holmesdl

Dear Mauro, I apologize for misspelling your name in my previous post, I was tired and not paying enough attention to what I was doing. Best, David Holmes

Hi Christian, Patrick, Alan, and Mauru, Thank you for your replies and for the information, I really appreciate it. I will make sure not to polish it but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to store it properly, I plan on keeping it in a safe but what type of material should I keep it in or wrap it in? Also, it seems to me that there is more orange rust on it than when we were first given it and I was wondering if there is anything that I can or should do to either prevent further rust or get rid of the current rust. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am attaching a few photos which show the measurements as it seems from reading on some of the forums that it could help provide more info about it. I will also attach a close-up that you can see some of the rust in (as well as the detail). Again, I appreciate all of the help, info, and advice. Also, does anyone have an estimate of how old it may be or what period it may be from? Best regards, David Holmes

Good Afternoon, On a recent trip to visit my wife's family in Japan, her Grandfather gave us a Tsuba (his most prized family heirloom) so that we may pass it down to our son when he is older. I do not have any knowledge or background in Japanese swords or tsubas and was wondering if anyone might be able to help tell me something about it such as how old it might be or any other relevant info as I would love to be able to tell my son more about it. The story her grandfather told is that his family is from near Aizu and he believes that his ancestor fought in the battle of Aizu (the same battle that the byakkotai fought in?). Her grandfather inherited two swords, a big one and a smaller one, from his father who inherited it from either his father or his mothers father. After WW2 during the occupation he buried the swords as he thought he might have them taken away by the Americans. When he recovered them later, the scabbards were disintegrated but the swords were ok. Unfortunately, when my mother-in-law and her brother were young, he needed money for the family and sold the two swords but was able to hold on to this tsuba which went with one of the swords. This tsuba was very special to him as most of his family's possessions were destroyed during the war so this is really the only family heirloom that he has to pass on to our son, his only great-grandchild. Any thoughts or info that you could provide on this tsuba would be helpful and greatly appreciated. Sincerely, David Holmes