Marius

Hi, I have bought this one on eBay, got it today, I am quite puzzled what to make of it 7.2x7.7x0.25 cm. The colour is dark, blackish brown. The tsuba feels soft, waxy, yet heavy. The punch marks can be easily felt under the fingertips. Very pleasant to handle and hold. On the omote the rim stands out a bit more than on the ura. On the ura I see what seems like traces of kuro urushi, not much, but still. The plate tapers gently towards the rim, in which the seam is identifiable. I think that the rim may be of a slightly different material than the plate. It looks like shakudo, while the plate looks like low grade shakudo or katashirome. The kozuka hitsu ana has remainders of kuro urushi inside, but its walls are of reddish brown colour, like that of younger yamagane. More pics here: http://gallery.me.com/mariuszk#100704 Any thoughts?

Adam, honestly, what is the point of this? Would you shell out $2k for a sword whose current owner does not care to show decent pictures? It may have nioi-giri, it may have ha-giri, shinae, fukure, it may have all the flaws you can imagine - but you will never see it, at least not on pictures taken with 1998 vintage mobile phone. eBay can be cool, but only if you buy from reputable dealers, whom you can ask about the condition and form whom you can expect an honest answer. Otherwise, there is not much to be bought and nothing to be learned from those swords on eBay.

Yes, most of the time. There are exceptions though, eg. dealers who you can ask about the real condition of the item you want to buy. There are just a few, but they are there, like "komonjo" - Mike Yamaguchi. I have recently bought a very nice, papered Naminohira uchigatana from him. This was not a great bargain, but a reasonable price for a sword with NBTH origami in very good condition. There are some little bargains to be had, but your gain is more of a symbolic nature and they are rare. Nobody should expect to hit the jackpot on eBay, although I have the impression, that most people do. In a nutshell, with some exceptions, no sense to buy on eBay, I do agree.

This gentleman advertises his services on eBay. His site: http://www.takonomakurarestorations.com Anybody knows him? Any opinions, please?

I think that the "chawan" is reather a sumitori, a charcoal basket used in the tea ceremony. I recall, we have discussed a tsuba with a similar motif here, an Akasaka. Will try to find the thread later... Here it is: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9429&hilit=Akao+akasaka

Dear All, what is your experience in storing urushi? I am acquiring an Edo koshirae in very good condition, and I would like to keep it according to the best practice. I live in a country where winters are cold and centra heating dries up the air a lot. How should I proceed ?

Dear All, Perhaps some of you would like to share pictures (owned by you) of swords before and after polish. If possible, I would kindly ask for your consent to publish them on the website of the Polish To-Ken Society http://www.nihonto.org.pl Of course picture ownership woul be published as well. Thanks in advance

Dear Bruno, please accept my apologies

Bruno, sorry, but this is an object which does not even deserve the apellation "tanto" and the nakago is a joke. If you want an expensive kitchen knife, I would still recommend something else... e.g. a... kitchen knife? As a beginner, please start at the beginning. Buy a few books, read the basic stuff like this: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html Do not buy a sword first. Read, read, learn, etc...

many thanks, Ian

Ian, I am a great YKB fan, I have three pieces from the same workshop that David's tsuba came from. Consequently I am also very interested in any YKB or derivative work. So your tsuba are interesting to me (and other participants in this thread, I presume). Comparison of several tsuba, one (in your case two) of which are only on pics is tricky, but a good picture helps. Of course, if you don't have any at hand, I would not ask you to spend your time taking new ones. Only if you feel like PS: I find it a good exercise to take macro pics of my tsuba. Interesting details become visible...

Ian, have you got more picture of these?

Chris, you won't dodge this, sir I am just a beginner, a student. I always want to listen to the more advanced. Besides, if I knew for sure, I would tell it

Christian, for the sake of education, would you please give us some details? I mean, an obvious fake has some characteristics. I cannot discern the quality of the iron in David's tsuba, but surely there must be other things which give it away as a fake? BTW, fake, but what period? Revival fake or one of those strange Momoyama fakes Okimoto talks about? :D

John, as you say, it is a copy. I have seen the tsuba, Steve has not. It is hardly any of the two Norisuke. The difference is in the iron.

Clive, Excellent thread Thank you for bringing out this highly interesting issue. Nakahara is thought-provoking. It is good to discuss his opinions. Controversy is good, it makes us challenge the "estabished truth".

Maxime, thanks for the pictures :-) 1. looks like a cut down katana. Definitely o-suriage. Hard to tell without a polish, but judging by the patina on the nakago, it might be shinto, at least it was shortened in this period. 2. For re-selling without a loss? No. Otherwise... depends on how much you value it. A good polisher is a must, no amateur polishing. A good polisher will advise you better what it is and if it is worth a polish. 3. Edo. Not the best, but not very bad, either. 4. But other NMB members will know :-) hope that helps a bit...

Typical answers would be: 1. the smith was not entirely satisfied with the work (doubtful) 2. It was the work of a deshi 3. It was presented to a shrine as offering 4. It was presented to a Samurai VIP I think I have run out of the common answers....

Chris, I am very grateful Thank you on behalf of my friend

No, I am not in a hurry, I am just in a place where I have no access to my library and a friend is asking for help....

Dear All, I have a request from a friend of mine, a signature by Yoshinori. Could I ask for a full translation? Thank you

for me, some avatars show, some not. And here the plot thickens again: I can see all avatars on my iPad (Safari, v. iOS 5.x), while I cannot see most on my iMac (Google Chrome v 16.0.912.77). But I can see it on the same iMac with Firefox v. 3.0.7 and Safari 5.1.3. This could a browser-specific issue, gentlemen :-)

Maxime, None of your pics has been viewed, and ImageShack asks me to register to see them. Maybe that is why you have received no answers to your questions?

Brian, I am not sure where this person sees rust issues? Could you or he elaborate? This is getting interesting :-)

Aww, and now it is gone But then again, the price was steep, no? $1,750... If it were ex-Sasano, that would have been a bargain... Funny how provenance matters. There is one Owari from Sasano's silver book on eBay for $8,500...