THE MAIN GUILD THREAD

[Ronin Gear]

Here it is, the main guild thread. Here you can post questions, Meet up with other guild members, chat, or re-group. This is an open thread, so feel free to be free!

Many of you have been posting in the Overview thread w/ general stuff. From now on plz use this thread. A link is provided on the guild's main page. Enjoy!  

[CriLiC]

Hey, Ronin =D hope this idea works for us.
Sorry for my absence /= I've been away.

So you have any other life apart from surrounding yourself with weapons and Bushido? Who is our guild leader? =.=  

[Ronin Gear]

I'm a 28 yr old father of a 7yr old daughter & husband to XknightkidsX. I spend my time (outside of swordplay, Bushido, & the samurai life) watching horror, action, & anime shows/movies & preparing for the zombie apocalypse. The sword styles I practice now are Eishin-Ryu Iaido, Batto-jutsu, & a little Kenjutsu. I work @ a job that pays the bills & on my 93 Acura Integra. I'm planning a trip to Japan which may not happen for a couple years but @ least I got my ducks in a row!

EDIT: I also forgot to mention an important aspect of my life; (at least to me) I play drums too! I'm not in a band, but I've been playing for about 3yrs combined. The style is metal, & I can play just about any metal song out there. My fav. bands are All That Remains, Lamb Of God, Slayer, Dethklok, & Killswitch Engage.

Oh, & I look pretty much identical to my avi, minus the scar & the zombie skin.

That's me, that's my life. How about the rest of you?

Here I is, in the "flesh":

 

[Youko Inari]

Hey. I'm a twenty-year-old creative writing major with aspirations for becoming a teacher. For what it's worth, I'm actually female, but I don't mind being addressed with male pronouns if that somehow makes more sense to you guys. :3

I took Japanese for two years at high school and have been studying the language and culture independently for roughly eight years. Still, I'm far from fluent in Japanese and though my knowledge covers a vast number of subjects regarding Japan, said knowledge is spread thin and I have only a basic understanding of most of them. My specialty is mythology and legend.

Despite my interest in Asian culture and collection of katana and the like, I mostly practice European sword styles. Aside from that, I'm a HUGE music nerd and I play video games like I get paid for it. I love to sing and I am a firm believer in the idea that the world revolves around Broadway. In general, I'm a mega geek who has said far too much at this point. XD

*shuts up*  

[CriLiC]

Hihi! =D
I'm an eighteen-year-old happy-go-lucky, Aussie art student with too many barrels of energy, and I'm just beginning my ambition to study all arts.

Yes, I do Ju-jitsu and Kobudo, and have picked up what else I know of the Japanese culture from plain curiousity, not education.

My job... I'm leaving as I can no longer sit still in the checkout isle. Shall find something spacious >.<

My loves are communication, books (manga), and the arts.
My time is spent on moving from one interesting activity to the next. My music defines my mood, I listen to insane music. I'll get ecstatic when new things start up... but hopefully will stay interested this time )_)

I could ramble for hours, but maybe I'll eventually chat it out on someone. wink

~Ze image on ze side is MWA >D  

[Noxaus_XIII]

I'm 18 with plans of becoming a creative writing and psych major incidentally at the same college Himemiya is currently attending... My knowledge of the Japanese language is horrid to say the least.... I only know a few things and would love to learn more.... but Russian is first. I love writing stories poems sonnets haiku so fourth I love most movies should it have a good plot line and a few witty remarks. most of my knowledge about japan is of its weapons hierarchy and battle tactic. I own one katana sadly unless you count my bakuto that i made myself. I am proficient with a rifle as well as tons of other pre-gunpowder style weapons. I also plan for the impending WWZ but wait for its arrival.
I love video games and play them as a means of escape. I also love anime and manga. I'm goth a guy with a cute boyfriend that is as cute as my friends Rose's boyfriend no matter how much he chooses to deny it. give him a nice glare for me Himemiya if you would be so kind. and that is about it.... aside from almost nothing creeps me out and I am an original vampire lover... not that twilight bs...... vampires burn in the sun GAMMIT!

I suppose a pic of me would do then..... hmmm.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs187.ash2/44976_1432199403819_1197926060_31035892_5762905_n.jpg

es me  

[CriLiC]

Oh, all these personalities shall be fun! whee

About the crew. I mailed everyone who had never created a post. It has been almost a week and there hasn't been much response or action /= we need to recruit more, or search carefully. Shame the dedicated member types are hard to find...
Anywhoo, that's my thoughts =P  

[I am Z]

I was searching the web and couln't find it, where would one in a modern age buy high quality steel? As in i have many katana... but when sharpened they shall I say lack a certain cutting edge...  

[Ronin Gear]

Well first off, What KIND of swords are they? What company/forge makes them? If they aren't from any quality company, or are just "randoms" they will be of inferior materials & won't hold an edge well.

Secondly, in order to sharpen a real, hand forged katana properly, you need to get the 5 or 6 "polishing" stones. They are sharpening stones made specifically for sharpening katanas; & are "graded" like sandpaper. So you start with the roughest one & go down one grade @ a time until the edge is proper.

Thirdly, you must understand that a real katana does not have a modern edge. A modern knife will taper to the cutting edge, then the cutting edge will taper itself. A real katana's edge is one full taper, & as such you must sharpen the ENTIRE taper to get the proper edge. The process is difficult, so most practitioners of Tameshigiri have their swords sharpened professionally @ their dojo. Or they get a low level real katana & practice until they get it right.

Here's a katana's edge profile:

now look @ the edge on your swords. Are they like this?

Lastly, if you intend to make your own blade, then you might as well pay the $500-$1000 for a real hand forged & folded katana. It is an extremely difficult process to forge a sword & the equipment needed to do it right will far outweigh the price of buying a real katana.

Here's an awesome site to buy from. I get my katanas from them & they offer 1/2 price sharpening & repair once you purchase. WELL worth it & this is not just a shop, it's an actual dojo whose roots stem in Japan.

Nihonzashi Sword shop & dojo
Look for the forged or folded shinken. If you want a great katana at a good price, then get a CAS Hanwei. The best swords on the market that are affordable. Either grab a Practical or Raptor Series if you can't pay too much. Both are suitable for Tameshigiri & will hold an edge.  

[syeii]

well i jus turned 19 3months ago, im not in school at the moment but im enrolling this spring, outside gaia an other online games ima bboy(breakdancer), iv been doin that for 5 years now and well known in 2 states also one of the leader of my crew lol. im a artist, ive been drawing since i was 5, i used to be a graff artist(tagger), i can draw ppl cars scenery, but i mostly draw my own anime characters, becuase i have plans on making my own anime somday. im learning how to DJ right now, im into yugioh, videogames,mostly fighting games like Tekken6, blazblue, super streetfighter4, marvel vs capcom3, and super smash bros bwal, but other then that shooters and rpgs lol,

other than that the most important person in my life is my girlfriend, she models imports, lingerie, gogo dances, leader of her dance crew, and shes bgirl but on top that she is the biggest nerd ever lol shes a huge gamer, and never leaves the house with out her ds lol ^_^

hmmm other than that idk what else to say lol  

[CriLiC]

Eh Syeii! Link us ya art page, will ya?
Artist in common. Manga-studying artist, intending along similar lines, to create my style and a kickass webcomic. =D  

[syeii]

lol nice lol ^_^
i dont have an art page yet but ill defintly get one set up soon, right now me and another friend of mine is workin a epic capcom vs shonen jump poster(fan made the game does not exist lol) once we finish that ill put that and the rest of my work up ^_^

Joker Devaki Jinx

Eh Syeii! Link us ya art page, will ya?
Artist in common. Manga-studying artist, intending along similar lines, to create my style and a kickass webcomic. =D

 

[Ronin Gear]

I've been playing Doom 3 & Resident Evil 4 lately, But I intend to get Left 4 Dead soon. Does anyone know if the PC version has controller support, 'cause I hate playing with the keyboard.

Hey Syeii, I draw graffitti style. I designed my current tattoo. It's my daughter's name, with some spiderwebs on it. Her name is Charlotte, & she's named after the spider on Charlotte's Web; hence the webs. Her middle name is Rain, which I got from the Mortal Kombat character, Rain, the purple ninja. Her name kinda sounds like a color or a perfume huh?

This is her:
 

[CriLiC]

My my, Ronin. She's beautiful. And I love the reasoning for her name!

Charlotte was one of my favourite fictional characters =D