Basil

Thank you for the clarification. Looks like I need to do alot more reading. Hope to learn as much as I can from this wonderful site. I would love to read about the smiths and see their beautiful work and one day be able to have a Shinsakuto of my own.

Thank you for the replies gentlemen. As I said I'm new to this pastime so I'm not familiar with all the proper terminology. I thought a Nihonto was a traditionally forged blade so that's why I posted it here What is the difference between a Nihonto and a Shinsakuto?

I'm looking for traditional bladesmiths to read up on them and possibly perchase a sword. And also further down would be interested in getting a custom piece made.

Hello everyone, This is my first post on this forum so thought I'd say hi first. So hi! And now onto business;) I'm pretty new to Japanese blades and was wondering is someone could point me in the direction of a list of curent recognized blade makers. Also I've been reading whatever I can the past few days on this and other forums, but if anyone knows of some must read books or online material I'd be glad for a point in the right direction. Also I guess I should mention that I'm located in Toronto Canada if there are other members in the area I'd love to hear more from you! Looking forward to hearing from you guys and leaning all that I can Basil