Alex A

More like a rat than a tiger, admittedly, an aggressive looking rat, if its a tiger then it could have been done better. Now ive got a guy at the side of me in work telling me its a monkey :D , i give up... Alex

Or maybe the dragons tail turns into the rat ,i think it as someting to do with the tails, sorry im not helping with your bet, but i am curious... Alex

Hi Mike, ive read of koi turning into dragons, could this be a rat turning into a dragon?, think it as something to do with the rats tail, from what ive read. Not sure if thats correct, just a guess. Alex.

Cheers Adam/Chris, appreciated. Alex.

Hi Hoanh, that had crossed my mind too, i was unsure though..cheers Forgot to say, its about 2 inches from the habaki. Alex

I have a wakizashi dated to around 1670, the blade is in excellent condition apart from this gouge type of mark on the mune. Maybe someone with more experience as seen something similar. Could it be the result of a skirmish, careless handling or something else? ,it is small, about 7mm approx.

Interesting that Henry, i bought 2 bronze dragons several years ago, i read they where lucky. At the time i wondered what the difference was between chinese and Japanese dragons. Alex

I have stated in a recent post that i think the saya is to blame for tiny bent tip on the end of one of my blades. Expert jobs should be left to the experts. Alex

Ebay, for experienced collectors only............. Alex.

Let me clear a few things up. 1) Adrian, i am not interested in stealing your job. Knowing the business i find it hard sitting here without trying to help, my company does not need the work, there are not enough hrs in the day as it is. We specialize in high quality full colour books, university prospectus, brochures, folders etc etc. We do work for british aerospace, most universities, aston martin and so on. We do the kind of work no one else wants to do because its difficult and demanding, thats how we make are money in what seems to be a digital world, all though we also do digital. 2) Do we do this kind of work you require?, yes sometimes, it isnt a big deal, we may shy away from it because its overseas though. I did say at the beginning of the thread that i would get it printed in Marcus's home country, basically to avoid import duty on any that are left over for return to Marcus, aswell as a hefty postal delivery . 250 of each book is not a big job quantity wise and the price should be more than acceptable. What if theres a lot left over?, does it matter?, if the price is right for the number of books that are initially required. 3) Would i do it it for nothing, no, i find it difficult to believe anyone would do this for nothing... 4) Do i want to bicker on line and be quoted all the time? No. 5) Do i want the work, no,not at all!, but as i said, i would have been happy to give you a price for comparison only,to help you see where you stand, i am now finished on this subject. I genuinely hope this works, i need more books at a reasonable cost Alex

You seem to know everything, im out pal. Alex

Adrian, why you being childish, we pass the customer on to the shipper, we DONT charge, the shipper does! Personally i wouldnt trust you with a kids crayon book. Alex

Pay the printing company?...read what i wrote Adrian..Ive tried helping but now ive had enough..........game over. Alex.

Strange, but no complaints good result. Alex

Printers will and do offer individual shipping, they just pass the job onto someone else, usually quite reasonable. Im in too, by the way..... Alex

Most large printers offer this service Brian, My works is stacked to the rafters with work waiting to go out, they do charge you for storage though. Alex.

These books are very thick as you know, books of this size we would print then send out for finishing to a specialist. There are of course specialist book printers that can do everything in house, maybe thats your guys. I will be happy to get you a price for comparison. As you have stated, no rush, ring around the places that you know, and take it from there. It will be interesting to see how the poll goes, maybe would have been better to get a few rough prices first though. If i where you id also get a price for digitally printed insides, it isnt as bad as it used to be, just doesnt have the sharpness of offset. At least with some prices you will have more of an idea, best to take it from there. Alex

Adrian, why dont you just phone the 4 printers that you know and get a price for 250 books printed top quality, at least then you can come back with 4 different prices and work out how much it will be for each person. Your all going round in circles here. You know what the book entales, straight forward black only with a colour cover that will need designing, the printers will guide you on what you can have. The price will be less than you think. Most litho printers will accept a 250 run these days, there up against it with the digital guys. Obviously there will be a lot of books left over, marcus can decide what to do with them, its his book afterall. Alex

You done well, but i dont see how that label can make a difference, was full value declared? Alex

The first one is very large, bit like the one on Eds recent post. Alex

An ancient piece of history you have there Ed, just about the time the romans decided to leave england. Ive never seen a tsuba that old before, must be good to own. Alex.

I have limited knowledge and book resources, to be honest im just glad that i gave it ago, I knew no1 was an early sword, just tried to find a match with the books i have, i could match the kissaki, but not the hamon, obviously my attemps where longshots. No 2, similar story, no3 had a boshi id not come acoss, yakitsume, if im correct, the hamon was very distinctive, basically i just searched the net for koto matches to these points, not the way to do things, but as i said its very difficult with what i have and the knowledge i have.. Alex

Tried several times to buy a copy but the site keeps coming up with "cannot validate the address", when i fill in the new member form, everything is correct, any ideas anyone? do you have any copies to sell Marcus? Alex.

Adrian, i was talking 300 people!!!!...paying $30 = 9k, the more people involved the better, works out cheeper for everyone and theres more money for the guy that wrote it. Hyperthetically!!!! 9k is more than enough for 300 printed books, or even 500 books!!!, this job could be printed high quality, for around about $4000 or less. You dont need to argue with everything i say, im trying to help!!!!!!!!!! ps, dont teach me what i already know. Alex

Matt 80 sounds like an 80gram matt paper, coated, but not glossy. I would ask to see a printed sample before going ahead, just to make sure the blacks are black. Who knows, if 300 people agreed to pay $30, thats $9000, that would pay for a class job, no need for digital. sorry, geting a bit carried away.................. Alex