tim,
Much better! I know it is hard to wait, but with so much material out there, find what appeals to you. The nice thing about fittings is that the price tag is more reasonable to get something ok or decent. Not sure what you have for other fittings ie menuki and fuchi/kashira, but if you want them to match keep that in mind what you have to match some things are harder than others. Although the Japanese themselves don't neccesarily do that and there is nothing wrong with using different themes on your parts. One of the things that attracted me to the Mantis is that the legend behind it was interesting to me. I am at the extreme, of course. Remember that these pieces are also telling a story/depicting a legend. This was the way the samurai could express himself. Just another thing to consider when purchasing. We like to make things complicated (haha). Then again, it looks good is fine by me. For example, our boy Rich T is looking for those older iron pieces, he is looking for quality iron and well depicted pieces from certain schools (he of course can answer better of what he likes). We all have our tastes and ideas, however, most here will agree, don't buy junk. The tsuba on Aoi to me is light years ahead of your earlier posts. Then again who the heck am I (LOL). Good luck with it and post a picture when you are finished. All the best.