kissakai

Hi Yes Namban Check for a seal line on the inside of the 'slot' I have a fake Namban and other members will have seen many fakes Grev UK

Many thanks Bob for posting as I'd have never seen it and there other amazing presenters BTY It is on Thursday not Friday Does anyone now how I can take a copy or maybe I can purchase a DVD of the event My mentor is not computer literate so if I see anything of interest I put it on DVD Grev

Isn't there a 'seam' line in the middle? If so then it will be cast Grev UK

Hi Brent With some help I put my tsuba sale items (loadsl) in the cloud and NMB members could download it I'm sure you can have 50meg on the cloud for free Grev

Haynes update The haynes spreadsheet is still available, see replies above I have done the same type of spreadsheet for the Wakayama kanji Anyone who has the Haynes Index (via a NMB donation) can have a free copy of the Wakayama kanji but you need to PM me and state your personal email address Anyone seeing this post for the first time can obtain the Haynes and I will email a copy of the Wakayama Index as a freebee These are ideal for a quick reference when looking at all or part of a mei Sample - there are some more columns that are not shown Grev UK

Hi It was never posted for comments so it doesn't matter to me but over a hundred views with no comments I did find a bit strange I'm not fishing for replies so no replies are required Grev UK

Hi Rob It's great because you have shown your appreciation of the tsuba I agree with Stephen about less is more, this way nothing distracts from the tsuba but enhances the design How about looking at some examples of ikebana? I thought a single 'twig' on the left hand sign may look good Grev UK

Hi I have just had this tsuba repaired. I was unsure whether to buy it or not due to the damage around the fern frond which will always draw your eye to this area I bought it from Ron Hartman in Dec 2014. The colour diffences between before and after is due to using two cameras It was suggested I send it to Mike Hickman-Smith for his evaluation These were Mikes comments Looking at the quality of the surface lacquer I do not propose to do a full ‘restoration’ Problem would be that to get a fully polished flat surface I would risk damaging the old lacquer around each section of damage with the polishing. What I can however do is to conserve. The undercoat exposed where the damage has occurred is far more porous than the top coat so I will seal it these areas with urushi then build up with top coat black lacquer until I am as close as I can get to the old surface level without doing any polishing to flatten. I should be able to fill in the missing section of gold pine branch. It will be time consuming in terms of number of days but only a few minutes at a time. Tsuba work is finished and I am pleased with the result. As I mentioned at the start, I have lacquered the damaged areas in only and not over lacquered the whole item so that the original surface is honest. The original covering was black when it was applied but over time it browns / clears so giving that beautiful slightly translucent dark brown. I have patched with clear urushi (which is dark brown when applied in any depth) with a tiny amount of black and brown urushi mixed in. The patches are currently slightly darker if you look in very bright light however over the next 18 months to 2 years, the clear urushi will continue to clear further and it lightens up so hopefully the patches will be less visible in time. I am pleased also with the gold work which is not really apparent unless you go looking for it. Grev UK

Thanks Peter This all makes perfect sense Grev UK

Hi Peter Although there are condition issues I didn't think it was too bad - I wonder if it is worth asking Ford to have a look at it as it didn't cost very much Has anybody any idea which Jakushi it is? In Wakayama Vol 3 P281 is a close match for the mei but as I don't read Japanese so no idea which Jakushi it is referring to Grev

Wonderfall I think both submissions are better than last year so both should be winners I only hope they keep away from politics and choose the best Good luck Grev UK

Hi I'm hopeless on this type of sosho script I have seen similar which is shown as Jukashi What are your opinions? Grev UK

Nice link Stephen but not all shown are kinai tsuba Grev UK

Hi Stephen Just put Japan into the search box Grev UK

Hi There are quite a few nihonto items in this auction http://www.invaluable.com/auction-house/hermann-historica-n78m8pifsg?email=677265762e636f6f6b65406e746c776f726c642e636f6d&utm_source=house&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=exclusive&utm_content=her041216 Grev UK

Hi Ideally finding someone within travelling distance would help I live in the centre of England and some one who wanted a tsuba to fit lived about 1 1/2 hours travel away He was able to try loads of tsuba and decided on two that were a perfect fit One was an Owari style and the other ko kinko and although totally different both worked with his koshirae Grev UK

Thanks Brian It was one of Thierry Bernard I bought last December from the MNB Now I must reply to 'too many tsuba' post Grev

Hi Rob FYI I have a tsuba with a similar style Sukashi ito with mokune surface Kuninaga 國永 resident of Edo 江戸 住 Grev UK

Depends on your internet connection how quickly it opens I opened it up in seconds Grev UK

I have conversed with Veli a few times and and he was an absolute gentleman I was shocked as we all were and please send my condolances to his family Grev UK

Hi T11 sold Grev UK

Hi Two more sold today #62 & #88 So these are all the tsuba sold: 30, 49, 62, 77, 88, 186 & 201 I've received a request re T11 Grev

Re Guido & Chris observations This is a very fair message board so you can not put items up for comment then rubbish the comments What I've found in the past if there is the odd incorrect comment other members will correct it Take it that if the majority make similar statements then it will be accurate For any request for information you should never put poor images on the NMB Grev UK

Hi If a chisel is used then the bottom of the signature (mei) will be sharp If it is cast then the bottom of the mei will be rounded I don't have an image I can send you, maybe another member can supply one or do a search for fake tsuba on the NMB Grev

Hi I agree with Jean If you are able to actually see/handle these then you have a chance of getting what you like If you can see then take a jewlers loupe and look at all the internal surface to see if there is a join, these would be cast and can be disregarded Look at the signaure not that you will know the maker but are they clean cut/sharp if the bottom of the signature is rounded then disregard If there are any left look at the carving quality always shows - you don't need to be an expert to see quality Best of luck Grev UK