Lareon

Please be aware all, after a conversation with HMRC tariff control the previous tariff code 9706.0000.00 has been superseded. 9706.0000.00 is now not a valid code but has two subcodes. the new codes are as follows 9706.1000.00 antiques over 250 years old 9706.9000.00 other https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/9706 obviously please do your own checking and research as finding concrete information here is a bit of a minefield if you click date of trade on the link i provided and put december last year the code is valid, if you do feb this month you see the code isn't, it changed on the 1st of january 2022

Please be aware all, after a conversation with HMRC tariff control the previous tariff code has been superseded. 9706.0000.00 is now not a valid code apparently, This was both confirmed and denied by two seperate people at dhl today. one said it was valid, another said it was not. the new codes are as follows 9706.1000.00 antiques over 250 years old 9706.9000.00 other https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/9706 seems like my order may have hit an issue with this as the change is the month or so. obviously please do your own checking and research as finding concrete information here is a bit of a minefield if you click date of trade on the link i provided and put december last year the code is valid, if you do feb this month you see the code isn't, it changed on the 1st of january 2022

I know this sword. I almost bought it. Did you get it Bruce?

@Chrometank do you have the link to the 2 swords? saves use searching through them all 1.https://www.lloydsonline.com.au/LotDetails.aspx?smode=0&aid=29125&lid=3329997&pgn=2&pgs=100 2. https://www.lloydsonline.com.au/LotDetails.aspx?smode=0&aid=29125&lid=3329811&pgn=1&pgs=100

It is traditionally made, you can see the star stamp on the nakago

@Brian feel free to move this to a different section if needed I Recently purchased a couple of swords from the USA in an auction, I've done this many times and not had too much of an issue except postal service delays etc and long customs times. Usually i use UPS or Parcelforce, If I can't use UPS. For some reason even after requesting UPS, The auction house I purchased the items from used DHL express. 1. UK law on importing swords: a. Swords with a "curved blade" over 50cm long are illegal to bring into the uk UNLESS: i. Antiques ii. Swords Made to traditional methods iii. Swords made with any method before 1954. Both swords easily meet these categories ; 1. a Koto era blade unsigned in ww2 gunto mounts - meets exception i. ii. and iii. 2. A star stamped RJT blade by Masatsugu -- meets exception ii. iii. and could be argued i. any one of these conditions make the sword legal to import so I should of had no issues as each one meets at least 2 categories. 2. Shipping. I made the auction house include the invoice to the outside and inside of the box. I also wrote a supplementary A4 sheet with a description of each item and more importantly why they are legal. After the item shipped it went through customs a few times in the USA and then hit the uk where it was held in customs. I received a phone call asking for an invoice as it was not included supposedly. I emailed over the invoice and also included the supplementary information just in case. this was the 6th of February. the item cleared customs then went back in and i had to supply the invoice again. this was the 9th of feb. I phoned up a few times in the coming days to check what was going on because i had been told it would be out for delivery on wednesday the 16th i received an email to pay my customs duty and taxes. I was happy with this as that means it had cleared customs and was going to be out for delivery. the next day it hit another customs check and was held. 3. Police on the 18th of february I had a notifcation on my nest doorbell and when checking i saw two policemen at my door. I wasn't at home and they left but when i reviewed the footage and listened to the audio they mentioned the words "samurai sword" I called the non emergency police number that evening and asked what was happening but was told there was no incident and my address and name weren't anywhere they could find. in the morning it was still bothering me so i called again and the helpful guy at the police station put out a notification asking who had gone and why. after this i received the post and in the post lo and behold i had a document from Borderforce saying the swords had been seized and to get them back I'd have to write a letter to borderforce requesting a court appearance. The swords may be destroyed already but I would receive compensation if i win the case. I called HMRC and spoke to them about the importing issues and while I was on the phone the police arrived at my door. the came in and gave me a print out from google on the law on bringing in swords to the UK, they hadn't even read it themselves as they didn't know the exceptions themselves and kept telling me, it was illegal to keep the swords in my house. I refuted this a few times and pointed out the exceptions on the very paper they had handed me. I was quite annoyed at being treated like a criminal with the police arriving at my door! 4. The next step. I got onto my computer and wrote up a two page response that I then posted to Borderforce. I have to wait a minimum of 10 days from receipt to get a response which i'm currently awaiting. This will be a civil court date and I will have to go and represent myself and why i believe Borderforce have made a mistake in seizing the items. While i have no doubt the items are legal to bring in and i did everything I could. there was no real information on what caused the seizure of the items so i'm not sure if there is maybe something else I don't know. I will find out I will be updating this article as time goes on and more information comes along, hopefully this article can be a point of contact for myself if anyone else has the same issue and needs some guidance. 5. Court 6. Resolution

In the uk at least you can claim back the overpaid taxes with a C285 form https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-apply-for-a-repayment-of-import-duty-and-vat-if-youve-overpaid-c285 Here is the uk link, i know it's not what you can use but you can use it for comparison at least. Try and find the equivalent for France

These are very expensive in general, some really nice but a few Chinese copies to avoid

Ups have been the best for me. They're a lot more expensive but I don't have issues. I asked for ups from the company sending my swords but they used DHL. I knew there would be an issue but I didn't expect it to be this bad. So I agree ups has been my most reliable.

And a few with the dslr

A few photos

When I'm home tonight I'll get the old dslr out a take some photos. I'm very interested in finding out more on this one. As i said before i Initially I wrote it off because i was prejudiced about the mei but i keep coming back to it and looking at it over and over. Something is niggling in my mind every time that i take it out.

When I'm back from work today I shall take some better photos

Really lovely, Hope you enjoy it!

Apologies I don't have anything set up to take good photos at the moment but here are a few I was taking earlier. @Surfson

Wonder if the star on that is super tiny like mine. I know they didn't always have the star but mine was so small I barely saw it

Nah nothing. Just 3 little circular indents. No markings on this one

I had a look when I was taking photos and didnt see any. I'll go grab it and check

Great to know thanks!

Picked this up today from Ian Chapman at the Birmingham arms fare. It's an unwanted item from a museum donation from an ex collectors estate. Looks to be a brand new tsuka in mint condition. Wrapped and stitched completely in cloth. I haven't and won't be unwrapping it but wanted to share with everyone. Original "packaging" ?

I didn't give the mei too much credence so didn't even notice it was on the wrong side! I will most likely leave it all as is as I don't think I'd spend any money on it. Something about the blade though brings me back to look at it though. I think it's the dual effect of the hamon. I can't tell if it's interesting due to feeling off though!

Hi all. I have a blade that I got as a gift from someone who thought of me. It came in 50% junk mounts. When I took it out to look at it and exposed the nakago I thought the mei was made using a Dremel and looked really crudely done, but now I'm not so sure, I keep having a 2nd look. Is that date even complete? The hamon looks interesting but I swear I can see a second hamon underneath it. There seems to be a lot of activity in the metal too.

It's hard to tell if the gold colours are two separate colours or the gold is worn.

The tinyest star stamp I've ever seen

I've tried to identify casting pits or seams. I was checking to see if the copper had been painted on but thought I'd ask here as I'll never be sure on my uneducated answer to my own question if I don't.