Stephen Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 Welcome aboard going to see if you posted one, enjoy the adventure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnk1 Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 Good evening, first of all let me tell you that I am really happy to join the forum ! This place seems to be plenty of knowledge and sharing about a subject that I like and try to discover since a little bit of time. To talk about me, I try to keep myself in armor and tsuba area but to be honest I'm interested by plenty of different things... hard to stay focused ! So I would be happy to exchange with all of you ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckaiserca Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 46 minutes ago, cnk1 said: Good evening, first of all let me tell you that I am really happy to join the forum ! We are happy to have you here. Welcome Clement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 Whelp, looks like I found an amazing corner of the internet. I collect many things, but mostly consider myself an appreciator of history and art. I professionally appraise antiques, coins and exonumia and now am feeling the indescribable and familiar itch to join the community of nihonto appreciators. Thanks to everyone in advance for putting up with my questions and for all the sharing being done here. -Grant 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ju-no Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 hello all, how are you? i finally made the decision to became an active member. my names is Andrea. i will ask a question about my new nihonto. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleH Posted March 11 Report Share Posted March 11 Hello everyone-I just joined the forum today. Looks like there is a ton of information available from some very knowledgeable individuals. I look forward to learning more and interacting with the community. Kyle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waki 1 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 (edited) Hello all, I'm brand new to the world of Nihonto and this forum and I look forward to learning from your experiences and asking questions; (that's how we learn new things). Edited March 22 by Waki 1 Addition to message 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waki 1 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Hi, further to my introduction, there was one topic that I'm particularly interested in and that is the import VAT on swords (over 100 years old) from Japan. I noticed on a forum from 2022, from a person named Paz (and others), that they said the VAT payable on "antique" swords was only 5%, but the only info' that I can find on the 'gov' website says that 5% doesn't apply to me, but 20% probably does. I am not a business, just a member of the public and importing a Wakizashi from an official Japanese company, the sword is 237 years old and cost £3,000 gbp. It is apparently already in the country (at Parcelforce International hub) and it would be nice to know what costs and VAT to expect. A big thank you to anyone that can put me right on the VAT thing. Cheers, Waki 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthlaker Posted April 5 Report Share Posted April 5 Hello all! My Dad, Otto, collected Samurai swords for over 45 years and lived in South Australia. Unfortunately he has alzheimers and dementia and I have slowly been going through his collection and slowly selling items. Through this forum I have gotten in touch with people he used to know and all of them have been incredibly helpful. I am also at the start of my journey and I am looking forward to learning and communicating with other forum members. Plus sharing my journey on the way which has already started! Seeya around! Cheers Mark/South Australia 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4cuir Posted April 14 Report Share Posted April 14 Hello everyone. Romaric, 37 years old living in France. Former collector of German Second World War objects, I turned to the collection of heavy cavalry of the Second French Empire and recently on Japan Edo period, I have a few pieces in my modest collection, notably tsuba, ukiyo, wakizashi and recently a kabuto. I come to this forum to learn about this enriching and very technical topic. See you soon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natichu Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 Hi all, Nathaniel in Canada. Long time interest in Japanese history, culture, and in particular martial arts. Just getting started in terms of more serious study of nihonto specifically, though I have always had a fascination with them. After watching the assorted sites for the last few years have finally made a first purchase I'll be making a post about once I have it in hand. Looking forward to learning more and very excited at the depth of knowledge many of the members here have shown throughout the many threads I've read! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon93 Posted May 2 Report Share Posted May 2 Hello everyone! I’m a big fan of everything related to the Japanese culture! After a trip there i decided to buy my first nihonto!! I have still to learn everything about them but i hope to start to get the info from you😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted May 3 Report Share Posted May 3 Hi. This is Coco Geng from Indiana. I read through the message board for awhile (and I learned a lot) but finally decided to create my very first forum account. I started to show interest in blades when I was little, but my family was not happy with this since it's not girl-things. Few years ago, before the pandemic, I started to learn Iaido and then Kenjutsu. This is my beginning of learning about Japanese swords. I started to read books, but realized many books are not available in the US. Then I began to shop books from Japan... Read... then shop... then read... then shop... until I found the Indiana Token Kai. They invited me to join their meeting and it provided me a warm community and a valuable chance to see many blades. I attended the Chicago show this year and tried to sell some of my books (to make space for new books). Nice to talk to many of you in the Chicago show! You might know me as "that book lady" in the show. LOL I still plan to sell some of books and also offer Japanese book searching/acquisitions service. My goal is to bring more young people to the sword collecting community. I wish to talk to as many people as possible, to collect some suggestions on introducing the younger generation to the nihonto world. Hope to see some of you in the future show! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 3 Report Share Posted May 3 Welcome to our newcomers, good to have you here and we hope you enjoy it and we are able to assist with anything. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobBBQ Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 Hi All- My name is Rob, living in Portland, Oregon. I'm a geologist and musical instrument maker and first became interested in Japanese swords because of the remarkable and fascinating manufacturing process that the iron sand goes through on its way to become a sword. Later, I started studying iaido, became more interested in Japanese swords as both art and historical objects and only recently actually acquired a few nihonto. Am happy to be a forum member and hope to learn from the many very knowledgeable members here! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted June 3 Report Share Posted June 3 I've been collecting antique nihonto for a little over a year now. Currently have a living room full and waiting on 1 to export from Japan (I partially blame Ray Singer for fueling my addiction). My favorite piece is always the most recent acquisition - which right now is a Sa Sadayoshi katana. I'll be at the Orlando Sword show, with a couple items to go thru shinsa. This is a very addictive and expensive hobby, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. Some quick pics of the Sadayoshi... 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckaiserca Posted June 4 Report Share Posted June 4 21 hours ago, Sheridan said: I've been collecting antique nihonto for a little over a year now. Currently have a living room full and waiting on 1 to export from Japan (I partially blame Ray Singer for fueling my addiction). My favorite piece is always the most recent acquisition Welcome to the NMB. It looks like you have already accumulated an impressive collection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoto-13 Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 Hey Everyone, my name is Andre. I am originally from South Africa but have been permanently living in Mexico for over 15 years now. I have been practicing martial arts all my life so the interest in Nihonto was inevitable for me. I only found this amazing forum after I was already 5 blades in, so I am a bit skeptical about those purchases after reading all the wealth of information that flows through these pages. I will at some point post information about what I already have to gather some quality insight into my purchases. It is truly awe-inspiring to me the commitment most of the members in this forum has to the incredible world not only of Nihonto but also the Japanese culture. My wife and I visited Japan in 2019 and plan to go back many more times! I am looking forward to the San Francisco sword show in August and hope to put some faces to the names in this forum!! And definitely try to find something rare and unique. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.hennick Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 Welcome to the forum. Post requests for information to one sword. After the discussion slows post a second sword. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalSpace Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 Hello - new member here. I've always had an interest in swords in general, but I've really focused my reading on Japanese swords and the older martial arts (koryu). Last month, I got to spend over an hour in Sohei Watanabe's forge in Date, Hokkaido watching him and his apprentice forge a sword. It was a really fascinating experience. I found this forum in my search for more information on some smiths. Looking forward to expanding my knowledge here. --Charles 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PongPing Posted June 16 Report Share Posted June 16 Max here. In the market for tanto and other knives, at least for now. Hoping to learn more here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Vines Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 Hi all really pleased I found this forum, I am a militaria collector and the Japanese side of that has always captured my interest with the swords. I now own three NCO katanas which I prize but now on the lookout for other types on my travels. I have learnt a lot already following you guys so thank you. Look forward to reading your knowledge and know how. Jeff 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionda Posted July 4 Report Share Posted July 4 Hello everyone, this forum has already proved to be an excellent resource and I'm excited to have found it and now joined! I'm an artist who works in a variety of two-dimensional media and teacher among other things from the Boston, Massachusetts, area. I spent a lot of time in my youth at the MFA Boston which has an excellent collection of nihontō and katchu, which are unfortunately no longer on display save for one daisho, and I think those many visits planted the seed for my now voracious appetite for learning everything I can about nihontō. Besides nihontō I have also begun collecting ukiyo-e prints, and am learning the ukiyo-e process to incorporate in my own work. I also collect art in general and have always had an interest in history. Thanks for having me, Dan 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honya Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 Hello! My name is Jan, I am from Prague and I would like to introduce myself a bit before making some posts. I'm new to the world of nihonto and till now I have no specific preferences except one - I started with koto. I have felt an affinity to Japanese culture for a long time. As a hobby I do pottery and for some reason it often appears to be in Japanese style... For my first nihonto I started from what I liked visually, what I could afford, I picked a shop I could trust, a sword with certification and I bought it. I am 47 and I already, more or less, know my taste (The sword that arrived even overcome my expectations. It's so nice!) And than I started to looking up information about the smith, the school and the origin of its style and tradition. I found many useful websites about nihonto, among them this site. I learned a lot from here, thanks! I know that what I did is the absolute opposite from what is recommended, but I am really glad I did it this way. After a few months of learning more and more about the complicated world of nihonto I am sure I would be much more confused about what to buy... ... but anyway, I bought one more sword, now it's on the way and I am researching about new school and smith. I am already caught in the trap! Thank you all for this great source of information and help. Have a nice day! Jan L 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROKUJURO Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 Welcome on board Jan! Good start into the NIHONTO world! We would love to see photos. You made a nice RAMEN bowl, looks really good! Stoneware? Have fun here! All the best, Jean Collin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 Welcome to our new members, great to have you on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honya Posted July 9 Report Share Posted July 9 On 7/7/2024 at 10:06 AM, ROKUJURO said: Welcome on board Jan! Good start into the NIHONTO world! We would love to see photos. You made a nice RAMEN bowl, looks really good! Stoneware? Have fun here! All the best, Jean Collin Thank you, Jean! I am glad you like it Actually the bowl is too small (11 cm diameter), I should have put something for scale. But sometimes I do bigger bowls too. And it is only earthenware, my kiln is not good enough for regular firing in higher temperatures. Have a nice day! Jan L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugyotsuji Posted July 9 Report Share Posted July 9 I like that bowl too. A very satisfying shape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohagi Posted July 9 Report Share Posted July 9 Hello there, I'm a french "transfuge" of late French Nihonto Token. I pass some decades on a desert Island with no Oshigata or yasurime to share, I'm trying to break free. I think I will find here some very good people I met IRL in France, and some very good new people I hope to meet someday. I'm still a beginer in swords (after 20 years collecting many middle range swords), but thats OK : when I'm sure of something, I'm probably mystaking so beeing a fool is a good point. Hope to be welcome ... Best regards Eric VD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregor44 Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Thank you for allowing me into the Message Board. I started a long time ago when I was 8 my grandmother bought me a Wakizashi made for tourists when she was in Japan. Later I bought several wall hangers in the US but really wanted a real one from Japan. The price scared me so I started with brands like Hanwei but finally a nice dealer named Lance referred me to a dealer in Japan I could afford. I have purchased two swords a Kozuka and some antique armor pieces and very happy with them.I have so much to learn but enjoy the process. My yard is part Japanese garden and part archery range and training area with a hidden obstacle course I use daily. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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