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Surfson

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Everything posted by Surfson

  1. Surfson

    KANEMOTO?

    Surfson replied to IchiNi's topic in Nihonto

    Looks like a very attractive blade and worthy of study. The sanbonsugi appears to be there, and to move through the kissaki, one indicator that it may be an older blade. Unfortunately, the kesho polish seems to obscure the hamon throughout.
  2. Surfson
    My thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people affected as well. I stayed in Sendai for 6 weeks as a visiting professor and it is overwhelming to see the devastation occurring in the region. Bob
  3. Surfson
    Morita San - you beat me to it! I agree though. More study ahead.....
  4. Surfson
    Are you sure that it's not Kanetsune?
  5. Surfson

    Goto kozuka

    Surfson replied to Ray Singer's topic in Tosogu

    I can find only one mitsunaga in the kinko meikan and it is a different maker. Sorry can't help. I would advise that if it's really nice, assume it's gimei and judge the price accordingly.
  6. Surfson
    Thanks a million Malcolm! I'll give it a whirl. Cheers, Bob
  7. Surfson
    Hi All. Any advice how best to type in Japanese on a Mac? Is there a preferred software, either free download or to purchase? I can't seem to find anything already installed on my machine, but maybe it's there just outside my view. I will probably mostly use it for NMB posting, but may also find it useful for other communications. Thanks in advance. Cheers, Bob
  8. Surfson

    Tsuba help

    Surfson replied to javenowens's topic in Tosogu

    Not sure what school it's trying to be, but it looks cast to me, and likely modern.
  9. Surfson
    John, I have looked at his items many times and already come to the conclusion that you have. Sorry about the tough lesson, and I assume that the backs of the menuki were not visible?
  10. Surfson
    That's really exciting Ian. I definitely thought it was a nagamaki, and I'm glad to hear that you like it, aside from the shintetsu. I would have given you a run for your money if there was even a shred of visible hamon in any of the photos but there wasn't. I wasn't prepared to take the chance that it would come without any hamon at all or with a Nioigiri. I'm happy for you that it came through mostly healthy. Do keep us up to date with the shinsa and polishing results. Cheers, Bob
  11. Surfson
    Hopefully you can get your money back and it won't be too expensive of a lesson. Take a look at the nakago ana and how it is not cut crisply (in fact, not cut at all). Also look to be casting lines inside the kogai ana. "Inlay" also looks fake. Study it a while before you send it back, and compare to some in Compton or some of the other good collections.
  12. Surfson
    Looks like a healthy sword, and fit for iaido. The only down side would be that it has very tight koitame (maybe even tending toward muji hada), and it is in suguha. In other words, it has minimal grain in the steel and little activity (some ko ashi) in the hamon so there won't be much to study and appreciate. All in all, a nice sword and maybe better to swing than to study. Good luck and welcome. Bob
  13. Surfson
    Moriyama San, thanks for sharing the wonderful story about the pun!
  14. Surfson
    First character is the No from Mino, then Kaneshige. To me it's odd, but possibly No Kaneshige? Others more knowledgeable will weigh in.
  15. Surfson
    Looks like yoshimitsu to me.
  16. Surfson
    Nice sanbon sugi. Looks like an address on the right.
  17. Surfson
    There was a metallographic study of this that I have seen. A guy cut a number of swords and looked at the crystal structure of the cut surface. I can't remember if it was an article or possibly it's a book that was published in Japan. I will root around a little and see if I can dig up the book.
  18. Surfson
    If it is saiba, then one can't blame the polisher. During a fire the grain opens up and the jihada becomes very coarse like this, with lots of large openings that look like ware. I couldn't see a mizukage on the blade, but that probably means that the whole blade was treated when it was retempered.
  19. Surfson
    I'm no expert, but looks like a classic saiba to me. I learned this the hard way - the open hada is usually a strong clue, especially in the context of the blackened nakago. Just one person's opinion.
  20. Surfson
    The vast majority of times, bidders smell a rat and the blades from China go very cheaply. It becomes more remarkable when the listers lie and bidders drive the price up on an obvious fake.
  21. Surfson
    This always amazes me. http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-2-Japanese-OFF ... 500wt_1156
  22. Surfson
    Looks like lots of ware and shintetsu stem to stern to me.
  23. Surfson
    Does the one character have wings? Who is that? Nice tsuba by the way.
  24. Surfson
    Jason, for $225 you can buy a decent and interesting tsuba on ebay that you will enjoy and will hold its values and possibly your interest. Virtually any sword you can buy for that amount will be very poor unless you find a private sale from a seller that doesn't know what they have.
  25. Surfson
    You will likely be frustrated trying to buy a tsuba that fits on ebay. You will get something home and it will either be very loose or, worse yet, the nakago ana will be too small for the tang of the sword. Best to bring it to a show and go around the room looking for somebody that has hundreds of inexpensive tsuba and start trying the wakizashi size tsuba out on your blade. Cheers, Bob
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