Toki

As a newbie, I just observe, try to learn as much from the conversation when it´s not full of salt and ignore the fighting really.

There seem to be a lot of hijacked ebay accounts recently

Hi, While I´m nowhere near fluent and still just a beginner, I attended Japanese basic classes at my University. And now, while we are on semester break, I just work through the books while using Anki to learn/refresh Kanji.

I will once I had it in hand and have better pictures.

Lovely Wak

Thanks for the advice, it´s truly appreciated. Although there is a wakizashi that i really like visually that goes against all of those....should I skip it then? (serious question)

Cant have things going too well on the internet, can we?

I think the main concern is the lack of disposable income, as someone mentioned on a similar post. Like with many other things (Affording real estate i.e.), the older generation had it easier. The minimum wage was higher if you factor in the inflation over the years, and the lack of knowledge made it easier for those with a certain understanding to score better pieces to lower prices. From what I can read online, with more information the prices of pieces rose substantually. On the other hand, it makes it way more accessible to have important works translated to english and widely available I think this is the main problem, why younger people have it harder to start with collecting. In my friendgroup (22-25yo) we have a similar sentiment when it comes to real estate. Why should I work my ass off, when I cannot afford anything nice in the end anyways. Therefore I could see the same happening here too, why put in the effort when you are unable to own the thing you want in the end. I do not know exact numbers for nihonto, but I imagine that the number of undiscovered swords that are in a restorable condition is significantly lower these days, and therefor the chances of barn finds are so much lower, reducing the thrill and motivation to hunt blades. Also depending on who you buy from, the prices can be marked up quite a bit (looking at you, EU market). I think there is quite a good amount would love to learn, but are turning away due to not finding a clear entry point in the masses of information and disinformation, especially online. Or they buy one hastely and get burnt. That and the prices can be a real turnoff. Another thing, which I´m yet to see it in this field, but have experienced when it comes to collecting rocks and gemstones (my other obsession), is older members of the community spreading misinformation to gatekeep beginner collectors. And on the other hand, you have the sweetest most helpful guys ever, so your experience is entirely dependant on who you meet first. That is not necessarily a bad thing, I use them to have a cheap blade to do cutting exercises with. And honestly, it is better for some people if they buy this than to ruin an antique due to lack of knowledge about maintance or abusing it for cutting tests etc. If this sounds like I am blaming older generations for everything, that is not my intent. They laid the groundwork for everything Nihonto are today, be it books, research and so on, which I am incredibly grateful for, so please, do not take offense.

I must say,from lurking around in this forum I have not noticed people treating saving up for Nihonto as a taboo, quite the opposite actually. That being said, I will admit that I´m also guilty of not waiting years before making my first purchase. Having spent the last half year or so reading books, articles and forum posts here, it is unecessary to say I am inexperienced and could use more time studying. But I also do not know when I have the chance to travel to Japan and inspect them in person again. I should probably mention that I´m looking for an affordable entry/study piece and am simply going by what period and school I like with no intention to resell it any time soon, at least not for profit. My goal is to get a cheaper one first, then study and save up more to then safely make a higher tier purchase in the future The only two requirements I set myself are that it has to be papered (so i can learn more about its origins, therefore I dont mind NTHK papers at all) and that it has to be from a reputable selller. Is it smart to just buy out of impulse? Probably not. But with other collecting hobbies i learned that always saving for the next milestone leads to enjoying the price and reputation of a higher tier item more than the item itself.

23 for me. Will be getting my first this summer

Personally I like how it looks. However I will leave any suggestion wether to go for it or not to the more experienced members here.

Now why would you add that as an argument to buy it. How do you even accidentally cut your calf when unsheathing a blade?

Thanks a lot mecox!

Seems i was in the wrong, sorry for the false Information. @mecox would it be possible to link the list from Sesko? I would love to learn from it.

The seller who offered me the sword sent me a few things to read about Kanesaki smiths. I´m not sure where the texts come from. I will try to see from which book they are or if it just was my Translation. Also, i might have wrote it a bit confusing. In the text it describes a first generation from Yamato Province, but its actually the 2nd one in Mino that adopted the name Kanesaki according to it. So i suppose that aligns with what you said. I will try to find about more about the first guy.

Hi, I´m also in the process of getting a Kanesaki (attributed) Wakizashi Edit: removed because i dont want to give false Information

Thank you @oli!

Thank you @Sebuh! There is truly a lot to be learned :D

Hello everyone, My name is Erik, over the past few months I have gained an interest in Nihonto, mainly thanks to my practice of Japanese swordsmanship. I have been lurking around here the past few months and finally decided to make an account as well. My interests are history, antique and modern military equipment, martial arts and photography. While I like all periods of Japanese history, my main interest lies in the Kamakura period and the late Muromachi period. My collection is yet to arrive and will consist of a mumei wakizashi from the Tensho era, though it has been attributed to a smith by the NTHK-NPO. I´ll be picking it up in Japan this summer. While its certainly not a masterpiece, I still really enjoy it and am looking to learn more about it. Since I am new to the world of nihonto, please feel free to correct my mistakes whenever you see them, i dont bite