ROKUJURO

Charles, first question for me would be "Why did you buy them? What do you like?" No 1 is photographed upside-down, no. 11 might not be authentic.

Could also be a IAITO.

Emil, the Japanese SAYASHI do not use files for that purpose but specifically shaped rasps which work faster. These are available at NAMIKAWA HEIBEI if I remember correctly. I think I bought mine there. They come in different length for SAYA work as well. When you work on your TSUKA, be careful not to remove too much wood! You want a good tight fit in case you use your sword for TAMESHIGIRI!

In case you mean SHINGANE: that is usually not a tiny spot but a larger one. I think this needs better photos to be sure, if not holding it in hand (at that price....).

In this context, handmade traditional sword-blades are understood to be made from TAMAHAGANE. The steel of these would have been purified by forging, folding, and fire-welding a number of times before being forged out to its final shape. Traditional quenching in water and polishing without machines would follow. This applies to GENDAITO and SHINSAKUTO. There is no rule about the use of a power-hammer: You still have to hold the blade and guide the action, so this is not considered as "machine-made". It all depends on the situation in your forge: If you have no apprentices, the power-hammer will help with the raw work. There were several methods to produce wartime blades. SHOWATO are made from industrial steel without folding and fire-welding. As far as I understand, there are rare exceptions to this. Modern alloyed steel cannot be water-quenched without a high risk of cracking. Oil-quenching generates a good hardness with little risk of KIZU, but does not produce HATARAKI in the steel as we see them on traditionally made blades. There will be no NIE formations, and the HAMON is rather plain and without much variation. If you compare a traditional blade and a SHOWATO side by side, this will be obvious. What you like and find interesting is a matter of personal preference and taste.

It is probably the address.

I would avoid the 3-in-one oil. The DMSO would bring some sulphur into play, and this substance easily penetrates human skin, which I personally would not like.

Glen, "frost-bite" on TSUBA is possibly an often overlooked cause of damage. I could imagine a water-soaked TSUBA being carried a few times from KYUSHU to HOKKAIDO and back.....

Steve, we did not mention those TSUBA copies that were "legally" made with traditional techniques by apprentices and employed craftsmen in TSUBA workshops. Some had standard designs which were used over and over for long periods of time with very little variation. Your question on which TSUBA were chosen for reproduction should be formulated more specifically, I think. What copying method, what basic material, what decorative techniques were used? What period of time do you look at, and which was the intended market for fakes and copies?

Steve, with modern technology, almost any TSUBA could be reproduced, but of course simple designs are the favourites. TSUBA with inlay are copied rarely. Older casting technology (lost form) would not work with undercuts, so OMORI TSUBA are too difficult. Also, very fine details as in KYO SUKASHI are not so easy to replicate. It is a special market, and cheap copies (not UTSUSHI !) are mostly made for tourists or for those collectors who are not experienced or sensitive enough to see the differences.

John, a good portion of the anti-rust product might be phosphoric acid, so it definitely takes some material off the TSUBA surface. Not recommended at all on good TSUBA! The layered construction is nicely displayed, though. It would be normal for traditionally forged iron TSUBA from TAMAHAGANE or OROSHIGANE.

Glen, I announced it in February. No 3 D-printer involved, you will have to hold a hammer:

We also have an ivory ban in Germany, but if the objects are verifiably old, it does not apply. The problem remains to convince the customs.....

It is as Mauro explained; the cause is too low temperature when fire-welding. Using raw TAMAHAGANE, it has to be folded and fire-welded to achieve a malleable, ductile basic material. This is not different from forging sword-blades. Rust has a larger volume than iron, so when moisture can enter the finest fissures or gaps, the corrosion build-up will infallibly widen them. Glen, it has nothing to do with frost; this is what occurs with rocks in nature. Subjects like these will be addressed in my TSUBA FORGING SEMINAR July 26/27.

KANENORI, date looks like May 1943

Another example with a design closer to Mauro's gourd TSUBA:

Bad photos are not really helpful. Could it be something like 楽焼 ? ( = RAKU )

Did Salvador Dalí make TSUBA at all? These would fit in his style.

A symbolized Buddhist wheel perhaps?

Usually, names cannot be translated. The first two KANI usually represent a location or a family name. The name of the maker has two KANJI in most cases. Here I only read MASA, followed by SAKU (= made). I am sure our experts can read more. Most of the time, inscriptions on KOGATANA are honorable mentions at best, so one should not put too much weight on it.

Volker, that does not look like a NBTHK paper in my opinion.

Thank you Curran, for showing this beauty! Is that KO-SHOAMI or OWARI or....? Does it have an added FUKURIN/DOTE MIMI or an integrated one?

So make the files smaller! IMGUR wants me to accept their publicity ads, but I refuse.

Bob, late version of a SHITOGI TACHI in my opinion with a wrong SEPPA. Please post images of blade and NAKAGO always in correct orientation (= tip-upwards) and on dark background.