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Hey Franco, Love the pic of the guy in the raft with the sharks circleing :lol: . Exactly how a newbie should feel I think given the way things are today. That being said I would just like to say thanks, to Brian the site admin. for his time and efforts in running this board and of course those who did it before him. Also thanks to all those who contribute with advice and direction and humor as well. I do not know of a better place for someone such as myself to find answers and learn about Japanese sword collecting. So many on here giving freely of their time and expertise. Thanks for a great message board and resource. Ty

Hi Roy, Valid point and you make some good suggestions. I do like to try to do my homework before laying down my hard earned cash. Maybe I could find a diamond in the rouigh :lol: I see your point about taking the fun out of it by buying the seemingly sure thing. Its just that laying down a few thousand dollars only to find out later it was a big mistake would just be devastating. :lol: I will be researching... Looking or placing an ad in the local newspaper does sound like a good idea. I've seen a couple of Japanese swords sell on ebay the last few days and the price running up around 1800 for one and 2400 for another I think.....I know you didnt recommend ebay but I just threw that in. My thoughts are there is just noway I could buy this type of item off of ebay.thanks, Hi Louis, Just saw your reply as I was about to post this. Thanks for the great suggestions. While a sword with papers would be nice I agree its not a must have. I think the cost of papers begin to put a blade out of my reach. thanks, Ty

Thanks for that input Chris, Henry and Bob....I appreciate it. Chris I like the way you put that, "sharks in those waters too". :lol: I wanted to ask about that but couldnt think of how to say it. Henry I looked at the Aoi-Art site and Chris's web page as well. Both look good and also a good reference site I think for me to use in learning. thanks, Ty

Hi all, Just wondering what you guys think about this. I'm very new to this hobby but interested in making a purchase. I've done a lot of reading online. Got a lot of information from this board and its members by reading older posts and looked at a lot of pictures. Followed some ebay autions etc..But I surely don't feel qualified to make a determination if a sword is tradionally made or much less the value of a sword even if it was tradionally made. Given the varialbles of hamon, (active hamon) Hada, signatures etc....The luxury of being able to actually see and hold an authentic katana is not something that seems to be easy to accomplish. I read in the "upcoming shows" section of this board about the shows coming up in Tampa and Chicago. Would this be my best bet. Buying online certainly is an option from a reputable dealer of course. But it just seems that being able to see and hold one in hand and having someone explain the characteristics of the blade would be better for me as it would be a learning experience also. Any input is aprreciated....Thanks. Ty

Hi, thanks for the reply and the help. Just for my own knowlege is it the kanji, the characters that indicate his name (Masahiro)? Also if you could tell me what is that symbol which appears to be painted on? Thanks again, Ty............darn ,you know I was hoping for a tradionally made blade. .. :lol: ...still very valuable to me though, more than the monetary value I am sure. Thanks, Ty

Hi All, This was brought back by my dad from the phillipines at the end of WWII. It has just been sitting in the closet for many years and while I've always had an interest and curiosity as to its origin I just really never knew where to find the answers. I've found some basic info on the internet and learned how to disassemble. Quite interesting and exciting. Lucky for me I found this message board. Such a great board. I do not know whether the sword is hand forged or machine made etc..I have no interest in selling it but just looking to learn more about it. I've attached some pics . The cutting edge of the blade is 25 inches and the overall length is 33. Any information you guys can offer is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ty