Guido

Jacques, you're walking an awfully thin line here. Please try to get your urge to be controversial for controversion's sake under control. And just in case I didn't make myself clear enough: yes, this is a public warning.

As long as the Horimono didn't become part of the Nakago due to Suriage (like, for example the Koryû Kagemitsu [see back of dustcover of the Nagayama book]), it's polished as part of the overall polishing process. And even in the above mentioned case, the part of the Horimono that protudes into the Habakimoto and above will be burnished as is tradition with Horimono. I haven't seen any other treatment in Japan, and can't imagine any self-respecting polisher that would accept - or even would do intentionally - a polishing job without a whistle clean Horimono.

Probably not:

I don't think we need a "beginners's forum" for the reasons Brian already stated. Yes, some of the old Nihontô hands here get annoyed when the same question is asked for the umpteenth time (isn't the search function a wonderful thing? ), and that irritation shows now and again. But if the same seasoned collectors don't go to the beginner's forum, how will those posting there ever advance in their knowledge? Another sensible topic is "is it worth buying?". I think that there are as many opinions on this as there are forumites. Most will agree that swords in the $$$ range, mass-produced Shôwatô or Kazuuchimono from the Sengoku Jidai aren't what we'd like to promote as collectible swords. But if memory serves, quite a few beginning collectors were quite happy that they were made aware of the flaws and - above all - total lack of artistic qualities of the swords they were about to buy on eBay or from low-end sellers. I think the crux of the matter is actually the "tone of voice" of some replies to newbie questions, which isn't always as warm and friendly as it should be. I don't exclude myself, I'm sometimes guilty of it, too. If we can work on that, newcomers won't feel as imtimidated as they obviously sometimes do. I promise to try to become a better person in this regard :D. Where I really see some room for improvement is in a more prominent FAQ/articles section. It's kind of embarrassing for me to post every other week a link to my sword law or sword care articles. If one clicks on "FAQ" now, there's a lot of technical info on NMB itself, but not on sword related questions. Brian, any chance to make some changes there?

It says "Gorô Masamune Saku" - the Sôshû Masamune is also called Gorô Masamune or Gorô Nyûdô Masamune to distinguish him from others by the same name.

Brian asked me to translate Mr. Schneider's post. However, three things got lost in translation: 1) the numerous mistakes in the original German text. 2) the passive-aggressive tone of the post. 3) the fact that in German one usually addresses strangers with the polite "Sie", not the informal "Du"; and even if doing the latter, not writing "Du" with a capital letter is considered extremely bad form, bordering on insult. Anyhow, here's the translation in order to give Mr. Schneider his final say. P.S.: If any of the numerous friends of Mr. Schneider on this board want to come forward and vouch for him, please PM me and I'll add the messages to this thread.

What's there to translate? It took you a quite long, rather hostile post to talk about unrelated things, still evading the questions that were asked.

Are you going to join me in China? :lol:

No one, including John, ever questioned that you sent him a sword. What do you intend to prove by posting the shipping papers? How about starting to answer *my* questions?

I called the NBTHK this morning, and this year's convention is basically the same event as described by Andreas (and what I experienced in the past). "Appraisal" is not the best choice of words, they actually mean "appreciation"; in other words: there will be a viewing of important swords (conveyor belt style ), not a Shinsa. Bringing along a spouse doesn't really make sense. However, the quality of the swords that can be examined, and even if it's only for one minute, shouldn't be underestimated, and can't be compared to a dealer's exhibition. It's also a nice challenge to participate in the Kantei - it's under "combat conditions", and you can find out what the recent, heated discussion on this board was all about. In addition, there will be a special event for foreign members on the third day: Mr. Tanobe will show a wide variety of blades, and have participants do some kind of Kantei along the lines of "spot the Saiha" etc. He'll try to enable people to distinguish between good and bad quality swords, what to look for in a blade and so on. This event alone will be worth the money for the convention.

I indeed bought some books from Marie Christine Alken, and communication was great, and shipping very fast. However, this begs the question: how do *you* know about this transaction? And why do you do business under the alias - not to mention the real-name-policy of this board - "Tom Schneck" while your real name is Thomas Schneider? Why do we constantly hear complains about your allegedly shady business practices? Why do you claim on other boards (in Germany) that you're an active member / participant of the NBTHK European Branch when it's common knowledge that your membership application was refused? Why do you constantly threaten legal action (for instance in PM's), or invite (hardly practicable) international law suits when feeling challenged? A few honest answers to these questions would go a long way in clearing your name.

Nedan mo chotto benkyō-shite moraemasen ka? (Loosely translated "Could you be so kind as to study the the price a little more?") I use it all the times, it's very polite and indirect, and often throws the dealer off balance. Almost always works. :D

I'm with Reinhard and Ford on this one - the Ginzogan is poorly done / awkwardly written, and since I did some extensive research into sword testers in the past, I'm pretty sure that this is an "unrecorded" tester - there's not a single one by the name of "Mori". The addition of a (equally poorly done) Kao doesn't, IMO, prove anything. Besides, all Saidan-Mei I've ever seen were either simply inscribed like a Mei, or done Kinzogan. So far we have an unknown tester, a unique silver inlay, and unsophisticated writing style: chances are slim that the Saidan-Mei is authentic.

To me this Tsuba doesn't look even remotely like a Kagamishi-Tsuba, no matter what material it's made of.

"Tomonaga". The animal could be a regular elephant, Edo period Japan style.

No worries, sooner or later my devilish plan would have been exposed anyhow. Maybe I should pick up Brian's idea, and become a (Renminbi) billionaire by providing quality items as templates for fakers.

I'm glad that I got a step closer to (sword) world domination through misleading information. If that fails, I should at least become a politician. Maybe the powers behind the "Kanji Pages" will substitute *whether* with *no matter if* to spoil my ambitious plans.

Almost: 338 boxes going to China, 39 boxes to my storage in Germany, 24 boxes from my storage to China, plus 9 boxes unaccompanied air luggage, and 28 boxes for the seperate move of my daughter. I spent the last two weeks travelling in Germany, came back to Japan yesterday, and will leave for China tomorrow. As to the license issue: here's the link to my sword law article. It's true that some sellers, including dealers, send swords abroad wihout the de-licensing process, but most are smart enough to destroy the license before shipping.

You're almost as evil as I am, Brian. Have some Sushi:

If one is into studying various forms of Kizu it might be a great deal indeed. Sorry, but I never understood the rationale behind so called "study pieces".

Stephen, judging of the July Shinsa started only last Monday. Seems you were getting your hopes extremely high up .

Piers, the application form can be marked "Hozon", "Tokubetsu Hozon" (if it already has papers), and "Hozon *and* Tokubetsu Hozon". The Shinsa fees add up to the same amount, whether you apply seperately or simultaniously, but I suspect the agent makes more money asking for handling fees twice ...

Actually it just means that it wasn't presented to TokuHo Shinsa because it was submitted only for Hozon. One can apply for both Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon at the same time; in that case it would have a stamp either saying "pass" or "failed".

I used to live not too far from Sleepy Hollow and have a good idea about what you're going through. :lol: Regarding Milt's Tsuba: I personally would have used chewing gum to mold a Pokemon from it to fill the gap. But that's just me.