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MJS

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Everything posted by MJS

  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.
  16. Hi, yes I did :-) Needless to see I could not find anything on this one. Weird thing was that I think the seller thought the shirasaya was of most interest and not the blade, the pics of tang and ‘detail’ of boshi were not even in the original ad. Thanks everyone.
  17. Hi all, Not sure if a question like this even belongs here but while dreaming of well polished swords I saw this absolute rust bucket somewhere. I've got no experience whatsoever with neglected nihonto, so hopefully someone with more experience can help me out here. The shirasaya (is it??) looks very iffy, I've never seen it done like this. What is this? A 'fake' or something very unusual? The blade itself I also have no idea about. It might be genuine but it is in absolutely pitiful state. So even if this one were the real deal, would it even be possible to bring this back to a state where people would want to look at it? These pictures are unfortunately all I have. Best, Mark
  18. Thanks everyone! I had not expected so many replies in such a short time. There are several good ideas (though I'll skip the aquarium for now), so hopefully I'll be more successful tomorrow.
  19. Thanks Ted. This afternoon I saw the use of an atekizuchi in a video by Moses Becerra. He uses it while holding the tsuka in a vertical position, but putting the naginata on a bed is a great idea! Now I'm off to find myself a suitable wooden hammer.
  20. Hi all, Today I tried to remove a naginata blade from its tsuka for maintenance, but it is quite stuck. I am very reluctant to use any force. The blade is sharp on both sides (see the image, is this called otoshi zukuri? What kind?). We've had an extended dry period here in The Netherlands, with a bit of rain only the last few days. Is it possible that the dryness is causing this problem? If so, what is the safest way to add enough humidity so that the blade can be removed again? Thanks, Mark
  21. For Holland: I am a newbie, so I called Customs. They said I would have to pay regular BTW (19%? Strange, we'll see!), no import duties and that I should mention code 9706.0000.90. I'll let you know how it goes and ::edit:: the post! Mark
  22. Hello everyone, My name is Mark Stoutjesdijk, I live in The Netherlands with my wife and two young sons. I'm a few months shy of 40 years old. I developed an interest in nihonto in a rather indirect way, so let me try to explain in a few words. I've been practicing martial arts on and off for about two decades. During the late 90's and for the last year, I've been studying the bujinkan of soke Masaaki Hatsumi. Through an interest in the history of ninjutsu and its place in the Japanese society of days long past, I inevitably came to read about the samurai and their way of life. The subject of their famous blades was of course just a small step further. As I am sure the members of this Board will understand, I was immediately hooked on the incredible beauty, historical value and powerful presence of these weapons. At this moment, my collection consists of only one tsuba (but a beautiful one, for sure -- thanks Martin, it arrived today ). I'm interested mostly in weapons (and fittings!) that have a relation to the Bujinkan, which unfortunately is pretty much anything. I will have to find a way to narrow it down a bit, but have no doubt that time will show me the way. I'm very happy to have found this board, and am very impressed by the knowledge and friendliness that is found all over! Cheers, Mark
  23. Thank you Henry and Paul. I have been looking into local meetings etc, and so far I have found the Dutch society which is mentioned in the links section of this great message board. It looks like I just missed their last meeting. Mark
  24. Hello everyone, I've just started to read up on Japanese swords and other weapons. It's a fascinating subject to read about. So many beautiful pictures, and so many interesting histories. One of the more difficult things for me to understand is the large volume of fittings that are traded. I get a feeling that during the life span of many a blade, some or all of the fittings were changed once or even more times. I would like to understand what that means from a collector's point of view. Could someone point me in the right direction? How does a change of tsuba affect the value (in the broadest sense of the word) of a blade, for example? Or, if I would acquire just a blade, what to look for next? Could I choose any shirasaya from about the same time period that I like, or.... So many questions! :? Thanks! Mark
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