XavY

I guess I couldn't explain well why I wanted such a bad sword, and I'm still unable to do so. Nevermind, please don't try to understand my reasons, just forget about it. This was not to ruin or train my eyes anyway. For this, I still plan to buy a decent sword, or even better ... later. Meanwhile, I keep studying, the way is long but really rewarding.

So I won't buy him a sword now, but I may find your link useful for a later opportunity, just in case. Thanks. PS : could fix my forum settings, so now I do have notifications upon replies in "my" threads

Hello, sorry for not having replied any sooner - I did not receive any notification concerning this thread . There must be something in the forum settings I did not configure well, who knows. Anyway, thank you everyone for your advice here, and thank you everyone who PMed me Just a word: I should have mentioned first that I've read >100 times "buy books before swords" on this forum and somewhere else, which is excellent advice I followed to the letter. Now I've got quite a decent library! I've also read somewhere that Jean said "BE ADULT !" and I think I am, I know what I do, please understand this and also that after studying the books, buying a sword is probably the next step to do. Maybe I should spare $1000 to get a better sword. But the same is true for $2000 swords, and so on. As I said, it doesn't have to be an objet d'art; just a very low-end Nihonto, because I've a very precise design for it, and as I said, it's not really Nihonto studying, whence the very tight budget. Please also don't show me waks when I said I'd just like a katana. The one Brian posted could suit me, but I'm reluctant to buying a blade with gunto mountings -- please don't ask me why. Anyway, I could find something that roughly fits my budget and I'm happy with it. Thank you again for your help, it was a pleasure reading you

Brian Yes, I'm following Darcy's advice indeed. Microdear products top-quality microfiber cloth, and I'm pretty confident that they don't scratch swords, whereas first-price microfiber cloth would. Microdear fabric is not cheap though, but what is an "expensive" one compared to a new polishing? I did not try them yet, but I am going to use them dry to wipe the oil (or possibly with isopropyl (IPA) 99% if the oil won't get out easily). Fine, I'll do it. Do you recommand distilled water like for an iron? My tap water is quite hard. Please, don't open up again the debate microfiber vs uchiko here, there are lots of threads for that already, so it's up to everyone to make their mind.

Hello everyone, to clean swords, I have bought a Microdear Microfiber Deluxe Cleaning Cloth (just google it to figure what it is, if you don't know). I am just asking: how to wash it ? I fear that tap water and/or soap used for cleaning the cloth might damage the blade later. I also wonder if I should wash the cloth before first use. Thanks for your answers Xavier. PS: great forum BTW. I seldom post but I come here often and I am learning a lot. It is a blessing to have so many knowledgeable and helpful people here

That's the former Darcy Brockbank's http://nihonto.ca/ website. I guess we have to ask him why he moved and chose this new name.

Hello everybody, I'd like to invest about $500 (or less) on a real antique katana. The blade may have reached its end of life, be out of polish, and even have fatal flows. Origin and period do not matter, but I'd really like a katana, and price is my first criterion. If I could have a shirasaya with it, that would be a big plus. I know that at such a price I can only get some junk, or hardly better, but that's I want to start with. I'd enjoy this blade to learn how to handle and take care of a Nihonto according to etiquette - I don't want to impair a good blade the day I'll be able to collect one. Any advice? Thanks by advance

Hello Brian, lots of interesting things on this forum and in this thread, thanks a lot everyone! Seems this link is dead ...