I have just registered to this site, and wanted to say hello and thankyou for having me here.
I have studied Martial arts for 18 years, iaido for approx. 15 yrs, and have a passion for Japanese swords.
I am currently in the process of importing half a dozen blades from china ( i am almost certain they are simply chinese WW2 copies, but for the price are still great), and hope to one day trade Japanese swords.
I am studying anything and everything i can find regarding blades, and came across this site.
As i make my journey from Amatuer to knowledgable enthusiast it would be nice to discuss japanese blades with others who share my passion.
If there is anyone who has knowledge of low quality WW2 blades, and WW2 copies it would be fantastic if they might be so kind as to view the pics of these blades and share any thought they might have regarding them.
Some ten years ago i had a beutiful WW2 high ranking officers blade, mint condition, with original surrender tag. Sadly this blade was stolen from me.
It is my hope to in several years purchase a pre WW2 blade, and am looking at blades somewhere around the 5-10 thousand dollar mark.
For now I am purchasing these chinese copies for practical use. Even though WW2 blades are far from amazing, i still would not damage one (if for historical reasons only) by polishing the blade, re-doing the furniture, saya, subre, and overall defacing the weapon
With a chinese copy this would not inspire any tears. I simply want a blade for kata, and practise cutting, (apples potatos, and later, rolled tatami mats and bamboo).
Thankyou once again for your hospitality members, mods,
I look forward to discussing Japanese weapons in more depth in the future.
Be well, Paradoks