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MJS

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About MJS

  • Birthday 10/31/1895

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  • Location:
    Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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    Mark

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  1. If anyone would like more photographs or wants to have an in-hand look: please let me know. Best, Mark
  2. It was a wonderful event, and I very much enjoyed your presentation Jussi. Interesting subject, and you brought a lot of information together in a very enjoyable way! Cheers, Mark
  3. Dear all, How about something unusual! I have for sale an edo period gunsen, which I bought at a Christie's auction many years ago. It has the original paper, with a red sun on a silver ground. The front is in excellent condition, see the first two pictures. The back side has a few small imperfections as shown on the third picture, but nothing one couldn't expect from an item such as this one. The lacquer work is in near perfect condition. The gunsen folds properly and easily. Any questions? Please ask! Asking price is €1250,-, which is essentially the price I paid plus inflation since the purchase . Cheers, Mark Front: Back:
  4. Beautiful Marco, and excellent photography indeed. We share the two hobbies, but I can only hope to attain the mastery that's demonstrated on your web site! The book looks interesting too. It is out of print, but it is on Ebay, among some other places. Thanks for sharing!
  5. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    Thanks everyone. Will let you know how this story ends!
  6. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    Hi Colin -- I am not entirely sure what you circled. I see the hamachi and then some embossing shadows. Or do you mean the subtle line-shaped change in color of the steel?
  7. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    Certainly @Brian. Although it is challenging for me to know what ‘not overpaying’ is. It is hard to find a reasonable price level for a naoe shizu tanto, as they are quite uncommon. The seller suggests that with additional research it might stand a chance at juyo shinsa, but I am not so sure. There are no naoe shizu blades with tokubetsu juyo papers as far as I know so it would have to compete with the very best naoe shizu out there. Having said that, the seller’s asking price seems reasonable and we can probably come to an agreement. @Rivkin I think that the hamon issues you noticed are caused by the casual photography setting with bad lighting: I saw no irregularities in nie intensity with the tanto in hand.
  8. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    I could imagine that's totally "not done". Even if it was mumei.
  9. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    Hi Ray, that's an interesting option that I had not yet considered. Looking at the image of the nakago, I am not entirely sure that such is the case here though. The hi shows the same lack of patina, and I would think it would be mostly spared if a mei was removed. Yes! I think (will ask the seller for confirmation) that the koshirae that it now comes in, is relatively recent. You think that some patina/nakago was removed to make it fit?! Mark
  10. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    I realized that there is no reasonable image of the nakago, so here goes:
  11. MJS

    Naoe Shizu tanto

    Hi guys, I have an opportunity to buy a naoe shizu tanto, mumei, with NBTHK TH papers from March 2018. I consider myself pretty much a beginner in this field, and would greatly appreciate any opinions on this blade. One question that I have: there is some damage on the ha near the hamachi, which to me looks like "scuff marks" from sheathing/drawing the blade. I imagine that this would not be a very big deal. Is that indeed the case or is it a real problem? Another is is this: the vast majority of Naoe Shizu tanto are unsigned. Is there any approach through which I could pinpoint better a particular smith, period or other detail? Finally, the nakago seems to have a "bare" area where there is significantly less rust. This is also visible on the photograph that comes with the paper. What could such a focal change be caused by? Could it be related to mounting during a longer period? A sticker/marker that was later removed? The current owner tells me he also has no idea. Thanks, Mark
  12. Hi Georg! Apologies for the late reply, was on vacation in bad-internet-land. Thank you for your feedback! I will definitely have a good look at proper white balance. The color temp of the tube lights that I use is adjustable, and I have so far not paid much attention to it. I also agree on your remarks regarding the border between object and background. That will be a more difficult experiment, because even the smallest dust particles are lit up like lightbulbs in the current setup. I digitally removed them, but maybe I should just try to get a cleaner baseline picture . Or get better at postprocessing (maybe more "feather" along the edges)! Best, Mark
  13. Hi all, I am trying to find a good setup to make acceptable photographs of nihonto. I'm now using an acrylic table, lying on top of a darkened (sword-sized) box. Still experimenting with the ideal angles for lighting. My "model" is a jumonji yari, as it is relatively small and light. I found that it is particularly challenging to get the lighting right for these, especially when the goal is to capture the entire blade including nakago. I made this image by merging two separate photographs, one with the lighting from the sides and one with lighting from the front and back. It is quite a bit of work to make the merge work, so I would prefer a solution where the lighting captures the details of the yari from all directions. But the more lights I use, the higher the risk of unwanted glare or overexposure on particular areas. Work in progress I guess! I'm looking for feedback on the style of photography, and for ideas to bring out the best from a piece with such a complicated shape. Technical tips and tricks are welcome too, of course! I feel something is "missing" but can't quite figure out what is it is. Mark
  14. MJS

    Katsura Eiju

    Really beautiful. Watching that scene makes me feel happy!
  15. Thank you, interesting. Tourist junk from long ago. Fortunately I did not actually purchase this thing. I was just having trouble figuring out what it was. I rarely look on ebay and friends, but I’ve not yet seen this kind of fitting.
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