kissakai

Down the rabbit hole again Not Christian or working lock Then SteveK throws in a bamboo variation with birds and the chest example So although I may not find the answer I do believe it is representative of something PS the Ashmolean example look a bit crappy!

Thanks for the info I think the my description of a lock is wrong I'll stick to 'A cruciform created from two chamfered overlapping rectangles' ​At least it is accurate

Hi I have just purchase a new tsuba and was wondering about the description For some reason I believed this to be a lock but this differs from the Birmingham museum Mine is smaller at 50 x 45 x 4.3mm Details from the Birmingham Museum 1930M566 School: Kishu Mei: Sadakane Date: 1725 Haynes: 07715.0 Design: A cruciform created from two chamfered overlapping rectangles Size: 76 x 70 x 5.7 mm Mine is smaller at 50 x 45 x 4.3mm Grev

Hi I have added 5 new tsuba to the PDF Link https://www.dropbox.com/s/qj7d66vvq1a7z16/NMB%20listing.pdf?dl=0 Four are at the end of the file but one I was keeping is now included but this is not at the end The tsuba number is T250 so easily found as they are in numerical order Grev

Hi I have decided to sell tsuba at this fair once a year in February I will have a table at tomorrows fair so please have a look if you are in the area I will be taking 65 tsuba and one Mito wakizashi It will also be an opportunity to promote both my books as I will have these for viewing only on my table If anyone is definitely attending please let me know Grev

Bugger What should I do withy my Onin tsuba now (one of my favourites? To be more constructive When I was researching the Museum book I copied the main features for the (say) the Bushu (ito) school After going through almost a dozen books it was so similar so it was like each person had copied an earlier version Can I say that there has been nothing new for a few hundred years? I know some of the NMB members are trying new ideas to question the old masters and of course Fords book will throw a grenade into these perceived 'truths'

Thanks Brian I hadn't seen any LuLu offers for some time

Hi My new book - Fifty selected Tsuba from a Private Collection V2 is available on LuLu publishing If you go to the LuLu.com website and use 'Greville Cooke' in the search box you will see my tsuba books I have received and reviewed my '50 tsuba book' I noticed that some of the images were pixilated so these have all been improved Image sizes have been maxed up and the largest are 180 - 160mm A brief outline of the contents: Dedication to Thierry Bernard who sadly passed away last year Tsuba terms Full tsuba images Large mei images with Arabic & kanji characters Two resorted tsuba Tsuba design & symbols Kanji interpretation Collecting notes/hints 111 pages Cost = £20 ($28) for the hard copy and £10 ($14) for the eBook Also a note for my Birmingham Museum Tsuba book 221 pages Cost = £39.99 ($54) for the hard copy and £19.99 ($28) for the eBook I welcome any feedback especially from anyone who has purchased both books With thanks Grev

Looks like sandbars

Unbelievable

Although not rare there are not too many around, I bought mine so I had an example of this type Mine is plain (just the hammer marks) Size in mm's = 73 x 73 x 4.2 mm (Dish = 7.7) One of the others members will probably help with the translation and inlay

Not too unusual The one I have may be Shoami Described as: Dished form. Wan-gata, bowl shaped. Possibly copied from a European sword. It is open to interpretation which way it is fitted but more likely to be like a European sword

I have uploaded the fifty tsuba book after a few amendments I have the tsuba shapes in the Birmingham book so I removed it from the fifty tsuba book and replaced it with a page of tsuba terminology and supporting images I expect to have my 'hard' copy in around seven days for a final look but I'm pretty confident all is OK I will add a post when my copy arrives

I was OK with Akasaka but with a very slight chance of Akao Any other thoughts on the school?

This is probably Akasaka

One final try - It is Tembo

An only slightly better image. I tried the suggestion of changing the angles and light source

A better image. I tried the suggestion of changing the angles and light source

I received the draft hard copy yesterday and found two images in the wrong section and a placement error on the cover which is easy to sort out By having the hard copy I can see how some of the pages can be shown off better so this will also be adjusted Hopefully it will be completed by the end of the week

Nice shades on the dragon!

I'll try for better photos

This was suggested some time ago 董 重 Shige

A final request for this one Maybe School: Tembo - 1650 - Hot stamped kanji for kazi (wind) - 83 x 81 x 5mm (mimi 6mm) Signature Too faint for me to read Grev

Can any one help with the makers name School: Akasaka - 1700 - Yatsuhashi bridge and Iris - Size: 68 x 64 x 6.5mm All I've manage to guess at: Signature Unknown 董重 something shige Grev

I was emailing Paul about sending a sword to Japan and he let me know about his latest achievement In case you haven't heard. I won the NBTHK (Tokyo Branch) new year ippon nyusatsu Kantei competition in January. It is the second time I have won. I have taken seconds and thirds on several occasions in the past. The Tokyo Shibu New Year Kantei Kai is one of the two most major Kantei comps on the yearly calendar. The other one being at the sword museum itself. The event was attended by people from all over Japan, I think there was about 80 participants. I was also made a Trustee of the Nihonto Bunka Shinko Kyokai (NBSK), and an article of mine on my monthly column for Japan-Forward (Sankei News Group) was their most read of 2017. He just keeps getting better Grev