kusunokimasahige

try to find my post where i was looking for tsuka-ito best wishes, KM

Thank you for the info Darcy! well i will first let the thing have a polish as soon as i have saved up enough to bring it to a Togishi. also i will try to lightly sand the discoloured spot by hand to see wether or not it is indeed what I think it might be... (not on the nakago! mind you.. its underneath the habaki) KM

Hello all, while cleaning my sword today i looked at it in better light, those of you who know my earlier posting know which sword i mean... and i found out that it is highly likely the sword was retanged once... there is a hardly visible hairline between sword and nakago.... and also the discoloured metal on the part where the nakago goes into the blade itself was typical on the image I have pointed out the hairline and the discolorisation. Now this repair looks very very skilfully done, with great care not to damage the blade itself in any way... this could also explain the difference in tang filing you see near the hairline. Also one of the reasons for me to think it has been done skilfully is that since a sword gets retanged in this way the strenght is preserved due to the outstanding rib (mune strength is preserved). Now of course the signature on the Tang is Minamoto Masayuki, and hence you could say two things... either the tang was put there as a forgery, or the blade might well be a Masayuki, which has been re-tanged with great care to preserve the sword, after which the original smiths name was written on the tang to state who the blade was by.... I know that only polishing by a good Togishi and submitting the sword to Shinsa would give "definitive" information, however i was wondering wether retanged blades are at all subject to shinsa.... my other question is whether there are more swords in existence which have on one point in time been retanged, from old samurai swords to shinto and shinshinto swords, leaving gendai out of the picture at this time... anyone care to shed some light on this?

I like the last option best Mike! :lol: KM

Yeah i thought so too!! you know what really p*sses me off? not having the money for that lovey jumonji-yari project our friend has put online there!!! KM

What do you think of this? on e-bay at the moment... Item number: 190137879272 never seen a naginata like that! any ideas? KM

Darcy that sure is a nice piece! i like the well done calligraphy on the nakago! indeed many shoes have been dropping off lately, with 40 US$ finds, this find, well........... its raining treasure so to speak... though not here yet! LoL ah well when my masayuki one day gets polished if i have the dosh who knows....... :lol: KM

Obviousely a very bad teacher of Kendo.......... :lol: KM

NICE!! very NICE!! KM

it depends of course... i work two ways lengthwise and up/down, and leave the circular stuff to the end phase... KM

start with buying a good set of stones from coarse to medium to fine.. use plenty of water..... check out a togishi video if you come across one...... and practice on pieces of steel first..... KM

ill buy it for 35 US$ :lol: :lol: :lol: wow what a lucky B you are.......!!! brilliant!! KM

the problem with honing by machine is you will never get the feel like honing something manually.. most of the times the machine will ruin a lot before you yourself notice it.. i only use machines to buff after I have honed swords by hand, and then only sporadically.... and never on a Nihonto, i leave that to proper togishi.... KM

always inform E-bay, and always have the FULL HEADER showing in your incoming e-mails, you can see where it is originating from then..... and if you feel in a hassle mood, go to a site like that, and as username type: WEKNOWWHOYOUARE Password: THEFBIWILLGETYOUSOON I know it doesnt do much, but its a laugh...... KM

Indeed there also have been chromed ones.. I have seen one which was made of normal steel, unchromed once.. btw... i would love to have one slightly less expensive Nihonto (or a cutter) for the sages to run their thumbs on hahahaha that will teach them one time, and they will never try again! btw, not many people know that to test sharpness they should use their thumbNAIL!!! with as little pressure as possible...... KM

we should make this into a tameshi giri thread dont you think Peter? beginning is hilarious! http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=El-4Fxmv7sk KM

http://www.photobucket.com its free...... KM

The victoria and Albert Hall in London have a few on display, and of course the Royal Armouries too KM

indeed very awkward....... KM

its nice to see how technique loses it from field conditions being on rough ground.... compared to the Dojo itself http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=4v8QTmqFpbA anyway... nice video!! KM

No prob Richard, i asked you for the pics since i might see what can be done... KM

Darn!! I'll be missing that! since I am re-enacting at Kelmarsh hall Northants.. near Northampton.... English heritage festival of history..... well have fun lads! KM

Richard, you should not post it in the Nihonto section, since your sword is not a Nihonto.... it will probably be relocated soon by the Mods. Please post your pics at for instance http://www.imageshack.com best wishes, KM

Hiya all... On many Samurai sword displays the Sageo normally is tied to the Saya in an ornate knot... Now I know that in practical/daily use the Sageo normally is not in this knot.. So.... When a Samurai would have gotten home in the evening, was he supposed to tie his Sageo in a prescribed way and knot it every time the sword would go onto the rack? or do you also think that most Samurai couldnt be bothered, and just left the sageo unknotted........ any ideas or info? KM

Domo arigato Martin!!!!!! KM