Derek

http://www.ncjsc.org/SF_token_kai.htm Derek

Well done, Joe! Derek

Last year, at the Chicago show, Andy spent over an hour of his time sharing his nihonto knowledge with me. Not to make a sale, but because he really loves nihonto. Definitely a great man. Derek

http://www.aoijapan.com/information Derek

Great question! Attainable: Ubu, signed Muramasa. Unattainable: Kanze Masamune in the Tokyo Museum. (Handed to me by Chiaki Kuriyama, as long as I'm dreaming) :D Derek

I can only speak for the Minneapolis NTHK-npo shinsa, but I watched the team for many hours over 2 days, and I was never asked to leave, nor felt any pressure to not view the shinsa. Granted, I tried to be completely quiet and out of the way. In my opinion, I was surprised by the amount of time the team spent on each blade. I expected them to take a moment on each one, then move on. In reality, each sword was given half a minute or more, handed to each judge for input, and some signatures checked against books. Derek

I have to confess that I looked in on the nthk shinsa team in Minneapolis.... for an extended time... I tried to be as quiet and still as possible. The team didn't seem to even take notice of me, so I consider that a success! It was amazing to witness the attention and focus that they gave to each sword, considering the sheer volume of nihonto. Derek

Ok, if there's beer, I'm definitely going next year! Seriously looks like a great time. Any swords that took your breath away? Derek

Thank you very much gentlemen, exactly what I was looking for. Derek

For those of you who work with Japanese Nihonto Dealers, what is the typical polite negotiation process? Is it similar to Western negotiations? Other than the obvious language issues? I guess what I am trying to say is, how does one negotiate a reasonable deal? For example, consider a typical deal in the US. I see a Nihonto that interests me from an American dealer. I send a short email expressing my interest, ask for availability, ask to make sure there are no fatal flaws, and so on. I can ask for references, more pictures, etc. Is this still considered a polite method for Japanese dealers? Beyond that, what is considered polite as far as an offer? In the US, most people would start with a low offer. If I found a car that I wanted, and the dealer was asking $30,000, but I considered $25,000 to be a good price, I would start with an offer of $20,000 and haggle from there.... Please forgive me if this all seems obvious, but I have been curious. I know many of our amazing experts can answer this with the perspective that can't be found otherwise. Thank you ahead of time. Derek

Thank you, Brian. I had assumed that this project was dead. Really appreciate your effort on this. Derek

Hello James, I strongly recommend that you start your studies with Grey at http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/ He is a member here, has a great selection, and is a true gentleman. His last book to me came so well wrapped, my wife accused me of spending a lot more than I did! Cheers. Derek

Thank you for the link. Very interesting. Derek

This is great news, thank you Chris. Derek

Kunitaro San, thank you for your amazing insight. (And your willingness to share it) Derek

Thank you for this interesting discussion. Keep it coming! Derek

I am always amazed by the generous sharing of wisdom and knowledge by the members here. Thank you for this post. Derek

Same here. Derek

3 copies for me as well. Derek

Hi Grey, had no idea you lived up this way! Land of eternal winter, at least this year. I'll stop by and see you at the Chicago show, and discuss this further. Thanks. Derek

^ Agree. Derek

Thank you for posting this. Very interesting. I was on vacation last month in London; my wife was annoyed with me for the hour I spent in front of the 3 nihonto on display at the tower! (Including an amazing Juyo Kaneuji) Derek

That was the best article ever written! The last photo caption was awesome. TY for the link. Derek

Well, since you asked for input from even beginners... Knee jerk reaction when reading Kanemoto is to immediately look for sanbonsugi, which this appears to be missing. 1st gen Kanemoto of course did not, but worked in the 15th C, and the signature is different. There are generations of Kanemoto leading all the way to the present, so perhaps a Shinshinto smith? I say shinshinto due to the shape and size of the blade and appearance of the nakago. Just my guess. Derek

I've tried to find this answer with search function, and in google, but with no success. I read in another thread about someone having sayagaki done recently by the NBTHK. How does one have this done? Is it arranged privately, or an option at shinsa? Do other organizations perform this service? What is the going fee for sayagaki? Along the same lines, how would one arrange Honami appraisel/sayagaki/mei attribution? I have seen many nihonto with Honami appraisals, but never seen a link to their services. Sorry if this has been covered. I may send my katana to Japan for a new shirasaya, so I was curious. Regards and Happy Holidays! Derek