This is my favourite piece.

[bone]

Quite beautiful!

[bobtail44]

Quick question. Is there any reason to collect... less desirable pieces? I mean, I dont want to see them melted down but looking at this, will they ever be anything but artifacts?

 

Less desirable than what? Juyo level?

 

Trent S

[Loco Al]

Very ostentatious; will not appeal to everyone. The blade is Tokubetsu Juyo Ko Motoshige circa 1320

 

Ostentatious? Never! And why would this not appeal to every nihonto fanatic? No need to apologize in advance for showing off this work. That took courage. Tokubetsu Juyo and a regal koshirae. Thank you for sharing it.

 

Alan

[bone]

Quick question. Is there any reason to collect... less desirable pieces? I mean, I dont want to see them melted down but looking at this, will they ever be anything but artifacts?

 

Less desirable than what? Juyo level?

 

Trent S

 

*wince* Hoping to get out of that question. I mean koto with hagire, I mean great names with great flaws. *sigh* I mean blades that no one here would collect but might have some sort of historical value.

[bobtail44]

@ Bone

 

It depends on what you want it for. When you asked that I thought you were trolling tbh

 

Trent S

[Jamie]

Sadatsuna naginata naoshi.

[BMarkhasin]

There is a martial quality to this piece that brings it to the top of early iron tsuba I have owned (Photo was taken by Richard K George).

 

9.5 x 9.4 x 0.25 cm seppadai x 0.45 cm mimi

 

 

Boris

[Kevin Adams]

I'm sorry to have missed this thread until now, there's some gorgeous pieces here! I don't have anything to contribute since my "collecting" budget goes exclusively to books, but I'm glad to see some shinsaku work held in the same esteem as the antiques.

[nihonto1001]

Dale

 

Your Motoshige is one of the best swords I have seen at any of the sword shows. This sword and a certain Rai Kunimitsu are my favorites. Thanks for sharing it and not keeping it locked up all the time.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Very ostentatious; will not appeal to everyone. The blade is Tokubetsu Juyo Ko Motoshige circa 1320

 

Hello,

 

This blade looks healthy even in photograph! As for ostentatious, we must keep in mind and appreciate the fact that what we are seeing is a window into the mind of koshirae artists as well as a "samurai" from another time and culture. Sometimes we just need to set aside our personal points of view and suffer.

 

Thank you for sharing.

[Marius]

Boris, you know this one

 

Bronze, 9.2 x 9.3 x 0.3cm at seppadai, 0.25mm at rim.

[bone]

Oooo. I like it!

[Alex A]

Me too, i also wouldnt mind owning the two Ko-katchushi tsuba earlier on in the thread, all have a certain appeal.

[Moley]

Some of the first Tsuba I ever bought.

Not "special" I know.

Don't really know what they are..

...But somehow I really like them.

 

Any ideas?

[Loco Al]

This thread seems to have died, predictably.

 

I'd like to resurrect it by posting a few photos of one of my favourite swords. I only have three swords, and they are all favourites.

 

Echizen Sadatsugu

 

[attachment=2]IMG_3669.JPG[/attachment]

[attachment=1]3D7A4040z.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=0]3D7A4047.jpg[/attachment]

 

Alan

[Jean]

Splendid Alan

[Brian]

Wow.....that is stunning.

 

Brian

[Veli]

Now this is why nihonto are called art swords... wow

 

Veli

[sabi]

Great thread, hopefully it keeps going.

 

I'll add mine, I only have a couple pieces, but this one, my first tsuba is my favorite. Momoyama period Owari sukashi in the design of a spider web. Note the spider carved on the shakudo plug.

 

These shots best display it's true patina.

 

 

[Soshin]

Hi Everyone,

 

The favourite piece in my collection is a small NBTHK papered iron tsuba by the great Nobuie! Here is the view of the tsuba from a display box. Enjoy... :D

[Nickupero]

Thanks to Alen, Veli, and David for the Thread revival, all exquisite pieces and much appreciated for taking the time to share!!

[bone]

Dear God! This stuff is,well amazing. wry gin I'm guitting collecting until I have the juice to get something even approaching this knd of quality. Thank you all! Simply amazing!

[laowho]

Sometimes it is not the value or quality of an object that makes it a favourite

This is my bad boy

 

 

I started collecting tsuba in April 2012 and while nosing around the internet came across the NMB site. I wasn’t very busy at the time and read hundreds of posts, even as far back to the time that some images were corrupted. I couple of months later I plucked up enough courage to post my first tsuba. It was posted in June 2012, the post went to five pages with 60 replies and 2825 views. After what felt like a multiple mental beating I was feeling shell shocked. Was I an idiot, is this tsuba so bad it was an embarrassment? Should I stop collecting and in the classic words ‘never darken the door of the NMB again’. After a bit of encouragement from Brian I re-evaluated the replies and these are a couple of my favourites from my first post:

 

Poor Kanshiro is probably turning in his grave now.

How on earth can you attribute this doodle to Nishigaki?, that's embarrassing.

 

I love you Tosogu guys

I was thinking till now that disputes among members were reserved to Nihonto

Now such tsuba form/pattern has an Higo flavour (whatever it is: Juyo, junk, cast, Meiji - BTW, did I forget something?)

A later reply said not to forget 'Chinese'

 

It’s what this tsuba has led to that was life changing

My collection numbers over 150 tsuba. These are my learning tsuba, from these I will reduce to around 50. This will give me a nucleus so I can strive for constant improvement to my collection.

I’ve been working with a local museum and with help I will endeavour to publish a book.

I have conversed with NMB members from all over the world and their help and expertise has been faultless.

I have been offered the chance to make my own tsuba.

Had a personal introduction to Robert Haynes who I’ve spoken to on many occasions.

There more but I have to end somewere

I would have liked to add a picture of Brian as a ‘favourite’ but maybe this isn’t allowed.

 

 

Grev UK

 

To borrow from that Guinness TV ad, "Brilliant!"

 

"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

[Jorgensen]

It was hard to choose, but this is my favorite piece

[Stephen]

not in the same class as many but bit better than a F&G photo

fav for time being

[Jorgensen]

Stephen. Nice set of Tempo Tsuba. If you like Tempo Tsuba, you might like to see this one: http://tanto.dk/product/tsuba-tempo-skole/

 

However, to serious, my favorite piece is my naginata-naoshi Daido blade: http://tanto.dk/product/naginata-naoshi ... ami-daido/

 

Even the blade surely needs a polish, its my favorite big time.

 

I like this thread, many very, very beautyful items indeed. People has good taste and have done well I think.

[hxv]

This is one of my favorite pieces - nice and fine itame/masame hada, exuberant gunome choji, chikei in a couple of places, nijuba, sanjuba, lots of hataraki, midare komi boshi. The ha is bright and lights up like a Christmas tree - not hard at all to photograph.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Jean]

Hoahn,

 

Very interesting and very good pictures, did you take them?

[cabowen]

I would bet that sword would look even better with a good polish...

[hxv]

Jean: Thank you. Yes, they are my own pictures. I have been practicing nihonto photography.

 

Chris: I agree. This sword was last polished in Japan in 1999, according to the previous owner. It's too bad he didn't take care of it properly.

 

Regards,

Hoanh