Here are a few things that I have learned
about Japanese Sword collecting:
1) BE VERY CAREFUL OUT THERE!
2) eBay is over priced but if you know what
you are looking for, have someone to advise you, and get an inspection
period (assuming you know what to look for) some fair deals can be
had.
3) YOU WILL GET BURNED ON eBAY THE MAJORITY
OF THE TIME
4) Dealers want too much for their swords
and many will also burn you by trying to pass off less than perfect
swords at the price of perfect swords.
5) Learn as much as you can before you buy.
6) Invest in good books.
7) Find a local club with knowledgeable
people. However, don't believe everything they tell you because
they don't know it all either.
8) Many people think they are experts in
Japanese Swords when in reality they know very little.
9) Those who know a lot about Japanese
swords are often unwilling to share what they know (for various reasons
including that they may think you are not worthy of them sharing their
knowledge with you).
10) Everybody is out to take
advantage of you. Trust no one ... especially if they are trying
to sell you something.
11) Subscribe to the Token_kenkyu_kai email
list and post stupid questions there ... they won't mind.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, to the token_kenkyu_kai
discussion list,
send the following 1-line message to:
<listproc@listproc.umbc.edu>
SUBSCRIBE TOKEN_KENKYU_KAI
or
UNSUBSCRIBE TOKEN_KENKYU_KAI
12) Any sword that needs restoration is
most-likely not worth buying ... it is very risky and expensive to get
a sword restored.
13) Any sword that does not need
restoration will be VERY EXPENSIVE.
Just my opinions based on only a few years
of Japanese Sword collecting experience.
Japanese Sword
Index A compendium of Japanese Sword information and links to
related sites.