DirkO

Yes, you could do that, but I'm thinking that JAC would terminate my account immediately, seeing they would lose out on money :-) So basically what I'm looking for is someone to bid and ship for me for this one item. If that person has PayPal, I can easily transfer the necessary funds beforehand.

No it's the curios_paradise one :-) Thanks for the offer, but I'm unable to bid if not going through JAC. And if I do that, they will automatically ship it to them, no ? So I would also need help in bidding for the item I'm afraid. Any ideas ?

Hi, There's a katana dansu for sale on Yahoo Japan which I'm really interested in, but when I asked JapanAuctionCenter what their estimate on the shipping was, they told me that they only use Fedex for these kind of things and the shipping would be at least 100,000 yen. Now a Japan-based member (sadly currently not in Japan :D) told me that this is seriously overpriced. So here I am. Is there a kind Japan-based member who's willing to help me with the buying and shipping to Europe of a katana dansu ? I know some work is involved, and I'm more than willing to compensate this. Here's hoping ...

But to give you some comfort, many have gone before you : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1919&p=13127

Hmmm so metal is equally hard as wood ? So sciccors can't beat paper ? :D Never argue with an idiot : they drag you down to their level and then beat you on experience !

Hi, I have this Mishina blade. It is signed Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi. It displays a nice sudare-ba/kikusui-ha. But the Kami kanji as well as the absence of a kiku mon lead me to Osaka-Tamba, whereas the yakidashi is Kyo-yakidashi. I've discussed this with several people but it still doesn't sit right with me. So I'm trying to place this Yoshimichi, any ideas ? I've included some pics of the mei + blade. It needs a good polish (some rust developping here and there), but this is what it looks like after some carefull uchiko-ing.

Loved that show, although it was before my time, I saw several reruns. :D Really catchy intro too ! "Who do you think you are kidding mr Hitler, if you think we're on the run ..... " Thanks for a enjoyable flashback there, Henry !

Hi Ford, I was able to find some high res pics on http://art.thewalters.org but not the exact tsuba you're looking for. Although nr4 is absolutely fabulous. If you ever decide to not do a "tribute" of that one, I'll be more than happy to buy it from you :-) Copied high res pics here to not abuse NMB bandwidth : http://www.genpuku.com/otsuki

Total steal on eBay : the 3 compton catalogues for a TOTAL of 120 USD !!! If I'd known they'd go this cheap I would have bid on them. I was just following them to see what they would fetch http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300386456785 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300386457197 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300386457484

Hi Klaus; We have the seller here apparently, so you can ask him directly

Hi Marc, Do you mean these mon ?

Stephen, I don't really think it's dying out. You see a lot of new members here asking for translations. A percentage of those will grow into serious collectors to "carry on the torch" as you so aptly put it :-) I think the low book prices are merely due to fact that it's a buyer's climate at the moment, not a sellers one. This mainly because of the crisis. Once this is over, you'll see new collectors emerge.

those are indeed prices one dreams of, especially a fujishiro's set for a good 200$ With the Euro being what it is, that's really really cheap ...

I bought a Heibei Sukesada from him some time ago and found him to be a good seller to deal with re shipping and answering questions. He gives accurate descriptions and what I think to be very good pics of the items he sells.

Maybe NMB Forum can do a special by mailing a newsletter to everyone to rally support for this initiative ? Just an idea ... With some 1300 members this forum can really reach out.

Mishina schools : The Shinto Volume of Nihonto Koza and I would also recommend the ART AND THE SWORD series. There's one volume with quite some pages dedicated to Mishina. (I think 7 but I'd have to check at home)

It would be interesting to see the mune, I think it will match this one : http://www.japanszwaard.nl/zc11.html

"Get a Mac" <= can only be said by someone who has one :-) Macs aren't bad, but the support on them is ...

Well I always check if they ship to Belgium before I bid. Sometimes even auctions marked as "US shipping only" will readily ship to Europe if you simply ask them.

John, Never argue with a stubborn fool. They pull you down to their level and beat you on experience :D

I checked the Eurostar site on baggage : It's also stated here : http://www.eurostar.com/UK/be/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/prohibited_items.jsp But the way I read it, the swords will be forwarded in another Eurostartrip then the one the traveller is on ? Or is that just me misinterpreting it ?

True Jean, but I don't know if the Eurostar people like people travelling with nihonto :-) If not, I need to send them ahead. But you're right, it would be a great way to get to know some people face to face. But like you said, we don't know yet if and when it will take place...

Brilliant, but wasn't there a big swordban over there Maybe some people of the UK community can act as intermediaries for us non-UK residents ? I for myself would obviously be willing to pay a fee for handling and so on (still a lot cheaper than sending it off to Japan for shinsa imo and the return time of the swords will be a lot smaller as well) If this is possible : put me down for 4 slots

How's shipping of Nihonto from the mainland to the UK nowadays ? Otherwise I'd consider reserving a few slots as well...

:D hilarious !!! Ideal to start the Monday morning...