Z-Man

That is awesome Brian. Say, if the koshirae (or more specifically the saya) ought to be kept in a humid environment, then how do you keep yours from cracking given the humidity controlled conditions in your display case? Did you build it yourself? Best, Shane

Hello All, I understand that a sword ought to be stored in shirasaya. However, this has me wonder whether letting a sword ever touch koshirae is a good idea. The upside only appears to be the pleasure of enjoying them together (I'm not minimizing this as an upside), but the risk to the sword and koshirae appears too great for that (due to the additional handling, etc.). Is this too cautious a view? Best, Shane

Hi Jussi, Thank you so much for your response. That Sueyuki piece looks like a head ache. I cannot make out the hamon very well, plus it looks scratched all to bits. I wouldn't pay 100,000 yen for it, in fact, I wouldn't pay anything for it (something I think you articulated about yourself as well). My real priority at these beginning stages is to get my eyes in some kind of order so as to avoid buying either 1) junk, or 2) an overpriced item. I've been reading regularly the past few months, and have come to the point where I think it helpful to have an example in hand to interact with. Luckily, there is a nihonto club that meets relatively close to where I am at, so that'll be a good resource, too. The more ears to chew on, the better. I must say, though, I am a bit worried about some things. One possibility is that whatever I end up being custodian of, I will end up damaging it. I've seen that claim made on some posts here. I would like to avoid this. I wonder what mistakes people have made that resulted in a damage piece (I'm interested in the unobvious, or lesser obvious ones, as well as the obvious ones). Best, Shane

Hi All, Thank you so much for your responses. I very much appreciate it. Z

Thanks fellas, I've been engaged in a bunch of post-market surveillance on both Ebay and Yahoo (JP), as well as from various dealers. I should say, though, I do have a preference for doing business in Japan. I spend several months there a year (have done so for 15+ years), and am comfortable navigating the business environment. It also helps that the yen is weak, and supply is better than in the US. So, I've been paying attention to inventory/prices in the links to dealers provided on this site (both domestically, and abroad). I have been to Ginza Chosuya before, and got the impression those guys are not one of the snakes in the pit. As an aside, when I first encountered nihonto in Japan (in 2003) I was given a largish stack of GC's monthly newsletter/catalogues from a friend there. I very much enjoy them. I did notice that the Samurai Museum is not listed in the dealer links section (https://www.samuraimuseum.jp/shop/). Does anyone know what their reputation is? As of now I am attempting to get a sense for what quality (blade/smith) correlates with what price point. Oh, and can someone explain the various rating systems as they appear on the swordsmith index? I've been trying to get a sense for various smith reputations and have found metrics there that contain the Hawley ranking, as well as something they call "TT." I found some information on the saku system, but I still have a very shallow understanding of it. Okay, back to my original post: as for Chris' conjecture of over-polish, the seller's pictures of other blades have a similar quality to them, which may be an artifact of the photography. I wonder what specifically makes you suspect an over-polish (again, with the acknowledgement we are dealing with incomplete information). What does such a thing look like, in general? Same issue with the acid conjecture. I'd like to have eyes for these kinds of things. As of now I know what rust looks like. 8D I've got four months to scout for something I'd like to see in person in Japan. That should give me some time to read/study, and to pester people around here. If I don't find something, or am not confident enough to make a purchase, then I will wait. These objects will still be around. Thanks, Z

Hi All, I was browsing Ebay roughly a month ago, and came across this sword (it was a NR auction in which I did not bid): https://www.ebay.com/itm/134150682928?nma=true&si=mPphxVmRsB0qhauPt5Fb7EZ9ga8%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 At the time I was mulling purchasing my first nihonto, but didn't feel ready (I still don't). However, I was taken aback at the sword in the listing. The hamon is wildly flamboyant, which I find stunning. The fact that it is signed, papered, and the koshirae appear to be in good keep add to its appeal. (These are my newbie heuristics at work.) Given the fact that in-hand inspection is/was a no-go, it seems like this would have been a good first-sword candidate. It seems to have all the ingredients for a great study piece. That said, I wonder what your thoughts are. Is $2500 a good deal for this (again, with acknowledgment we are dealing with incomplete information)? Obviously the market has spoken, but there may be a lot of noise in that signal (e.g. someone not serious about the study of Nihonto may have made an impulse purchase, thus inflating the price). Whatever my first nihonto be, I've already decided I would like a piece with a chogi, gunome, or gunome-choji hamon. As of now that's as far as I've gotten in discovering my taste. Anyone else start there? If so, what came next? What smiths/schools were you eventually drawn to with this in mind? Thank you for your time, Z

Hi Thomas, I do believe Ralph Bell is the guy. Is he still around?

Hello All, First, thank you so much to all those who keep/maintain this forum. I just discovered it, and am absolutely thrilled. I am originally from Reno Nevada, but now live in West Lafayette Indiana. My first exposure to nihonto was in 2003 on a trip to Japan. A friend of mine and I stumbled upon a dealer's shop in Okayama City. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had no idea owning such things was possible. The dealer (I believe his name is Ando-san) was so gracious to let me gawk at his wares. Of the roughly $1000 I brought for a really cool gift all was spent at that shop. I purchased three tsubas (which I will upload to another forum topic to see what thoughts are thunk about them). I saw that him at the San Francisco show the next year, and he was so very kind (we had lunch together). He also gave me contact information of a collector who lived in the Reno area (whose name I have lost). I was lucky enough to get ahold of this person who spent about an hour on the phone with me. One piece of advice he gave me was to NOT start collecting at that point in my life. I was an undergraduate student at university, and so had little/no cash. I never stopped thinking about nihonto. All these years later (having graduated with a doctorate degree and with a job) I am in a position to begin a serious collection. As it stands, one could fill several giant warehouses with what I do not know about nihonto. I find the level of precision and technical knowledge of the members here to be absolutely impressive and I aspire to know a fraction of what some of you know. As it stands, I spend at least one month a year in Japan (my wife is Japanese - family is from Odawara), and am planning on purchasing a high quality sword next trip (December 2022). So, I may chew on some ears so as to sharpen my scouting skills.