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pvon Offline OP
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Thought I would start a topic, I have not seen before
on the polish of Japanese swords!

I know we have a few members on this forum who could explain
to collectors just what it means!

I have never had any special swords that needed more than
some semi chrome applied!

What makes a sword special for such a thing? Is it age,swordsmith etc?

Is it to remove flaws?

My quess its got something to do with value of sword!

I hear not to send to American but Japanese for this! Why?

Papering a sword?

Cost? I hear its big money to do it! Increase value?

I am sure Andy,BobI,Bill Brannow could tell us something if
they see this!

So lets start with this and see what we learn!

PVON

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hi paul
members who have intrest in learning a little more about japanese swords and thier polishing this is what i know and learned for the past forty years . in my humble opinion the only one i would ever let polish my blades has to be a japanes polisher because they love the art of bringing back life to thier ancestry sword makers . most of these polishers will not take a sword blade if it is not worth of a polish in my eyes the japanese are honorble people if the blade is not worthy they will not take your money . if the blade is signed by the maker it should be researched further who knows you might have a masa mune greatest sword maker of all japan or a sada mune then you are talking mega value on your blade like a possible million if its genuine signed it could be a forgery signiture they did have fake signitures back in the year 1500s only an expert can tell if its real or not might have to go to a japanese shinza they just had one last february in tampa florida if my long 30 inch blade was signed i would have entered it in the shinza but it wasnt . still an old blade and still worth the money compared if you had a new sword made for you in japan today they start at 10,000 u.s.d. nice quality made sword blades but nothing like a 1500s made sword blade and then all the red tape to get it back to our customs have fun nothing but heart aches i will try and answer these outher question thanks andy militarynut

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hi members
the way to value an old japanese sword blade is first buy a few books first book is less costly title swords of japan by gregory/fuller . this book will show you the different types of swords and blades and mounts that was used thru the early years and up to ww2 great id book then important book is to obtain is john yamoto who broke the japanese charectors down to english for us guys you will learn greatly from this great book this book is less costly now you will graduate to the bible on japanese sword blades its called japanese sword smiths by hawley . mr hawley in the early 1900s compiled all the japanese sword smiths of kyoto by name from A thru Z also dates of the blades . i believe from year 900 to 1940s this book comes in two volumes cost is probly 150.00 200.00 maybe more . in this hawley book it will tell you by the smith if its special or not with the age signiture and how many points your smith has or doesnt have . papering a sword blade like i said at a shinza if it is worthty then you will possibly get what they call a tokeni paper i believe they charge 300.00 for the shinza and then not sure what they charge for tokeni papers probly about same amount with out the polish . if your blade papers out to be original signiture after this you have a valuble sword blade i hope bill rannow and a few outher knowledgble japanese sword collectors/dealers will chime in these gentlemen really know thier japanese sword blades hope this helps some one here also hope outhers agree with my honest opinions and last if you can stop by my tables atthis years max show or in kentucky in february 2015 i would be proud to entertain further questions and you can handle all my japanese swords thank you all god bless andy militarynut

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pvon Offline OP
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Thanks Andy

This is a great little start for us collectors!

Appreciate you time and effort to help out!

I know many of us are not typists or even close to expressing our selves compared to just talking! I sure know I stuggle but who cares!

This site had Bob Coleman,Billy Rannow and so many others
but sadly they do not post here!

Now I know many blades are in storage of wooden mounts!

Not sure if I have used the right words!

I enjoy looking at a nice clean looking sword and have never
had a problem selling one!

I know the real pro's have contempt of just ww2 period machine
made swords!

But I enjoy nice clean ones brought back and I will humble myself as the special ones are out of my league!

I bought many in the day from Houston and always tried to purchase them off his wall!

Love the out of the woodwork ones or even the second and third
handoff!

Geoff Ward got some nice ones from me and I see he is still
picking up nice stuff!

Ol Bob Clark is prowling around and has taken a liking
to swords! Hope he chimes in with his thoughts!

The Japanese sword is a interesting subject and want to hear or see what others think!

PVON

Last edited by pvon; 08/08/2014 08:59 PM.
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hi paul
yes bob coleman he was and still is excellant on japanese swords. i see him on wehrmach awards that site seems to have everything in line many european collectors /dealers are there including several gdc members i just posted on a ss honor ring and box both fake and made to fool some one . many sword blades are in wooden storage cases they are called sword blade resting cases once polished they never go back in thier old resting cases or sword mounts once polished there might be some old grit or dirt that will scratch the newly polished blade hope bill rannow and geoff ward chimes in they are very knowlegble in old japanese swords blades have a nice evening andy militarynut

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Hello, all! thank you for mentioning my name among the big boys The truth is I am really quite the novice when it comes to "Art Swords" As Paul mentioned I have purchased quite a few items from him in the past and will continue to do business with him in the future as my wallet and opportunities arise. It has always been important to me to purchase items in the best condition I can afford because it is easy to tie up a lot of money in items that are hard to sell or not in good enough condition to appreciate in value. Although I am not a dealer at times it is necessary to sell some of my items to acquire a new piece or finance a project it is always easier to move if it has what tickles the buyers fancy. In my experience it has been condition. When I became interested in Japanese swords I was lucky enough to meet Bill Rannow who was kind enough to spend time talking to a newbie about Gunto which I was slightly less terrified of than their hand forged counterparts. Between forums and the willingness of those who would graciously share their wealth of knowledge and experience I have been trying to educate myself in this side of the hobby. There is so much to learn and unlike my time in school, I have come to enjoy studying and learning more and more about this fascinating art. Having a sword polished is quite an undertaking. Sending a sword to an unqualified untrained polisher will destroy your sword period. There are only so many hours in a day and the physical costs on the polisher are extensive,therefor a good polisher will usually have quite a backlog of work and may take months or even years to get to your piece. For this reason when a sword is sent for evaluation the polisher may determine that the sword is not a candidate for polish. This is not intended as an insult toward your sword it could be for reasons such as polishing this blade may aggravate existing problems with the sword (hurting rather than helping)He may not be able to justify spending the time it would take to put off polishing a more historically important blade to polish a generic mass produced blade of low quality Remember this is how he makes a living or at least part of one. Realistically is it worth spending around $2000.00 or more to end up with a sword that is now worth around $2000.00? There are many hand forged blades made during the times of the Samurai for the cost of a good conditioned Gunto already in polish and ShiraSaya, even some with papers! Bottom line is do your homework,ask for advice, read as much as you can and look at as many swords as you can. Then if the polisher says it warrants a polish and you can afford the time and expense go for it. Who knows...100 years from now someone may be smiling and enjoying the piece you cared enough to preserve for the next generation of collectors!
Happy Hunting! Geoff

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hi geoff
glad to see your post yes i have to agree polishing a ww2 gendai blade isnt worth the money unless its signed from a famious smith from the masa kuni schrine in ww2 when hiro hito asked all sword kiyoto smiths to forge swords for the war effert some of these smiths are very collectble in todays market just like the smith that forged swords out of rail way steel cant think of his name i think maybe yamua he worked in a prison in china useing forced labor makeing swords for the war these swords were called tutetsu steel manchuria rail way. hope every body is learning something they never knew before its my pleasure to teach im retarted opps i mean retired so here i am im just an old coot sounding off thanks geoff or any members if your at this years max come and examine some of my japanese swords my pleasure andy militarynut

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Polishing a sword is a real endeavor and may and may not pay off. A good or better sword should only be done by a Japanese trained polisher. The reason is swords are not just "swords". They may superficially look the same but a polisher must be well trained in "kantie" or the appraisal of Japanese Swords. For example, the Rai school has a very thin skin and if the wrong person polishes it and removes too much skin, you just ruined the sword. So, a good polisher must be able to recognize what he has and how to polish it. The stones are hard to get these days and very expensive, I am sure the best polishers get these first.
Some people would shoot me for saying this, if you have a sword which someone who really knows what they are doing looks at. If it is not a "special" sword and is just "merch", let a US polisher do it. Hyashi and Benson carry respect among the Japanese and are in the US.
You could write a book on this but that is a start.
Best Wishes,
Bob

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hi bob
thanks for chiming in on this important issue of polishing japanese swords . i agree that jimmy hyashi for over forty years from california has been polising swords and very well respected by the japanese sword culture as being on top of his game for years . he would be the only american polisher to polish my swords and like you said benson last time i checked on the waiting period from jimmy hyashi was seven years of work he had so i couldnt wait that long i have a very experenced japanese sword polisher if i need one done he is as old as me and thats old . sorry i forgot about the rai school swords thin skins like you said let an american polish a rai school sword and kiss it good by ruined for ever . ok bob see you soon for coffee thanks every body best andy militarynut

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Looking forward to it Andy smile
See you then,
Bob

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hi bob
while haveing coffee we can look over my fully polished 1450-1500s era japanese sword blade its all most 31 inches long one that will reach out and touch you i will bring along the tachi mounts best andy militarynut

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How much will you charge me to look at it? Looking forward to seeing it but bring a body guard:)!
Bob

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hi bob
no charge involved you can look and touch we are the keepers of this history . i have tony fidd jr as my body guard big big man . ok see you soon best andy

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thanks to all for giving a brief understanding of
the polish of swords!

Look forward to seeing all at Max show!

PVON

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hi paul
your wellcome it was my pleasure i hope some members got something out of what i and outhers posted here in the japanese forum . i just love to share my over fifty years of knowledge on japanese swords and outher ww2 militaria. listen get to the max show safe and two things please bring big ed sunday along we all have fun you guys get together your both a riot great time plenty of laughs. might get luck again and buy the treasure of my life i will be looking to buy a large bronze eagle probly wind up buying one off kris the eagle man he seems to have all the eagles last please bring your camera and take some pictures for all the guys that cant make the show every body here and in europe appreciates your hard work in getting these pictures for us all god bless andy militarynut

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Andy,
Tony is a nice guy but I am afraid of his brother. Ask him about the time someone tried to rob them in the mall:)!
See you soon!
Bob

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hi bob
man i cant wait to ask him see you soon best andy militarynut

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Andy and others!

Was wondering if anyone has been to the serious Japanese
collectors show held in SanFranscico!

I have heard much about it over the years! The Token Kai
if thats the right name!

Anyone have any thoughts?

Andy
While we are discussing swords and such I thought maybe you
could start a thread on Tusuba's!

Might as well tap that 50 yr experience you have! grin

Whats your thoughts? Bob I and others maybe can chime in!

If someone can start a thread or I can if you want!

Might as well learn something I say!

A new topic boys!

Here is a pic from the Sanfran show taken by JoJo Saku!

PVON

tsuba.jpg (102 KB, 68 downloads)
Last edited by pvon; 08/17/2014 08:37 PM.
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hi paul
good morning listen up there is a japanese tokeni sword show ini believe february in tampa florida catch a plane i will pick you up at tampa airport and bring you to the show then you can stay at my bunker and eat free stay for a week if you wish both myself and you can do the flea markets to look for military treasures what say to that yank . sword shows is very different then military shows even the dealers are serious people there im sorry to say that i really am not the guy to comment on tsubas/fittings i know some what about them the picture you show guy with table full of tsubas what i see mostly is iron tsubas but if you look carefully to the picture by his arms are tsubas look like tachi tsubas larger then normal those are much more valuble then the large amount of plain tsubas they appear to be raised figures like dragons/fish/birds etc hope this helps best andy militarynut

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Very kind of you Andy!We will talk!

I have started a thread with the purpose of learning something of course, and hope down the road some collector will see this topic!

Right now its sort of a barren landscape,but someday it might be seen and appreciated!

Many members such as Military Nut{Andy} have much info about the hobby and its past and future!

They should also get the rewards for specializing in helping
make the hobby special!

So stop by and see Andy and his wife at the Max or SOS!

PVON


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