SwordGuyJoe

Big name - Nice score!

All,I have added our next meeting to the calendar. Please see meeting details below. December Newsletter: https://shoutout.wix.com/so/9M2jmdm5#/main Meetings and Events: https://www.jsc-mw.com/meetingsandevents February MeetingSaturday, February 17th Time: 1:00 ​ Location is To Be Determined Format: I would like to help drive some additional learning to this sword club. One of the most elusive elements to sword appreciation is teminology, blade details, and kantai. To help this, there will be multiple swords to inspect and describe. We will break up into teams, including an advanced/intermediate collectors with beginners. I will also bring books to help with terminology that will be available for use by the teams. We will ask each team member to complete a copy of the shinsa form from the NTHK-NPO on there own, then discuss with the team where there are differences and why they made the call that they did. Requested Assistance: I have created a brief survey - 4 questions - and I ask that you please complete it. This is to help determine whether a conference room is needed, as well as gauge self-described skill in this type of activity to help me start making teams up. PLEASE COMPLETE THIS. I don't have the room for a group of 30 at my house and I don't want to spend $300 on a conference room if only 5 people are going to show up. I really appreciate it. Once I receive survey's back, I will update the Meeting and Events page with location data. Here is the link: surveymonkey.com/r/MNH5MR2

Chikugo Muto Yukihiro

More close up pics of the steel would help, but with the one pic, I’d say it’s likely traditionally made. The early date, the length, and visible hada lead me to this. I don’t see any activity in the hamon, but that could just be the quality of the polish and the sword itself.

I should also add that this blade is historically significant. Very shortly after this blade was made, Kasama sensei began signing sosho-mei. Based on research and interviews Chris Bowen did with those close to this smith, sosho-mei blades were daisaku (made by a student and signed by Shigetsugu). The reason is because Shigetsugu had health issues that made forging swords difficult/impossible. This is the latest kaisho mei blade that I have ever found. All meaning that this is one of the last blades that Kasama sensei forged from tamahagane to art sword.

Christmas Special: $6,000, plus shipping, pp fees. Ends 12/26

...And the paper

All, I recently bought a LOVELY Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu tanto. The problem is that it came with this Koshirae. I wanted to share and hopefully get some more information. Koshirae : (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Paper) Saya :On the black roiro saya, blue shell powders are apred and wipe black belts are painted. Tsuba : Silver hamidashi tsuba. Menuki : Shishi dog is engraved by silver plate. Fuchikashira:On the silver tsuba, flowers designe is engraved. The advertisement doesn't give a great deal of information, other than the Koshirae is NBTHK Tokubetsu hozon, the fittings are made out of silver, and some info about the saya. Couple questions: 1. The mei and smith ? To my eyes, I see 保治 (Yasuharu?) Kao - Can some one help out here and perhaps give some information on the smith? 2. Can someone provide any information on the set outside of what was listed in the sales page? I really appreciate the help guys.

I once had a star stamped tsuba for a late 44 (Type 0), that had a Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu blade. I have seen a couple since, but including this one, likely only enough to count on one hand.

The mei translation is correct and it is likely traditionally forged. The Shōwa hizen group don’t get the respect they should, as they made some good stuff. The date is February, 1945.

Thanks Allan. I hope you like it.

Bump

Bump. I’ll be making another trip to the post office Saturday.

Last call for books this week...

Absolutely!

Bump

Bump - I’ll be shipping out orders on Saturday. If you can get payment over by then, I can ship this week.

Bwahahahaha

Not that I’m aware of

I have had the same thing happen to me. When applying oil at the same time, with the same material, one blade would apply normally, the next would bead up. I’ve always wondered why and it always happened on the same blades. If it beaded up once, it did it again the next time.

All, My collection is focused, as most know, on a small subset of Gendai smiths. The goal of the collection is to have one tanto, one wakizashi, and one daito. When I upgrade any of these blades, it is time to sell. To this point, I will be listing a few swords. All are excellent, all are papered, but all need to go. I will accept staged payments if needed and a donation will be made to the board. The first is a lovely tanto by Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu. The sword was forged on the estate of Toyama Mitsuru – founder of “The Black Dragon Society”. It is in shirasaya and is accompanied by a nice aikuchi koshirae. Price: $7,000 Shipped Sword Information: Type: Tanto Sugata: Hira-Zukuri Mei: Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu (Kokuin of Toyama Mitsuru) Date/Era: A lucky day in May, 1937 School/Den: Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu Mon, Student of Morioka Masayoshi and Miyaguchi Shigetoshi Tradition: Soden-Bizen Authentication/Papers: NBTHK Hozon Sword Details: Nagasa: 22.9 cm Mihaba: 2.3 cm Kasane: 0.48 cm Nakago Jiri: Ubu, Kirijiri Yasurime: Kiri Mune: Iori Mune Jihada: Masame Hamon: Active Ko-Nie Deki, Gunome Midare w/ sweeping sunagashi Boshi: Komaru w/ Short Turnback Smith Information: Rating: - Toko-Taikan: 2.8 Million Yen Smith Details: Shigetsugu (繁継), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – „Ikkansai Masateru“ (一貫斎正輝), „Ikkansai Kasama Shigetsugu“ (一貫斎笠間 繁継), „Kasama Shigetsugu kinsaku“ (笠間繁継謹作), „Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu hori-dōsaku“ (笠間繁継謹作彫同作), „Shigetsugu“ (繁継), civilian name „Kasama Yoshikazu“ (笠間義一), he was born on April 1st 1886 as son of Kasama Kan (笠間鏆) in Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1899 he started an apprenticeship as swordsmith at his uncle Miyaguchi Shigetoshi (宮口繁寿), he signed in young years with „Masateru“ (正輝), 1903 he went to Tōkyō where he was trained by Morioka Masayoshi (盛岡正吉), in Tōkyō he became later by invitation of Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide (栗原彦三郎昭秀) instructor at the forge „Nihontō-tanren-denshūjo“ (日本刀鍛錬伝習所), from about 1935 he also forged temporarily at the residence of the nationalist Tōyama Mitsuru (頭山満, 1855-1944) in Tōkyō´s Shibuya (渋谷), with the ban on swords and sword forging issued by the allies in 1945 he retired to Kamagayaa (鎌ケ谷) in Chiba Prefecture where he died at March 12th 1965 at the age of 80, he was an excellent horimono carver, due to an illness in 1938 and 39 he was struggling with symptoms of paralysis, it is said that from that time onwards, he focused mostly on the carving of horimono, it is also said that all signatures in grass script are daisaku works of his students and that he signed always in block script, he worked mainly in the Bizen style and applied a chōji-midare or a slanting gunome-chōji Shigeyoshi From Markus Sesko's, "Index of Japanese Swordsmiths" Photo Credit: www.seiyudo.com

All, If you would like a copy, I have been asking for folks to send the cost of the book ($20), then I will pay for the shipping. Once I know the shipping amount, I will email and you can PP me the shipping cost. That way no one under/over pays for shipping. Also - I travel almost all of the time, so please understand that there may be a delay in shipping. I will do my best to get a group of orders out every week.

They do and I shipped a few yesterday and it was $2.36 for media mail.