rkg

You know, you shouldn't forget to look at some of the sites of sellers who are members.... This guy is having a pretty good sale on a number of pieces that would make fair starter pieces - I can't tell you how the service is yet (since the piece I ordered isn't here yet), but his images are better than damned near all of what is on fleabay, and... http://tanto.dk/shop/ Best, rkg (Richard George)

Again, I thought we weren't supposed to comment on active auctions, but yeah, I believe Arnold is correct and this attribution has issues WRT what is currently considered to be an Onin tsuba.... rkg (Richard George)

Hi, I'm not sure we're supposed to comment on ongoing auctions here, but I guess its OK to say these are all real if not very interesting examples (though, as with all art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder), with a few of the descriptions being a stretch. FWIW, if you don't know what you are looking at/looking for, ebay is NOT the place to look for tsuba - most pieces there are dross + they are often either not photographed well or are photographed too well( to cleverly hide/de-emphasize problems the pieces have). And then there are the pieces with "optimistic" asking price - some have the offer button (though if you don't know what to offer...), while others seem to be put there waiting for a bunny to come along... As with swords, you might be better off going and finding a way to look at some real pieces in hand to at least get an idea of what you like in hand before doing much else. You might see if some of the European members have clubs/set up exhibitions/will take pity on you and show you some pieces, see if any museums you can get to have some out on display/you can con the curator into looking at a few pieces that are in the back room, go to a sword show (do they do these in Europe?), etc. Good Luck, rkg (Richard George)

Hey guys, No good deed ever goes unpunished. I volunteered to receive a piece a pal won on an ebay auction, and as he wants it shipped insured I've run smack into trying to use the AES system to get an export license number. It doesn't seem all that opaque except for the USPPI stuff - I'm technically acting as a forwarder - when you guys do this, do you actually browbeat the orignal seller for his EIN/Tax id, use yours, or...? Is this info being reported to the IRS by the census bureau? My taxes are enough of a mess w/o having to explain why my business didn't get any money from a shipment with substantial value... Thanks, rkg (Richard George)

While being crazy busy photographing other people's pieces, I took the time to photograph another one of my ko-kinko tsuba. I've had this one for a while, but hadn't photographed it for a long time. Enjoy, rkg (Richard George)

Ah, I just got a couple of new "cheep and cheerful" ones that I just posted over on the kodogu no sekai facebook page: first, a piece actually papered to ko-kinko: http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/new_ko_kinko_tsuba_3_4/kokinko_1a_front.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/new_ko_kinko_tsuba_3_4/kokinko_1a_back.jpg second, one I believe to be ko-kinko: http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/new_ko_kinko_tsuba_3_4/kokinko_kiku_front.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/new_ko_kinko_tsuba_3_4/kokinko_kiku_shiny_front.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/new_ko_kinko_tsuba_3_4/kokinko_kiku_back.jpg Best, rkg (Richard George)

Aside from the givens (Written in a language I could actually read, with detailed accurate descriptions, lots of clear images with accurate scale, etc), my ideal publication wouldn't be a book - it would be an electronic document so it could be easily searched, have very high resolution images that you could zoom waay in on, VR image sets so you could rotate the piece in many directions and see how it changes in the light, incorporate other media/links off to other information if it makes sense, etc. Best, rkg (Richard George)

We're already there - In the states, you are already required by law to deface artifacts if they are to be sold and they aren't politically correct (cut the fletchings off of Native American arrows if they were made from Eagle feathers, etc). rkg (Richard George)

Jason, Actually I find the e-books better than the physical ones for looking at mei - aside from actually being able to search for phrases, you can blow up the image on your tablet to look at the odd fine detail, reposition the tablet to compare to the mei, etc. Plus, you can fit a whole library on your phone or tablet - it rocks! I actually ended up re-buying a number of Markus's books that I had physical copies of in e-book format. Best, rkg (Richard George)

I've seen a surprising number of them show up on Yahoo Japan lately FWIW. Best, rkg

David, Thanks for the reply - I'll add that area to my "no buy list" :-). Ya ought to check out the auctions anyway - they're mostly going out with Really Low starting prices/no reserve, so... Best, rkg (Richard George)

Hi, I'm trying to prep a number of ebay auctions (gotta love spring cleaning), and I'm trying to figure out if I should use my usual "will ship anywhere" disclaimer or if some countries should be excluded at this time For example, given the economic sanctions currently in place against Russia, can you still sell items there and actually get paid/get them into the country w/o heroic measures? Also, are there any other hotspots it would be a good idea to exclude from the auctions at this time? I'm selling no blades at this time, just a bunch of fittings. Any comments appreciated. Thanks in advance. Best, rkg (Richard George)

So let's back up. What threats are you concerned about? Fire, theft (and by whom), just keeping the kids from playing with the pieces (under the assumption they wouldn't actually make a serious attempt to get to them), or...? Best, rkg (Richard George)

Didn't see one in Mr. Sesko's toso kinko schools book, but some of the family trees in it are missing a few leaves, so YMMV... Best, rkg (Richard George)

I think everybody tries some kind of gun blue before they know any better - don't do it - bad idea... There's plenty of old threads around about how to let tsuba repainate themselves, or if you're in a hurry contact somebody who knows what they're doing (Ford, Brian T, Skip if you can talk him into working on it, etc) (rant about smelly tsuba that have the wrong finish/color, leave their aroma on everything (hands,tsuba bags, etc) deleted). Good Luck, rkg (Richard George)

Good Guess, Curran :-) http://home.teleport.com/~rkg/photos/yasu_front.jpg I always thought the menuki were mainline Goto, but I'm no expert. :-) rkg Add vote to Guido & Ed opinion. Initial koshirae that started this thread was a Maeda mon koshirae with what looks like Kaga Goto Shishi? Imagination sees someone of position in Kanazawa carrying that around. What was the blade? Something refined but nice with a suguha temperline?

Hey guys, Its a jungle out there - just saw this on Andy Quirt's site: http://www.nihonto.us/BAD%20NBTHK%20PAPERS.htm rkg (Richard George)

Hi, I only put out a few at a time so I can focus on them (kind of a Rikyu and morning glories thing I guess). I tend to use their boxes as part of the display, with either a tilted back "rail" that is deep enough that you can put the lid/pad behind the box or of late I've been using these little cheep easels you can get at the local art supply store. I'll use the lid as part of the display, with a piece of matboard under it and sometimes a chunk of kimono silk or something between the lid and the easel... Best, rkg (Richard George)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tsuba-signed-Iy ... 3f3afd5fc2 Best, rkg (Richard George)

Back again from the five week stint trying to help the kid pass her summer school math class, getting/setting up another studio camera (just replaced my last canon with a Nikon D5200), the brother's wedding, etc. Erazer, Thanks for the info on what the mon pressed metal "bits" are called! Looking at the pics again, the way the old patina has been polished down around the mon is a too regular due to wear, so yeah, I'd buy these weren't added that long ago. the thing is that most of the gosankiri bits have a fair amount of crud on/around them that actually goes up from the surface onto them so I still think they were added earlier than later/the piece was actually used with these affixed at some point - because of that, I'd buy that it was pimped bakamatsu/Meiji period - while people were actually still using the pieces rather than it being simply pimped with shiny things so it would sell better to the tourists. The replaced one was clearly added later - I wonder if it was by the seller... Best, rkg (Richard George)

This is tough - I've gotten a lot more brutal over the years about De-accessioning pieces from my collection that I don't/no longer really like - Maybe somebody should start a "top ten" thread instead :-) That said, I guess I'd have to go with this one as my "favorite" - in hand it really talks to me - it seems like even the kozuka ana helps in giving it that "used and loved" feel: http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/k ... _front.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/k ... i_back.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuff/k ... i_arty.jpg Best, rkg (Richard George)

Stephen, What "everybody" looks for is kind of subjective - what some people think is a great piece will hurt somebody eles's eyes. Also, it kind of depends on where you are in collecting - if you're starting out or just need an edo-y sukashi tosho sort of piece for your batto sword there are more pieces that are worth a second look than if you've been collecting for a while. On the other hand, its often a crapshoot, even if you know what you're looking at/for - between bad/misleading photographs (and ebay's fuzzification-er, uh, compression of all posted images through their system) random/optimistic/clueless/fraudulent descriptions, the item mix (most being pieces the owners couldn't sell any other way/nobody would buy after seeing it in hand), and the number of other potential buyers (who usually run up the final price on anything worth a second look much beyond what you could probably find it for at a sword show or elsewhere), its rough to come out ahead, end up with a piece that's really worth keeping. During the financial crisis there was actually a surprisingly large number of pieces worth a second look (well, to me) that weren't a dealer trying to get more than the going spot price for the piece- maybe 1 in 1000 listings. it feels a lot more sparse now (maybe a 10th of that). too bad you can't easily set ebay to ignore all listings from China - it would save a lot of time... Unless you're just playing because a weekend on ebay is cheeper than one in Vegas, you'd probably be better off finding ways to look at a LOT of good pieces in hand before trying to buy something there - I suppose you have better odds if you have some idea what to look for in the first place - otherwise maybe Vegas might well work out better for you... On the other hand, hey, you might identify/pick up a nobuiye or something - just maybe not the way to bet unless you know what you're looking for... Good Hunting, rkg (Richard George)

lacquer rkg (Richard George)

Hey guys, I decided to take a flier on this piece on fleabay as I've been on an old soft metal tsuba kick lately: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291157649147?ss ... 1497.l2649 I found it curious that the seller only had one picture of the front of the tsuba + they blew out the front surfaces -see below for what it actually looks like (you gotta love how ebay "fuzzifes" images as well...). In hand its a bit of a stumper. I'm leaning towards it being an old tsuba that was gussied up at some point a while ago with the addition of gold mon, and I'm thinking maybe the lacquer was added/refreshed at that time too (maybe done in the early edo from the gunk around the mons?). Or its a late fak-er,uh, utushi, which I kind of doubt as it wouldn't be worth the trouble to to make a piece like this look old (gunk around mons, etc). I'm thinking the mons are adhered to the surface, rather than being some kind of uttori. In the high res pictures, you can see some "flashing" around some of them, so were these formed by pressing into a mold? Also, you can see one at the lower right hand corner mon on the back has been replaced. The gold/shape doesn't match the others, and it looks like it was stuck on with lacquer or pine pitch or something (I think its the former as its still shiny - I haven't tried probing it or anything to verify this). The adjustments to the nakago ana are unusual as well. Its kind of interesting because it seems to point to the piece spending some part its life on the wrong side of the tracks (maybe was owned by somebody who couldn't afford to have a top grade piece made?). The tsuba showed up just when I am setting up a VR image set station (again) (I've got a bunch of stuff to clear out/put up on ebay), so I have lots of pictures of it. My apologies for the first images below - Since I have a lot of items to shoot, I am trying to actually use the software that came with the turntable to do the shooting/produce the VR image sets rather than do them the way I normally do - the software sucks, and I'm still trying to figure out what to tweak to force it to grunt out some decent images. A small front/back image (using the turntable software - my apologies): http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... _front.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... o_back.jpg And a couple of VR image sets: http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... front.html http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... _back.html And finally, I broke down and shot a couple of it with the good camera - sorry that the focus is a little off and I didn't take the time to optimize the lighting so the detail could be seen at less than 100% magnification, but still...: http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... _large.jpg http://www.rkgphotos.com/sale_stuff/sal ... _large.jpg Anyway, observations appreciated. Best, rkg (Richard George)

Better get them tools soon... :-) https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world ... -and-fill/