DirkO

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...

Hi Roy, It's always nice when someone shares something like this I know your site well and would compare it to a bazar in the middle east : it's not always the most tidy place, but there are suprises around every corner...

Hi, Here's a former discussion about a Kanemichi/Naomichi : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3563 And here's a pic of my Tango no Kami Naomichi (shodai)

Well if it happens next time, you can always look in the eventvwr to see what happened. If you want to send me the events in there around that moment, I'll be happy to try and troubleshoot it for you.

Hi Carlo, This is probably because your Win 7 can't really cope with an applet or something. I would suggest making sure you have all the latest Win 7 patches installed as well as the latest GFX driver for your videocard (my bet would be a problem with the videocard) Personally I wouldn't recommend Win 7 just yet. We've been testing it for about 8 months now and although it's better than Vista, it still has it's problems.

Site seems to work fine for me. In Japanese you have some more menus than in English though. And not all the English links seem to work like they should. At least it seems to be a legit seller.

Here's a link that might be usefull, but as said, it depends on the blade .... http://www.nihontocraft.com/Nihonto_Shinsa_Standards.html

Basically what happened was the following : I saw some Mishina blades on dealer sites and with one blade the description didn't seem to match the mei. So I started comparing meis, and in the whole oshigata comparing frenzy, I forgot an important thing : People a lot smarter than me will have noticed this years ago :D Ah well at least I know that that dealersite is definitely wrong in it's description

So I reinvented the hot water :-) Ah well, it was fun doing it and a good way to learn any way.

Hi, I've read a bit about Mishina-den and the way most people distinguish mei between the two factions Kyo Tanba and Osaka Tanba is by the presence of the kikumon. Osaka Tanba doesn't have a kikumon and Kyo Tanba often has the kikumon. But when going over some oshigata in various books, I came across something else, and when checking this I found it to be a rule that works well : Kyo Tanba and Osaka Tanba both have their own way of chiselling "kami" : First Kyo Tanba (with kikumon) : the particular stroke seems to go from low to high Then Osaka Tanba : the same stroke seems to go from high to low (also in other various examples, sorry if the pics aren't that great) Am I correct in stating this or am I finally going mad ?

Is this weird variation on "why did the chicken cross the road ?" ?

.. just don't get him started on the airvelocity of swallows or whether they migrate :D @ Nolan : If you come across a site or an offer that's too good to be true, it almost always is. Also, the search function on this forum is very usefull to see if other people didn't come across the same thing before.

Maybe time to refresh everyone's memory or for the uninformed .... : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5406&p=41974&hilit=armor8#p41974 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5104&p=39541&hilit=armor8#p39541 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3262&p=24033&hilit=armor8#p24033

Some nicer tsuba and fittings + some starter blades + books http://www.klefisch.com./

Jean, you beat me because of my need for a coffee

Well for most collectors a hagire is a definite nono. But if you buy a blade with hagire just because you want to study the activity in the good parts of the blade, then it could be a cheap way to have some hands on experience at home. You'll have to keep in mind that it's not the best addition to a collection.

I remember seeing that nice sukesada naginata before.... too bad I don't have that kind of money lying around http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5253787&sid=cff9b101-ce34-4eb5-83c4-6aa22ef6a78f http://www.nihonto.com/3.5.04.html

Grey, The auction description on that site says : Genuine Wakizashi (short Samurai sword) by Yamashiro circa 1650 A.D. w/ Non-commissioned officer’s metal scabbard Maybe that's a starting point right there :-) http://engstromauctions.com/HouserOct3/flyerforweb.htm

Congrats Brian ! Hope the following year will bring you nothing but good things in your life !!! - PS : Isn't it time to start rallying for the yearly raffle again ? :D -