MAXBLISS888 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Hi I am from Singapore and I am a vintage watch and pens collector and I have joined the Nihonto forum two months ago by making a mistake of posting a small knife (I love the Maki E though) and received some "bashing" as new comer,.. making my orientation to the Nihonto a fast one. Luckily i have the support of Jean and Daniel who has helped to point the directions in the field of Nihonto for me. Now I focus on reading books and going through the old posts in order to prepare myself to participate in the forum. Hope to be able to show you some real Japanese Nihonto soon..but not yet as I still need to research more...but i now know what I want to collect.. Thanks! Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.hennick Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Welcome Francis I'm sure that you will find nihonto more complicated than watches or fountain pens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayben Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Greetings all, I'm Wayne, I've been lurking for a while and figured it was time to join and introduce myself. I've been interested in Japanese swords for a long time, starting with a WWII NCO's sword that I picked up in the late 70's. Since then I've added a few books and other swords, and learned what I could along the way. I retired about a year ago, so I have quite a bit more time to devote to swords and hopefully some traveling to shows. I really appreciate the willingness to share knowledge that I see on this forum and look forward to participating here when I have something I can add. Wayne 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Welcome Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.hennick Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 The next show is in Tampa last weekend in February. Drop by and say hello. Welcome to Messageboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayben Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yes, I'm planning on going to Tampa. It will be a great break from the Iowa winter. Thanks for the welcomes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 i O way? where bouts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayben Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 I'm in Cedar Rapids. How about you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Dead Moines, Welcome aboard. Chicago show in spring too, not as long drive for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg F Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Hello Wayne, welcome to Nmb. All the best. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayben Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Yes, Chicago is an easy drive from here, unfortunately I already have something going on those dates. However, depending on how Tampa goes there is always San Francisco later. It sounds like that one draws a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogen Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hello everyone, I thought I should introduce myself. My name is John. I live in Olympia, Washington. I've always been a bit of a "Nipponophile." I've studied Zen and practiced zazen since I was a teenager -- enough to know that I really don't know much about anything. I do know that I have been drawn to nihonto for as long as I can remember. The ceremony surrounding the sword, the reverence the sword was held in, and the life and death purpose of the sword all seemed larger than life when I first started reading about Samurai and Bushido. I've always enjoyed viewing the swords shown online and the few I've seen in museum exhibits. I've also, of course, fantasized about owning one myself. That fantasy has recently turned into a reality. I know I've probably broken every rule given to neophytes but I, perhaps impulsively, bought a katana a few weeks ago. So I am here to begin more serious study of nihonto in general and learn more of the history of my sword and sword smith or school in particular. John B. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg F Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hello John and welcome to Nmb. This place is a great place to learn and meet knowledgeable and helpful people. All the best. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbflat Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 My name is Bill and I have been interested in nihonto for a long time. When I was 18 or so a friend showed me a WW2 firearms book that had a few pages dedicated to Japanese swords and there construction. I have always been interested in blades as they are to me the most basic tool of man. I was immediately struck at the beauty and craftsmanship in the swords themselves and there Koshirae. Over the years I dabbled here and there in nihonto appreciation but only on a surface level. Pre internet it wasn't exactly easy to learn about nihonto if you didn't know someone who was interested or have some sort of 'in'. To make a long story short-ish, my real introduction to nihonto happened rather abruptly. My girlfriend of 8 years after knowing my interest in Japanese knives, tools and such let it slip.... " you know my dad has an old sword he brought back from Japan after the war"..... I said what? It turns out that he was on a boat in the invasion fleet heading to Japan when the war ended. He spent a couple of years in Tokyo ( as he says "on a ship in Tokyo ") mostly working on the ship. His close friend was a guard who spent his time guarding a room "piled with swords" and just before he left his friend said he could take one. So he said he looked at the pile and just grabbed one off the top and called it good. He brought it home and it sat in the basement for 45 years or so. I asked him about the sword and he said he would look for it but he hadn't seen it in 20 years and thought it was still down there. Knowing my luck I assumed it was a gunto but still thought it would be cool to check out. He found it and sent me some funky pictures and I immediately told him I needed better pictures. I could see a flamboyant hamon and the nakago looked well, old. He sent better pictures with the Mei and some of the blade. It has had some rust here and there but still had a lot of old polish 90+%. Being in the age of the internet I poked round for a while and found a nihonto forum and posted a photo of the mei and asked for translation. In the mean time I did some research and figured out it was an O-Wakizashi. It was missing the Tsuba and everything else was really falling apart. I got back to the forum and sure enough had a translation for the Mei... ( Hishu Kawachi no kami Fujiwara Masahiro). The photo wasn't good enough to see which Masahiro and photos of the blade were needed. I asked my girlfriends father to take better pictures but he seemed kinda put out and un interested so I told him I would pay for him to sent the sword to me and I would take care of it. Two weeks later I had the sword and took some good scans of the nagako tachi-mei and blade and posted them. In the mean time I took the blade to Tatsuhiko Konno in Kirkland Washington and he looks at it and checked some books and thought it was Nidai Masahiro but only a shinsa could say for sure. When I got home the combine power of the Internet agreed that the mei looked good and was most likely Nidai Masahiro. The blade matched the mei with its konuka-hada , Nie-deki in billowing cloud like gunome-midare with tobiyaki. I was told to contact Barry Hennick ( hi Barry, remember me?..it's only been 15 or so years? ) as he was a collector of Sodai and Nidai Masahiro and might have some insight. It just so happened that he was coming to Seattle and a few weeks later I met him at a hotel and he gave it the once over and thought it looked good and was a nice example of his work and "too bad it wasn't a few inches longer". So, there it was, a nice Niadi Masahiro ( most likely) in need of a polish but still interesting to look at. I told my girlfriends father the news and about getting a polish and papers if he wanted to. He decided not to as it cost a lot and unfortunately still doesn't believe the Japanese wouldn't keep it. I tried to persuade him that it was a common thing to do and he should have no fear, but in the end it was apparent he just didn't trust the Japanese, "we were at war with these people” he told me. I reminded him that we were at war with Germany and Italy as well.... "That's different". In the end my girlfriend kept the sword but not me... So, there is a nice Nidai Masahiro O-Wakizashi sitting is a closet in Tacoma, Washington just waiting to be appreciated. So all I'm left with are some books, a signed copy of "The Craft of the Japanese Sword"... I had it signed by Yoshindo Yoshihara when he was in Seattle so I know the signature in not Gimei :-) And "The Connoisseurs Guid to Japanese Swords" from back when it was a $60 book. Plus the book "Lethal Elegance" for some lovely fitting pictures, bought that a year ago though Damn... I was going to make that short. Oh well, that's my introduction to real nihonto and I have been longing for something like that ever since that sword fell into my life, even if too short an acquaintance. Without a sword in hand and too many other hobbies I drifted and only occasionally drifted back into the Nihinto world. It's always seemed out of reach to me mostly because I'm very limited in my disposable income and other hobbies take most of it. Dropping $2000 on a sword is not in the picture at the moment. I have placated my repressed desire for nihonto with Japanese kitchen cutlery. Throw in a few Toishi and in retrospect I could have bought some reasonable nihonto with what I have spent. Even so, one of the reasons I like it is I can actually use it! Let's not count the money I have in racing kayaks... That's off limits. While talking to a toishi seller in Japan and mentioning my interest in nihonto he laughed and said "don't go down that rabbet hole, there is no coming out". I accused him of being a hypocrite with his 30,000+stones and that the world of toishi is nearly as esoteric, addicting and expensive. He said "you got me" and convinced me to focus on getting one interesting Wakizashi with or without Koshirae to appreciate and leaving it at that ( right!). But it did really get me thinking. So I will sell a few kitchen knives and not buy the one or two stones from him I was looking at and start thinking and saving more for a Wakazachi. In the mean time I will study, read a lot here and try! to restrain myself from buying anything until I have a really good idea what I want and my budget. So hard to resist though. So, hi to all and I look forward to gleaning what I can here and hope it will help me make a solid, smart, restrained, level headed choices in the future........ Rrrrright. Bill Cirino Seattle * all spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are totaly intentional *cough* and copyrighted, so don't use without asking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Welcome to the Board, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg F Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hello Bill, i enjoyed your intro story. You seem to be on the right track with learning as much as you can before you make a purchase. It would be great to meet Yoshindo Yoshihara. I hope you enjoy Nmb and Nihonto as much as I do. Cheers Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.hennick Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hi Bill:I remember meeting you in Seattle. It was unusual for me to meet someone who had a Nidai Masahiro. I still have a bunch of Masahiro blades. I am reducing my collection and so if you want one please pm me. Welcome to the Board I'm sure that you will enjoy it. I think that we went to Cafe Nervosa where Frasier had his coffee. My wife Sylvia remembers meeting you! Small small world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbflat Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Thanks all... I will PM you Barry, but it sounds dangerous.. :-) Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Sanders Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hi all. First off I need to make to thank everyone for the help so far with my translation of the trigram. I hope that we are able to decipher the riddle at some point Any body know a Buddhist priest that sits on top of a hill and is exceptionally wise in ancient Japanese idioms? That said I am a Texan living in Hong Kong and had the fortunate privilege of meeting with Unique Japan and Pablo Kuntz over Skype I went to Tokyo on a vacation for cherry blossoms with my girlfriend and also made an appointment with UJ I was shown 3 swords and obviously I selected the Kinmichi 3rd gen wakizashi. It was TH and now just passed Yushu! Yeah me! I had already been working on the furniture for it and had settled on all parts, but------ As luck would have it A 75cm Rai Kinmichi 2 katana appeared with the above mentioned trigrams Now I own a kinmichi Daisho and am trying to locate a goto tsuba that matches my existing tsuba. Thanks for the help and the knowledge. Ohhhh. If you google my name. "Gordon Sanders" you can get more background on me and my hobbies Cheers!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Welcome to the Board, Gordon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jungle88 Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Hi there,My name is Jungle. I am a hobby knife maker and Japanese kitchen knife enthusiast. I have recently taken a great interest in Nihonto and would love to learn more. I attend a lot of auctions and there are occasionally Katana so I hope to learn a thing or two to help in identification and appreciation. Hope to be able to contribute in the future,Jungle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Welcome David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Welcome David. I have added your real name as signature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiiimo Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Greetings! I’m a middle-aged gaijin in a nihonjin body hailing from Anchorage, Alaska. I was raised in an old-fashioned Japanese household during a time when American schools advised my parents to speak only English at home. Subsequently, I only know enough Japanese to get me into trouble and sadly I cannot write or read the language. I recently picked up a WWII Officers Sword from a local antique shop which I believe has a nihonto blade. It has re-ignited a long-held interest in nihonto that began since high school. I’ll post observations, pictures and a request for opinions in the nihonto forum soon. I’ve always wanted to be a swordsmith since as a child. While in high school, not knowing any smiths in Alaska, I tried the next closest thing and began working in for a local knifemaker. The methods and the tools used in manufacture were modern, using powered equipment and modern materials. While it in no way provided me with any level of expertise in the nihonto craft, it has given me a fundamental understanding of the materials and more importantly, a deep appreciation for immense skill, artistry and traditional knowledge developed over generations of smiths. My intention in joining this board is simply to learn. Over the years I’ve managed to acquire a small library (English language books by Fuller, Yumato, Sato, Robinson, Nagayama, Kapp & Yoshihara and Robertshaw) as wells as non-nihonto books on metal working on knifemaking in general. It’s been said that wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. I won’t claim to be wise but I do know I know little and I hope to learn more with your kind assistance and candid responses to future questions I may occasionally ask. Regards, Allan N. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Welcome Allan, When you need some sun, I'll trade you a week of South African blazing heat for a week of snow :-) Feel free to share some pics of your knifemaking in the Off-topic section. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg F Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Hello Allan welcome to the board. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeep44 Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hello My name is Douglas P.- I have been collecting Japanese swords for a number of years. Most of them are nothing special, mainly WW2 Officers and NCO swords, but a few are swords of some antiquity. I have something like 30 of them now, along with a few matchlocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Doffin Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Welcome to the board Douglas. Enjoy your time spent here; the board is a great reference. Grey (near neighbor in Minnesota) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Welcome Douglas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MutherTucker Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hello All, I'm new to this Forum but have been collecting WWI -Vietnam War Militaria for about 30 years now. My main focus is on uniforms and firearms but I have picked up a few Japanese Swords along the way. I had emailed John Stuart regarding an older sword I have and he recommended that I join here. Very impressed with the website and the wealth of knowledge on these pages. Thank you John, Tuck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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