Henry

Thank you Going to get that.

Thank you, I will! That's the plan now. I plan to either buy it in the forums or from a forum member's website! I will, I realized how little I know about this topic so I will be reading a lot more on this! You hit the nail on precisely the website I was trying to look for because it was one of the websites that had prices within my budget range with the criteria I was looking for. Thanks again Greg! Thanks once again in putting so much effort in replying to my posts, and thank you for the warm welcome Ken. Yes, I will be doing some more studying now before doing a major purchase decision, with the only exception being if I am buying a sword from a reputable member here at a price I cannot refuse. Your questions are a great starting point for me to jump in, as while I do have some of the answers to your questions, they are not detailed enough that I know that I need to do more research. I completely agree with you that as of right now, I am fully dependent on the forum member's opinions and honesty as I have literally no knowledge to judge for myself. I will continue my studies while browsing the forums' sales posts at the same time. Thank you for your suggestions, along with Grey Doffins site, those are the websites I have been already perusing (along with the sale forums). One worry I do have though, is that as I continue my studies, I would be yearning for a sword that is way above my budget, hence why I'm trying to keep things basic to try to get a good starter sword on a budget! Henry

Thank you for your sincere answer. I think I will refrain from buying on ebay at all and will just stick to this forum. I will of course be more studious too and browse this forum along with reading all the helpful links the community has provided in such supportive fashion. So sorry about missing that rule! I only realized now (along with your post from the other thread comment I made), that after I signed up for an account, there's hidden resources and guides which would help me through my journey into this realm. Thank you for your patience in helping with a newbie. My years of hobby collecting other items and instinct has told me that I am way above my head in collecting Japanese swords, and turns out I am correct. I will definitely refrain from buying on ebay, and aim to look for a seller on NMB while continuing my studies into this type of collecting. I know I have a lot of catching up and studying to do before I can even consider doing anything without the help of fellow forum experts. Hi John! I would be really interested actually, and please do drop me a PM. You can also post it here as I would be asking fellow forum members anyways about it anyways! I do agree that books is also a way to go, but I also think it would be great to own a starter piece while doing more studying, as that would fuel my excitement even more into this new type of collecting That is true, I totally forgot about that. Thank you for taking the time out in giving me such informative responses! I have remembered reading articles that older formats are more forged than the newer formats, but once again this is completely out of my realm of expertise so I would have to study more on this. Thank you for your response! I realized now that I would be completely out of my depth at the moment going through ebay since I honestly have no idea how to verify the provenance nor the quality of the sword. That's also a worry I have; Japanese markets tend to not go international, regardless of the hobby, so for sellers in Japan to want to go out of their way to move inventory on ebay (facing customs, imports restrictions, etc. ) makes me wary that I am overpaying for something that is insignificant. I want to sincerely thank everyone for taking time out of their day in responding to me, a complete novice, and providing so much patience to a complete new beginner. This was a warm welcome I was not expecting at all, and really happy to join this community! Henry

Thanks for replying! I know that good swords appear in the sales section, but I would have no idea what I should be looking for so I would probably be too slow, after doing the research. I'll try though! I see that gimei hozon is not recommended. I'll keep that in mind! I'm not too sure what you meant by your last sentence though! Henry

That is perfect to know. Thank you so much for your thorough explanation, I sincerely appreciate it. I will try perusing the sales section (which I already did) but a search did not yield much threads about Hozons, and most that I was interested in was either out of my budget range or sold out weeks to months ago. I think I'll make a buy thread, thank you once again! This is precisely what I wanted to learn more about, and I sincerely appreciate your link! Henry

Thank you Joo

Hey guys, wanting to ask for your input on these types of listings: https://www.ebay.comitm/LONG-WAKIZASHI-sword-w-NBTHK-HOZON-judgment-UDA-MUROMACHI-33-3-22-7/123165152003?hash=item1cad371303:g:QRkAAOSwpHpbEKA~ https://www.ebay.com/itm/HR-13-WAKIZASHI-OOMINOKAMI-HISAMITU-with-NBTHK-Judgmant-paper-Edo/323467867388?hash=item4b502ff4fc%3Ag%3Ar2cAAOSwL~hbLJ1j&LH_BIN=1 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shorted-OLD-Signed-Waki-NBTHK-Japanees-Tanto-Tachi-sword-Kabuto-Katana-Samurai/263794268518?hash=item3d6b5d1966:g:8c4AAOSwtOZbho4V Are these all hozons, or just the first one? I know that NBTHK puts four types of certifications with Hozon being the lowest, but my assumption is that they would authenticate swords that are genuine, but not good enough to be categorized in the Hozon category? Any suggestions of prominent members on the forums in which they have cheap certified swords and willing to ship to Canada? Thanks for your time Henry

Hey Joo, Thanks for the advice. I will definitely check it out! Edit: Sadly your website seems to have most of their stuff sold out, and the rest is out of my budget range

Hey guys, Henry here. I am completely new to the topic, and a total amateur at that. However, this type of history fascinates me, and it's much more complex than I have thought! Mainly here to understand better the NTHK and the NBTHK certifications; I did my own searches but it has not been too fruitful. I wanted to get a Hozon Sword (any kind really, on a budget here) as something first to collect but then I am faced with fake certifications, lack of Japanese knowledge (I can't tell if the paper is genuine/what it is saying), and if the price is correct. I know I am completely out of my depth when I read some threads where someone joked about an ebay listing saying it's a scam, whereas I have no idea what was out of place with that listing. Are there newbie guides/rules that I should know about? I am planning to just post in the "buy" forums asking for guidance and perhaps simply buying a sword from a member on this site. Of course, I want to learn more about Japanese swords but I have no idea where to start; I already read the beginner guides listed in the "giveaway" thread. Pleasure to meet you guys on this forum, and a privilege to be here! Henry