kusunokimasahige

Yes, Guido is right about joining a sword society like the NBTHK or even the Dutch To-Ken society. All true. But some of us just are not there yet financially, me included. Anyway, that is not what this topic was about. It was meant to give a good polisher some attention on here. KM

Does not sound offensive at all. Of course you can better judge any polish with the sword in your own hands and with your own eyes under good lighting. However, not all of us have that chance. I for one am happy that I can view and enjoy both his work as well as that of Yoshihiko Usuki sensei online. And compared with others (both good but sadly also many hacks) in the field in our region and the US of A I think that not much more really needs to be said about what you cannot see. We all know that difference on here. KM

Aha ! So you were that guy with the loud music which constantly blew out over the Glen ! KM

Here is his latest work : https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 9873803857 Simply gorgeous. You can view more of his work here : https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E5%88%8 ... fref=photo KM

Also ask them to repatinate the nakago. The way it is now, with that nakago, the sword is of less value. KM

Never mind. KM

Hey Brian. What is the difference between a set snipe with some sniping agent or program and a manual "snipe" using 1 click bid in which you set a ridiculously high or your final max bid (and nothing more than that) in the last 5 seconds after which you might use 1 click to enhance your bid with small increments if necessary ? With that I mean that you can enter your max bid in the 1 click bid function and in the last 5 seconds click on it. My max bid always is my max bid full stop. If I want to pay no more than a certain amount for any item, I will not. Not even 0.50 cents over the end price will do for me. Consider being in a casino. Would you keep spending on a winning streak ? Or keep spending on a losing streak ? I would not. One set amount, thats it. If it is gone, pity. Same with ebay. If I lose out on an item, pity, there will be other similar items appearing. Maybe even better priced. You might have a different opinion about that, but then tell me the difference please. KM

Thank you dear Ron ! I seem to be on a lucky streak with Ebay this week. Lost out on an edo period brush container and inkwell for in the obi and a kiseru pouch, but won a shamisen and this shokudai. I am not certain whether the shokudai I won might be Buddhist in origin because of the flower cup and the missing ring attachment you often see on other models, for instance on this modern one :

Did you use the Ebay 1 click bid option Stephen ? Works like a charm for me. KM

For 22.50 US$, a 19th century Shokudai. I like the way it has been made. It is different than the general shokudai you find online. Seems to be a lotus flower or some other flower. Now I need some candles.

Ah okay, I thought you meant this part :

Well you do have more knowledge than me of course Chris. I just stated what I thought was the issue. And I might be wrong. Where do you see that Hamon ? I only see reflection of the sunlight and not a clear outline as such. KM

I would not say you yourself should not bid on it of course ! I just won a hosozao shamisen, regularly priced at 499-1200 US$ for only 34.50, and the only thing I need to do is repair the skin ! So by all means bid on the sword, you never know. I have seen terribly rusted swords polish out very nicely. That will cost you quite a sum of course.... KM

Stephen, when you look at the colour differences in the steel they look like high temperature spots. http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/ ... .JPG?rt=nc http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/ ... .JPG?rt=nc http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/ ... .JPG?rt=nc http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/ ... .JPG?rt=nc This in my view it is not consistent with general or even deep rust,more like black rust near the nakago, hence my judgement that it has been in a fire at one time after it was forged. Indeed blades could be retempered but that was to enhance functionality as far as I know and retempering would destroy every clue inside the blade of who made it. It might polish out and I might be mistaken, but that remains to be seen. KM

John, what you call a decent blade I call a sword destroyed by fire. It might polish out, but would you really want to take the risk ? KM

DJ, when going to a sword show it is of course good to take your sword with you, other collectors would generally be most helpful. KM

Alan, it is not my tsuba nor will it become mine. Not for the price the seller is asking I just wondered about the plug, that is why I posted it. Interesting though that it might have been in a fire. Had not seen that kind of damage before you pointed it out. I have seen decrepid, pitted and rusted away tsuba so I thought it was that. KM

I found this tsuba among the ebay auctions and noticed it has a plug of some kind put inside the nakago hitsu ana. There is a pin of some kind attached to the plug. What would this have been used for ? Wall ornament ? Something else ? KM

Definetely shill bidding going on in the ebay auction. A few people with way too many seller 1 bids amongst the bidding list. KM

To be honest, this one reminded me of the Joy Joy Gold series of Doyusha.....

Hahahaha Stephen, I was watching the same thing with amazement, especially when it took off. I am still not sure what made people go berserk.......... KM

Hello all, For general Japanese Kanji this might be a handy tool http://kanji.sljfaq.org/ You probably will not always get the correct ancient meaning immediately but it might help finding the one you need translated without radical searches in dictionaries etcetera. In options choose Denshi Jisho. It gives you names (in hiragana/katakana) like the following Toshihide example I tried with a fuchi posted by Stephen earlier in another topic. The first kanji : http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E5%A3%BD And the second: http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E7%A7%80 (Note, this is not the exact kanji as shown on the Fuchi. This might have to do something with the writing [kanji] reforms but I am not entirely sure about that.) You can however also search by radical in Denshi Jisho online : http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals/ Though it will never hurt to use a proper Kenkyusha or Nelson dictionary alongside. Enjoy! KM

Stephen, for general Japanese Kanji this might be a handy tool http://kanji.sljfaq.org/ You probably will not always get the correct ancient meaning but it might help finding the one without radical searches etcetera. In options choose Denshi Jisho. For instance with the first kanji : http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E5%A3%BD And the second: http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E7%A7%80 KM

The nakago (tang) was at one time reworked to fit a sabre hilt. The two holes are indicative of one or more remountings during its long history. KM

Not bad for a gunto. I like what I see. KM