even count the strokes to figure out the kanji Very long shot on the first character - based on the square in the lower right-... Suke? Can you help me identify the smith? Thanks a lot, Eric K.

Maybe family? Best regards, EricK

Simon, That fits, looks like you're right! I was trying to count strokes and ended at six but if you connect some the number becomes less :-) Thanks, EricK.

Good morning all, A friend of mine has what seems to be a koto wakizashi, I tried to find the smith and the best guess I have is "Kane To". I doubt the "To" the most, that's a long shot. Could someone correct or confirm my findings? Thanks for your help! Best regards, EricK.

another thing caught my eye in the silhouette picture; the nakago ana shape resembles the space between the bishi mon, like an hour-glass in square forms. May not be relevant at all ... Reminds me of the batman logo, either you see a bat or you see a mouth missing some teeth Best regards, Eric K.

Well, the description does mention "tsunagi sukashi" twice, and I don't think that has anything to do with the mon or the kozuka ana? No idea why a tsunagi would require the job done on this plate, but the seller probably has a reason to mention this. Best regards, Eric K.

Gents, Thanks for your input! I fiddled a bit with a photo editor to create a line-up of the sources and my yari in which I traced the lines. Green is 100% hit, orange the imagniative path. Conclusion, it must be the fudo myoo. By the way, I see no difference between the fudo myoo and the kanman. Seems the same image - maybe in a different "handwriting" but the intention looks similar to me. And Keith, of course you are right about the cutting/slashing actions. Best regards, Eric K.

Brian, The bonji-pic is great, thanks! And yes, I feel lucky with this piece, seems to have quite some age and then the condition is fine with hamon all there and just a tiny spec of pitting in one flank. You like Fukuro naginata? Why didn't you tell me sooner, I have a dozen of these, wanna swop for a kikuchi yari? OK, time to wake up now Though I think a nakago naginata is the better design to distribute the sideways force on the pole while slashing - opposed to the frontal force on a yari. Best regards, Eric K.

Dear members, I just received my latest acquistition, a fukuro yari with a bonji and gombashi. Of course I'm trying to figure out which bonji this is, but when I look at the list on the kanji pages above all I see is plain text, no pictures of the bonji themselves. Is that just me? Anyway, some googling led me to a sword which has a bonji that looks like mine, and the description mentions it's Fudo Myoo. More googling on Fudo Myoo tends to make me think that the bonji on my yari is indeed this one, but not completely sure. So, what do you think? Best regards, Eric K.

Clive, you were right about the Hiro...; Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio, one of the most dedicated, loyal and fierce samurai under Katsumoto. He teaches Algren the art of Samurai sword fighting, none too gently but eventually grows to respect him. He is one of the remaining samurai to die in the final charge in the last battle. Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Samurai Love the movie by the way, great music. Reminds of Shogun with Richard Chamberlain (bearded gaijin starts to like Japanese ways). Greetings, Eric K.

I agree with Reinhard on the hamon, to me it also seems like a check to see what's there. It's also visible in the kissaki. About the nakago, anyone else who sees a plugged mekugi-ana halfway (+ new one, and thus machi moved up a bit) or is it my imagination? Greetings, Eric K.

Gents, your reactions are in the same line and I totally agree; on the forward stroke into a target I even think there's almost no force on the mekugi itself. If properly fitted the wedge-shaped nakago will set itself to the walls of the channel and prevent a backward motion of the blade, the tip of the nakago rests at the bottom of the channel and the kerakubi rests against the tip of the pole. No problem there. I was more concerned about the pulling stroke while the blade was stuck in a target. At that moment all that's between keeping and losing the tip is the mekugi. On second thought, on te way in the blade created room for itself and being sharp and smooth it should be able to come out with less effort. With a jumonji used on the pulling stroke the forces on the mekugi would be larger. Maybe this is why some yari have longer nakago with more than one mekugi, several times thin = 1 x thick (besides the function to strengthen the pole against being cut). Kind regards, Eric K.

Hi Piers, When I saw your yari chest I instantly thought of the toolbox shown in the book "Japanese woodworking tools -their tradition, spirit and use" by mr. Toshio Odate (which I can recommend to those who like handtools, especially the cutting kinds!). Allthough the lid is somewhat different the recessed panels acting as grips are the same. Purpose too; the safe keeping of high grade steel. The picture is bad, I didn't want to break this softcover's back, but it shows enough I guess. While I'm at it something I was wondering about; yari mekugi... I have a few yari and what they have in common is that the mekugi-ana usually is small to very small, just about 2 mm. Off course a yari nakago has less meat than a sword so the ana just can't be large. But to fit this hole the mekugi is more like a toothpick than a proper mekugi, and thus weak. So the question emerges; was bamboo traditionally used or maybe a (permanently riveted) Iron mekugi?? Kind regards, Eric K.

Eric, You make me curious, What special tool do we need, and why not just a caliper (in dutch "schuifmaat" which roughly translates to sliding measure) ? http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Us ... new_en.gif Greetings, Eric K.

Hi y'all, Have a merry christmas and a happy newyear! Do panda bears like deepfreeze meals? Greetings, EricK.

Hi Keith, I found it, thanks! Kind regards, EricK.

Thanks gents, Now I know it's not my fantasy alone. This one came in one sale of three single menuki which I bought to get a shishi, somehow there are a lot of broken up sets around. This particular one is a bit hmmm, what's the word.... scribbly /messy, a lot of lines but no clear forms. Maybe some day it will find it's place. Kind regards, EricK.

Dear members, What do you see in this picture (except a low quality copper menuki)? To me it seems to be a samurai on horseback, maybe in a river. I outlined the man's face + helmet and shoulder armor, horse's face and man's arm. But the other 75%.... Could this be the very rare rorschach menuki? Kind regards, Eric K.

Hi Brian, Indeed, the flying helmet with strap and fur around his neck, I see a pilot too. Strong image with little lines, nice. I think it would work great in the air force enlisting office ("join now and see the world"). If that's really what it is, no idea unfortunately... Greetings, Eric K.

Dear Jérôme, No, the mune is ihori. Kind regards, Eric K.