Mr Nolan

Ian and Barry, thanks for your input, one of the reasons I asked about refurbished Koshirae is that from what I have so far seen there is not too much opposition to this with regard to Japanese blades, no doubt this could be attributed to the great age of some of the blades, I ask because I have collected Third Reich edged weapons for a good number of years and it is absolute anathema to collectors in this field to alter anything that changes the original integrity of a piece, as I have looked at some of the dealer websites it obvious that some of the swords, especially the very old ones, have been refurbished, but I hear what you are saying and will bear it mind and will keep you posted, though I will not rush into anything, a lesson I learned as a much younger man. Thanks again Nolan

Gents as I explained when I joined I am completely clueless in this field of collecting, having collected extensively in other areas of militaria and general antiques and offered advice in the past to newcomers on the other forums where I post I know there is no such thing as a stupid question, but I do feel uncomfortable amongst so many experienced people in this area, so I proceed with a little trepidation and hope you understand. I have what I regard as a reasonable budget of around £10k to furnish myself with just one (for starters ) very nice conditioned sword with a fully polished blade and nice Koshirae, well, I'm a real condition freak and the way I see it is to scource a good old blade in new polish (have one or two options) and then have the rest refurbished to as new, or, I have picked up on the term's 'Shinsakuto' and 'Shinken which from what I have so far understood are newly made swords that are traditionally made and have some investment potential. So which way chaps, and is £10k enough to furnish me with a really nice heirloom? Also I would prefer to conduct any business within the UK as I really don't relish the thought of the hassle with customs etc. Your advice is sorely needed and will be gratefully received. Thanks in advance Nolan

Gentlemen Thanks for your input, I will just make one point about labelling, I recently brought in a pair of French bronzes from the States, I was informed they were waiting at the nearest Parcelforce depot and would be released on payment of duty, I went prepared to pay the full 17% but was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were levied at the 5% as the sender had specified on the customs invoice that the items were Antique. Thanks again and I will keep you updated Nolan

I am a complete novice at this having yet to purchase anything (katana is the preference) Having perused dealer sites for the past few weeks there is certainly no shortage of items that would fulfill my requirements, But,they mostly seem to be in either Japan and the States, there seems to be only one prominent dealer in the UK and the prices seem high compared to similar items from abroad, the only thing that's holding me back at the moment is that I need to be aware of any pitfalls in importing from Japan or the states or another EU country specifically with regard to customs, I certainly do not relish the thought of spending a good few thousand pounds to have item pawed at by some jobsworth customs official. Is there any system whereby you can bypass this sort of thing by perhaps having some sort of prior agreement with customs? I did note on another thread that one or two UK collectors have had no problems but others have had items held up. All advice on this matter would be gratefully recieved so thanks in advance. Nolan

Thanks guys, that's them off the shopping list :x , another example of how forums like this one really work for genuine collectors :D Does however make you wonder how many people have been taken in by such methods. Nolan

As a complete novice a prerequisite to spending what may a fair lump sum is obviously a bit of research, so I've been reading up and looking at various dealers sites and it looks like Anything between $6-10k will be required to get what I want, however I recently came across a site in Japan called 'Black Samurai' http://www.armor8.com , They say they offer genuine antique swords and the swords they are offering all come with detailed descriptions that indeed point to them being the real thing, problem is the prices, priced in USD they seem to missing a 0 and look unbelievably cheap, am I missing something here? Has anybody any info on this company? Thanks Nolan

Thank you Franco, I will certainly not be rushing into buying anything without expert guidance, I made those sort of mistakes as a much younger collector. I most certainly will be doing much research before making any commitment, from the little knowledge I have it seems that this area is as much a minefield as any other militaria interest, however, being now retired from the rat race there is ample time for study. Adrian B

Hello my name is Adrian (Ade) I've collected militaria for 40 years now, two maybe conflicting spheres which you might find odd being British Victorian campaign medals primarily Crimea and Third Reich edged weapons. Well I have a hankering for a nice genuine Katana, but as a complete ignoramus I'm going to have to ask you guys lots of questions before I purchase as I intend spending a fair amount say between $8-10k, I reckon I should find a nice example within that price range, but at the moment I'm not sure which way to go. I'm a 'condition freak' on everything I buy (I also collect general antiques as well) so for a starter is it better to go for a really old blade that has been restored and with fresh fittings or to go for something comparatively 'Young'. From what I've seen so far on dealer sites swords made as late as the 1960's can command prices as high as 600 year old ones, so rather confusing at the moment? Well thanks for reading this and I hope I can become a useful member in the future. Adrian B