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FZ1

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Everything posted by FZ1

  1. FZ1

    Tachi Tsuba?

    Thanks very much Dale & Richard, much appreciated. Richard - I'm not sure that I should dive into yet another rabbit hole, but the subject fascinates me, so I'll probably get far too engrossed in yet another aspect of Nihonto and Japanese history! Cheers, Jon
  2. FZ1

    Tachi Tsuba?

    Excellent! Thanks Geraint.
  3. FZ1

    Tachi Tsuba?

    Sorry for the "newbie" question. I saw reference to a Tachi tsuba in a recent trawl of the Web. I had assumed that a tsuba for a tachi was the same as any other, so please can you advise what the difference is? Thanks, Jon
  4. Just to put a bit of context on it, let's not forget that there are only a few nightmare stories with PF. The huge majority of the imports get cleared in a couple of weeks with no real problems.
  5. As another new starter, I agree that Facts & Fundamentals is by far the most readable of the recommended reading list. I think I paid £27 ($37) second hand from Abe books for mine. The "ranty" bits where he's grinding his axes do indeed liven it up! Jon
  6. Thanks Jeff. It'll be a while yet (I retire later this year), but will certainly give you a shout when I get stuck!
  7. That's superb Jeff. Is there any chance of you writing-up some hits, tips, pitfalls and lessons-learned for the "Articles" section, please? Its something I'd love to try, so would love to have any advice. Jon
  8. Its somewhat worrying to find out that the Police use Google for their understanding of UK law.
  9. OK, so now I HAVE heard of someone getting more hassle. What was the reason for seizure Tony?
  10. Absolute nightmare Paz. I've never known anyone have so much hassle importing any collectable item (not just swords), so I can't imagine why this one has gone so pear-shaped. DEEP breaths ............... aaaaand relax! As you say, you will indeed be the NMB expert on importing to the UK by the time you get your sword; you'll have every email address and contact number that anyone will ever need. Jon
  11. Welcome Gary & Desi. Yes indeed - this is an excellent place to start. Once you get the hang of the Search function, it opens up a huge resource of knowledge! Cheers, Jon
  12. I moaned at them via email about 3 days after sending the last lot of paperwork by post and email. After the moan, they apologised for the delay and said they'd refer it to a colleague. To be fair, they cleared it within a day or two of that and even the "charge" letter only took a coupe of days. I think it's pot-luck as to who deals with it as to how quick it it is (I also wonder if they have some new people started at PF Coventry who are no so experienced and are arse-covering by asking for the questionnaire/forms/info, etc?) It's always a juggling-act deciding how long before you start complaining. However, my "moan" was mild, pleasant and respectful, so as not to cheese them off and delay it any longer. On the "plus" side, it sounds like you're on the last-lap, Paz and you'll have it soon. And next time, you'll know what to expect, so it'll be less stressful!
  13. Like I said ............. However, sometime you drop lucky with the process. I had two items come through recently; one took about 3-4 weeks (with the questionnaire needing to be completed & sent back, etc, etc) but the other whistled through with no questions, no delay ....... and no VAT! Not sure why, but I'll take it as a win Cheers, Jon
  14. Just thought I'd see what this thread was about, but..... er, I've just got to , errr.......
  15. As suggested by the OP, for yari carried by samurai, their retainers/assistants might have looked after the saya, but perhaps the ashigaru had the cheap & cheerful leather ones, so they just stuffed those in their clothing? Jon
  16. Yes Paz. If its not dated then something like "Manufactured c.1645" or "Produced between 1600 and 1650". They seem to be quite happy as long as its clearly an "antique date". Jon
  17. This page about the specific 9706 code has sub-pages relating to the CPC codes. https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/9706 It appears that the CPC code relates ONLY to the CUSTOMS DUTY tariff not the VAT rate. They are two separate charges. i.e. Antiques have a Customs Duty tariff of 0%, but there is still the VAT charge of 5%. I assume that this is where the confusion about "0%" came from One other tip - make sure the sender puts an approx date of production on the description, even if they've stated "Over 100 years old" or "Antique" in the description (I had a delay of a week from Parcelforce Customs Clearance because there was no date on the description) Cheers, Jon
  18. There's some more info on the same site here: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Nihonto_Shinsa_Standards.html This is only for swords, but it does give a reference for Tosogu at the head of the page: The following is a translation of the NBTHK's Shinsa standards. This was published in March of 2006 (issue # 590) in Token Bijutsu, the official publication of the NBTHK. The original document consists of three parts. Token, toso and tosogu.
  19. Is this any use Grev? http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html?fbclid=IwAR3WDwnhVuIL3evFfXrfL_Vku_2cBGWj__Y4mLHVDQqn414DTF5ul8eHMbQ Jon
  20. Ah, thanks John. Sorry Grev - my misunderstanding!
  21. Hi Grev, I thought that the problem with the old NBTHK (green) papers was that there were some local NBTHK shinsa teams who were taking back-handers to provide favourable outcomes. If that was the case (and I'm only going by what I read about "the scandal", I might be wrong) then I'd assume that all the papers from those times would be subject to the same uncertainty, hence the NHTHK changing the system completely for both swords and tosogu, to re-establish trust in the system. Like I said, I might have got the wrong end of the stick though! Cheers, Jon
  22. Yeah, we've all been there ...... just don't tell my Mrs. that I'm still seeing my water jug
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