Marius

I know it quite well, have discussed it with Boris :-) Nice piece. I still fail to see tombo in the design of my tsuba. IMHO it could be a round tansu lock plate plus four hirute handle drawers around it.

Henry, thanks for the input :-) I haven't seen this as tombo. Interesting thought.

I have a tsuba in my collection which I am unable to identify. Judging by the shape of the ryo-hitsu ana it could be quite early. The outside edges are very well rounded - almost tapered. No tekkotsu. 7.6 x 7.5 x 0.4 cm at seppadai, 0.25 at mimi What do you think of it?

Christian, you can say that they have the same provenance - they (tsuba and swords) are organised in collections. The number of items was too small to have a meaningful structure (like period, school, master, motif, etc) so whole collections are being shown here. Yes, it is a nice exhibition in a nice setting in a lovely medieval town. For NMB members - another reason to go to Poland :-)

Henk-Jan, would you mind quoting some sources? Might be an interesting read.

The Japanese Sword Section of the venerable society of Ancient Arms and Armour (which I have the honour to be a member of) has organised the second nihonto/katchu/kodogu exhibition in Poland. After our 2011 exhibition in Krakow was hampered by the flood (despite being closed most of the time, it managed to attract 8,000 visitors), we have now the second one in Torun. Here is some brief information for those going to Poland (no, it is not Holland, we have vodka, they have tulips): http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2011/05/p ... ition.html

Stephen, I have well deserved it, even a reply so harsh, as it had no smilies Thank you for acknowleding it was the first time I have been rude. It shall be the last time. And no, I will not commit seppuku, I will be just more cautious when giving opinions. Probably too much whiskey today. I will never ever post after a bottle of this stuff Apologies

A scarecow, I suppose. I think Ford Hallam (or someone else) has posted a tsuba with this motif.

shame on me, then I'll use a sword without a horimono for my seppuku, just in case it might be an ato-bori Still, allow me to think it is a bad horimono. Good pics (high resolution) will prove if I am right or wrong (I am not sure, of course). BTW, I think a more courteous reprimand would not harm anybody. I may not know what I am talking about, but you could have put this in a more agreable tone, sparing me the embarrassment that comes with such a merciless exposure of my blatant lack of knowledge. This could have been done without blunting the edge of your criticism - I think in such a case it would be called politeness. On the other hand, I must admit I have transgressed the rues of civility using the word "crap". For this, please everybody accept my apologies. I have deserved your remark. Thank you for that I will use more caution in the future.

Chris, all motifs are more or less typical, that is they have been repeated with various degree of skills. I don't expect to learn anything (if I can, I shall be delighted) and the post contains only my musings on a nice tsuba which has its motif repeated in a simplified way. That is all, and there is nothing more to it. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel, I just wanted to post two items for comparison.

It is poor (as far as I can see from your pics, and what the heck is that sprawling vine that should in fact be a stylized dragon? The horimono is bad IMHO, ato-bori, possibly to hide some flaws. Here is a pic with the most offending detail. I cannot criticize the rest, as your pics are low-res. But the whole horimono seems crap (forgive me my bluntness, I might be wrong - in such a case shame on me)

The horimono seems rather strange...

Some time ago I have had the chance to admire a lovely Raiden themed tsuba which was on sale. A few months later I have stumbled upon a tsuba with an identical motif. I have published a post on my blog. Maybe someone would be interested? http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2011/05/m ... ified.html

Nakago has been ruined.

I won't even ask for the price So, I just wonder :lol:

Maybe some katchu enthusiast would be interested and doesn't know it is being offered: http://japanesesword.de/?site=armor&id=16&lang=en You might want to read the description in German, as it is slightly...untidy?

Yes, it is clearly visible. Out of curiosity - what was the purpose of such an alteration?

If your flaw is an open layer, it is not fatal, if it is a tempering crack, it is. A fatal crack is one that renders the sword useless as a weapon, e.g. hagire. You wouldn't trust a sword with a hagire - it is likely to break.

David, your Namban has a Bushu feeling to me...

Late Edo. Cheap mass poduction to my eyes :? OK, I admit it, I don't like sanmai tsuba. Both sides done from one mold... I would say shiiremono, but I would probably say the same about a Momoyama sanmai

Yeah. Time to blacken my teeth

Steve, Thank you and sorry for my outburst In my mind's eyes, I have already seen another ruined blade... Coming back to your questions - I think I see running masame in the blade or is it just the pictures? The hamon runs down to the edge in some places - the sword has seen many polishes. It looks like a late koto, possibly an uchigatana? This could be a Bizen kazu-uchimono, given its shape, the fact that it is ubu but unsigned. I am, however, sceptical regarding the Bizen attribution - masame does not fit and the hamon seems to show Mino influence in some places. I might be wrong, though :-) As to the fumbari - could you give us the moto-haba and saki-haba? Also, could you check how the nakago looks below the munemachi - do you see fresh rust and/or naked steel?

STOP !!!! Whatever you are doing, STOP IT NOW! You are not in the least qualified to remove rust from a Japanese sword You are likely to damage its polish, and if you are reckless, you may seriously damage the blade After you listen to this simple advice, we can move on. Otherwise you will hear some rather bitter comments.

OK guys, time for some serious iron from my side, lest you take me for some effeminate soft metal fan Care to elaborate on the motif? There are two interpretations: 1. usagi no mochitsuki 2. suzu mushi

I would be grateful if someone here could elaborate on this highly interesting cast iron tsuba. Mr. Haynes is an authority one cannot ignore, and the popular opinion is that cast iron tsuba were made as Meiji tourist items. So this tsuba brings up an opportunity for an interesting discussion - have cast iron tsuba been produced before Meiji? Have they been designed as a fully functional sword guards? Are there any other examples of such tsuba?