nihontoau

Hi Jim, Sorry to have missed you, we were there on sunday til 2:30pm, we caught a 4 o'clock flight out. Saturday we were there all day. It was good to catch up with some of the Victorian collectors. We found it interesting to try and display our swords with the Victorian legislation, but we got there in the end..We had a good weekend anyway. We'll be at the next one in July, hope to see you then. kind regards John Nihonto Australia

Nihonto Australia will be attending the 65th & 66th Melbourne Arms & Militaria Fair. New and Collectables Antique, edged weapons, modern sporting and military arms. All related shooting accessories, reloading gear, collectors & shooters ammunition, hunting & outdoor clothing / footwear, custom knives & all utility knives, militaria, medals, books & related memorabilia. Where: Royal Melbourne Melbourne Showgrounds, Epsom Road Ascot Vale. Melway ref 28 G11 When: Saturday & Sunday 26th & 27th March 2011 Opening Times: Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm Sunday 9.00am - 4.00pm 1 of 2 great door prizes - Latest bolt action .22lr rifle / scope package - 5 rifle safe Sponsored jointly by your hosts and Sporting Shooters Association of Australia Vic. Adults $12-00 Senior / Concession $10-00 Children under 16 free but must be accompanied by an adult. Victorian Police Licensing Services Division will be in attendance. Show organiser Contact: Jeff Pannan 0412 561 243 *Please note to buy swords in Victoria you require a Chief Commissioner Approval for Prohibited weapons certificate or to be a current member of a knife/sword collectors club. * John Grasso http://www.nihonto.com.au info@nihonto.com.au

Jim We were at the March Melbourne arms fair and had a lot interest from collectors ,We had lots of swords in full polish there, Unfortunatley we were in Japan for the recent show, but will attend the March show next year, John Nihonto Australia

Good to hear, looking forward to it, last years was excellent John Nihonto Australia

Agree with David, There are some great deals to be had in Australia and the USA at the moment, I have several wakizashi in the lower price range discussed most already fully restored in Japan, full polish,new sayas ,tsukas, all the hard work aready done by professional Japanese craftsman, Regards John Nihonto Australia http://www.nihonto.com..au

Hi Mark Yes the black and white pic is of the iron tsuba, regards John

Here's also a reference i have, not sure what book i got it out of, it discusses another tsuba of this design made of iron. I hope the picture attaches..John 'The first Yasuchika is considered to be one of the three great Nara masters (Nara San-saku), with Nara Toshinaga and Sugiura Joi. the style of Yasuchika owed more to his heritage in Shonai as a student of the Shoami than to his tenuous relationship with Toshinaga and Joi. 113. Signed Yasuchika (1670-1744). Iron plate with inlay of shakudo, gold and silver. A brass plate tsuba with this subject has been known in Japan for many years. This iron example was only recently discovered and is considered to be one of the masterpieces by the first Yasuchika. Thickness at center, 4.25 mm; at edge 5 mm. 114. Signed Kikan. This is Noda Kikan (ca. 1700). Until recently only two or three examples of the work of this artist were known to exist, such as the famous tsuba with snake design in the Furukawa Collection, number 194. In the last few years, a few additional examples have been discovered, leading one expert to believe there were several generations of this name. Thickness at center 5.5 mm. 115. Signed Morichika. This is a student of Tsuchiya Yasuchika VI (ca. 1835). Kozuka copper plate with inlay of shakudo and gold.

Here's a few pictures of a Yasuchicka style tsuba i have in my collection. regards John Nihonto Australia

Hi Guys Yes I believe mine is ivory, the example Roy posted with the hawk I believe to be a type of antler, My piece does have a mei on the tsuka section above the mekugi in picture 4912, i have a number of these and will take some pics of them and post, Regards John

Forgot to mention this does have a very good traditionally forged blade Regards John Nihonto Australia

A few more pics. regards John Nihonto Australia

Hi Roy, I think your example may be made of deer antler, i actually have a personal collection of these, here is one example. regards John Nihonto Australia info@nihonto.com.au

Hey Bob Vegas was Hot, We picked the hottest day of the year to arrive, had good time though , Kristies the photographer so you can blame her for the picture. :lol: Regards John Nihonto Australia

Hi All, Just got back from the US, had a great time at the Token Kai. Lots of great blades there once again. The Shinsa seemed to created a lot more activity, we found Gordon and the Shinsa team to be very professional, unfortunatley not every blade submitted will pass at any shinsa as we are all aware when we submit blades. Thanks Barry for being so tolerant, seeing as my tribe took up so much of the space.. We have uploaded some pictures on our newly made facebook page - Nihonto Australia. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=1 ... 3572984575 We are looking forward to next years show. regards John Nihonto Australia

Thanks, Hamish, Always trying to improve on my pictures. John NIHONTO AUSTRALIA