Hallo, Gabriel.
I came to feel that delaying my response would be rude, so I looked that
site over... and came to the unsurprising conclusion that I'd have to handle
some of the smiths' work before I could make a judgement. It looks good,
and the hamon appear to be real on the blades they're describing as real
(this is promising, since possibly the single fastest indicator of a
poor-quality reproduction katana is the acid-etched fake hamon most of 'em
come equipped with), but I don't know anyone who's worked with any of those
blades, and images are not an adequate way to judge a blade.
(Truly, I don't think it's wise to buy any sword without handling first.
Some mass-produced blades, assuming you've handled a representative
sampling, might be worth taking the chance on. ...I can think of the del
Tin family in Milano, for example, and K&K Arts in Prague, whose quality and
consistency have generally pleased me... but at that, I've even had to
return a del Tin, once, and I find I have to regrind the K&K blades myself
in order to get appropriate balance and handling. But then, European-style
swords are a great deal more forgiving about regrinding. It's not a level
of blade-work I wish to undertake on the polishing job of a decent katana.)
But individual swords are... well, awfully individual. I had no intention
of getting my first Chen "Musashi"; it simply informed me that it was my
sword and it was going home with me. It was not the first sword I'd ever
bonded with, to be sure, but it was the first one that felt as though it was
bonding with me, it was damned well going to be my sword, and I might as
well get used to it: and all this on my first drawing of the blade at that.
It wasn't even the first of that model I handled (bearing in mind that the
swords in that model vary so greatly that I have yet to see two that will
fit the same scabbard). It felt not unlike the sensation of a cat deciding
that you're its person.
And for those of you who are into the names, that sword is named Abayo. I
do not guarantee my spelling of it, but that's "'Bye" as I hear Mifune's
pronunciation. Its partner - again, assuming I've heard the phrase and
reproduced it correctly - is Kochira-e, or "This way, please." (After all,
you can't try and reconstruct Musashi's niten-ichi without a pair of
katana.) Swords tend to acquire names around me, although given my sense of
their personalities, it would almost be more surprising if they didn't.
...I'd be delighted for anybody's correction on what I've heard and
transliterated, by the way. The best of my linguistic information here is
no better than second-hand.
If anyone else is familiar with these blades, they may be able to provide
you with a more direct answer. But the above, for what it's worth, are my
thoughts on the matter. If those thoughts are not my clearest at present,
my apologies; please be so kind as to blame whatever small life form is
working out its karma against my immune system. All things considered, at
the moment I'm glad you're not planning to buy a blade on my recommendation!
Blessings & good faring,
Gereg
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 08:58:19 -0000
From: "Dodu Gabriel" <
dodu_gabriel@...>
Subject: Re: Toledo swords - veering OT at a dangerous rate
Hello Gereg,
I'm sorry I rushed to write about that site, because on further
examination, I have discovered that it is a fake. My mistake...Thank
you for helping me and tell me what do you think of this site:
www.jidai.jp, although I'm having difficulties at this time buying a
300 Euros sword...So the site is just a dream, besides, since I don't
take any Kendo or any alike, I wouldn't know what to do with a sword,
but to admire its beauty.