“If you're a beginner in a vacuum: Buy the NBTHK attribution, not the blade
If you're a beginner with access to knowledgeable people with your best interest in mind: Buy what you're told to buy”
I think this is very good advice for beginner collectors and casual hobbyists. You’ll never make money speculating but you probably won’t get burned either, and as long as, in all cases, you buy swords you appreciate/enjoy (that should be true, papers or no papers), the rules above seem better to me than assuming you know more than the experts (which, no matter who you are, you probably don’t). Just my 2 cents.
There is, of course, one rule before all the others that will also serve you well - buy the books before the blades!
