ying

Thanks great topic about that tanto, very nice piece. Shin-sakuto are just not that populair, but one day also the modern swords will be old swords. We would wish to be able to see some koto swords in their prime, with modern sword we can.

No papers for these swords Ken,not a lot modern swords that have papers when the smiths who made them are still alive.

Yes Michael the pictures are top notch, maybe the Seto Yoshihiro daisho set is more price friendly, because the katana has not as much activity as the wakazashi.

I would really like to hear opinions about the following swords,the first one is a daisho set by "Seto Yoshihiro" a Mukansa smith in his late 70,s by now.What make,s this daisho set relatively (cheap) for a mukansa smith?Is it that he became a mukansa in 1996 and that he made the daisho set in the same year 1996?If it was made in let,s say 1997 and onward it would be more expensive?The set looks very nice with a perfect polish,i do however asked the seller for,some pictures in day light,but got a reply that he could not provide additional pictures. https://www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/21134.html Second one is a tachi from "Shoji Yoshihara" also Mukansa and younger brother of Yoshindo Yoshihara also in his late 70,s.This blade has a beautiful choji hamon and is significantly more expensive if you put in account this is just 1 blade and the Yoshihiro is a daisho set.asked the seller for some additional pictures but havent got a response yet, probably because the weekend. https://www.tsuruginoya.com/items/a00550.html I have searched the the internets for some comparison swords on these swordsmiths, so i could compare some prices but could not find much to compare with. Maybe there are some alternatives in about the same price or cheaper that you know of, please let me know. Thanks for your help.

Thank you Darcy,i have found the complete Bijutsu journals last week in my area,and had them delivered last week. I will not start reading them directly but it is as you say,i,m getting what i can,when i can. And because the Nihonto Newsletters are still available,i thought let,s get them first.

Yes it is difficult to find the Bijutsu,s,i see them listed only on your website.Could u please direct me to the 28 page index and the corrections,or maybe pm those to me? I can only find 1 index on Richard Steins website,and i like to compare them,maybe it will help me understand the content more better.

Thanks Ken and Paul,and yes Nagayama is been in my collection some time now.Think i will start with the NBTHK and move on from that,not necessarily reading the first but if i can get as much books i can get it, s in my collection, and can choose what to read. Thanks again.

Yes have been reading those, just looking for some general articles and insights that maybe those books haven,t adressed. And yes Peter,i need to read more, that indeed.

Need some advise on this,which are in your opinion the "best" reference to obtain,out of the two? Nihonto newsletters by Albert Yamanaka (4 volumes) Token Bijutsu English edition (59 volumes) Which one has more articles,and has the better learning curve. If i would get one out of the two,would i be missing a lot of information that is in the other?Or maybe i,m getting this all wrong and the two are really not comparable?

Here are 3 examples,there are more shops and you get more hits if you also search on the ISBN:10 number instead of ISBN:13 http://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Nobuo-Nakahara/Facts-And-Fundamentals-Of-Japanese-Swords-A-Collectors-Guide/20579809 https://www.amazon.fr/Facts-Fundamentals-Japanese-Swords-Collectors/dp/1568365837/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483111383&sr=8-1&keywords=9781568365831 http://www.lehmanns.de/shop/sachbuch-ratgeber/38047570-9781568365831-facts-and-fundamentals-of-Japanese-swords-a-collector-s-guide

Josh,i haven,t got any more info.Only that it,s up for pre-order i found 4 shops online where it can be pre-ordered. Delivery dates are different though,somewhere between 03-01-2017 and 30-01-2017

I believe there will also be a reprint of Facts and fundementals of the Japanese sword on 30-01-2017 ISBN:9781568365831

I would like a hardcover edition in a4.

Thanks for the welcome everybody! Books i have been collecting for the past 12 years. Been looking in the faq.Thanks Barry and have every beginners book except the"nihon-to art swords" And also have 2 books in the intermidiate section. Thanks again.

Hello everybody, Been searching and looking on the board for quite a while now and feel it is time to introduce myself. My name is harry Barendregt living in a small country called Holland,been loving Japanese swords from when i was a child(36 now) Saving money to buy my first nihonto and will be asking you guys advice on some pieces i have my eye on. Thank you for this great community and i,ll hope you can help me with my untrained eye.