Wow! Quite a thread for one so far off topic. In no particular order: At the surrender at the end of WWII, swords were formally handed over by commanding officers (of ships etc.) as a gesture of surrender. This is a western custom as well as (rather than?) a Japanese one. Seems strange that they handed over valuable antiques, but it is the sort of extravagant gesture that goes with a culture that commits ritual suicide... I will admit to having two swords, but I am not a collector. One is a modern fencing foil with a rubber tip. The other, that I think of as "my sword" (even though my brother has an interest in it) is a bit more interesting. It is the sort of sword that officers in the Royal Navy wore with dress uniforms up to about 1914 (when the design changed slightly). It belonged to my grandfather, so I assume he was commissioned as a midshipman (US: ensign) at age 16 (in 1913). He may have upgraded later to the newer design, but if so, this went to the bottom of the sea with him in 1944. The sword was made by Wilkinson (lately of razor blade fame but in his time the UK's leading sword manufacturer) and sold by Gieves (a well known supplier of uniforms, known in the services as Thieves), and it bears the number (which may be a serial number) 56500. The test of such a sword was not whether a handkerchief would fall in two pieces if dropped on the blade ;-) - in fact, mine has never been sharpened - but whether you could bend the blade so that the tip would touch the forte just below the hilt. Swords that passed would have a "proof mark" set into the blade at that point. Wilkinsons reps used to demonstrate this, but it was said that Gieves' swords made by anyone else, although they bore the proof mark, would be damaged if you tried it... My sword is somewhat corroded. I got someone to clean off the worst of the rust; he cleaned of "as much as he dared", which unfortunately reduced the clarity of the designs etched into the blade, so this may have been a mistake. Nonetheless, for such a heavy piece of iron (though not relative to my computer collection!) it is amazingly well balanced. I wouldn't have any difficulty wielding it in a fight, even though the grip is a bit too small for me. FWIW I am told that swords should be preserved with suitable grease. Suitable = hydrophobic. In particular, lube oil / axle grease etc. are NOT suitable. Petroleum jelly is recommended; I have heard of olive oil being used; and I imagine silicone grease and some of the water displacing penetrating oils would also work. FWI also W I have some small skill in European fencing (although I haven't done any for a few years now), but have never studied Kendo... Philip. ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. Power Technology Centre, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottingham, NG11 0EE, UK Tel: +44 (0)115 936 2000 http://www.powertech.co.uk **********************************************************************