CSM101

I just saw this in several Mino blades. In one of my first katanas it was very prominent. Uwe G.

Thank you all for your help. Masame in the shinogiji is usually more common and a honsanmai construction in a hirazukuri blade confused me a little bit. Some words about the blade. It is signed with a single kanji: Sa. I know, that there are several generations and Oishi Sa, etc. But this one is not Soshu. But still a blade to enjoy. Uwe G.

Okay, here is a full lenght photo. I hope you can tell me more now. Uwe G.

A full lenght photo? Maybe in the afternoon. Uwe G.

Hello, at the moment I have a wakizashi at home. Hirazukuri, nagasa 38,8 cm, sakizori. Special feature is: you have two different kind of steel. The upper part is in itame, the rest in masame. My question is: do you see that often or is this a a trademark of a school and time? Thank you for your help! Uwe G. 3,16 MB download: http://daten-transport.de/?id=7NPUV3gJXE6D

Grev already got a PM from me. At the moment I plan to be in London in May 2017 for 5 days. I hope, that there is a meeting in London. But I can change the dates. No problem. Uwe G.

Hello all, I just wanted to write, what happened in the auction. First of all, I have to thank the people of Hermann Historica. They are very helpful, nice and friendly and whatever you ask, they never lose their temper. Great people. The auction itself was very interesting. A lot of people and you had the chance to meet guys you only know from the NMB. Some old and new friends and the other ones. And then: Heaven and Hell, Hope and Despair, Testosterone and Headshaking. Just a lot of fun! The last chance to see the collection as a whole. Some helmets and armors are already gone. The Myochin Koi is still there. But not for long. Last chance to see it. I think for the next 20 years there is not such an auction in Europe. Uwe G.

Because you asked for pics: http://www.nihontophoto.com/dieott-kollektion Uwe G.

At the moment the upload for photos doesn´t work. At least not for me. But here is the link: http://www.hermann-historica.de/db2_de/aktuelle-auktion-2.html Uwe G.

I think tomorrow you can see the results. And then you will just fall on you back. Helmets Nr. 31 estimated 3.800 EUR SOLD 40.000 EUR Nr. 58 estimated 900 EUR SOLD 58.000 EUR Uwe G. Edit. results are online

Nr. 223 Koi-carp Myochin: estimated 8.000. EUR Sold 170.000 EUR

I would not buy it. Not even with a price of 200 Dollar. There is nothing in the blade that makes it genuine. Uwe G.

I was in London this week for a little lecture about Nihonto Photography. But first I wanted to visit the British Museum. I´ve heard, that they have a Sukehiro. And that´s what I wanted to see. But the Sukehiro wasn´t on display. They have a wonderful armor, a Muromachi Sukesada with a fine tachi koshirae, an Etchu no Kami Masatoshi. And a Shintogo. Kunimitsu! And this is really worth the trip. If you ever come to London, visit the British Museum. Room 94-2 is for Japan. Then I had the chance to meet some very nice people (again). Thanks again to paulb for the invitation. And a special Thanks to Darcy and Richard K. George for the permission to use some of their photos. Some words about the Shintogo: a very classical sugata, elegant with a thin suguha hamon in nie. But the really amazing thing is the quality of the steel. Jinie, chikei and nie utsuri. If you have “The 100 Masterpieces from the Compton Collection” than you can read a little bit more about the blade. Sorry for the bad photo. The blade is behind glass and the distance was 40 cm and I worked freehand. But better a bad photo than no photo. And next year I will stay longer. Uwe G. London: http://www.nihontophoto.com/london-28-09-2016 Shintogo Kunimitsu: http://www.nihontophoto.com/shintogo-kunimitsu PS: THEY HAVE A SHINTOGO!

Short Update: The price for the amazing catalogue is 30,00 EUR and end of next week available (hopefully). Uwe G.

Maybe here: http://www.jauce.com/auction/k221003928 Uwe G.

I´m a little curios: were the kanjis by Sukezane big or normal size? Uwe G.

Question is, if you can decide by a photo, if it is hard or soft jigane. And I think, that you cannot say so by a photo. 1. Shiga Seki This would be hard jigane. 2. Enju Again, the same sword like in the first photo, but this time the omote. An here you can see clearly a different type of steel. Less chikei and more jinie. Soft jigane. 3. Shinano no Kami Fujiwara Daido hard jigane The problem is, that a sword has three dimensions and in a photo you have only two. You must hold a sword in your hands to make the decision if it is hard or not. And now: Wales! Go for it! Uwe G.

1 = Enju - Yamashiro school 2 = Sue Soshu 3 = Bizen Unji 4 = late 19. century tourist crap 5 = Rai Kunitsugu - Yamashiro school And now: 3 x suguha, Have fun! Uwe G.

Hello Hamfish, I dont know, what you want to see in photos, but I think, there is no way to see the difference in a photo if it is soft or hard. Try to find out the soft jigane. Uwe G.

Hello Lloyd, the paper says only Kongobei (TH). So it is a different sword then. Uwe G.

A Kongobei blade. Uwe G.

Usually the auction is here: Linprunstr. 16, 80335 München. But Hermann Historica decided, that there is not enough space. So, they have a Hall nearby. And in case you missed my first post here is a small part of The Rudolf Ott collection: http://www.nihontophoto.com/#!die-sammlung-ott/ewf3g Uwe G.

Dear Nihonto-Lovers, I already wrote about it, but a serious upgrade happened, and so I want to inform you again. From 24.10.2016 to 05.11.2016 the Rudolf Ott Collection will take place at Hermann Historica. A wonderful catalogue will be made and I think, it is a very big and wonderful collection. A few words to Rudolf Ott. But please, don’t take them as facts. It is more or less urban legend. Rudolf Ott started colleting short after WW II. In the early 1950 he went for several months to Japan. He lived there and he brought some items back. In Munich he had a pharmacy and he was very well connected. An Auction House in the same house and an uncle, who was a dealer in antiques. And so he build up a very good collection. As an example, he owned a Kiyomaro before the blade was polished and papered. Sometime in the 1970 he stopped collecting. Means, he never bought anything again, but he didn´t sell anything either. And so this is an old collection. But he was never in swords. He loved Armor, Helmets, etc. Swords were more or less a side effect. You can still find some, but it is not high quality. A Daisho by Kanemoto for instance (something for Chango). But a later generation. What can you find there: a myochin carp, a helmet with 128 plates, tsubas, books, whatever…. So, and now comes the interesting part: Hermann Historica invites us to take a look at the whole collection before anyone else. The date is 24.09.2016. A month before the auction. The plan is, that we have 4 or 5 hours. Even if you are not in for Armor or if you don´t want to buy anything, this is the whole collection together for the last time. And it is the biggest collection in Armor for a single collector. At least here in Europe. But now the bad news: if you want to come and stay overnight: Forget it! It is Oktoberfest (a.k.a. Die Wiesn). It´s the second weekend and our friends from Italy will march in. And then Munich goes from crazy to nuts. Please inform me via PM, if you want to come. We can make better plans then. Hope, to see you there Uwe Grabowski

I know, that it was unfair to give the right info away. But it was kind too easy, when you just need two or three clicks to get the right answer. Sorry for that. On the other hand: why is it DEN Masamune? What is the difference in the workmanship to a "usual" Masamune? Quality not, that´s for sure. I hope, you can explain it. Uwe G.

It is a Den Masamune. You can find the Info on the Japanese Site. My Best Guess was Shizu. Uwe G.