Bob's

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Gotta say Bob, I really like it! How did you get the skin to look gray? Is it an unbleached skin that you polished, or did you use some coating to get that result?

I think your metalsmithing is quite good! The fuchi/kashira fit the blade like a glove. I would have fitted the kashira a bid better on the tsuka, but I gotta say, the seam is pretty straight just maybe not centered on the tsuka. The kashira badges look very good. In fact, you could probably make a bunch of them and sell them at a profit since they are so elusive.

That is one of the best blades I can imagine to customize. Its probably the nicest wakizashi out there to this day.

Will you be redoing anything or will you focus on the blade for now?

My favorite blade. I bought from Chris Osborne. It's a large wakizashi. It's not the best blade I have... but my absolute favorite!!! Shimada Teruyoshi circa 1750 NTHK...la te da. It was chopped down at some point. This sword is why I like the Paul Chen Practicals, they're the closest thing in the production world to this I've seen.

These are Chris's pics because he's so much masterful than I.

This one is one of my fav's. Made is the Meiji era to war time. I haven't investigated it myself. I bought it through Walter Sorrells, I trust his judgement and the owner had it looked at by some other knowledgeable folks before he bought it. Suguha hamon and deep sori. It handles different then most blades i've had. It has muneyaki and hardened spots in the shinogi ji, and ji. I had it remounted but used the old tsuka. The tsuka is to big in diameter so will have to have one made smaller at some point. It's a very thick robust blade. Nagasa is 27". The tsuka that's on it is about 10".....for now.

Bob

And your Kami wakizashi's got style.
You revamped it with taste, the result is far more elegant than the official model.

Hey fellas,

Jussi, you are right....but the Tadayoshi is gimei. The previous owner had it looked at by collectors in his area before he bought it. Irregardless, It is a very well made sword to be sure. He found it rusted, had it looked at by some collectors, and then had a simple polish done and used it for shinkendo. I'm holding on to the "Tadayoshi" anyway, I really like it, just on the heavy side for it's size. It's heavier then the long Masatoshi I sent you pics of, and it is healthy not tired.

Aurelien, thanks for the kind words. That was really nice of you. The Shimada is my favorite. I have few more I'll put up as time goes on maybe. The Kami wakizashi I sold to a fellow member here. The blade was a mess when I got it. Stained, a lot of chips I had to take out. I did take the menuki off before I listed it. I have to keep them for superstitious reasons....lol. There's been military men in history that wrote superstition is folly.....but they B wrong. I do still have the kami tanto I painted the saya black and put new menuki on...I may keep it. Production swords kind of come and go with me so I hesitate to take the time posting them.

Bob

I am blown away by the amount of history you have your hands on! Your knowledge and collection are inspiring!

thanks you so much for the picture but i'm guessing you had the shobu customized as that tsuba looks different as well as the tsuka maki and the peace daisho looks amazing