I bought another set of items from my Uncle Joe’s estate. I got:
- three more pieces of wall art, all animal subjects
- two copper clad stainless pans, one small, tall sided frying pan and one medium sauce pot
- one katana, machine made
The pans were pretty dirty. They had been left sitting among others, some with honey in them, some otherwise not cleaned, and gathering dust and gunk. Of mine, one was much better than the other, and cleaned up to a pretty shiny cladding with just soap and a lot of soaking and scrubbing. The other, same treatment, still has a dingy look on the cladding. The interior of both are perfectly clean and shiny: I wouldn’t have stopped if they hadn’t been. I used a steel scrubby, which may have added to the scratch marks on both surfaces, but it’s not so bad that I really care.
The katana I bought has a nice black sheath with some engraving of a dragon and other symbols. My uncle had maybe 10 katanas, including one “real” WWII one that sold for $700, but this was the only one with engraving, which seemed cool enough to pick it. However, this one also didn’t have a case or little kit with oil and other stuff, which all the other modern ones had. One even had a stand, which I would’ve liked for my use, but I’m not sure what happened to it.
Anyway, I’m not sure I should’ve bought the sword. I do think martial arts weapons are cool, and might like to learn to use them, but maybe something more practical and safe, like a BΕ. The katana is very sharp, and if I would really like to learn, I should start with a wooden one, and probably get professional lessons. I already nicked my hand with it just having it unsheathed briefly to get a feel for it. It makes for a dangerous art piece that requires special accommodations compared to framed art.
I think I might be going a bit overboard with my estate purchases. I don’t really need this much stuff and I’ve spent a fair amount on it. A few items would’ve been sufficient to remember him by. The VCR, pans, tools, movies, CDs, and kneeling chair will get, and have already gotten, use. So maybe it’s the art, especially the $50-$150 pieces, that I might’ve gotten a bit too many of. I do like how the art has improved the appearance of my home, but I probably would’ve been fine with mostly the $10 pieces.