kusunokimasahige

the marks are definetely not random, they are made to depict the outline of clouds...... KM

thank you for the info! and the image!! a beautiful Tsuba indeed!! KM

I fully agree with Brian on this... About packaging swords... whenever we go on display with the Romans, when we transport swords and Pila without scabbards, we stick a piece of cork on the tips....... this generally prevents anything from happening in case a crate opens or a Pilum slides through....... maybe, apart from packaging the blade if not in a closed saya, doing this with Nihonto might be a solution. Other ways of packaging could maybe be discussed in a new topic? KM

doesnt mean the overall strength of the kissaki was not damaged...... KM

okay here come my metalworking skills....... i have had these things happen with a few Roman Gladii.... now here is what must have happened.... the kissaki was bent, then repolished... which means the kissaki was bent forward and polished... problem when doing this is that the metal keeps soft in the exact spot. thing goes in transit and falls, with a LOGICAL result that the tip bends in virtually the exact same manner, being soft.. the only solution is for someone to rework the tip completely, since the other solution (strenghtening the kissaki again) is to hammer it back into shape, reheat and re-cool it again so that it gets hardened again (ruining the sword much more than a reshaped kissaki would do) since these problems also often happened in the age of the Samurai, and kissaki were very often reshaped, there is NOTHING wrong with reshaping it......... it wont make the papers any less valid, and you can always re-shinsa it... so whats the fuss? if its a money question, i must say that i would almost want to demand that you act in a SAMURAI manner!! so... sorry to say this, but stop whining and sort it out friendly. excuses are always a nice thing, and well if the both of you truly feel your honour has been damaged and you have lost face, you can always still open your stomach and restore it... (which i would not advise since its a messy business) just sort it out............ ONEGAI SHIMASU!!! KM

am very curious!!!!!!!!! KM

i agree with you but wanted to see what you thought....... as an Iaido ka/katorika i wouldnt want one, but it just surprised me... KM

the end of a Jitte perhaps? KM

Well..... I found this site browsing for a replica wakizashi and on it stumbled across this page.... http://www.samurai-sword-shop.com/custom-pictures.htm http://www.samurai-sword-shop.com/Japan ... 61-ctg.htm Now these seem to be made by a company in China called Zhui Feng, and the most expensive ones are about 2995 Euros... which is about 4,092.85 USD I must say... even though these swords can never be classified as nihonto and still are expensive Chinese muck........ it seems they are getting somewhere....... what do you think about these swords? KM

any close-up pics of the kissaki possible? especially the place just below it on which battle has left its mark? at least thats what i make up from the pics.... nice piece! KM

a well done remount is not a deceiving act, it honours the blade! and dont forget, Samurai did it all the time! KM

Kiri sutei gomen............. and a lock on this topic........ KM

If I buy an old genuine tsuba and would like to fit it on my nihonto, how do I go about such a thing? do i refit it with for instance copper myself? or are there tsuba fitters around....... KM

I also think it is very intrigueing! it may not be a stamp but indeed an engraving... have you tried to look into several family KaMon whether there are any symbols looking like the tinly thing on your blade? KM

wow, i did not know the swords of the 47 ronin were documented at all!! do any still exist in modern collections?? KM

Hello all... does anyone know (historically) whether Samurai had their swords usually made by one smith, or were there also Samurai who had a katana made by one smith, a wakizashi by another and a tanto by yet another smith? KM

Or some Samurai just wanted an extremely long Yari to use against cavalry.... personally i do not believe it is a yari converted into anything, i believe it is one of the few longer Yari's still in existence.... might also be from a shrine.... KM

Well if you do not resolve this you can always agree to meet somewhere halfway, and draw your swords to fight it out, since according to bushido honour must be restored. I feel a bit sad that this discussion, however valid it may seem, since it is often during transport stuff gets damaged, is degrading into a: I did you did he did struggle..... get it sorted out amongst yourselves please.... ganbatte kure! KM

you mean: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... suMaru.jpg this little crow!! (how funny!! we are back on the sword theme again!) KM

very interesting indeed, and thank you Paul! it is nice to know it was not an old sword which was used in the well known Yutube video's! but a gendaito.... KM

Deron, personally I think that there also have been swords with three mekugi. maybe a bit overkill in attachment strenth, but sometimes with good reason. i do not think all swords with more holes in them were fastened to the tsuka with only one pin... some might have been, sometimes a new hole was drilled since the old one was stretched or damaged. KM

COOL!!!!!!!!! now i finally know! LoL TYVM!! i love that chirp! KM

Here is the sound, I extracted it from the scene in Chushingura, where lord Asano returns home and his wife is playing in the garden.. as soon as the playing stops, you'll hear the bird i am wondering about... http://www.ashikaga.nl/bird.mp3 KM

it might be, i dont know yet... it doesnt sound like a hawk to me.... i will try and extract the sound and post a link........ KM

Well, nothing to do with Nihonto but a lot to do with Japan and the Samurai era... In almost every Samurai film i have seen there is always one sound, apart from the cicades, which strikes me.... the sound of a bird...... its always the same sound, in every movie i see... Does anyone know which bird that is ? since i have NEVER heard that bird anywhere else than in these Japanese movies.... hope you can help me out here.. wish i had an audio clip, but i havent... KM