kissakai

I bet the majority of collectors in there early years bought a Echizen kinai tsuba Nothing wrong with this and there are some very nice examples of this school It's a bit like instant gratification where you see a good looking girl but then find out you need more than this to intrigue you Maybe it's the start of a collection?

Wow There is just an outstanding amout of talent on this board

Robert What ever you paid it was worth every penny Such an important inscription and it would have been said if it remained a mystery

Wonderful

Mauro Do the papers you have access to roughly comply with my dates Nice to get an idea of which types are not papered although I was surprised about ko Goto but obviously the data is from a limited resource hence the papers request from NMB members that has a huge following My ko Umetada was defined by Robert Haynes but I understand that definitions are always evolving Schoolboy error about the ko in sukashi - thanks

Hi Nice feedback that I've summed up and added a bit more so it may be a 'starter for ten' Sasano states ko Tosho and ko Katchushi as 1550 1600. Ko-Shoami, Ko Kinko, Ko Goto and Ko Umetada ko Akasaka 1700 An NBTHK paper said "Ko-Akasaka" and I would date it to somewhere between 1601 and 1625. I've seen "Ko-Myochin" NBTHK with Hozon papers. "Ko-Hagi - no one has suggested a date Busho, Choshu, Echizen etc. started around or after 1568 so you won't see 'Ko' utilized. Ko is also not used with Kanayama ​From my own collection I have these 'ko' definitions but I may re-title them after this post: ko Shoami - 1750 ​ko kinko - 1600 ko Umetada - 1700 ko sukashi - 1800 Does anyone have papers with 'ko' in the description otherwise this may be the end of this post?

I looked for the Mifune dvd on Amazon USA and at the moment it is region 1 so will not play in the UK I also checked for The Emperor & The Wolf and wasn't available on Amazon UK so I assume it is also region 1 If anyone knows if this available for region 2 please let me know

I've just come back from a holiday so just reading a couple more replies - thanks I still find it strange that such a common term is a bit like sea cucumber!!!!!

Nicely displayed An excelent choice to use Grey's expertise Good luck with the sales

Oops I was thing about the tsuba in the post 'Tsuba Found In Antique Shop' I don't have a tsuba like yours Maybe the thin rim is an clue and is the face convex? I still think it will remain 'school unknown'

I haqve a similarary carved tsuba that was viewed by Bob Haynes and he said that the school was unknown He dated it around c1700 and I wondered if mine was actual a bit later in date Sometimes a school will remain unknown unless you are lucky enough to find a similar example that is defined As Bruno said you can always say Shoami and let some else disprove it

Thanks Pete My concern was that it is a term quite freely used and as such I would have thought there was a more defined definition so your reply has helped me Grev UK

Over 150 views with only one comment - strange as ko is such a commonly used term so there should be some reasoning behind it I think the Momoyama is a reasonable call as it precedes the Edo period and is quite a convenient date but being convenient is not a good reason The reason I asked was to increase my understanding of this term and some of my tsuba have been described as ko *** but are a later date than those without the prefix 'ko' If anyone has papered 'ko' tsuba that is dated or knows actual book references then this is a start otherwise why use an undefined term?

I also think it may be a person as it looks a little small for a horse Looks like a nice tsuba so I wonder if it is one for restoration! If it was mine I'd think hard about a restore, if the removed image can be completly 'lost'

I was wondering about the use the ‘ko’ for descriptions of tsuba schools There are the dates I’ve thought are somewhere near ko Katchushi = pre 1568 ko Shoami = pre 1568 ko Toshi = pre 1568 ko Umetada = pre 1568 Please amend as required While I’m at it what about these dates? ko Kinko = 1400 to 1600 I’ve never seem a description of ko Owari but more likely to be in ‘periods’ Owari 1st period =1500 As ko is defined as early school work I wondered why I don’t see these descriptions No ko Bushu No ko Choshu No ko Owari I often hear this term so I should know what it means

Hi Rohan I would suggest a table at a specialist Arms & Armour Fair A big one close to me in the UK is every 3 months I took my first table last month and it worked out great I did try an Auction house but that was a disaster Good luck Grev

I sort of bumpted one of Kevins tsuba sale posts to say I received the Akasaka “Moon And Grass” tsuba today A real work of art I've noticed on earlier posts the collectors who wished they could have bought Fords work while they could afford it You have a chance to own a Gold medal winners tsuba makers work while it is still affordable! If you look on Kevin's site/Facebook you can see how much he is improving and will keep getting better In a few years time I'm going to love seeing a post like: 'collectors who wished they could have bought Kevins work while they could afford it'

The video looks really good to me Although you can stop/start the video I would pan slower to allow the viewer to take in the details better

I'm devastated to hear this very sad news and I assume someone will let us know what happened I'd like to send a card of condolence Although we never met I have bought many tsuba from Thierry and he was always very helpful

I much prefer the status quo Nothing hidden and it is straight forward Currently everything I've either bought or sold has ended satisfactory for both parties If it ain't broke ........

Doro-shippo An opaque shippo (cloisonné enamel) work produced using muddy enamel glaze, which results in a unique texture different from glass enamel glaze. Brass wires which are suitable for classic muddy glaze are used for contours of shapes and colours A starter for ten

Nice call Geraint In the link there are quite a few bubbles where there are non in mine The style looks similar (rustic) and I can now do another search with the info supplied

Hi I'm having a bit of trouble with this one When talking about Cloisonné work you think of Hirata but with work of this type lower standard where do you look? ​I checked the 10 Haynes catalogues (a good reference for the more 'ordinary' tsuba) but without success ​A trawl on the internet revealed nothing either I just can't find anything like this one ​If it hadn't been for the inlay I'd have said country work but this may be a wrong assumption The side cut outs don't tell me anything and I could have done the dots better ​77 x 77 x 4.1mm Any ideas are very welcome

Hi Grey Don't forget how lazy we can be (me included) It would take quite a bit of time to go through all your books

My first fair I really enjoyed the day as it's nice to put faces to names, the only problem is my memory virtually non-existent which is really annoying What not to love about the Northern To-Ken guys - a great crowd Michael, a young collector picking up his first sword (a wakizashi in polish and shira saya) so a great starter Also Fuchi/Kashira (black shakudo) that is much better than anything I have Good chats with Kyle and Clive among other The nitty gritty Sold five tsuba but bought another three Sold two kozuka and bought another one Sold a matching tsuka and saya. My wife handled the sale as I was on walkabout The buyer had a bare blade that fitted both items - how lucky was that If I had been there I'd have3 charged him more as soon as I saw they fitted LOL Grev