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That's a beautiful collection Thierry, thank you very much for sharing.

I have a little anecdote, from personal experience, which I think will be along the lines of the reasoning for some of those who are advising against this. When I was born, both of my parents had decent jobs and they decided to make a special purchase as a gift for me. My father has a passion for watches and had collected them for many years, so they decided that a special watch would be a suitable gift. They spent a LOT more money than I would have liked them to (had I had any say in this). They purchased a Rolex, which would surely have cost over a month of their combined take home pay. It was a lovely gesture and I truly appreciate it, but though I am still stunned by quality of it, watches are not really where my interests lie and I know that it I will never have the same level of appreciation for this as my father would. I would have much preferred them to spend the money on themselves, or for my father to have instead bought the watch for himself (to celebrate); it is afterall the sentiment which is important, not the item itself. I'm struggling to effectively express my feelings, but please do not read this as me not being appreciative, that is not what I'm trying to say. To surmise, the interests of our children do not always match our own; and something of great value to us may not be appreciated to the same extent by our children.

Congratulations on the baby! I would have to agree with the others who have replied; with a young child around you'll find a lot of more pertinent things to spend that money than on a sword. In any case, a sword would not truly be handed over to the child until at least their teens, it would seem to me a better idea to have the blade commissioned closer to that age; thereby allowing you to really assess if it would be a suitable gift.

Thanks for the info Curran. Here you go Roman: Kind Regards, Mark H

I would appreciate some opinions on these menuki. I've had them for a few months now and I am quite fond of them. The plate is shakudo and they depict Torii gates and what I believe to be cherry blossoms. Any opinions with regards to school or details of any possible meaning of the motif would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time. Kind Regards, Mark

Well, if the son was indeed his business partner then that does change things. Aaron did manage to recover the parts, but the replicas were unusable: http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... highlight=

With the knowledge that the gentleman in question has passed away, it is very unreasonable to publicly slander his son, especially without disclosing full details. It is very unfair to state that you have been cheated, given these unfortunate circumstances, as this surely was not anyone's intention. This is after-all not his son's enterprise and I would assume that he (like most of us) has a busy life of his own and it is doubtful that wrapping up his fathers business venture is his main priority. More details are required, and I have no doubt that you will receive your sword in due course.

Maybe a more specific question would be better. Given that a Juyo blade can be had for $20k-$30k, would you consider it be worth saving up an additional $20k to buy a blade by the likes of Ono Yoshimitsu or Gassan Sadatoshi? I'm tying to gauge where people would place the quality of these blades, if we were to disregard historical context for the moment. If Ono Yoshimitsu for instance had been working in the 14th century, how would his blades likely be regarded today?

Hello Gentlemen, I've been wondering for a while what would be the best course of action with regards to obtaining very high quality nihonto. Would a certain amount generally go further with a modern blade from a Mukansa smith or an antique blade? Is it a worthwhile exercise to compare and contrast modern blades with antiques or do you consider this to be an apples and oranges type of comparison? Thank you for your time. Kind Regards, Mark

Hi Kam, Thank you for the reply. I was looking at the work on your website for the best part of an hour just now, I'm pretty much lost for words. Kind Regards.

Hello all, I didn't see this thread until just now, and having lurked on here for about 6 months, I'd like to introduce myself. I've been interested in Japanese swords for a number of years, but have only really started to truly appreciate the level of craftsmanship and artistry displayed in the fittings over the past year. I tend to not post as I don't know enough to contribute meaningfully, but have learned a great deal from reading threads on here for which I'm very grateful. Kind Regards

I tend to not post as I mostly read old threads and I don't know anywhere near enough to add anything meaningful to active ones. Anyhow, after a few months of lurking, I have a question which I've not been able to find an answer to. I'd appreciate some opinions on the different lacquer finishes which are used on saya. Are there conventions as to which style of lacquer should be used with certain styles of tosogu, or for blades of a specific period, or was this always an area which was very individual? Is there any functional difference between the different finishes, say Ro-iro and Ishime? I've always been particularly taken with Nashiji lacquer, but have only ever seen it on tachi and aikuchi mounted tanto, but never on uchigatana. Would it be 'wrong' to have a saya for a katana/ wakizashi finished in this way or is it simply personal taste? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Kind Regards