many years ago when japanese swords were cheap, I found a very tatty shin gunto mounted sword. The smith, NagaMura KiyoNobu, was not then and is not now,highly rated. I had owned several by the same smith non of which had any real merit so when on a wet Sunday I set about polishing the blade it was just to bring out the Hamon and move it on.
The sword is very fine, a great gendai blade and probably one of his finest works, at least of those I have seen. It was at this point I met a goldsmith called Ford Hallem, he was living in the area and turning his career towards Kosherei making so we sat down and produced my 'Swan song' in the form of a set of mounts.
I desigened a set based on pond life, he made all of the alloys,Shibuichi,Sentoku, Shakudo etc and over a period of months produced the sword mounts {See illustrations}.
He now considers them "Folk art" as his work under training from Japanese masters has made him a master in his own right.

Thereason for showing these is to illustrate the pleasure of such a whim, it was fun, the sword is now truly a one of and it will be the last to sell from my much diminished collection. I hope you enjoy the photographs................. :)

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Those are beautiful fittings. Do you have any pictures of the sword fully mounted?

-v

Not sure how the previous has two entry, my apologies.

I have here added two picture that did not come up with the previous post.
One of the Mei and the second showing the Kogai which is delicat and in the form od fronds with a May fly which the carp{Kurikata} is about to consume.

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Just about to get into the shower when I remembered the mounts on a second generation MuraMasa.....interesting ?.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ;)

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Hi Roy!
I am not any Katana guy but i like that fish and scabbard tip on the green one, well done. :cool: