Looking For Nihonto Club Or Collectors In Charlotte Nc Area

[jason_mazzy]

Friends,

 

I have stagnated in my Nihonto development and need to reach a broader audience. More especially of knowledgeable persons who can show qualities of the steel in theirs and others collections. Thanks to this site I have learned many facts about schools and qualities to look for and I am confident that I can pick out a decent sword over junk quite readily. I feel I need to elevate my game by getting some hands on instruction and explanations. 

 

Please if you know of any clubs or live in the area I would like to meet you.

 

If there are no clubs then perhaps we can start one and bring in some Nihonto Educators to help us get on the right track.

 

Thank you for your time.

[Jamie]

Jason,

You might go to the shows. It's the best experience I've had thus far. I don't have much opportunity to study where I live either. You'll see multiple masterpieces and be able to ask questions about each. Another plus is you will meet many members who we're learning from here. It's really the best experience possible if you're serious about learning.

[Marius]

One advice: don't let yourself be blinded by the lingo and kantei skills. Even if someone tells you how to tell nijuba from yubashiri and chikei from hada patterns and spits out schools and masters names with the speed of a machine gun, it doesn't necessary mean that the person understands swords.

 

What you really need is to be able to judge the steel, its quality and the tempering work (as those two things combined determine the quality of a sword). This is easily said, but very difficult to achieve (don't ask me, I haven't mastered it and I probably never will).

 

Having said that, nothing wrong with identifying and naming various things in a blade and try to come up with an attribution. It is great fun.

[cabowen]

Good point Marius but you need to walk before you can run...learning about the quality of the steel and hamon requires an understanding of the terminology, as well as some knowledge of metallurgy. Get a clear understanding of the terminology and go from there. The goal is as Marius mentioned.

[Marius]

Absolutely, Chris  

Walking before running. And, as said, it is great fun to learn all these things 

[LakeBum]

Agreed that shows are a great way to get to know guys in the study.  My problem with going to shows and learning is I feel like i do not even know the right questions to ask lol.  My base is so small with having the sword in hand, but only one way to fix the problem :D. 

[jason_mazzy]

I would find it very hard to believe there are no collectors in the metro Charlotte area.

[Stephen]

Maybe check these guys out, could be you could start your own NC club

 

http://www.karateinternational.net/kendoclasses.html

[jesse]

Jason, I live in Charlotte, NC and would love to get together and talk swords.

Ping via my email 'jesseunderland@yahoo.com and lets see if we can hook up.

 

Regards,

Jesse