Marius

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?

Ian, lovely print, thanks There is no doubt now that you were right from the outset. Thanks a bunch for clarifying this. Pics will follow next week (macros).

Boris, of course I don't :-) Here is another one I got from Boris, it seems almost Edo in taste, but is Momyama and the brass is exquisite. Jim Gilbert has once described it: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/irogane2.htm

Curran, Being an evil bugger: have at you!

Ian, I thought this was a synthetic representation of a hunter, hence no arms, legs and details. But surely, you are right, thanks for the info The person who has got the deal is a real gentleman whom I like and respect. I am glad it was him who got it :-) Since I will not be able to ship before Wednesday, I may take some close-ups and post them here. Brian, maybe you would like to move this thread to the "Tosogu" section?

This lovely, little tsuba is now sold. That went fast :D Thanks for looking

Boohoohooh, sniff, sigh Curran has ignored my soft metal stuff OK, here is another try....

Ian, I would say this is a fisherman, dressed in a straw rain coat. But the scarecrow version is very appealing. This would be a sophisticated scarecrow, mimicking an archer. Perhaps to scare off cormorants?

Keith, you are not :-) I was thinking earlier than Edo, too, but the inlay looks Edo, at least IMHO. I will try to do macro pics, but not earlier than next week, as I am away now.

Nice, deep patina and well executed mimi. Inlays in silver, gold and shakudo, representing a hunter shooting a bird. Small, granular tekkotsu on the rim. Could be Edo, maybe earlier with later added inlay. 6.8 x 6.5 cm. Thickness 2.5 mm at seppa-dai, 4 mm at rim.

I am afraid that Toru has just disappeared. I have sent him a PM (unread) plus an email with a list of books. No reply, no "thank you", no "buzz off, I don't need your advice" or any other reply. I am afraid we have wasted our time here.

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.