jk wrote:
"Patrick Kenny" wrote:


FYI, if you hadn't heard, there's a week-long demonstration course on
Japanese sword-smithing coming up near Kitchener, Ontario at the end of
June. A licensed Japanese swordsmith (Fusataro, who studied under Fujiwara
Kanefusa 24 and 25) will be forging a blade, and answering questions (via a
translator).



So just who is it that Licenses a sword smith???

Japan.

They're very culture-conscious over there, and they actually do offer
licenses to swordmakers there. Something about making sure that a blade
made in Japan is a bit better than the crap that comes out of India or
Pakistan.