Bazza

Looks like something whimsical that Hokusai would draw!!! BaZZa.

And here is my CHOSHU NAKAI iris leaf tsuba for comparison. BaZZa. There should be a gold KAO but it has worn off, or been removed. A remnant can be seen.

It is a bit big, but it could also be a high-end Doll's sword - for a miniature suit of armour. I once saw a high quality sword of similar size, perhaps a little shorter. Very nice piece Alex. BaZZa.

What he said - big download, saving it for a colder then normal winter's night... BaZZa.

If I dug deep in the "Dog Box" in my shed I could show an equally disinteresting piece of Meiji period tourist caca. Ken, forget it and move on. BaZZa.

Mmmmm, yairs... The nakago looks like it was at one time very heavily rusted and has been wire-brushed to "clean it up". Wire-brushed heavy rust has a glossy, even waxy appearance. The vestige of O-sujikai yasurime on the nakago suggest a WW2 Gifu Showa-to and the very questionable yakiire/hamon points to a quench that has gone horribly wrong. Summary, disregard it a get thee to a better sword... BaZZa.

Very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing. Just by-the-by and for my edumakayshon, Chinese music???? BaZZa.

Marco said: Dragons nose is 1.2mm on full length Wonderful detail indeed. Worse case of inverse acne I've ever seen!! If the nose were red instead of gold I'm sure we would be looking at the local reprobate!!! BaZZa. PS - having a 60mm macro lens I'm reading up on stacked images...

And your mouse hand matey... BaZZa.

As already said Dave, this is a fake, undoubtedly Chinese. Definitely not Japanese. BaZZa.

Well, I know nothing as a certain camp guard once said, so let me demonstrate it. If I'm to be cut down at the knees let it be quick... The theme is big-eared rabbits and it looks very, very good to me. I go so far as to suggest Momoyama yamagane and a piece well worth repair at the hands of Ford or an acolyte - if Ford so thinks!! BaZZa.

Hi Daniel, I hope you have a tsunagi in the original (Shingunto??) koshirae ... BaZZa.

And please don't forget the koshirae - we would LOVE to see it. The tang looks excellent and the habaki, as said, is very good and I'm guessing solid silver?? Robert S said: > ... the cutting edge of that blade is somewhere between 17 and 22 inches, which would make it a wakizashi Might I suggest, if closer to 22 inches it could be a katateuchi, therefore in its day considered a katana?? BaZZa.

IMHO - run away... Get thee to a sword show. Politeness in lieu of the words I should not speak!! BaZZa.

Ahhhhhhh - my question exactly. Aluminium is impossible to solder because of the instant formation of an oxide layer. Welding is equally difficult, having to be done with an inert atmosphere surrounding the weld, eg., argon arc. It has always puzzled me how the aluminum saya were made. In all likelihood they were drawn and formed from seamless tube. BaZZa.

Hey Bob, that's great news and good to see follow up news outcome from the Shinsa. Congratulations. Its obviously a katana, but what's the length now given it is suriage??? BaZZa.

FWIW I think the F/K are a unified theme - Daruma and a whisk of some sort?? The patina, metals and gilt finish all seem to underscore a unified pair - but exactly what I'm not sure. Overall, indeed a nice antique koshirae. Can we see the blade, please?? BaZZa.

HAHAHAHA - Robin, I was once congratulated by a MIT Graduate for my "useless knowledge". He said "Barry, you have the most extensive amount of useless knowledge of anyone I know. Interesting, definitely, but useless". So, here is my contribution to the thread - a mumei fuchigashira of Shishi pups playing with tea-bag cords. BaZZa.

Without going to the books this stamp 南 is NAN - "south" - is it not?? Any significance in that meaning, or is it "just a stamp"?? BaZZa.

Anyone have any comment on the book "Misui the Samurai"?? I haven't read it as yet, but it is on my bucket list... BaZZa. https://www.amazon.com/Musuis-Story-Autobiography-Tokugawa-Samurai/dp/0816512566 A series of picaresque adventures set against the backdrop of a Japan still closed off from the rest of the world, Musui's Story recounts the escapades of samurai Katsu Kokichi. As it depicts Katsu stealing, brawling, indulging in the pleasure quarters, and getting the better of authorities, it also provides a refreshing perspective on Japanese society, customs, economy, and human relationships. From childhood, Katsu was given to mischief. He ran away from home, once at thirteen, making his way as a beggar on the great trunk road between Edo and Kyoto, and again at twenty, posing as the emissary of a feudal lord. He eventually married and had children but never obtained official preferment and was forced to supplement a meager stipend by dealing in swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and generally using his muscle and wits. Katsu's descriptions of loyalty and kindness, greed and deception, vanity and superstition offer an intimate view of daily life in nineteenth-century Japan unavailable in standard history books. Musui's Story will delight not only students of Japan's past but also general readers who will be entranced by Katsu's candor and boundless zest for life.

It would be interesting to know what the successful bidder thought he was buying. IMHO this is far from an art sword by any definition. It serves to show more than ever the importance of Shows and seeing many swords in hand and reading selected books before buying one's first sword, advice that is bound to be ignored in droves... BaZZa.

BRAVO!!! BaZZa.

Rare to see it swimming all over the place!!! BaZZa.

Agree with Ray. The flaw is longitudinal and not transverse so I doubt very much that it would adversely affect the design function of the sword or present any danger of broken pieces flying off if mis-used. BaZZa.

Sergei, My goodness, what a wonderful study. I have one more to add that I bought from Evan Worley nearly a year ago. The thread is http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22905-wonderful-early-iron-tsuba. For the sake of the thread I'll put here just two pictures from Evan's sale notice - I haven't taken any of my own photos yet. This tsuba is similar to Fig. 3 and Fig. 15 in Sergei's study. Best regards, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.