Marius

Pete, many thanks, again I have learned something :-) Great tsuba

Just to break the monopoly of iron tsuba in the thread - here is a soft metal tsuba, which is on of my personal favourites. Not a great work, just an ordinary tsuba for the ordinary samurai...

edited by myself.

Pete, What do you think it is? The motif taking up a large part of the seppa-dai.... ?

Paul, I used to own an absolutely splendid Bungo Takada wakizashi, which could be taken for a Hizen-to, were it not signed. I wish I would have kept it. Veli, whatever your sword is, it is gorgeous Definitely something to keep and to study.

Bungo Takada?

Yes, I have lost my head for the sword

I can confirm that Kevin is really an excellent seller. I have bought an excellent Shitahara wakizashi from him - everything was flawless, execution was excellent.

Especially Microsoft

Keith, while not disagreeing with you, I would like to add that some interesting thoughts about mumei blades have been recently expressed in Nakahara's book (which is widely seen as very controversial). The only review of this book I could find online is unfortunatelly mine, so I hope you will not regard me as uncouth if I post it here? http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2011/01/r ... s-and.html @ KM Henk-Jan, Your preferences will possibly change the more exposure to good swords you get. This is an experience I have made, when, to my own astonishment I have rediscovered a forgotten tanto as my best piece (yes, you've guessed correctly, it had a suguha :-) If you allow a word of advice - try to see the blade as something separate from the koshirae. I know this is difficult, given the European tradition, but most koshirae you can buy with a blade are a haphazard affair, regardless of how well the tsuka is wrapped Making a good new koshirae is an art involving several artisans and it does not come cheap. I recommend you do not get distracted by the koshirae when buying a blade. The mountings will be ususally nearly worthless, but you will be asked to pay a premium, because only a mounted sword is a "real samurai sword" in the eyes of so many inexperienced enthusiasts... Sorry about the OT

Joel, your tsuba looks real enough, first of all. Most likely a late Edo piece which has lost much of its inlay. It used to have inome zogan (check the meaning of the term here: http://www.shibuiswords.com/glossary1.htm). This has been lost possibly due to low quality of the work. BTW, your pictures are really too big. They take long to load and take up valuable space. You could make them smaller with maybe one hig-res cropped pic as an addition. Enjoy your antique tsuba on your sword. Don't clean it, don't oil it, just leave it as it is.

Location does make a difference. Tang or Sung antiques, sold for $50 or $100 from China. Would you buy them as genuine?

One big ko-katchushi with gorintou ko-sukashi and Amida yasuri?

Not bad for the first tsuba Actually, I like it. The iron looks good on the picture, the tsuba must feel good in your hand. Do I see traces of gilding and black lacquer?

Thanks for the pic. This is completely different and the signature here shows that it was done in a very confident manner. It is strong indeed.

Micha, thanks, this was the sort of answer I was waiting for - you point out precisely what you see as a deviation from known signatures. To be honest, I haven't studied the signature much - as already said, this is a yari from the collection of a friend... I should be grateful if you could indicate which generation the forger was trying to mimic? I know this blade will be submitted to shinsa, and I will be happy inform about the results.

Micha, one pic is attached to the first post. Gimei? Maybe. What is the reasoning behind your statement?

Dear All, A friend of mine has acquired a fukuro yari. What do you think of the signature? It has some history and is accompanied by an origami by Hon'ami Koson. There was an article in the JSSUS journal recently, showing various generations. What do YOU think?

Just to give you an example of this yari (mounted as a tanto)...

Markus, as always...

Dear All, a friend of mine is handling these blades for an exhibiton catalogue. My knowledge of Kanji is insufficient to see more than: NANIWA JU GASSAN URYUSHI MINAMOTO SADAKAZU on the first sword and I would be grateful for a confirmation that the last two on the second sword are SAKA JU GASSAN. and the date is 1975? Thanks for your time

I am just a paltry imitation of Reinhardt

Dear Toru, everybody was a beginner and everybody had to listen to more experienced and somewhat cynical collectors. I am glad to hear that you treat our beloved objects of art with due respect I am confident that your love of art will guide you well in your new passion. BTW, which answers of yours have not been addressed in a satisfactory manner? How to tell fake from real? That is tough one, as some fakes are remarkably well done. This is a mine field, and it is easy to loose money on reproductions. The members of this Forum are really helpful, so you are always welcome to come back with questions regarding this problem (and others as well).

Dear Toru, Welcome to the Forum :D I think your approach is somewhat flawed. Collecting kododgu because you cannot afford nihonto is not the right motivation - your fittings would be an ersatz for the "real thing" and consequently, your studies would never be serious or give you the fun it gives to seriously interested collectors. I dare say that it looks as if you were driven mainly by the desire to "touch" what you see as the quintessential manifestation of "samurai culture" and since you cannot afford a blade, you hope to get exposure through the purchase of fittings. I sincerely hope I am wrong. Collecting is a learning process. It is about studying, not indiscriminate accumulation. Studying is the real fun here. Studying does not necessary mean that you will become a "Fachidiot". If you want to understand fittings, you have to learn Japanese history, mythology, tales and many other aspects of Japan's culture. You may end up falling in love with the Japanese woodblock prints :-) It is a fascinating process and it requires an extensive library so be prepared to spend more on books than on fittings, at least in the first few years. The other way is to ignore all this and just start buying whatever you like and can afford. You will end up with a pile of rubbish that you will not even be able to resell without a loss, just when you need the money when something really good comes along (if in the meantime you have learned to tell the good from mediocre, that is). Just as it is with blades, fittings vary dramatically in terms of quality. Good kodogu are as expensive as quite good blades. Masterpieces cost as much as Juyo blades. Although a blade was meant to be used in a koshirae, they are separate elements. Consequently, to study fittings is a different matter than to study blades. You buy different books, written by different scholars. You need to start with quite a few books to decide what to pursue. That is, unless you just want to buy some haphazardly assembled koshirae with crappy kodogu (available en masse on eBay), put it on a stand and amaze your friends, who will think you have a real "samurai sword". In such case, advice is not needed. I hope you will not offended - I simply do not know what your motivation is and this forum is for those who seek knowledge and not for those who can't wait to lay their hands on a "real samurai sword" (and possibly try it out cutting cardboard). Sorry for the sarcasm, I have seen enough of the latter type. To answer your two questions: you can display whatever you like. But assembling a haphazard koshirae from parts which do not fit together in terms of aesthetics and quality is bad. Displaying such a thing will only testify to the ignorance of its owner. The insert you refere to is called tsunagi. When you buy a good sword in koshirae, the sowrd should be stored in a shirasaya, while the koshirae is held together by a tsunagi - a wooden replica of the blade, with a wooden habaki.

Hi, Please sign with your name (can be your first name) - this is a rule here Read this thread please: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8341 BTW, welcome :D