howdie
 

same here, two countries represented here, born and raised in canada, but of turkish heritage.. thus my interest in collecting ancient ottoman swords... yataghans are my passion...

Malaysia
 

I'm from the land that gave the world amok, durians and the present home of Keris Taming Sari, hulu keris ayam teleng and some of the best mandaus you've ever seen.
We have nine Sultans who take turns to be king every five years, whose instrument of office is a gold sheathed keris panjang and an ivory keris tajong :)

Turk from Istanbul.I live in the middle of the town,where for centuries millions of weapons of any class were produced to serve sultans,nobles,vast armies leaving to all directions for endless campaigns and millions of other weapons were taken from surrendering opponents and brought in from invaded lands..I should be envied and assumed as lucky by the oriental arms collectionary point of view,but actually can hardly find anything original else than some rusty knives or very ordinary yataghans! :eek:

Talking about soccer World cup, we won the first one. And then won it again in a country, 5 times champion after that, but still crying, 56 years ago....I'm from Uruguay, a country with more cows than people, meaning nothing to economical forces ruling FIFA. Oops, we are out of this cup....

Hi all........
If all of you read / watch/ hear the sad news about big earthqueke in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.....that is my city. I was born and growth there....
Thanks for support in pray, money, and everything to help Yogyakarta people.

Since I married with japanese girl 8 years ago....and 'till now I still live in Japan.

This is a part of my collection :
http://midinakeris.fotopic.net/

Well, having been (probably) descended from the Anglo Saxons, Celts, Vikings, Romans and Normans I am proud to say I'm a .........thorough-bred Englishman ;) :D :D . Born in Londinium........ er I mean London (the Roman in me talking ;) ).
Our cuisine is also world famous, we have exotic, culinary delights such as fish and chips :rolleyes:

It is a testament to us all that we enjoy the culture (and weapons ;) ) of other countries and peoples. Of course, assuming the anthropologists are correct, ALL our ancestry originated from 'Mother' Africa......its just that some of us have moved further away :D

Ah.....I almost forgot....

Ernesto Juan, you must be colour blind...... ;) .....the fans of the winning team will be wearing white with a small red, St George's cross :D :cool:

And as to our friends in Belguim, I am envious of the number of quality African artefacts you can find in your country. ;) :p

If i spoke 3 languages i would be multi-lingual....
If i spoke 2 languages i would be bi-lingual....
But since i only speak one language i must be.... :rolleyes: :D

Well, to be honest I think neither the English nor the Dutch will win this world cup. The Dutch do not have a bad team, though it is not mature enough, all youngsters and prone to physical injuries. The English? More a collection of individuals imho lead by a rather weak coach.

My guess would be either Germany or the " boys from Brasil" :>) will win this cup.

Was it not an Englishman who defined soccer as: two times 11 players battle for two times 45 minutes and in the end, the Germans win. ?

-> My friend from Uruguay; bear in mind that Brasil won the world cup lots of times and is not exactly an economic world power.

All the best to everybody and forgive me for starting this sub-thread about soccer, that obviously does not have anything to do with edged weapons.
On the other hand, a famous Dutch coach once mentioned that " soccer is war" . :D

How glad am I that I renewed my fishing permit, all that time by the river on my own, blissful and football free. ENGLAND.ENGLAND.ENGLAND.

At least, I suppose there are few deaths, the 'war' has rules, the combatants know their 'fight' only lasts 90 mins and half way through you can have a rest and eat 1/2 an orange (the fruit not a Dutch supporter :D :D ).

Good luck to the National teams of all the formites.........let battle commence.........

Greece here :)

I'm from the United States, but originally from Thailand. I came to this country a long time ago, though!

Oh! For the longest while I thought you were either from Taiwan or China!! :)

I am from the country, presently hosting the world! It is just great, walking through Hamburg is like a trip to all the participating countries, having soccer fans in the streets dresses in the colours of their teams and waving their flags. We have the American team staying here in my city during the championship and many fans wait in front of the hotel, trying to get an autograph. You will find a lot houses decorated with all the flags and definitely, there are big parties in the streets in front of the big screens, where the matches are shown in public.
And sorry friends, but Germany will win the cup! 4 : 2 was a decent start.
;)

With all respect Rather; Costa Rica is a so called soccer dwarf like country and the German defense was quite poor. It is not like the German team beat Argentina is it? ;)

On the other hand, the Dutch team played a friendly test match 1-1 against another soccer dwarf; the socceroos from Australia. Well, the socceroos do have a Dutch coach, so maybe it was a setup?

Anyway, enjoy the atmospherem and may the best team win!

Btw mate, is not the country quote " hosting the world " end quote the USA? (soon to be China?)

:D

A turkish man here with a growing interest in yatagans.

Hi ErnestoJuan,
it is always dangerous to dismiss the underdog, Australia had to beat Uruguay to get to the finals,they have some talented players (if fit) and they do have a good coach. Look how far some other less favoured teams got in the last world cup. Go the Socceroos.
DrD

Erhhh... guys, maybe this forum isn't the best place to start a World Cup discussion. :D

I'm from the good old US but originally from Thailand. I came here a long time ago.

IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN VERY LONG AGO AS YOU ARE VERY YOUNG YET, AS IS THE USA AT AROUND 230 YEARS OLD :D

AGEING IS INTERESTING AS IN MANY WAYS YOUR BRAIN STILL THINKS YOU ARE YOUNG NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU GET, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL BUT THEN I HAVE ONLY BEEN AROUND 59 YEARS 11 MONTHS. A YOUNG CUTE HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE GIRL STILL LOOKS GOOD TO ME BUT ALL I DO NOW IS LOOK. :D I STILL LIKE TO DO THE THINGS I ALWAYS LIKED AND STILL DO THEM BUT SLOWER AND FOR SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME :p
ITS AMAZEING HOW MUCH THINGS CHANGE IN A LIFETIME MY GRANDPARTENTS WHO I KNEW LIVED UNTIL I WAS 17 AND THEY CAME DOWN TO OKALHOMA IN A HORSE DRAWN WAGON FOR THE LAND RUSH. WHEN I WAS BORN JET AIRCRAFT WERE EXPERIMENTAL AND RARE MILITARY ONLY LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE FLYING AROUND NOW, EVEN INTO SPACE. YOU YOUNGER ONES HAVE A LOT OF CHANGE TO LOOK FORWARD TO, MAY THEY ALL BE FOR THE BETTER.

BACK TO TOPIC (AGE DOES SEEM TO MAKE YOUR MIND WANDER :p ) THIS HAS TURNED OUT TO BE A INTERESTING POST AND GIVES A IDEA OF THE WIDE RANGE OF COUNTRYS AND INFORMATION WE HAVE TO DRAW ON AND THE OTHER AGE POST SHOWS THE RANGE OF AGES. IT IS ENCOURAGING TO SEE THAT THERE ARE YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN COLLECTING AND LEARNING AS WE ALL DID.

Hell Barry , my Grandfather was a Wildcatter in Ok. :D
It was a different world then .
May the youngsters make it an even better one . :)

Absolutely, someone recently sent a note on "turning the clock back 100 years - to USA 1906, and it's amazing to be reminded of phenomenal changes in just 100 years which I've already lived 49 years plus.

From the times of my greatgrandparents/grandparents (immigrants from Tianjin and CangZhou, China) until now much cultural changes have taken place, and I could only be reminded in nostalgia of some of the discontinued things by the CCTV programmes...even the food taste/smell different, a different world indeed.

I've started collecting some ethnographic stuffs beginning in 2000, so I guess age is not a factor, just the madness...:)

And Barry, a cute young lass looks good to me too... :)

Say hello to "The girl from Ipanema"

Germany at the dutch border ( I am Dutch )

A native born Oregonian who will retire in two to five years in Montana, since Oregon is now the northern most county in California.

A dedicated Martini rifle collector with no interest in edged weapons at all. Working a special assignment for a couple of years in South Africa before retiring. Simply meeting friends requests for "Zulu Spears". Found a Zulu hunting spear, East African small game spear and Zande Spear. All of which are far to good for my friends and I will keep for myself. I will go to the Curio shop and get spears for my friends.

Just located two Maasi Spears. I should get them...

Did I mention I have no interest in edged weapons... ;) ;)

LOL :) THE EDGED WEAPON COLLECTING BUG CAN BE A INSEDIOUS LITTLE BEASTY AND WILL INFECT YOU NO MATTER HOW NOBLE YOUR INTENTIONS . WELCOME TO THE GROUP BUT TRY HARD NOT TO GET INTERESTED IN WHAT I COLLECT ;) UNFORTUNATELY THAT WILL BE DIFFICULT AS I HAVE A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING IT SEEMS :D

Lol :)
Yeap, you are wright. Most of the people in the forums think the same for me.
I just happen to be a Greek who loves the Chinese and Indonesian Archipelago's culture and tradition ;)

Take care

I come from the The pearl of the Orient Seas, The Philippines!!! Mabuhay. :D
and we don't have a world cup team. :confused:

Hi to all, I am from Bangladesh. I did not see any other Bangladeshi here, may be I am the only person to be with you. Glad to be a part of such nice community and thanks for the thread also.

Born and raised in the South Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Grandparents hailed from the Scottish Borders, so I guess one could label me a tight fisted Kiwi. :cool:

Great post ,I have logged in after a long time as I was busy with work commitments.
I am originally from India but been living in northern part of New Zealand over 2 decades ,not many kiwis here ,just know Kahnjar1 dwn south who also is from NZ here who shares the same passion and has good knowledge of Arabian weapons

Hi From the Emerald Isle (Ireland)
I do not know if there are any others here from Ireland
I would think there has to be as I have been bid against at auctions so there are some other ethnic weapon collectors around.
Regards to the rest of the world
Ken

Jerusalem, Israel
 

First time I see this thread. Nice.
I am an atheist from the holy city of Jerusalem (or Al Quds, if you prefer).
My family came from Hungary and I am married to a Dutch woman. I lived in the Netherlands for many years and speak the language, so I consider it my second home.
Eytan

French spotted here! I promise... I don't collect baguette!
I'm 28, initially marine biologist, now knife maker, Smith and sharpener.
Have a good day everybody.
Julien

Filipino living in Manila, Philippines, 33.
Engaged in studying my country's traditional blades for academic and martial purposes.
It's ironic that most of my country's most prized and well-preserved traditional blades are in foreign shores. I hope that changes someday.

I am from the capital of Russia, Moscow.
The area of my hobbies is the arms of China and Vietnam. I also became interested in subjects from mainland Southeast Asia.
Sometimes I drink vodka :D and I have a "ushanka" hat (but made in Finland ;) ).

Hi,
Caledonia born and bred although Ulster Irish (County Antrim) on my mothers side and Norwegian on my fathers side. It's refreshingly heartening to see so many from divergent backgrounds get on together in relative harmony :)
My Regards,
Norman.

Argentina, the home of the gauchos (With Uruguat and Brasil)

Romania