Schneeds

30%RH is plenty low. Don't be alarmed if you see it rise to the upper 30's; desiccant packets have a floor at which they can't absorb below, and its usually 35-40.

I imagine it's somewhere in the area of a first-born child I wish Eirakudo hadn't changed their photography setup, the hada is so washed out on many of the listings.

I don't know if it's the narrowness and tapering of the saki-haba, but something about the sugata just doesn't work for me. Which is a pity because otherwise I agree, a nice offering in that range.

I display the bare blade in basically a sealed display safe and don't have issues despite hot humidsummers. I've considered using a long clear sleeve of plastic and heat sealing it with a dessicant packet inside. That would maintain the same humidity basically indefinitely. Shirasayas look nice, but all wood will absorb moisture to some degree.

Congratulations. That is indeed an interesting attribution. Love that Sugata.

Tariffs outweigh the currency gap if you're in the US. I would be paying about 9% more than I did two years ago. But it's important to protect the ancient Japanese sword manufacturing base here at home so I persevere.

This is my only moment in life having regret for not having a Facebook account.

You must be very pleased with that polish

Epic achievement.

Indeed it is That is a rather fetching price given the attribution, size, health and fresh polish. If I lived over there I would take a peek!

Lovely polish. That must have been an absolute beast before the suriage. Good luck with the sale!

Your considerations range from $6k USD to $200k? Are you sure you know what you're looking for?

I'm just a newb, but that polish seems solid as it is.

If you put in the time learning and spend 20% of your budget on a papered Nanbokucho blade that you maximized with your gained knowledge, I can all but guarantee you will feel a greater sense of satisfaction because you will feel like you earned it. Then you also have the possibility of a Juyo submission, which i can only imagine feels amazing.

Often in posts like this, someone will ask the question: "what do you like about it?" Someone asked me that when I was looking to buy my first blade, and I was posting random blades that fit the vague criteria I had come up with. I'm glad they did; when i really thought about it, it completely changed my perspective. Personally, for 40k USD I would want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt what I want, and why I want it.