Hello, all! thank you for mentioning my name among the big boys The truth is I am really quite the novice when it comes to "Art Swords" As Paul mentioned I have purchased quite a few items from him in the past and will continue to do business with him in the future as my wallet and opportunities arise. It has always been important to me to purchase items in the best condition I can afford because it is easy to tie up a lot of money in items that are hard to sell or not in good enough condition to appreciate in value. Although I am not a dealer at times it is necessary to sell some of my items to acquire a new piece or finance a project it is always easier to move if it has what tickles the buyers fancy. In my experience it has been condition. When I became interested in Japanese swords I was lucky enough to meet Bill Rannow who was kind enough to spend time talking to a newbie about Gunto which I was slightly less terrified of than their hand forged counterparts. Between forums and the willingness of those who would graciously share their wealth of knowledge and experience I have been trying to educate myself in this side of the hobby. There is so much to learn and unlike my time in school, I have come to enjoy studying and learning more and more about this fascinating art. Having a sword polished is quite an undertaking. Sending a sword to an unqualified untrained polisher will destroy your sword period. There are only so many hours in a day and the physical costs on the polisher are extensive,therefor a good polisher will usually have quite a backlog of work and may take months or even years to get to your piece. For this reason when a sword is sent for evaluation the polisher may determine that the sword is not a candidate for polish. This is not intended as an insult toward your sword it could be for reasons such as polishing this blade may aggravate existing problems with the sword (hurting rather than helping)He may not be able to justify spending the time it would take to put off polishing a more historically important blade to polish a generic mass produced blade of low quality Remember this is how he makes a living or at least part of one. Realistically is it worth spending around $2000.00 or more to end up with a sword that is now worth around $2000.00? There are many hand forged blades made during the times of the Samurai for the cost of a good conditioned Gunto already in polish and ShiraSaya, even some with papers! Bottom line is do your homework,ask for advice, read as much as you can and look at as many swords as you can. Then if the polisher says it warrants a polish and you can afford the time and expense go for it. Who knows...100 years from now someone may be smiling and enjoying the piece you cared enough to preserve for the next generation of collectors!
Happy Hunting! Geoff