DirkO

Also called shu-mei as Jean pointed out

:D point taken Jean, just wanted to make sure

Hi, Does anyone know anything about this site : http://www.areltron-ltd.com/ It seems somewhat "weird" but has some interesting items. To be honest, I think it's dodgy, but I like to be proven wrong

A very nice offer indeed I hope you all realise that a FREE AUCTION SITE (albeit temporary) is something very rare and should be used to it's full extent ! I for one will be putting this offer to good use and will be selling half a dozen nihontobooks with a very low reserve. Starting July 1st off course

Hi Malcolm, The site seems to be down all right :? Maybe down for maintenance, or the Apache crashed. We'll have to wait for Henry to give us an update I guess. At least I can tell you it's not a browserproblem. I tried it with 4 different browsers and they all give me the same 404 error.

Hi Malcolm, What exactly is the problem ? Doesn't site show ? Is the layout wrong ? .... Some more info would be helpfull.

Henry, I can confirm that, on the whole, everything is working like it should. Some tweaks needed here and there, but that's not important at this stage.

Henry is a top bloke and I'm sure he's busy with getting out all the snags. Remember patience is a virtue Osafune wasn't built in one day !

Personally I think the nihontoworld is not getting the exposure it could get. The internet is a very powerfull medium, but nihontowise it's not used efficiently. (Still love the forum, Brian ) For instance, this forum could send out newsletters with upcoming events, maybe even a calendartab ? With over 1000 members, it could reach a few people who would never know otherwise. Might even rekindle their passion if they've lost it. Nihonto-organisations are not that up-to-speed with payment methods. A lot of people can't be bothered to do the international wiretransfers. PayPal or VISA would get more people in. Maybe it would also be a good idea to have a membersite where you can rewatch the lectures given on video ? I know it's very easy to complain, which I'm not ! I think all people involved are doing a tremendous job and I'm very very gratefull for that !!!! These are just a few ideas, nothing more, nothing less...

Thanks Henry, much appreciated ! You might want to tell them that the auction start date is also off : Auction started: November 30, 1999 - 00:00

Hi Henry, I've put up the first auction, nl a little booklet by Junji Homma. I was able to complete the auctionprocess, but although the site says there's 1 auction, I'm unable to find it ? If I use the direct URL from the confirmationmail, everything seems to be in order. Maybe it would be nice if you could try and persuade the board admins to send out a newsletter with this fine initiative to all registered members. That would get you started

Henry, Everything seems to be working the way it should ! I agree that the real test will be live auctions. I might have some excess nihonto-books to shift. I'll try this evening ! How's the UK on importing nihonto ? Is it still possible to import something with a large cutting edge ? Maybe it's a good idea to put some legislative info up on your site ?

Henry, We're not trying to put pressure on you :D We're simply testing so it'll be easier for the other users I know you'll fix the problems, and there's no rush (at least not from my side)

John, Did you also get a mail stating the payment was cancelled ?

OK, Found out I need to click the confirmation link in the automated mail before my account is activated (was it stated somewhere during the signup process ? if not, this could be handy to tell people) For some reason my payments are being cancelled, so I'm unable to test the log in. It keeps saying I need to pay, but when I do, it gets cancelled immediately.

mine worked - entered it as 05/22/1980 ...

Hmm already found the error I think. The pwd can not consist of merely 6 cyphers, it has to be alfanumeric ? That or the tel nr is mandatory ? Maybe it's a good idea to mark the mandatory fields ? The member fee isn't £3 btw, it's 3$ which is next to nothing (it's through PayPal !) Weird thing though, the payment went through - but my account hasn't been enabled yet, I think. I'm unable to log in. Sorry for all the remarks Henry, hope they're constructive ! What's keeping the rest of you lads of supporting this fine initiative ?

Hi Henry, I can but applaud this initiative But I'm unable to register ? First I though the birthdate was the snag, but it wasn't. My pwd and username or 6 characters or more. Any ideas ?

Hi James, Here's a good starting point about flaws in the blade : http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/kizu.htm

Something tells me Jean is showing off here

First thoughts : I'm somewhat hesitant about these 2 kanji, for me the left one (so the one with red squares) is the shoshin one. The left mei is more squared and concise whereas the right one doesn't seem to portray the same attention to the mei. I'll check my books at home later to provide more support to my opinion. Edit : I checked some books and for me the "blocklike" printing on the left one (kaishotai ?) seems to be the shoshin one. But seeing this is quite obvious, I'm probably wrong :lol: Also the butt of the nakago seems a bit off compared to shoshin examples.

From my Yokoyama Kozuke Daijo Sukesada wakizashi, also with Tokubetso Kicho Origami

Rich, I'd be more than happy to host your site at no expense for you and without any popups or adverts. FTP access isn't a problem either. Please PM if you're interested to work out the details.

Don't forget the auction-premium you have to pay

Ian, I think both those paintings originated were inspired by Jan Brueghel the Elder (father) which is currently at the Prado: http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/collection/on-line-gallery/on-line-gallery/zoom/2/obra/touch/oimg/0/ Jan the Younger was known for copying his fathers work (although he supposedly only did the background of this painting). Could be he picked up the idea or image of the Japanese armour while travelling in Italy (which he did after his father's death in 1625). David Teniers in turn was married to the daughter of Jan the Elder, Anna Breughel.