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cmjohnson

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  1. You're quite right, and I should have know not to even make mention of the P-word. So, moving on.... I'm hoping to acquire "used" tsukas, or the bodies at least, for the wak and the tanto and refit them to those blades. It's quite all right if they will need rewrapping, and of course they will need koshirae. I'm quite willing to learn how to do the wrapping work myself. I'm a fairly experienced woodworker, in fact I make guitars as a hobby and I've sold a few so I kind of know my way around woodworking tools, so the possibility of making the saya is at least worth considering but I'd have to source the honiki wood to do it. I can carve, I can sand, I can lacquer, I can polish, I can glue, and I'd enjoy the challenge. Somewhere around here I have a silver habaki I made myself, years ago. I put it in a "safe place" and I'm trying to remember where that is exactly....
  2. Just to clarify this, I'm NOT POLISHING THE WAKIZASHI. You're getting things mixed up. I've never said that the wakizashi is not worth a polish. Or the tanto, for that matter. I've done nothing to it except for some very light finger stone work. And how many times have we heard, and some have even said, that it is difficult to harm a sword with fingerstones? I'm not GOING to do more to either the wak or the tanto, they don't need it anyway. Now that tired katana, yes, I've done more to that. But when I got it someone else had already begun a bad foundation polish on it. Bad even to my eye.
  3. Measurements: 12.7 cm nakago, total length is just under 63 cm. 25.13mm width of nakago from hamachi to munemachi 27.51 width of blade just outside the machi 20.90 width of blade at yokote 13.12 sori 6.54 maximum thickness of nakago Working on getting some good photos. It's a challenge when you don't have studio lighting.
  4. That sword was photographed on a foam rubber pad. Not on a concrete or hard surface. I take care of these things. As for polishing, how many times have I seen the comment "That sword is not worth polishing" when I browse the forum? It's only swords in that category that I would touch. Please put aside all thoughts of files, sandpaper, and wire brushes. I am not stupid, ignorant, or a fool. People who think they can "restore" a sword with files, sandpaper, wire brushes, etc, who have never heard of the word "togish" or "uchigomori" are the kind that I will ask, in the strongest polite terms possible, to please STOP before they do harm to something that they do not understand or have any concept of its potential value. It costs nothing to make photos of the blade, post them for this forum to look at, and get an informed opinion as to whether or not what they have is junk or a possible treasure. I encourage people to do exactly that in those rare cases where I encounter someone who has an old sword their grandfather brought back from the war, hanging in the garden shed, not having been maintained in 70 years. The tools I use are the right ones. Artificial Japanese waterstones, arato, binsuido, komo nagura, chu nagura, and after that, I have a small assortment of good quality genuine uchigomori hato and jito stones. Hardened steel burnishing needle for the shinogi ji. Fingerstones hazuya and jizuya. Those stones represent a fair investment. But there's no file, there is no sandpaper, there is no wire brush. Set your mind at ease about that. The nakago is never touched. It is a historical record, not to be cleaned, sanded, de-rusted, or polished. Please set your concerns aside. I will assure you that I'm not even looking for another candidate to polish. Now, returning to the subject at hand, I previously asked if I am correct in my assumption that most of the "antique" fittings found on, for example, ebay, are likely to be recently made fakes. It seems that some of those sellers have more "antique" habakis and other koshirae than I would reasonably expect, and at prices that just seem a bit on the low side to me. So I suspect they're recently made fakes but I'm asking for your opinion on that. I'll post additional photos of the wakizashi but I don't even think I have a metric measuring stick so I may have to go get one. I'll do the best I can with the photos and give some measurements, too.
  5. Well, I own exactly one Chinese and four Japanese swords. One of which appears to be a mere hantanto, and its workmanship is so poor that even though the spine of the blade is straight, the edge itself wanders off center as you move across its length. Not by a little! It's quite a twist. There's actually a twist to the main portion of the blade between the hat and the shinogi but not between the shinogi to the mune! That one was a good first choice for learning how to polish something, since it was really about as worthless as a sword is likely to be. It is used for cutting practice on occasion. So it serves a purpose. It has cut many a 20 centimeter thick banana tree trunk in my back yard. The three that I call "real" Japanese swords, well, the katana that is so old and tired may be up for sale after I put forth my best effort to polish it. It's a project I work on in the evenings when I have time for it. When that time comes should I choose to sell it, it will be sold with full disclosure that it's my polish work and nobody else's and I do not have any professional training. I do not think I could ask any more than 500 US dollars for it no matter how good it might come out. The remaining two, the wakizashi and the tanto, actually I rather like them and consider them to be my first truly "real" swords and just don't wish to part with them as of yet. They are the ones I wish to have fully mounted, if that can be done within my very limited budget. And the Paul Chen sword, I have a use for that and it's iai. I doubt it'd be worth what I paid for it to anyone here anyway so I've never considered selling it. So I really don't have enough swords that I'd consider selling any at this particular time. I would, however, be interested in hearing any opinions regarding the wakizashi. I have no knowledge of its origin aside from its having been kept as a pair with the tanto for at least the last several decades. Anything beyond that is very much a guess. I can post additional photos of it at any time.
  6. To answer questions that I did not address in the post above, I have a sufficiently serious interest in Japanese swords and all the many varieties of craftsmanship that go into every aspect of them, from the smelting of the raw ore into tamahagane and the forging of the blade and its polishing, to the minutiae of the making of every element of all the koshirae, that my limitations imposed upon the learning and the collecting are all about time and money and not any lack of interest or desire to learn. I have no interest in wall hangers. I appreciate these old swords for exactly what they are: Surviving weapons of war, instruments of war, and works of art by the virtue of the craftsmanship that goes into them, and for their historical value. I would like to present each one that I have in its best presentation possible, acknowledging that my budgetary constraints do conspire against that goal. Chris
  7. OK, first, thanks for the generous offers of assistance. I have decided on a small change of plans. I'll leave the katana for later because it's in serious need of a polish, and actually I believe that I bought it from a member of this forum a good six or seven years ago. It is tired, it has been polished many times, the hamachi is very small now, and though this may cause some people to question my judgement and/or sanity, it is one of my own projects to polish. I have polished a few swords, and I've done it as well as I have been able. In every case the sword in question was one that was of minimal value or not an authentic original Japanese blade. For iai I purchased a Paul Chen/Hanwei sword and it arrived with an edge as sharp as a bar of soap. I immediately gave it a full polish which was two weeks of hard work and honestly it came out quite well. As has been said, not all swords that need a polish are worthy of a polish. It's those that I will polish, and no others. Setting that matter aside, the wakizashi and tanto that I have decided I wish to put into full mounts, and hopefully as a matched pair, eventually, are good enough that I've done nothing to them aside from some finger stone work to bring out the hamon which was quite invisible from having been cleaned many times since their last polish. When I got them they were almost free of rust but the gentleman whom I bought them from had never maintained them and it is a blessing that they survived for some four decades in his air conditioned house, always in shirasaya, and made it through very nearly perfectly untouched by any rust. But there was a little tiny bit of rust, so applying hazuya to them is not a decision I regret. I was able to bring out the majority of the activity of the blade in the wakizash, and it turns out to have a very lively hamon though I'm not sure I'm ready to describe it in proper terminology. This wakizashi has an overall length of 24 and 3/4 inch with a 5 inch nakago measured from the munemachi. It is unsigned. I have not attempted to obtain an evaluation and attribution for it. The tanto that came with it is in hira-zukuri style and I posted about it back in 2011. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7576-interesting-large-tantosmall-wakopinions-please/ It is very large for a tanto, with a 14 and 1/4" blade measured from tip to munemachi. Technically I guess it's a wakizashi at that size. Both the tanto and the wakizashi are in shirasaya that are made in the same style, oval in profile with flat side facets. I believe both shirasaya were made by the same craftsman due to their identicality, and I believe that the tanto and the wakizashi were last polished together as well since their condition and age of their polishes appears to be much the same. It is possible that maybe both blades were even made by the same smith but that is pure speculation. Those of you who have been kind enough as to suggest that you may have something to help me, please feel free to contact me at my email address, which is cmjohnson@cfl.rr.com I live in Florida, United States.
  8. Hello, I've been a member here for years but haven't posted since 2011, I think. I have simply not had the income that allows me to be able to afford putting thousands of dollars into full koshirae for the few swords I own, which are all in shirasaya or none at all. Well, I do have one tired old katana that has partial fittings. The saya is probably repairable but the only thing I have for it other than that is the raw bamboo core of the tsuka with its same inset panels. That appears to be in solid condition and it might give me a reason to attempt to learn the art of tsuka ito wrapping, but I'd need at least the fuchi and kashira to even do that. Other than that, this sword has no tsuba, seppa, habaki, fuchi, koshira, menuki, or ito. Nothing. I'm almost tempted to spend a LITTLE money to buy the "antique" fittings that can be found at low cost on ebay. I am assuming that most, maybe all of them, are fake. Would that assumption be correct? I don't mind if they're "fake" as long as they fit, look OK from a reasonable distance, and don't cost much. They can be replaced with more authentic fittings when I can afford to do so. I am even wondering if there's any chance that one of their Chinese made complete tsukas could possibly be worth the 20 dollar price tag on them. If the core is made OK and the same' is real and the wrap job is halfway decent, the cast/plated fuchi and kashira could be replaced. But it's obviously a crapshoot as to whether or not it would even fit the nakago. Yes, I'd love to invest in real fittings but financially speaking that option isn't available to me right now. This is not a poor man's hobby but here I am anyway. Chris
  9. That's what I'd figured out after spending some time Googling it. I think now that the blade isn't a grinder/buffer casualty. It's as it was made. There's even a fake hamon on it. What confuses me is that a smith that could do a really very decent job of making the nakago and file marks, and has a good clear mei, would even bother to sign such an unimpressive piece of metal. Maybe he just had low standards. Thanks for your help.
  10. I have the opportunity to buy a sword locally featuring the tang described below in photos. Unfortunately, the blade itself is a victim of someone armed with a power sander and a buffer. What can be learned from the photos below will determine if it might be worth buying and having it restored. Your input on the mei and nakago will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
  11. With ALL due respect to your skills and knowledge, that statement is absolutely and positively UNTRUE. There is a concept of ORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE, which is the knowledge gained from being the first one to figure out how to do something. Who taught Wilbur and Orville Wright how to fly their first plane? What was the name of their flight instructor? There wasn't one. It is entirely possible for an intelligent, research-oriented individual to learn the same things by experimentation and research, through independent means, that he could have learned from the right instructors. It won't be a quick or easy process but it IS possible. It has been only in the past few years that Japanese swordsmiths have learned to produce utsuri on their new blades, a skill that had been lost and was gone from living memory. Knowing that utsuri was possible, these intelligent smiths focused their efforts and figured out how to do it WITHOUT instruction. I realize that your primary motivation appears to be the preservation of Japanese swords and not seeing them damaged even by well-intentioned individuals, but the elitist, closed world attitude embodied by you yourself does nothing to encourage the growth of interest in this collecting hobby. I think that a little self reflection on this is due on your part. If your attitude were to be prevalent, then the end result would be that soon, there would be only a few sword collectors left in the world who would have ALL the good old Japanese swords, and each of those collectors would bear your own personal stamp of approval. The hobby would then become dead, and of no relevance or interest to any of the general public. I ask you, who appointed you the Lord God of Japanese Swords? Who delegated the divine authority to you to pass judgement on whom may own swords and whom is good enough to be polishing them? Particularly when the evidence before you shows clearly that there are polishers OUTSIDE of the "Japanese Togishi Yakuza", to coin a phrase, who apparently ARE quite adequately skilled and knowledgeable, to be working on important swords? I restate, David Hofhine's work has been ranked as high as Juyo Token, which I believe isn't even POSSIBLE if it's not done on a blade that is in and of itself an excellent piece of work and of considerable value. MANY Japanese polishers have never done a polish that ranked Juyo Token. Only Tokobetsu Juyo Token is a higher rating. With that in mind, Chris, I would like you to specifically and honestly state your position and opinion on not only David Hofhine's work on this particular sword in question, but also on the other top ranked US polishers who have achieved comparable results at shinsa. I'm asking you to concisely state your opinion on the matter of the quality of work coming out of the best American polishers. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else, for the moment. Chris
  12. This topic has served to remind me of just why I have not been active on this forum for several years. Quick intro: I'm the guy that gave DaveMP49 a push in the direction of getting this particular blade looked at in the hopes that it might be worth saving, and I recommended David Hofhine to him. A recommendation that I would gladly repeat. I'll be completely blunt about this. I'm not here to spare any feelings. Why would I, when I have so little investment in this forum? I see a number of people here who are, without a doubt, quite knowledgable about Japanese swords. Chris Bowen in particular. That's fine...excellent, actually. But I have seen a distinct and totally unwarranted bias against anyone, REGARDLESS OF SKILL LEVEL, who has acquired any kind of "non-traditional" education regarding Japanese swords, particularly polishing activities. I think there are people here who would honestly say that a third rate polish done by a second rate polisher, who spent all seven years training as an apprentice in Japan, is better than an absolutely first rate polish done by a highly ranked and experienced American polisher who did NOT do a seven year Japanese apprentice but has continued to study under high ranked Japanese polishers for over 20 years on a visiting basis. A polisher whose works have been ranked at shinsa as high as Juyo Token. As far as I know, that ranking is the second highest possible ranking. It's like some people believe that what school you went to is more important than what you have learned. That's backwards. Absurd, really. It seems to me that at least some of those who are dismissive of the efforts of an American polisher (or, more properly, one who didn't spend seven years apprenticing in Japan) are in part trying to put down the competition, because they themselves are involved in the restoration of swords and stand to make (or lose) money depending on whom a sword owner selects to do the polishing. I don't question the knowledge of those involved. I know little compared to them. But I do question their ethics. A true gentleman respects the achievements of another craftsman, NOT the school he went to. And, given the non-professional, not entirely clear nature of the photos provided of the newly polished blade, I think that some of you are quick to judge, quick to find flaws, and have an incredible ability to find flaws and deviations in a blade when the photographs frankly are not clear enough or composed in such a way that any such attribution has any merit whatsoever. The value and merit of this forum would be greater if certain negative factors were removed from it. Those factors include negative opinions toward the work of others that are in competition with people who are involved with this forum. And the negative opinion held by some against those who, for whatever reason, were unable or unwilling to spend years of their life (and much money) in a foreign country learning how to push a piece of impure iron over an abrasive rock. I am an AMATEUR polisher myself. I'm happy to work on Paul Chen blades for practice, or gunto blades, or old blades that have fatal flaws and no value. I leave the potentially valuable stuff strictly alone. I would not have polished DaveMP49's sword, suspecting it to be potentially of some value, and I was right. And I don't do it regularly. I don't have the time, as the bills have to be paid and sword polishing work isn't going to make me any money. Nor can I afford to fly to Japan and become someone's apprentice. Maybe YOU might be able to afford it, on daddy's money, but I sure can't. If I did any apprenticeship work, I'd HAVE to do it in America, regardless of any possible desire I might have to do it in Japan with a traditional apprenticeship if I COULD afford it. My suggestion to some of you is to let the chip fall off your shoulder, and don't pick it up. Kill your elitist attitude. Get it into your minds that a sword well polished at an affordable price is better than one that wasn't polished because the cost of a polish was beyond affordable limits for the owner of that sword. And, show respect for skills, not for the school the artisan went to. To be school-centric rather than skill-centric runs contrary to the very idea of learned craftsmanship. There is not ONE way to learn a skill. It is the destination that matters, and not so much the path that was taken to get there. Granted, there are hazards to the self-taught methodology. A mentor who can guide a student away from making an expensive mistake IS desirable, but is NOT always possible or practical. Does that mean that a willing student, someone who WANTS to learn, should not learn, then? I say he should continue to learn anyway, by any means available. If he has any roots of wisdom growing within him, he will not make many serious mistakes. The LAST stones he buys will be the binsui and arato stones. I'm done with this now. Comment if you wish. But remember...I'm campaigning against biases and prejudices that do nothing to encourage people's interest in the world of Japanese sword appreciation. The community should be more welcoming and adopt more of the mindset of the mentor, rather than the angry schoolmaster who criticizes every missed question. Chris
  13. Thank you for the information. I'm happy to learn anything about this. I was wondering about the shaping of the nakago near the machi. But as it's my first tanto, I couldn't really even speculate about it. Regardless of its origins, it's my favorite of my small collection of Japanese blades. According to my book (I know, I really should have more than just one as a reference...in good time I will), shinshinto work usually has a very fine jihada, and sometimes, appears to have almost none. Though the polish state on this blade is not quite good enough to show this in the photos, this does have hada, masame going to itame. It's not really dramatic, but it's a nice subtle pattern. I also have what I now believe to be a shinshinto blade, about 23", which shows poor workmanship, with the line from the peak of the mune to the edge wavering from side to side over the length of the blade. The angle of the edge actually changes dramatically across the length of the blade, as if it was twisted, but it's not. It was simply forged that way. It, however, shows the nearly featureless, almost jihada-less character that the book describes of shinshinto jihada. CJ
  14. More photos as promised. Any comments on this would be appreciated.
  15. I'll put up additional pics this evening. I'm at work and don't have pics on my photobucket account that show the whole blade or the nakago. I'll make some. It's unsigned. I think the overall shape is rather elegant. But make no mistake about it, for a tanto, it's huge. You really feel like you are holding a weapon in your hand. You get a feeling of power from it. CJ
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