Category Archives: Articles

This article is also available in PDF format with photographs. I met Michael Bell on August 26, 1984 at a knife show in San Jose, California. It was a momentous meeting which I recall vividly. There were some star players … Continue reading →

Interactive Gallery Tour

This link to an interactive tour by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts has some very nice detailed photos, mostly of tsuba and other koshirae fittings.  We especially love nice Higo openwork iron tsuba.

Someone sent us an email with this link from an episode of Antiques Roadshow on PBS. She does not seem not qualified to judge Japanese swords.  The prices also seemed very high considering the lack of information on the blades … Continue reading →

An article and photos from 2005 by Kathryn Ortland and Justin Speyer. The article is in PDF format and was previously available online and can be read here.

It has been said the Japanese sword possesses a soul of its own–that it is an extension if not the very counterpart of the warrior’s soul itself. I believe this to be true, though I also maintain that the sword … Continue reading →

An older article from Swordforum Magazine. ” This year, the Alabama Forge Council’s (AFC) annual Bladesmithing Symposium featured special guest Michael Bell – a swordsmith from Oregon and one of the premiere smiths working today, trained in the Japanese tradition … Continue reading →