New Member Introductions

[Stephen]

 

Welcome Clive 

Plenty of Aussie mate's here sounds like you'll fit right in.

 

 

[5rings]

After a 20 year hiatus I am re-kindling my love affair with Nihonto. I was no expert back then, even less so now. I've got a couple of books and a handful of study blades. It should take me about 11,000 years to come up to speed. A pity I have to re-buy the Koza .

 

As much as I love "sword study" books, hands-on experience can't be beat. So, I will attend shows when possible. I also have a boring and occasionally annoying habit of asking too many questions. I apologize for that in advance. 

 

A quick shout to an old friend...... @Stephen  it is good to see you here after 20 years. You were such great teacher and friend back in the day. I hope all is well with you and your family

[Stephen]

"A quick shout to an old friend....."

Welcome home Steve, good to have you back in the fold.

[marionette]

Hello everyone, just realized I forgot to post an introduction here! My name is Christian (you can call me Chris ). I currently reside in New Haven Connecticut.  I was introduced into Nihonto through my interest in Japanese martial arts (used to do Judo and now practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). Very new to the subject and very eager to learn as much as I can from all of you fine folk.  Please feel free to correct me if I ever say something wrong or suggest something incorrect, I'd like to be a good student and am always open to advice! I'm currently working through reading a the topics from the FAQ and looking for some of the recommended reading on amazon and the like so I truly am very very new to the hobby. I am the custodian of  a single piece (a mumei wakizashi) and am currently mostly trying to be a good custodian for it. The community seems great so far and I am very excited to participate here!

[ROKUJURO]

Chris,

thank you for your introduction and welcome on board the NMB! The subject is contagious but fun!

[Nanbokuchu]

Hi!

 

My name is Jimmie, living in Sweden and a former long time practitioner of Japanese martial arts (judo, jiujitsu, iaido, taido). Always loved the riddle of the steel and my interest in nihonto sparked after I got a copy of John Yumato's The Japanese Sword as a Christmas present. I've been lucky to see some nihontos from various travels from my other life (competitive weightlifter and working as a nurse), and I've grown a liking to the Bingo Mihara school and similar schools with a thinner suguha-based hamon, makes me appreciate the hada more.

 

Currently mostly reading and learning while searching for my second nihonto (hoping to find a ko-mihara or chu-mihara that suits).

[rematron]

Welcome to NMB, Jimmie.

[The Blacksmith]

Hello all,

 

A new member here just introducing himself. 

 

I have been collecting edged weapons for well over fifty years, having begun when I was six! Anything sharp interested me, and still does, but I quickly understood that Japanese swords were something special, and they began to have a special attraction and interest for me. In the late 70's and early 80's as my interest blossomed I built up a reasonable collection of Japanese weapons and some armour, as well as a few other Japanese antiquities and artefacts.

Japan has always held a special interest for me, and though I do not have any Japanese weapons in my collection at present, my interest has been re awakened and I am now building up my library again, with a hope to add at least a couple of decent swords to my collection again.

So at present I am greatly enjoying reading up on Japan again, and not least brushing up on my kanji! I will also soon as the winter passes, go out in the woods and find some suitable specimens to restart another old passion of mine, bonsai!

I am greatly looking forward to reading the forum posts, meeting kindred spirits, and brushing up on my favourite aspect of edged weapons and history.

It is great to be here  at last! Thank you.

 

Greetings from Norway!

 

Russ

[Alex A]

Welcome, quite a few bonsai enthusiasts here also.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome, Jimmie. I've trained in iaido & kenjutsu for 30+ years, & am curious what "tiaido" might be.

[rematron]

@Ken-Hawaii he wrote "taido"   -    Taidō - Wikipedia

[Ken-Hawaii]

Interesting, Jeremy! when I try to access Wikipedia on Firefox, it doesn't bring up tiaido at all! Thanks!

[rematron]

Where's spell-check when you need it, right? 

[The Blacksmith]

2 hours ago, Alex A said:

Welcome, quite a few bonsai enthusiasts here also.

Thank you, and that makes it sound even more like I have come to the right place!

[Mike Z]

Hello!

 

I'm a new subscriber... a long time appreciator of the beauty of Japanese swords, but an absolute novice in my understanding of them!  A few years ago, I inherited two Japanese swords from my grandfather, who served in the Pacific theater in WWII.  The swords unfortunately, are in what I believe is relatively poor condition, having lived for decades in a basement, without proper care.  I have done what I can to at least halt any further deterioration.

 

I definitely have the Nihonto bug. I am reading a few recommended books, but have everything to learn.  I posted in the Translation Assistance forum 10 days ago, and was absolutely stunned at how quickly a whole collection of knowledgeable members replied.  I learned more about one of these swords in a few days than I had in a few years of spare time fumbling around the internet.  To say I'm grateful to and humbled by the knowledgeable members of this forum would be an understatement. 

 

I came to these forums simply interested in understanding more about the origins of these heirlooms, but have found myself fascinated by a number of the ongoing dialogues.  Thanks to all the experts freely offering their time in this community.

 

Glad to be here!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome aboard, Mike. Photos will help us to help you, even more. Look on the right side of the NMB home page, & you can download the photography instructions from the late Darcy Brockbank, that was uploaded by Brian.

[Garrett Petrie]

Hello everyone.

 

Glad to be here.

 

Have a great day 

[rematron]

Welcome, Garrett.

[deadreconing11]

[Sorry for the late introduction! I’m fairly new to this forum and just found this thread] 
 

Hey everybody!
 

Pleasure to meet you guys, my name is Jaykob. I’m 20 years old, and have been brought up on Nihonto, NFA firearms, Night vision optics, and various military memorabilia from all countries. I’ve always had an interest in tangible history. From shooting antique machine guns, to gazing in awe at my grandfathers Nihonto collection as a little boy.

 

I’ve only recently started my own collection a few years ago. consisting of purchases from sword expos, private sellers and what was left of my grandfathers collection. Ive been collecting as soon as I was able to afford it. Learning everything I can from leftover books my grandfather had, Japanese reference material, and thoroughly cross referencing everything I can find. I strive to be a competent and honest Nihonto collector, but I still have Plenty to learn. So apologies in advance, please bare with my terminology, and correct me when I’m wrong. I’m still working on hammering out the kinks. 
 

I hope to inspire the younger generation of Nihonto collectors, to pursue deeper understanding and knowledge of Japanese culture. Who also share the same passion in the protection and preservation of historical Japanese art and culture as I do.  

Collecting Nihonto can be a Tricky and expensive hobby if ill-informed, but I like to think that only through extensive research and education can we truly protect ourselves. 
 

 

- Jaykob 

[Zaia86]

I wanted to introduce myself! My name is Zaia and I am a Spanish girl. fond of martial arts and nihonto. I hope to learn a lot from you. And excuse me if I say something stupid! My intention is to continue learning.

[b.hennick]

Welcome Jaykob and Zaia. There is a lot to learn and this is a great place to learn. 

[Brian]

Welcome Zaia! Glad to see another female enthusiast, and also great to have more Spanish members, a country which we seldom see here.
Hope we are able to assist you in your hobby.

[Hostin]

Good day All

 

It is a pleasure to learn more about Nihonto. 

 

Best wishes

 

Geraldo Hostin

[b.hennick]

Welcome Gerald! You will find that there is a lot to learn.

[akednb]

Hello everyone! My name is Ake, a new member from Thailand. I have been interested in the Japanese blades for about 4 years now. I am lucky to be living in Japan for the last 4 years or so...but this is still a very hard subject and I do hope to learn more. My interest mainly on Yamashiro and Bizen especially the weirdly curved ones with small kisaki . 

Cheers, Ake

[Stephen]

Welcome Ake.

 

Enjoy your adventure, it can be very rewarding but also frustrating have fun!

[Jussi Ekholm]

I have spent some time with Ake, great guy with high level of knowledge 👍

[b.hennick]

Welcome Ake! You will enjoy some of the discussions.

[akednb]

Hey Jussi, Barry. Thank you for the welcome. Oh well, it's almost been 2 years and I still have not fully understand my only sword...I still have a long way to go! Oh well I don't expect to learn in 5 years what these master craftsmen took decades to master anyway lol.

[Ramon]

Hello to everyone, 
my name is Ramon , I’m from Sunny South Africa 

id like to say that this forum is a well of knowledge and I’m very grateful to be able to access the information and knowledge of the experienced members 

ever since I watched a documentary on the making of a katana sword as a kid I became very interested in them , especially the forging of the blade 

I’ve recently purchased a beautiful katana with hamon from James Raw, 

I’ll be doing the mountings by myself and I’d also like to thank @Brian for hooking me up with Tsuka ito aswell as other small fittings, also for the advice 

Thanks for the opportunity to be part of the community ( rhyme intended) 😅