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Exactly!!! If you really want to see how much there is to know check out this site. http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm

John, I was wondering like Roy if instead of antler your nicely carved tanto might be ivory? For Roy from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer Antlers With the exception of the Chinese Water Deer, which have tusks, all male deer have antlers. Sometimes a female will have a small stub. The only female deer with antlers are Reindeer (Caribou). Antlers grow as highly vascular spongy tissue covered in a skin called velvet. Before the beginning of a species' mating season, the antlers calcify under the velvet and become hard bone. The velvet is then rubbed off leaving dead bone which forms the hard antlers. After the mating season, the pedicle and the antler base are separated by a layer of softer tissue, and the antler falls off.

Before thinking about a purchase it might help to do a little research and have some info available so you are not relying solely on what the person you intend to buy from is telling you. Here are a few links..one sword term glossary and a couple of links with gunto info. You should decide how much money you can afford to spend and if you want a traditional blade ( nihonto) of just any ww2 sword including machine made blades, if nihonto then and old blade in a ww2 mount or a blade made for ww2. There a lot of variables. http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html http://ryujinswords.com/shostamp.htm http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_070.htm

Seems to be a difference between the quality of the ivory and antler mounts and the ones made from bone?

Roy, might as well toss a picture of the blade in as well!

Some of us would not mind seeing a picture or two.

I have seen some bone mounted swords with very nice carvings ( not real works of art though) but none with a nice blade.

If you have an idea of what you are looking for you could post a wanted add on this board, there are probably a few people here who have some gunto for sale but have not listed them yet.

Louis, I am always surprised at the expressionistic or almost abstract quality of many old Japanese prints while at the same time they are a great source of information on armor,clothing and scenery of the times. The skeleton is a perfect example. Once again when you look closely you can see chain armor being worn. http://www.mfa.org/zoom.asp?file=SC162814.jpg

Koichi, thats a great link..I found some more prints from the same artist including this one with a large group of men on a roof wearing chain armor and possibly uniforms ( police?) and carrying sodegarami, sasumata and tsukubō while trying to catch some criminals? http://www.mfa.org/zoom.asp?file=SC1730 ... %FBkaku%29

Louis I can not help you unfortunately but thats a great print, any idea when this was printed? I have been studying old prints for awhile, there is a lot of information about armor, clothing and weapons in the old prints, got any more you can show, thanks.

Here is a glossary of Japanese sword terms that might help you. http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html

I have seen some nice swords for sale recently for very reasonably prices and not only would you have a good samurai relic but also a sword you could learn from and expand your knowledge.

Dan, here is a Japanese sword glossary that will help you with various sword related terms you may read on the forum. http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html

They appear to be real...if by real you mean nihonto, but you would be doing your self a favor I believe if you posted an add in the wanted section here first before looking on ebay.

Timothy, it might help if you said what it is that you are looking for...just any sword?, many people here are reluctant to recommend or comment on an ebay sword especially to someone with very little experience. It might help if you told a little bit about yourself...do not be suprised if you are told to spend the money on some books and to do some studying if you have little or no experience with nihonto.

Its the people who do not have an interest REAL interest in the post who should stop posting and they should start a post of their own on a subject that interests them. A couple of people who just want to disrupt a dialog should not get their way..it sets a BAD Precedent. No one seems to be having a problem with this post other then the USUAL suspects and if they are allowed to succeed then inevitably this will happen all over again in a different post. Placating bullies NEVER works it only emboldens them.

How do you prove you are exempt? I imagine the paperwork and bureaucracy involved will have the same effect as if the swords were not exempt for a lot of people.

Jean, I did think it was rather strange that none of the people questioning my assertion that a certain armor was "high end" cared to ask my opinion as to why I felt the armors were "high end". If you notice, they did not even ask what my opinion of "high end" was. Was I referring to the price, the quality or rarity? They had no curiosity???? strange. The nattering nabobs of negativism seem to have some kind of agenda other then learning and or teaching.

You certainly knew your faults when you posted that...it still holds true. Lets see you start a post of you own and show me that you have some game instead of biting at my heels like a little yap dog ( God I hate those things!!) Who let the dogs out???

Rick B, I am glad that you have an understanding of the point I was making in my post. When I read the forum posts whether it is George commenting on ww2 smiths, Ian talking about his experiences in the world of museums, Ron or Piers passing on some unique info or pictures, or any of the many interesting people who drop in and share pictures or ask or answer questions about nihonto and related subjects I know that for awhile I will be entertained and possibly learn something new. In return I try to share something from time to time that someone will find interesting and possibly learn from. I see samurai armor as being integral to the weapons and have always been interested in both subjects since the weapons often had to defeat a man wearing armor and the armor was made to defend against a man with a weapon. Even when not being used they represented the owners status and class. The forum has specific categories and people can read the posts in the categories that interest them and ignore the rest...I read all the categories and have benefited greatly.

Try starting here, I own a few myself. http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/

Keith, I read your posts and find a lot that I agree with and a lot of good ideas and thoughts, on this one point we do not agree at all....I can not write off the samurai of the Edo period or the armor or weapons of the period as being sub par junk and the possessions of decadent fools and I do not agree with the general portrayal of the Edo period as a "peacefull" era that resembled a huge hippie love fest. While the times when thousands of fighters were slaughtered in a single battle eventually ended, all warlike societies when faced with a peace time lull still remain battle ready for a period of time not knowing when war might break out again. It is easy for us to say that Japan was peaceful but the Japanese of the time had no idea how long peace would last. If America were to keep out of wars for lets say 50 or 100 yrs ( like that would ever happen ) or lets say 200 yrs like in Japan but still trained soldiers and maintained weapons and armies I do not think a U.S.soldiers ability to kill would take very long to surface..boys will be boys after all. But my main point is and was that denigrating people ( and the objects they study) who are interested in a certain time period of Japans history (even ww2) is counter productive to the efforts of understanding the totality of the samurai era from beginning to end. I myself am more interested in the Edo period and can relate to the Japanese civil war as my country had its own civil war in which 500,000 people died compared to just thousands in Japan, and in the U.S. every item down to a single bullet, button or scrap of a uniform is collected and not considered to be worthless junk. I am interested in the armor and weapons that were used right at the end of the samurai era including the more primitive or recycled weapons and armor scrounged during the last few years and by the intrigue of the different rivals and foreign interventionists. The whole point of my post before it was turned into an attack about the items that in my opinion are high and low end was that in my world the high end and low end from ALL samurai eras are interconnected and at least in my collection can and do go together quite well....one right next to the other and can be appreciated accordingly. By the way..I try to read EVERYTHING Carlos and even Reinhard post..(and everyone else here also)....and despite some philosophical differences etc, I can and do learn from their postings, I hope they can be open minded enough to do the same or at least try to understand were other people may be coming from.

Carlo, maybe you should give it a try, it might bring you down to earth with us common, 99.999%, low end, folk. By the way..thanks for the advertisement! I will have to give you a cut of my immense profits

Lee, we wont be around to find out but your probably more right than you realize.