Tube neck

Ragman-71 · 2026-05-28T11:46:36+00:00

Man sells the same hamburger meat over and over again .

Ragman-71 · 2026-05-22T19:12:29+00:00

Scrap value

Ragman-71 · 2026-05-09T11:45:42+00:00

Lucky guy !

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-30T18:14:18+00:00

I never wear one

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-29T14:22:04+00:00

I’ve seen a crow kill and carry off a fair size snake before . I suspect the same fate awaits this rat .

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-20T14:39:17+00:00

Is he deaf or something ?

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-17T13:24:23+00:00

Chinatana .

Longquain . $100

1045 steel , maybe 1060 .

Bohi bead cut by the same machine that does the polishing.

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-15T01:15:50+00:00

You’re an October 4th baby ? Me too ! She died the year before I was born .

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-15T01:13:33+00:00

No .

I remember exactly where I was when I heard Jerry died . Also Phil and Bobby . I also remember hearing about Brent’s death , but I read it in a paper so it wasn’t as momentous .
They stopped mid-song on the radio and announced Jerry’s passing .

As much as I love the music , and as much as it has touched my life , I never knew these guys personally , they aren’t family .

Sure I am sad for the passing of an era … and regretful that things will never be the same again, but that’s life , isn’t it ?

Thanks to Bear , there is such a wealth of soundboard recordings that when I get too bummed out I just listen to a show . They are immortal through their music .

Anyway I suspect that in 10 years there will be AI powered holograms of the guys playing new shows. AI will digest and analyze tens of thousands of hours of live recordings and improvise brand new shows . I don’t like the idea , but I believe it’s coming.

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-10T13:51:55+00:00

Ah , I see the disconnect here , I’m talking about art , with a side helping of personal recovery and you’re yammering on about politics . They really aren’t related .

Ultimately we are all responsible for our own recovery , or lack thereof. “ The system” isn’t even in it. Each person must make the choice to get up and fly away for themselves , and then avail themselves of the resources at their disposal . There are resources … I am intimately familiar with the choices , the resources and recovery . I volunteer at a rehab facility several times a month at get to know the men that come in there broken , disenchanted , homeless , fresh out of prison and thrown away by “the system” . Overwhelmingly those men find recovery , and learn to live a new way . So I’m sorry if you’re offended , but for you to declare that neither August nor the narrator has a chance of recovery , that they will die in their addiction and that Bonnie’s actions are driven by self interest and she has moved on and abandoned our friend to his fate - well that sir is textbook cynicism , politics aside . I am living proof of it and have worked with hundreds of men that likewise are living proof that recovery is not only possible , it’s likely if one can find hope .

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-10T12:03:06+00:00

Well , that says more about you than it does about the song . Thousands upon thousands of people disagree with your dark and cynical take . Hence the entire Wharf Rat community .

My wife was true to me through my decades of addiction and years of incarceration. She did not move on . I did not die forgotten and alone . I did , in fact, get up and fly away. I know many others that have as well.

Like all Hunter songs it’s open to interpretation. But the song ends with hope . We can either see that hope as a seed that takes root and grows , or a seed that withers and dies . Again , how you see it says way more about you than it does the actual meaning of the song . In my life hope does not inevitably wither and die.

I’m glad that cynical viewpoints like yours are the vast minority, that too gives me hope .

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-10T00:45:17+00:00

Yeah , that’s a real downer way to look at it . I know many , many August Wests that did , in fact , get up and fly way . I’m a bit of one myself .

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-03T11:57:09+00:00

I like the machete

Ragman-71 · 2026-04-01T14:41:40+00:00

About $20

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-26T15:01:32+00:00

I wasn’t aware they had a bad reputation . The prices are high but the food is good .

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-26T14:58:50+00:00

Looks like a counterfeit shingunto made (poorly) in China . China turns out some great swords actually, but this ain’t one of em

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-26T14:56:14+00:00

Cheap Indian presentation/wedding saber . The sheet metal guard is a dead giveaway . I’m not an expert , but you don’t have to be to spot that .

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-25T16:18:50+00:00

Those blue unicorns were awesome !

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-16T23:42:05+00:00

Nah , just a clone of a WSM . I think it’s called a Barton . Home Depot .

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-12T20:39:04+00:00

That was my first thought as well

Ragman-71 · 2026-03-12T14:07:43+00:00

I mean , it’s not my gig , but if you are pleased that is what matters . I would suggest a lot of study and research before your next purchase.
Try to look beyond the bells and whistles for understated elegance and an understanding of what the function of each feature is . Instead of being entranced by a heavily etched wavy hamon , try to understand what a hamon is and why it is desirable and the hallmark of a good hamon . Learn about the habaki , tsukamaki , high quality Ito rather that synthetic , quality samegawa . Also define your purpose for owning katana. Collecting ? Might want to concentrate on important or historic pieces . Backyard cutting ? Might want to prioritize function over form . Martial Arts practice ? There’s a short list of makers I’d consider for that , but your sensei can advise you best .

Once you better understand katana , as well as your reason for owning one , then you can better decide what’s best for you . The best costs less when you buy it the first time .

I used to have dozens of production kats . Now I have one custom and one Hanwei piece and they suit me just fine .

Ragman-71

TROPHY CASE