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Robert S

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Everything posted by Robert S

  1. Robert S
    A fellow here where I live had made a few extra dollars (in construction) and wanted to build a boat. His wife said "not until you've bought these specific lots so that you can build more houses in the future".. The lots were on the waterfront in Vancouver BC . Today he's worth tens of millions. Some wives are worth more than their weight in gold .
  2. Robert S
    I agree that it's entirely possible that things go as you suggest. But certainly at the Juyo level there seems to be a lot of uncertainty, depending on the session, the other swords presented, etc. TH may be less unpredictable, but even there. If it was completely predictable that would be an arbitrage, in financial terms - zero risk - and I don't believe that. Anyhow, I like low cost nihonto. For me, they're more of an adventure than a papered, signed blade.
  3. Robert S
    That's a lot of conditional events. You could equally buy the blade, polish it, send it in for TH, and it doesn't pass. Now you're out way more than with the $900 blade. My philosophy is to be willing to lose the entire amount you spend, either because it doesn't hold value, or because you love it so much that you'll never sell it, and good luck to your estate!
  4. Robert S
    On the other hand, if it really is the aesthetics of the blade that captivate you, it may be a $1500 blade that is "just right", even if you could afford $50K. It's not going to be "that name" with "that history"... but that's not always important. It may be something else entirely that is the goal of the purchase. My last blade was a sad little overpolished and belt sanded wakizashi for $150... and it's a wreck, but I'm learning lots from it, and will have fun making koshirae for it.
  5. Robert S
    In my opinion, both of those blades are somewhat niche, which could impact ability to resell. You should be making a decision on what you love, without expectation of resale. If on the other hand resale is important to you, I'd look at more highly regarded schools and periods.
  6. Robert S

    Kantei

    Robert S replied to Brano's topic in Nihonto

  7. Robert S
    That tsuka looks to me to be much more recent - probably 20th century, and possibly even industrial steel. Pass.
  8. Robert S
    I think one of the problems with hadori is not the technique itself, but the patience of the togishi. I've seen so many blades where the hamon was completely obscured by a hadori polish, which could have been done much better if way more time (and money) had been spent on it. For that reason I'm a fan of sashikomi - it's usually more true to what's in the steel, good or bad.
  9. Robert S
    Sandpaper, and still pitting beyond the sanding. I have a sword like that, which is being restored. Based on the photos, this one doesn't look so tired that it can't be recovered, but like Chandler says, it would require a photo of the entire sword to have more idea of whether it is genuine, and how much life is left if genuine.
  10. Robert S
    I believe it is indeed authentic, but I'll leave the more precise analysis to the experts on this forum.
  11. Robert S
    Amazing work. That's the kind of work that is rarely undertaken, but will be valued for a long time.
  12. Robert S
    Those accounts of nihonto breaking when striking something with the mune side are interesting. A strike like that typically would put compression stress on the mune, and tension stress on the hamon area, which it is possibly less well able to bear.
  13. Robert S
    This is very interesting. It definitely indicates that cast tsuba were being made in the 17th century, but only gives evidence for non-iron cast tsuba. It would be interesting to see whether there is any evidence or examples of cast bronze/brass/shakudo tsuba survive. Particularly, it would be interesting to catalogue the fragments of moulds found, and see if those can be matched to any existing tsuba, iron or not. I love archaeology :-)
  14. Robert S

    Shoami-Kanenori

    Robert S replied to Alv's topic in Nihonto

    It's still definitely worth taking off the tsuka and adding a photo of the tang, as well as the whole blade with no koshirae on it, as that will help with getting some idea of what you have.
  15. Robert S
    Agreed. And additionally if the tang isn't already marking the inside of the tsuka where it binds, you could usefully put a little graphite (soft pencil lead) on the tang before you insert it, which will rub off on the tsuka where it binds, allowing you to see the high spots
  16. Robert S
    I think the thought is that this blade would have been made by the grandfather of the person who made the blade that you referenced, so the mei might have varied from that example.
  17. Robert S
    The shape of those kofun period arrow heads is interesting. I wonder what the thinking was behind that shape? Increased mass? I would expect them to be less good at penetrating, especially any type of armour.
  18. Robert S
    Not an entirely happy story concerning the retention and care of nihonto in these Spanish institutions, but also not an uncommon problem with not only nihonto but also many pother classes of artifacts in museums globally. Museums are chronically plagued by a combination of over-collecting and under-funding.
  19. Robert S
    And it looks like your grandfather took good care of it too, which is great to see. Many ended up in attics, and are not in as good condition.
  20. Robert S
    I'm also wondering if in some cases swords are continuing to turn up in abandoned houses as they are fixed up or torn down, which have never been registered. I know of some cases where previously unregistered swords have been found, which I suspect are coming onto the market. I've also bought one sword out of Japan which had no registration - it had clearly been sitting somewhere without proper care for a while.
  21. Robert S
    Posted a picture on the "What do you drive" page :-)
  22. Robert S
    There's talk of that around Canada Post too. Sigh...
  23. Robert S
    Piers: I'm sure that was a super tough decision... and you're 100% right - no looking back!
  24. Robert S
    Well done! These will be fascinating reading.
  25. Robert S
    The area near the mekugi-ana is hard to see at this resolution - you'd probably need to provide some higher resolution photos.
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