sanjuro

Piers No apologies necessary. Sounds fascinating though, That amount of bonji buys a whole load of heavenly protection, but it sounds more like a dedication of some kind, done post suriage. That in itself would be very unusual. I look forward to seeing the pics..... (No pressure of course) :D

Piers Post pics please, :D then maybe we can make some sense of this. I have never seen a mei replaced with bonji, and can think of no logical reason to do this unless the sword was perhaps dedicated to a shrine or had some ceremonial significance. Bonji are afterall dedications to, or invocations of, a diety figure in modified sanscrit. Perhaps as Stephen has suggested, the bonji were once on the blade and shortening has brought them below the new machi moto. Pics would help a lot.

John Nice blade! I think you did well. Its good to see someone starting his collection with a good sword in fine condition. :D I would be interested to see the wakizashi also. Also I am interested to know what style are you having these mounted in?

Chuck. Good move........ Theres a whole world out there beyond ebay. A world with reliably better quality pieces. Glad to see you explore the less chaotic options, I was hoping you would take the advice being given. Well done!

Franco I couldnt agree with you more about Compton's book. Nor was I advocating Adam buy less books rather than more. The books suggested to him are excellent indeed, and I would not hesitate to recommend any of them to a serious inquirer. I dont quite understand why you have taken this quoted statement as being contentious. I think you may have missed the point of my post entirely. Therefore, to put it in a way that does not leave any room for further personal interpretation, I was making the point in as subtle a way as possible, that perhaps one should think of the content of books as being their most salient and important feature, rather than their decorative 'coffee table' for 'the pretty pictures and whatnot' value that Adam refers to in his original post. :D

I find it very difficult to take it seriously when someone asks for a recommendation for a nice 'hardback book'......... 'with pretty pictures and what not'... for the coffee table, when they are ostensibly just getting started with collecting Nihonto. Are you decorating your home to look as if you know something about the subject, or are you interested in learning about Nihonto? :? Yes, I know I'm supposed to be nice to newcomers. However, perhaps the kindest if not the nicest thing that can be done for newbies, is to set their feet solidly on the ground before they start. Buy books for the content and knowledge they may contain, not for how they might look on the coffe table. For your 'coffee table book', might I second the suggestion of 'The Japanese Sword' by Kanzan Sato. :D Good text..... great pictures.

Jason. I apologise for the off topic wandering....... :D It was of course deliberately done to give you a slight break from the barrage of information on polishing that was coming your way via this thread. (Thats my story and I'm sticking to it). Pics of the shrine sword are being taken soon. The old ones are very mediocre and not sharp enough. When they are done I'll post them if you are interested.

Does a larger hamon mean a stronger more practical blade? .......... No. Ceremonial tachi were not owned by all samurai. Only high ranking ones, and for court wear usually. Many of them have no true blade in the saya but rather a hammered out length of steel unsharpened. Given the intrigues at court it is hardly surprising that it was not desirable to have a lot of belligerent men with sharp blades at their hip wandering about in close proximity to the imperial person. At court only the Efu (Imperial Guards) wore ceremonial tachi with a true blade. A bu no tachi(war sword) was only worn on the battlefield by an armoured and mounted samurai. the more common soldiery wore uchgatana or katana, Depending on the period. Tachi were worn by samurai on foot, and essentially they were similar to those used by the mounted samurai. Many samurai did not own a tachi at all. A tachi cost the equivalent of about five years stipend. Gi samurai (Country samurai) could hardly afford such luxuries. The upper classes of samurai owned a variety of tachi types. There were indeed specific qualities required in a tachi meant for war. Those qualities evolved and changed over time however, and were not common to all periods of history. This is a huge subject without short answers, but essentially, there are many misconceptions about the various types of Tachi and swords and how they were regulated by fashion, convention and necessity. Your question highlights those misconceptions and deserves more in depth answers than there is no room for in the frustratingly little panel I am writing this post in.

I thought after asking the question I might share with you the final solution. The blade concerned is a wakizashi blade and fits into a scroll case(box) I happen to have lying around. Two thin pieces of kiri wood on end about 8inches apart were fitted into the box like baffles. the tops were cut out with a slot in the shape of the mune and shinogi to a depth of about 3cm and the blade rested on them mune down like on a katana kake. The blade is encased in a silk cover and then sealed in the box. Its about the most elegant solution I could dream up and it works nicely in protecting the blade. The silk is inert and it doesnt matter if it takes up some of the oil from the blade, since it cannot transfer it to another surface.

Louis. Just so you dont feel alone in the strangeness department, I have a sword which was made to be dedicated to a shrine. Quite apart from the fact that it is a very beautiful sword, it has a definate personality and sits on a katana kake in a room in my home that is not used every day. Each time I go into that room I bow to the sword. Dont ask me why, it just seems the right thing to do, and I do it without thinking. Go figure......... Saying goodnight to a stone is hardly stranger than that.

Not wrong Louis...... A little strange perhaps, but then again 'Strange' probably applies to most Nihonto people to some degree. Say hello to your stone for me. :D

For what it may be worth, I dont know about the rest of the guys on this board, but my first sword was a lot worse than this one. You got what you paid for but perhaps not what you thought you were getting. OK...... that happens and the seller in this instance does not seem to have misrepresented the sword. Perception is sometimes different to fact, but you could have done a great deal worse. I tend to think that Stephens suggestion is the best course of action. A decent showato is not a bad place to start your collection.

Strange...... I was under the impression that a hadori polish was a partially chemical process. Nugui etc? Perhaps someone more knowledgeable would care to adjudicate?

Stephen. What Ron didnt mention was that at -30 you then have to wait for the spring thaw before they can pry you and the lucky lady apart. Its called a Canadian honeymoon.

Harry. Quite apart from what Grey has already said and to satisfy your curiosity, blades are only displayed that way in glass cases in museums. To display a sword like that openly in Japan would be a gross insult to the blade, to the people in its vicinity, as well as being fairly stupid. Apart from the safety aspect, the oil on the blade collects dust and grime. That is why it is kept in a shirasaya. Protection from moisture is actually only a small part of the reason for the shirasaya. Acids in the air all around us attack the steel far quicker than moisture will. Acids from careless handling are the most destructive of all. Human body fluids such as sweat and skin oils have a high salt and acid content that bites very quickly into the surface of a polished blade, far faster than mere moisture.

Am I right in saying that most woods are now kild dried rather than seasoned? If so, there must be a few acid free and sap free woods available. Steve. Mt Hawthorn, Yokine or North Perth would be good for poplar then? (I live in Perth too).

Ron. Being one of those people that doesnt do woodwork because the only tool I can use on wood with any success is an axe, I had shied away from the idea of making my own shirasaya. Damn... I only have to look at a piece of wood and it splits. Metal I can work with very nicely, but wood? However, if I can find a bit of friendly wood that will allow me to approach it without disintegrating, I may just give it a try. Hell, its winter here, theres not that much to do and I need some frustration in my life, so why not? If all else fails I can always fall back on Louis's paper option. I will however blame you if I destroy a whole forest of otherwise inoffensive trees in the process. :D

Without being too overtly critical, this seller is not what you may call a high end dealer by any stretch of the imagination. The sword IMHO is rubbish anyway, and not worth the cost of a polish . Polishing will remove the rust and virtually all the skin steel. The kissaki has a rust patch almost as bad as the one near the habaki. Cutting it down to a wakizashi would be plain useless, so it doesnt really matter what you do to it, you will be throwing money away. I would leave it in the obviously enthusiastic care of its current owner. But you can bet some damn fool will buy it.

I was wondering if anyone might have a suggestion regarding the preservation of a naked blade. I currently have a blade which has no saya or shirasaya, yet has about 40% of its polish left. It will be repolished at a future date at which time a shirasaya will be made for it, but in the meantime I wish to store it so that it does not suffer further. It currently only has a light scratching to its surface which has marred the polish badly. Otherwise the blade is extremely healthy with no rust, or any flaws. Unfortunately, there are no craftsmen capable of making a shirasaya in Australia (at least that I know of). Any storage/preservation suggestions?

Thanks Ford. Yep, got that. Missed the link on my first read. I'm not going to ask how you achieved the transluscence in the wings, but hell, it sure is impressive.

Congratulations Ford, and well deserved. A very lifelike rendition of the subject. Does the left wing of the dragonfly continue in completion on the reverse side of the tsuba? (In other words, would you kindly show the other side also?)

Seeing fine examples of both styles of polish certainly opens one's eyes to the advantages of each. Whilst part of me still prefers the sashikomi for its elegance and slightly softer look, I can see the beauty in the hadori when it is done well. After this discussion which I have followed religiously, I am certainly more receptive to the hadori polish in some cases. I guess it is as has been said directly above, No set rules and the finish required suggests itself according to the blade. At the end of the day, one would hope that the togishi one selects, looks at a blade with the same philosophy in view.

When will newbies learn to stay away from the ebay newbie trap? A large percentage of what we are discussing arises because a newbie doesnt know what he has bought or doesnt know what to look for when he does buy. We warn tirelessly against ebay and its inherent dangers. We advocate education over blind purchasing of items that couldnt cut it on a decent dealers inventory, and still they keep trawling ebay for the elusive bloody important cultural property hiding in shabby mounts. They dont exist and if they did, it wouldnt be a newbie that found it among the steaming pile of nihonto offal that appears on ebay. Only the very occasional good purchase is made and you can bet that there are a dozen collectors who have identified it and will bid on it. In the end, the price will exceed the average newbie pocket. The mind set that will not recognise the obvious fact that you need to know what you are doing with ebay items, makes no sense at all to me. For Petes sake! get educated then go to a decent dealer. Generally speaking, cheap stuff is not good, and good stuff is not cheap!

Bazza. May the gods of Nihonto smile upon your efforts. Personally I wouldnt mind paying the extra for a secure service to ferry nihonto around. Buying, selling and having them polished are activities frought enough with insecurities and restrictions. Any light at the end of the tunnel that isnt likely to be an oncoming train, is worthy of investigation.

Chris. A question if I may, to clarify the comparative destructive attributes of both styles of polish. It has been observed either in this or another related thread that the more modern Hadori style of polish removes a greater amount of material than the equivalent Sashikomi polish. Is this factual? If so, given that all blades are different of course, supposing two similar blades are involved, how much greater in general terms is the amount of material removed, in one as opposed to the other?