As long as everything goes to plan, I'll be at Sword Fest on May 18 in Alexandria, VA. Until about noon I'll be tied up with the responsibilities involved with taking part in my dojo's demonstration, but after then I'm free to chat weapons and koryu. And koryu weapons.

I've been working with the work queue effectively closed for over a month now and I figure I'm past due making a post about it. Early last fall I applied for admittance to finish my bachelor's degree -- something I've been kicking myself for over the last 25 years.

The lovely thing about tanto is that they are very forgiving, and I can use woods that would not work for longer weapons.

First lumber shopping trip in a few months -- it doesn't look like the price of jatoba is coming down. It's almost twice per board foot what it was when I started out just a few years ago, and the cuts are a little thinner so I have to turn to the 5/4 stock instead of the 4/4. Still, I managed to get some good selections suitable for a waiting order and a few likely projects.

I was asked recently if weapons with no sori were easier than ones with. "Depends," I said. When they're 136cm long, and you've got to maintain straightness and taper, it's not so easy. Then when you have a batch of them going to the same dojo . . .

I don't feel good about how long these took, but I am glad I didn't rush.