ckaiserca

6 hours ago, Mikaveli said:

What material is that - and how does it adhere to the Tsuka?

I think that is whale baleen. 

17 hours ago, RichardP said:

Basswood is easy to work with, and can be sourced in pretty large blocks for relatively little cash:

Basswood is a great suggestion! Thanks!

2 hours ago, RichardP said:

Very handsome!

Can I ask what modifications you made to the drawers?  Did the drawers come with sword racks?

The drawers didn’t come with racks and that is what I need to add. The chest and drawers are made with paulownia, so it is very light in weight. I need to find a source of paulownia here in Ontario to make the racks. 

1 hour ago, ROKUJURO said:

don't rest your swords on the TSUKA as this might damage your SAYA in case you have a real blade mounted. 
 

 Currently, there is just a tsunagi fitted in both sets of koshirae. I suppose I should remove the kogatana from the wakizashi koshirae and the saya might fit that way. 

10 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Your tansu looks nice there.
(Hope there are no earthquakes in your area though.)

We have had one very small one that I felt in the last 25 years or so. Apparently we had one hell of a storm the other day. My wife and I missed it as we were in Kentucky at the time. 

Just drove this home from Louisville, KY. I was able to borrow my father-in-law’s SUV. It fit in the back perfectly. 
 

I need to do some slight modifications of the drawers, but I think it looks nice. It’s a perfect fit for my living room. 

Does anyone else wish that the OP would answer the question about the lineup of the Mekugi Ana?

Hi Will. Welcome to NMB. Sorry that you got stung with this replica. I hope this doesn't put you off finding a real Nihonto in the future. I would venture to guess that there are probably more fakes than real swords in the wild outside of Japan. Your best bet is to buy from a dealer listed on this site or buy from the For Sale or Trade section. You can be sure that you will be getting the real deal if it is listed on this board.

Should a tsuba from a tachi be displayed  as if it were on the tachi edge down, or the same as any other tsuba as if the edge were up?

Everyone knows that's where Hattori Hanzō lives 

I am not a fan of paperback books, so I spent a bit of cash to have this hardbound with the covers done as overlays on the hard binding. It turned out pretty well.

Welcome to Colin and to !

Jean-Sébastien, I am located in Aurora, Ontario Canada. Fairly close to Toronto, so if you are ever in the area drop me a message. My collection is tiny, but growing.

Welcome Tony! I hope you enjoy your time on this board.

Welcome Jack! I am fairly new to this hobby too, and I have found this group to be helpful in the extreme! 

5 hours ago, Paz said:

This particular piece is referred to as a showato in description but does not look like a fake or non traditional made. And of course it has all aspects of a traditional sword. 

In this case, I think that Showato refers to a sword that was made during the Showa Era. It does not always mean that the sword was not traditionally made. The description is simply stating that this sword has an amazingly good polish for a sword made during this period.  Also note that this sword does not currently have Hozon papers. It is only guaranteed to receive Hozon if submitted to shinsa.

3 hours ago, Paz said:

Does this tool work only for tight tsuka as when I'm removing the blade entirely. Or are these tools also used for tight shirasaya aswell,  bit confused. 

It is used from removing tsuka only. Use it as shown in the picture below. A few gentle taps are all it should take. 

To remove a blade from a tight shirasaya, try the advice of Grey written above. 

For people who are having problems getting the Tsuka of the shirasaya off, you need to buy a set like this:

It is called an Ategi-Zuchi kit (disassembly tools). I got mine at http://samuraisword.com. It's a bit pricy at $65.00 plus shipping, but it comes in really handy when you need to get a stuck tsuka off. It works on both shirasaya and on koshire

So a couple of folks have contacted me via message to let me know that I have been monkeyed with. Apparently these tsuba are cast. I thought that buying from a reputable dealer would be safe, but I was wrong. 
 

Both of these came from a well-known dealer in Tokyo. What should my next step be?  Should I suck it up and count it as a lesson, or should I ask for my money back?

Two new additions to my collection. Both in the Thousand Monkeys or senbiki-zaru theme.  The second tsuba seems to be a nicer example of the theme. Both tsuba are about 70 mm (2.8 inches) in diameter.

The first one has a single hitsu-ana and is heavier. It doesen't show well in the photos, but all of the spaces between the monkeys is openwork.

The second had two hitsu-ana and the eyes of the monkeys seem to have been accented in gold, but you have to look really closely to see it.  The second one also has monkeys at the bottom that are playing a neck wrestling game called kunipiki.

Kunipiki was a game where the opponents would put a loop of rope around their necks and then try to pull the other person over. I have found these examples online:

Both tsuba also seem to have monkeys that are of the "See No, Speak No, and Hear No" variety.

On 2/7/2022 at 10:26 PM, Utopianarian said:

My brother found this photo somewhere prob at some antique shop I would guess. Looks like a katana in the pic

 

Fairly certain this this photo is from China during the 1912 revolution.

The above photo is the only saya of a true nihonto that I own with semegane. The only other saya I have with semegane is a on a Type 98 Shin Gunto. 

Here is a  close up of the gunto semegane:

This is how the semegane fits on the saya in relation to the ishizuke:

Here are two plain silver semegane on a saya for a sun-nobi tanto:

That looks fantastic. The polish is great, and I like the koshirae. Well done!

Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment.

3 hours ago, Paz said:

AOI ART contacted me to say that my sword is ready for export , and if I would like to write anything on the invoice.

I have always been happy with the service from Aoi-Art. Not so much with FedEx which is how they have to ship to Canada lately (EMS is not currently available from Japan to Canada). My last blade sat in Anchorage, Alaska for 3 full days, and then sat in Memphis, Tennessee for two days, and then I had to jump through hoops to get it cleared through customs.