Small Preview on the History of Steel Catalog

Antonio Cejunior · 29th April 2007, 03:41 AM

Hola Marc

Hace muy tiempo que no nos hablamos, hombre

Glad that you liked it.

josh stout · 29th April 2007, 04:29 PM

Yes it is a huge and amazing book. The photos are lovely, and show the folding patterns very well which is hard to do. There is one funny blooper I noticed in the Korean section where it twice mentioned the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1952. "whatchagonado"
Josh

Marc · 29th April 2007, 09:26 PM

Hola, Antonio.

As you can see, is only a question of finding the right kind of bait

By the way, I have to say that dealing with Mike at Shadow of Leaves has been a dream, also.

Antonio Cejunior · 30th April 2007, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc

Hola, Antonio.

As you can see, is only a question of finding the right kind of bait

By the way, I have to say that dealing with Mike at Shadow of Leaves has been a dream, also.

Hola Marc,

I see

Actually I lost your contacts. When a computer hard disc goes crazy, or when I moved apartments, that was lost

Anyways, I think that Michael Crampton from Shadow of Leaves is a most honorable gentleman and everyone was well serviced I am sure.

josh stout · 30th April 2007, 03:50 PM

I totally understand about the very infrequent typos. I am sorry I mentioned it. The date reversal did not detract at all, but it was slightly amusing. The look of the book overall is quite good. As I said, the photos are works of art in their own right, and show some very special pieces. I am most interested in the Chinese section where the catalogue helps on a subject where there is very little information available in English. Someday I wish there could be information on Chinese swords that approaches the information on Japanese swords, but at the moment, the field of Chinese sword scholarship is simply not mature enough.

There is one particular sword that I would love any more information on that you might be able to locate. The Ming dynasty willow leaf sword (#94) with the horse tooth pattern welding and the nickel silver fittings is one of the most beautiful sabers I have ever seen. Is there any information on its provenance? The medial ridge on the blade and the lobed guard are certainly things found on Ming swords, but I was wondering what other information was used to date it. It appears to be a very important piece.
Thanks for your help,
Josh

Antonio Cejunior · 30th April 2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh stout

I totally understand about the very infrequent typos. I am sorry I mentioned it. The date reversal did not detract at all, but it was slightly amusing. The look of the book overall is quite good. As I said, the photos are works of art in their own right, and show some very special pieces. I am most interested in the Chinese section where the catalogue helps on a subject where there is very little information available in English. Someday I wish there could be information on Chinese swords that approaches the information on Japanese swords, but at the moment, the field of Chinese sword scholarship is simply not mature enough.

Not a problem

It is very difficult to keep a tri-lingual catalog like this free of typos. The eyes get tired on the revision, and as known, we read by words and so if it type worng instead of wrong we will still read it correctly.
There are many books in Chinese about swords, but not translated to English...
As for the bronze pieces, it is amazing to show the ring knife was already in existance in jade and it went all along through Han. Then I have seen a Song piece which is curved, in a Dao shape

It is documented in the stone rubbing below

Quote:

There is one particular sword that I would love any more information on that you might be able to locate. The Ming dynasty willow leaf sword (#94) with the horse tooth pattern welding and the nickel silver fittings is one of the most beautiful sabers I have ever seen. Is there any information on its provenance? The medial ridge on the blade and the lobed guard are certainly things found on Ming swords, but I was wondering what other information was used to date it. It appears to be a very important piece.
Thanks for your help,
Josh

Ah yes, it is a sanmai, called jiagangin Mandarin. The horse tooth pattern is what the makers did, and it came from the Zhou Zheng Wu's own Museum collection. Being native to LongquanZhoubelongs to a multi-generation of smiths so it isn't surprising that he has all his contributions handed down and in a condition that is reliable because Long quan was the most important sword and celadon center.

Hope this helps.

Mark · 30th April 2007, 11:06 PM

The interesting thing about this horse-tooth pattern is that even Zhou Zheng Wu, a master smith, has been unable to duplicate it. He said its one of those mysteries of ancient Chinese swordmaking that he has yet to unravel.

Antonio Cejunior · 30th April 2007, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh stout

"whatchagonado"
Josh

Funny because I noticed that in the original that was sent to us had exactly 1952 instead of 1592 as I have online
But for long, when people pointed out these typos that do happen, I used to remind them that for each typo that passed 100 were spotted and corrected.

29th April 2007, 03:41 AM	#1
Antonio Cejunior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 294	Hola Marc Hace muy tiempo que no nos hablamos, hombre Glad that you liked it.

29th April 2007, 04:29 PM	#2
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	Yes it is a huge and amazing book. The photos are lovely, and show the folding patterns very well which is hard to do. There is one funny blooper I noticed in the Korean section where it twice mentioned the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1952. "whatchagonado" Josh

29th April 2007, 09:26 PM	#3
Marc Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Madrid / Barcelona Posts: 256	Hola, Antonio. As you can see, is only a question of finding the right kind of bait By the way, I have to say that dealing with Mike at Shadow of Leaves has been a dream, also.

30th April 2007, 03:50 PM	#5
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	I totally understand about the very infrequent typos. I am sorry I mentioned it. The date reversal did not detract at all, but it was slightly amusing. The look of the book overall is quite good. As I said, the photos are works of art in their own right, and show some very special pieces. I am most interested in the Chinese section where the catalogue helps on a subject where there is very little information available in English. Someday I wish there could be information on Chinese swords that approaches the information on Japanese swords, but at the moment, the field of Chinese sword scholarship is simply not mature enough. There is one particular sword that I would love any more information on that you might be able to locate. The Ming dynasty willow leaf sword (#94) with the horse tooth pattern welding and the nickel silver fittings is one of the most beautiful sabers I have ever seen. Is there any information on its provenance? The medial ridge on the blade and the lobed guard are certainly things found on Ming swords, but I was wondering what other information was used to date it. It appears to be a very important piece. Thanks for your help, Josh

30th April 2007, 11:06 PM	#7
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	The interesting thing about this horse-tooth pattern is that even Zhou Zheng Wu, a master smith, has been unable to duplicate it. He said its one of those mysteries of ancient Chinese swordmaking that he has yet to unravel.