Avidmark

Looking for input if I should be washing silk viewing cloth every time I study/clean my katana. I assume it would have to be cleaned at some point as the cloth would pick up oils from hands. Or is unscented tissue paper preferred as they are always clean and disposable. Thanks for any input.

PM’d

I have to say learning about Nihonto and accoutrements is wildly complicated. Having fun learning though!

Could it be properly repatinated? Or is that not appropriate for antique fittings.

So the excessive pitting would be rust pitting over many decades/century or two? Or part of the aesthetic?

Hey folks, looking for some advice about this tsuba. To me it appears forged but I’m having a hard time finding differences as opposed to cast, which I’d prefer to not to collect. Are there any obvious signs it’s forged or cast? https://www.samuraim...samurai-sword-t-589/ Is price a good indicator if a piece is forged or cast? Thank you for your time.

In regards to sourcing the koshirae, wouldn’t the saya need to be custom built for the blade I have? What are the chances it matches the dimensions and curvature? Not to mention if the saya is dirty inside.

Looking at it from a modern perspective, one could make the comparison of a civilian wearing a military special operations unit patch.

I was literally just eyeing that book on Amazon. Interesting bit about a merchant choosing a katana length saya for a wakizashi. “Fashion over function” as they say lol.

I’m trying to find out what differences there are between the two. Is it as simple as a merchant katana being more complex and ornate? Was there any decoration at all to a samurai katana Koshirae or were they as plain as possible?

Could you elaborate on your third point. Do you mean sourcing an existing complete Koshirae, or do you mean assembling the type of Koshirae a samurai would have for combat as opposed to the type a wealthy merchant would have.

So these four Tsuba are what I’m narrowed down to (unless something else comes up) and the overall look will revolve around which one I decide on. In general I’m not a flashy person. I like subtle details in most things and don’t want the Koshirae to have a fancy presence. http://bushidojapane...27_Sakura_Tsuba.html https://www.aoijapan...ubamumeiunsigned-12/ https://www.aoijapan...ubamumeiunsigned-46/ https://www.aoijapan...mumei-chrysanthemum/

Are Tsuba and fuchi Kashira all standard sizes? There are a few tsuba I have my eye one and wonder how much alteration is needed. For the tsuba, copper I believe is hammered in to take up extra space for the nakago? Would the tsuka need to be made based on the size of the fuchi and kashira?

My plan is to acquire (separately) antique tsuba, fuchi, and kashira. Tsuka and saya (and I assume seppa and hibaki) I would like to commission someone to make to fit the blade so it’s not altered.

Forgive me if this is in the wrong section, not sure if it should have posted in the “Kosogu” section. I’m looking to get information about how Koshirae is put together for a blade in regards to design or theme. I have a katana in shirasaya coming from Japan I would like to slowly piece together Koshirae for. I’d like to gather things like tsuba, menuki, fuchi, kashira etc individually but have the tsuka and saya made professionally. So two questions. Is it most appropriate to have period correct fittings to the era the blade was made, or at least period correct style but new fittings? For instance is it faux pas to have and Edo blade with Koto style fittings? Second question, how do you develop a theme for what fitttings to get? Should they all match with texture, color, animal, flowers etc. Or is a theme even necessary? Kind of a hard question to ask Google. Any books recommended for this? Thanks.

So I’ve decided to go for it and placed the order. I’m thinking the odd wording used in the last email (“guessing”) is just a translation issue. Just made payment a few days ago and they are working on the permits for export out of Japan. They mentioned the sword will be lightly polished during that time to help with the two areas in question. It’s not a masterpiece, and especially at that introductory price range but as other members have stated it has a number of positives and I feel this blade is a good place to start learning. No clubs or shows around where I live so I need a blade in hand to study. Will update this post with pictures when she arrives. Thank you everyone for your help and insight.

Love that!

To be honest I’m not sure what’s so special about it. I’ve been looking at a lot of blades, and for some reason I keep coming back to this one. Can’t explain it.

Ok, I have a better understanding about this topic now. Appreciate it. Complicated stuff. Not only am I learning about the nuances about Japanese swords, I’m learning about the nuances of collecting Japanese swords.

Oh I see. lol, I half interpreted that as a different way of saying it’s a black flag or something. Aoi’s response: “We checked the part you inquired about. We guess the two "streaks" are the rust. It will be clear by polishing more.“ I don’t know. I have no experience but I’ve been heavily examining and cross referencing the pictures and they just look like scratches to me. All the areas in question are completely straight.

Not sure what you mean.

Aoi’s response: “We checked the part you inquired about. We guess the two "streaks" are the rust. It will be clear by polishing more.“ I suppose black rust which based on reading is ok? Was also reading this may come off in time with regular appropriate cleaning with uchiko and oil.

I reached out to them to ask about it. May take a while to hear back. I’m an infant at all this but all three seem very straight. Delamination is usually a bit grainy and jagged, no?

I found a previous thread interesting and had asked this question without realizing how heated the thread got. Realizing that thread may have left a bad taste in some people’s mouths I assume it will go unnoticed. So I’ll make a new thread if that’s appropriate. My question is, why would a blade made in the Edo era be shortened after it was made? I could see an older blade from a different era needing to be shortened due to a change in combat settings (open battlefield vs city and indoors), and changing regulations as to length allowed by government guidelines. Is a shortened blade acceptable if it was shortened during a transition like I mentioned? Or, would it be as simple as the sword changing hands and it’s simply too long for the new owner? Or was it an attempt to remove a defect? If this is the case, aren’t most defects in the blade, and not the nakago?

I found this thread interesting and have a question that I’ve been wondering. Instead or starting a new thread I’ll add to this one as it seems appropriate. my question is, why would a blade made in the Edo ara be shortened after it was made? I could see an older blade from a different era needing to be shortened due to a change in combat settings (open battlefield vs city and indoors), and changing regulations as to length allowed by government guidelines. Is a shortened blade acceptable if it was shortened during a transition like I mentioned? Or, would it be as simple as the sword changing hands and it’s simply too long for the new owner? Or was it an attempt to remove a defect? If this is the case, aren’t most defects in the blade, and not the nakago?