ckaiserca Posted July 6 Report Posted July 6 Paul Martin posted on Facebook today seeking input about a possible National Treasure Sword Book. He wants to know how much support such a book would have, as he expects the cost to be between $100 and $120 (USD). If you want your vote counted, you can post a "Yes" in the comments on his Facebook post. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14ity6ay2FE/ He thinks the production and sale of the book would be based on pre-orders, and stated that he would need about 1000 yes responses to produce the book. 5 Quote
MassiveMoonHeh Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 12 hours ago, ckaiserca said: Paul Martin posted on Facebook today seeking input about a possible National Treasure Sword Book. He wants to know how much support such a book would have, as he expects the cost to be between $100 and $120 (USD). If you want your vote counted, you can post a "Yes" in the comments on his Facebook post. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14ity6ay2FE/ He thinks the production and sale of the book would be based on pre-orders, and stated that he would need about 1000 yes responses to produce the book. If the pictures are as good as this then I am in.. . 2 1 Quote
eternal_newbie Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 Absolutely, if the quality is anything like his previous book it would be a must-buy for me. 1 1 Quote
Schneeds Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 This is my only moment in life having regret for not having a Facebook account. 1 Quote
Lewis B Posted July 8 Report Posted July 8 Approx 300 yes's so far. Lets keep them coming and make this happen. 2 Quote
Natichu Posted July 8 Report Posted July 8 For those that either don't have FB or don't feel comfortable making a more public post there, I sent Mr. Martin a private message through FB messenger to indicate I should be counted as a yes. I received a thumbs up reply, so assume that's another way to get the numbers up. 1 Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Not in Facebook but yes to support Paul for 1 or 2 books. I would be curious how this will be different from other National Treasure books? Will the difference be just the English language? 2 Quote
The Blacksmith Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Add another to the yes, but 'not on Facebook' list! 1 Quote
Toryu2020 Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 Quoting Paul ” So I have had a National Treasure Swords of Japan book ready to go for 10+ years. The stumbling block is the cost of the using all the existing photography for all the blades, plus koshirae, plus National Treasure Koshirae. Crowding funding incurs more expense via return gifts and 20% to the crowdfunding company, so we are thinking of basing it on pre-orders. The book is not going to be cheap as it is a large volume of the very best swords and koshirae in Japan. At this stage, we are estimating the cost of the book to be approximately 100~120 USD. Please leave a 'Yes' in the comments, if you would be willing to pre-order. Please don't just click 'like', as it won't be counted. Pre-orders will also have the option to be signed by me. *I probably need about 1000 yes's for a chance for this to become a reality.* If you share this post, please ask your followers to put their 'yes' directly on this thread.” 1 Quote
Rivkin Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 Rephotographing kokuho will not happen unless the effort is championed by maybe one notch below cabinet minister level person. After years of maneuvering I've shot seven. If I would have any museum position maybe it would have been like 11. So - stock photos, 15,000 yen for small print run per image, 1-2 images per kokuho, 3 million yen for the existing pictures. Plus the printing, plus the mandatory 35-45% which retail networks will take... 100-120$ can be about right. Quote
Brian Posted July 11 Report Posted July 11 To assist Paul, I have added a poll at the top, where you can commit to a copy or indicate you would be interested. We don't need a "no thanks" vote, as this is to gauge interest. I have made member votes public so Paul can see who would be interested and compare with his existing list. Please add your vote if you are interested. 1 1 Quote
ckaiserca Posted July 11 Author Report Posted July 11 16 hours ago, Brian said: To assist Paul, I have added a poll at the top, where you can commit to a copy or indicate you would be interested. Thanks Brian! Quote
Hokke Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 Hell, at $100-$120, if it turns out to be well researched with proper photos like Brett said, i'd buy one for me and another to give away. However, until I see a copy and confirm price, im not committing. 2 Quote
Brano Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 I wrote to Paul two days ago via Messenger to confirm if he is actually planning new HiRes photos or if he will use the existing photos and make a new book from them No response from him 1 Quote
Lewis B Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 28 minutes ago, Brano said: I wrote to Paul two days ago via Messenger to confirm if he is actually planning new HiRes photos or if he will use the existing photos and make a new book from them No response from him Thanks for reaching out to clarify this point which, from my perspective, could be a deal breaker. I would hope that the images will be of a similar quality and resolution to the image on the FB announcement and shown above in Brett's post. Quote
CSM101 Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 Just to put it in comparison: the book from the 1997 exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum has 65 Kokuho out of 122. 1 Quote
2devnul Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 On 7/7/2026 at 2:56 PM, eternal_newbie said: Absolutely, if the quality is anything like his previous book it would be a must-buy for me. +1 1 Quote
Laurian Posted July 16 Report Posted July 16 I had to dig out my FB password for this (as I haven’t used my account in years), but heck YES! 1 Quote
Rivkin Posted July 16 Report Posted July 16 On 7/13/2026 at 5:48 AM, CSM101 said: Just to put it in comparison: the book from the 1997 exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum has 65 Kokuho out of 122. But on the other hand the print quality was average and even for the photos where at least in certain place there was activity well captured, they just used overall shot. This being said, the standard rights disclaimer states that you will not edit images in any way including cropping. Quote
Brian Posted July 16 Report Posted July 16 Hopefully someone tags @Paul Martin so that he can take down the people interested above. Members should be able to see who voted in this case. 1 Quote
The Blacksmith Posted July 16 Report Posted July 16 I don't have his e mail, but I have sent a message and asked him to look in. However, it is unfortunately a long time since he has logged in now. Hopefully, he will pop in and perhaps answer a few of the queries members have mentioned and see who has committed. Quote
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