Mark et al-
Sometimes I wonder if my posts are getting thru. As Clive has said you
can't really learn to recognize quality by reading on the internet, and
you can learn some from books but really need to see quality to learn
to recognize it. I don't recommend studying junks or fakes either,
however one thing we can learn from the internet is how to recognize
some of the fakes and junk that is out there. Please see this link;
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/repro.htm
is it real or not? Here is some additional info to help you decide;
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/realold.htm
The source is of course the Japanese Sword index, which I am forever
referring to, see this link:
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm
However if you don't find what you are looking for there feel free to
email me here on off list, I am always happy to talk Nihonto!
Tom