FZ1

Steve - If not already done, would you consider creating a post to pass on your experience with your hits, tips, pitfalls and successes? I don't need shirasaya at the moment, but iit would be useful to have someone else's experience available if I did. Anyone else? Also, any experience of making your own tsunagi? (I will need to have a crack at that soon!) I'm not hijacking the thread, just suggesting a new one! Cheers, Jon

Hi Adam, If still available, I'll take the pair please (Samurai, A Military History and Samurai, The World of the Warrior- S.R Turnbull- £25 (Selling as a pair)). PM on the way. Cheers, Jon

Ah! Very cunning! Thanks Brian.

Don't panic, I'm not about to attempt mei removal! Just asking out of interest I've seen comments in the forum and on dealer sites about removing the mei for a gimei blade to pass shinsa. Being as the No.1 rule is "Don't do anything to the nakago" I'm interested to know how the mei is removed in these cases without wrecking the blade? Does someone get their dremmel out and just grind it off? Or is it filed off? OR heated and beaten out? How does it pass shinsa as original/genuine if its had so much original metal removed? Second question (well couple of questions): John (Shugyosha) posted a thread about the lengths of Katana on a dealer site which generated a couple of questions from me. Who decided the modern length of classifications for Katana, Wakizashi and Tanto? If the dealers and Japanese people don't hold true to these standards, what's the point of them and are they still relevant? Thanks, Jon

Alex, John & John, Thanks for your encouraging words - much appreciated! Cheers, Jon

Following Matt's comment, here's a bit of context about what this all means to me (Nihoto, collecting, etc), and "why now". I'm just starting in a new hobby. I want to learn about Nihonto, their history and also the historical context in which they were created. I find all this fascinating and in-line with my long interest in military history (possibly as a result of 12 years service in my youth), so I'm doing a lot of reading, studying and asking questions. The opportunities for studying swords "in-hand" is unavailable to me at present, so reading/asking is my next best option. However, collecting one or more swords will be a hobby, an interest and a pass-time for me; it's not going to be the central factor in my life (I've also got a family and a couple of motorbikes!). If I spend my whole life waiting and saving for something better, I'll just be "some bloke that reads about nihonto", whereas if I buy a sword now (however inadequate), I can learn from the blade, the fittings/koshirae, your comments about it, and (potentially) the mistakes I've made if it's a poor choice. In short, I don't (yet) have the commitment to aspire to a "two kidney" sword or to wait years to find out what owning/studying a sword is like. 5,000 quid (Approx 760,000 Yen or 7,000 USD) is a lot of money to me and is only available after flogging one of my bikes and some militaria (I didn't sell to buy a sword; other reasons, but that's why I have some money available for hobbies now). However, I know what I can afford to spend and what I can afford to risk/lose. Spending years saving-up more to get into a hobby at a higher level doesn't appeal to me and won't make me happy (ref Matt's quote). The original post in this thread asked two questions about a few swords I could afford and liked (i.e. Red-Flags on these swords and questions to ask about them). Thank you very much to all that helped answer those questions and also for the additional advice received. Now that I have had the order confirmed, I'll tell you that I chose the first one in the list, the Owari ( https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2110-1092.htm ) with the help of the people that responded). If anyone's interested, I can explain why I went for that one (new bloke's view!), but I'll post it in a different thread in a few weeks, along with a report of the buying/importing experience. In that way, my thoughts (and the resulting constructive criticism from members) will hopefully be more useful for other new starters, rather than burying that info in this thread. I'm happy with my choice, but I'm now expecting to be led to the pillory for the commencement of my public humiliation! Cheers, Jon

Christopher (& Jason), Indeed that is indeed something to aspire to, and I'd love to have something like that, but at 11,000 quid, it'll only find its way to me on the back of a lottery win! It's also really inspiring to hear that 5,000 quid only gets me a "cobbled-up mess for Westerners". Mind you, quite a few other paupers on the forum seem to get by in my price range, so I think I'm probably in pretty good company. Cheers, Jon

Thanks for the advice Ken. My next buy, will almost certainly be an earlier period blade that may have had "combat experience", but for my first buy, I decided that I'm happy with a "non combatant". Cheers, Jon

I think you're right Alex, all except one of Christopher's examples were marked as Sold by the time I got to look - NMB has great power; be careful to use it responsibly!

Thanks very much to everyone for taking the time to look and taking the time to give me your thoughts, views, opinions and alternatives; they are all very much appreciated. As is the case with collecting in every sphere (I used to collect Royal Flying Corps gallantry medal groups 'til I had to sell-up), there are as many opinions as there are collectors! Someone new to collecting may find this frustrating, but I see it as a sign of a very healthy community. Everyone looks at the same thing from different viewpoint, and I get to learn from the reasoning of each opinion. I have now pulled-the-trigger on my first buy. I'll post again when it arrives to tell you what I went for, why, and I'll also share some thoughts on the process for the next UK new starter.(i.e. purchase, shipping, customs, etc). However, to quote myself in the original post, "I have absorbed and understood much of the new starter guidance, I know that I will make mistakes, I accept the risks [...]". This is a learning curve, but in terms of resale value, its like gambling on anything (horses, stocks, dice, cards, etc). I have worked out what I can afford to spend, what the mark-ups are in different countries, what I can afford to lose ........... and even what I would like to buy! Finally, to illustrate the point about "as many opinions as there are collectors", I thought I'd leave you with a list of views, comments and advice drawn from the replies in this thread (no real order, just how I spotted them): "Big no. Wouldn't touch any of these with a ten foot pole." "All good choices - I would seriously consider 1 and 3" "[...] downright appalling for the money asked" "All personal opinions and likes, as is what you will find when you ask" "Tuition needs to be paid." "[...] at the starting stage of your journey, you don't even know what to like" and finally, my favourite (thanks Rivkin) "Take any advice with lots of salt. Trust no one, and most of all yourself." Cheers, Jon

I didn't know of this gentleman until I read this thread, but he sounds like he was a really interesting guy; what would the world do without eccentrics? We all have to go sometime, but this has got to be one of the best ways to go. Jon

Thanks very much to everyone for the comments; its really helpful for me to be able to see how others look at what I'm looking at, but through experienced eyes. Please keep comments coming if you have any. At least I had 1 out of 5 that pass muster (and the satisfaction that the owari was top of my list) so I'll take that as an acceptable hit-rate for a first attempt! Cheers, Jon

Evening folks. Sorry, this is a bit of a long post, but I wanted to set the scene to save you from reposting lots of guidance that I’ve read on the forum about new starters. Some scene setting ………… After nearly buying a sword on day-1 of joining the forum, I’ve come to my senses, backed-off, taken advice and read just about every thread on the forum containing advice for “newbies” (an awful word!). I’ve also spent an unhealthy amount of time reading/re-reading the recommended books and all the advice I can get from the forum and other sources. I've also been looking at a lot of swords online (I can’t handle at any real-life swords at present, for a variety of reasons). As a result of "time well spent", I now have a much better idea of what I’d like in my collection and why. I won’t go into detail here, but I’ve collected valuable items in other specialties for many years and I know my own collecting style (and yes, I do fit into one of the groups described by Guido in his “Collecting Nihonto” article!) Given the above, I have absorbed and understood much of the “new starter” guidance, I know that I will make mistakes, I accept the risks of (and have experience of) buying valuable artefacts that can be forgeries, but I’ll do what I can to minimise that risk. I’m not sure I’m ready to buy yet, but I’ve put links below to five swords that appeal to me. It’s an eclectic mix and I’m not going to bore everyone with describing what appeals to me in each one, but there are some common elements (e.g. koshirae; papered, etc). And finally, to the point ………. I’m asking for help and advice with two specific aspects of each of the five swords below: spotting any banana skins that I’ve missed, or waving any red-flags that need to be waved what questions (if any) I should be asking the dealers about the sword in question I’m certainly not expecting anyone to spend their valuable time looking at all five, but if you have the time to look at one or two and maybe help me with the above points, I’ll be most grateful. Even if I don’t buy any of these, the process of studying/researching and reading your thoughts and advice is a valuable learning process for me. Thank you for staying awake and getting to the end of this rambling request for help, and thanks in advance if you can provide any assistance. Jon https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2110-1092.htm https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-kanetsune/ https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2110-1051.htm https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2110-1081.htm https://www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/20156.html

Thanks very much John, much appreciated.

"New bloke" question alert! Is there any way to determine if the blade was constructed Maru, or using a lamination method like Kobuse, or Honsanmai, etc.? I saw this query in a post from a few months ago, but it was part of a wider discussion and it didn't get an answer. I'm interested to know if there's a way to tell visually what form the construction takes? Or if you just have to know which smith used which technique? Or in which period s/locations different construction techniques were used? Thanks, Jon

Welcome Ralph. I'm new to this as well and at the same stage as you. However, I've spent a shed-load of cash on books! As you've already sussed-out from lurking, there is loads of really good info on here in old threads. I've learnt a lot by using "search" after looking at swords on supplier sites and then researching reading-up on this forum. Cheers, Jon

Hopefully, I'm not hijacking Bruce's thread, but is there any way to tell if such horimono were engraved by the original smith or added later? Thanks, Jon

I'm new to this field and I'm still reading the books (the ones recommended on this site of course!) and soaking up info from this message board and other web sit3es and dealer sites. Reading around the subject is essential, but I haven't yet bought my first blade, so a thread like this which has "real world" info about pricing and mark-ups in different regions is really useful to someone just getting started. Thanks for the info. Cheers, Jon

Welcome Russell. As a newcomer myself, I can confirm that this place is packed with good info and helpful people! Cheers, Jon

Dave/Mark - Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Cheers, Jon

Thanks Grev. I found it on the Nat M/Cycle Museum site on 19 Sep.

Thanks Paul, much appreciated. I know the Birmingham site well (I'm a member of the Nat Motorcycle museum), but didn't know there was a sword show held there (live & learn!) Thanks for the advice ref Token of GB. I just found the Website now so will get the info (twenty five quid seems a reasonable sub). One last question - where are these events advertised? (the shows, not the Token meetings) Cheers, Jon

As a new entrant to the world of Nihonto, its great to have resources like this message board, other Internet resources and books, etc. However, there's no substitute for seeing items "in-the-flesh" to get a feel for what's-what (I used to collect RFC Great War medal groups, and what looked fine in a picture could be a disaster when handled in person). OK, that's the intro, now the question: Are there any UK militaria shows that have a presence of reliable dealers? (e.g. Stoneleigh?) Or are there any specialist shows for bladed items? Failing that, any other suppliers or locations where blades can be viewed/examined/handled? I appreciate that I could visit individual dealers, but if I'm travelling, I'd like to make it worthwhile! As always, any info will be gratefully received and much appreciated. Cheers, Jon

Alex & John - Thanks for the advice, its very much appreciated. Yes, I'm in no rush, just testing-the-water relating to suppliers mentioned on the site and looking over a very wide selection of suppliers & blades while reading-around the subject. I'll start a new thread with a new UK-related question (I don't want to hijack this thread!)

Stephan - If you use the link in Barry's post, you can order direct from the publisher. http://www.falconspress.com/sho-shin-index.html Cheers, Jon