Bazza

My sediments exactly!! BaZZa.

Here is a blade in a cane stick/walking stick koshirae I saw on ebay in November 2009. It has a quite straight blade. BaZZa.

Could also have been used for a shikomizue (cane stick sword). I have seen a quite reasonable one or two such blades in interesting mounts. BaZZa.

Agree with ray. Definitely NOT a shoshin 3rd generation. However, for a grand it might be a halfway decent sword!! BaZZa.

Hi there Guys and Gals/Blokes and Sheilas, here is something I just stumbled upon FYI, or FYA: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?comment_id=10158783163101819&v=884462375714328&notif_id=1642586694481518&notif_t=comment_mention&ref=notif I was interested to hear of a Takahashi Naganobu as I have a katana by him. BaZZa.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G... In the West Australian desert!!! I know a bloke who found a saiha Kotetsu in Marble Bar 40-ish years ago. There might once have been a modest collection somewhere 'out West'. BaZZa.

I have put this one up quite some time ago, but here it is just for this thread. The blade has a short, wide groove with gold characters in it. It is not polished, but on that side I can see the ko nie of a hamon with a full-tempered point area. BaZZa.

The very, very straight bare blade is interesting only because I have a wrecked, beat-up blade just like it. No mei, no nothing, it has been a puzzle. BaZZa.

Bruce P wrote: > I have the nakago photos of yours, Barry, but not of the whole gunto. I didn't know where to find the thread I got the pics from or I'd have posted the link. Here's what I have: Bruce et al I'm beyond shamed as I completely forgot I'd uploaded those photos!! Standard territory for this auld bloke ... I've put it closer to the top of the 'to do' pile in what passes for a brain ... BaZZa.

sugu-midare?? Not mimigata. BaZza.

Well, while this is active I'll simply say I have a Tanrenjo blade in Shingunto koshirae with a mei similar to the one I illustrated back in 2020 (above). The sword is somewhat of a wreck and I've been 'gunna' write it up for some time now (there is a story!), but a certain teppou write up comes before that, so patience Ladies and Gentlemen... BaZZa aka Barry 'Gunnadoo' Thomas, Melbourne, Australia

Nicolas, a good buy indeed. Time and your collecting future and direction will tell you when the time is right to release it back into the world. It took me 15 years to release my first buy, a mumei Sue Kotou blade in a very nice Shinguntou koshirae. That the time was right was decided when a top-level ubu Shintou Hizen katana came into my orbit, also in a good Shinguntou koshirae and with a photo album and letter from the Japanese major surrendering it. I still miss my first, more for nostalgic reasons than anything else, though it did exude a feeling of its time and place in history, and it was a real sword that was deemed worthy of taking to war. Congratulations on your journey so far, but its a long and winding road... BaZZa.

Just in time!!! Jamie better like it heaps as my finger was quivering on the trigger. Now I can put the money back towards my sword 'n' teppou bin!!! I enjoyed this chawan very much. Good one Evan. BaZZa.

Sorry for a slightly off-topic comment, but I thought Ken would enjoy it. I've just heard from a mate in Tasmania who is helping on Old Gentleman move out of his early 19th century Country Mansion to down-sized accommodation. My mate is the Mansion-sit guard until settlement and in his words: "An occasional visitor to the (Country Mansion) shot 16 bunnies with this the other night. Claimed head shots at 40 - 60 metres. He was cleaning them when we arrived." You can see a bunny at the top of the pic "in preparation for dinner". Here is a pic of the implement. Nicest piece I've ever seen in that line! BaZZa.

CELLULOSE??? George, the cellulose 'same' I've seen had a yellow-ish cast. Your example IMHO is real same??? BaZZa.

Ask for help, please. We are all busting to know. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!!! BaZZa.

MINO(? or NOSHU) MIHARA YOSHI ? SAKU KORE BaZZa.

I've seen a case where one child had the blade and the other the nicely lacquered saya and they had been 'going at it'. Pretty sad to see. BaZZa.

It means when I have got my act together and massaged a sufficiently good set of photos of all the features of the teppou. One teaser - the mei has a kao... Another - it retains a feature I have never seen before, but which answered a question. BaZZa aka "Gunnadoo" PS - I will try harder. When I ran the 'Gunnadoo' line to Mal Cox's request for oshigata he wrote back and said "Can you make that 'Gottadoo' "

Yes - BUT - since when did roosters lay eggs??? Hmmmm??? Hmmmm??? The ideal kashira would be - a henpecked hen!!! BaZZa (in a cheeky mood)

Cluck, cluck, cluck of approval. Where is the Nihonto Chicken for his cluck?? Charles, this is a stunner. I'm sure there is a wonderful story of who did the work, where, and how long it took. Charles wrote: > I went and did the thing that everyone tells you to avoid doing. I had new koshirae made for a katana Well, if one uses the right artisans the result speaks for itself. BaZZa.

Well, some solid resonances here. Where are the Lady Collectors and what are their stories?? What historical figure will speak for them??? For a Collector's wife I have observed there are the Three Rings of Marriage: The Engagement ring The Wedding ring, and The Suffering... BaZZa.

Khalid, The last time I looked at this there was a vast literature on the psychology of collecting. Just plug psychology of collecting bibliography into google and take a walk!! BaZZa.

Would I be correct in saying that the 'teardrop' shape at the top of the mei is a tama, in this case as drawn it represents the Jewel of Knowledge with flames rising from it??? This is the same tama as in tamahagane... Any more 'enlightenment' on this??? A very interesting signature indeed. BaZZa.

In correcting my earlier entry I've just remembered another juicy tidbit. Some 20 or so years ago a polisher visited Melbourne under the auspices of a noted lady dealer in Japanese arts. He was a third generation togishi and his grandfather was taught by the Hon'ami of the day. He asked for a sword to be used as a polishing demo sword and I proffered my Yasukuni (Kotani) Yasunori, which really did need a polish. As work progressed on the blade (up to the 5th stone if I remember correctly) he commented that he thought the blade was youtetsu - factory steel. I'm guessing he had never seen a Yasukunitou or knew anything about them. FWIW (who the hell am I!!!) I politely disagreed and told him a little about them. BaZZa.