ggil

If you have an eBay account you can contact sellers no prob. If the lines in the rim are tool marks then I feel pretty dumb. I really don’t know if the tsuba is worth the money but it did tempt me. Nobody went for it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Modern-large-size-tsuba-The-big-dipper-Moon-Japanese-sword-metal-fittings/292801478183?hash=item442c53fe27:m:mxgbM5yuHpgmvO90GhYx5QA Not trying to pitch for anyone just sharing this with y’all. The plate was well forged with evidence of being well uniformly laminated. These may be considered toketsu (not sure), if anyone wants a piece with this feature. Look at photos showing the mimi, and you see fine even masame lines showing well controlled forging. this seems like a good price so I wanted to share. Maybe someone is in the market for a large tsuba? Only 4 hrs to go so hopefully price not driven up with this post. best bet w eBay is to use a ‘sniping’ tool also, whereby the app bids at the last second for you, thereby hiding your max bet from others (they could bid up and over you otherwise, before the end)

The expert that helped me avoid this casting A few years ago, was Ford Hallam San. Thanks very much for your help around here Mr. Hallam... and others who educate us would-be chumps. While not always the easiest of tasks: helping out a chump, I really don’t see the harm in trying to help someone save hard earned cash. you never know the next person you help may turn around and help 10000 others, in small part based on the normalization of kindness and concern for strangers. I for one sure appreciate it, just as Patrick probably does.

Kimmo, Thanks for the excellent contribution!

That is pretty harsh, even though it’s a likely scenario. Gotta have a good window to know for sure, I would think. Would the window be done on the tip, then you get a decent stabbing weapon out of the window cost, but then again Stephen is probably right and no reason to give away money

Mr. Buck’s Book shows how to make a jig out of plywood, and a piece of A blade that includes the nakago, I got a cheap wall hanger to chop down for that purpose. Pretty cheap and easy. Hashigami help here: (this person tested various materials and found a really strong Japanese mulberry paper and dyes them - awesome!) http://www.cottontailcustoms.com/hishigami/

Tom, will you please let us newcomers or otherwise don’t have the article know what the rules were? Likely a good point of instruction

It isn’t that much you can do it, and it will probably push the quality of your work knowing you have a traditional tsukamaki jig that stays put. also they are quite portable so you can repair a tsuka in a back bedroom of the in-laws house!

Tsuka ito: best advice is in the book. Fred Lohman does ito, so maybe become pals and there you would probably get some really good pointers. Any taukamaki folks in SoCal that Dwain could meet? I don’t know myself. I know you need a blade section that includes a nakago and a few inches of blade, to make a jig with that will hold the work and allow you to easily flip-flop as you work one and the other side. Maybe a good way to deal with this Is to buy the cheapest blade (or lower section) you can so you can get your jig all set up. Maybe a cheap piece of steel would work but then you’d have to machine the shape prior to drilling the mekugi ana (multiple holes for various sizes) along the nakago, which is a P.I.T.A. If you buy an old Japanese blade part for this you may be amazed at how much work it is to blunt the remaining edge as some Japanese edge steel is freakishly hard.

Take your time I’ll hold if for 2 years for you if it takes... it’s yours

Dear Bruce, I am dumb for posting above, and in general. Truth is that I don’t know. To me, the era is one that Japan was probably always loath to forget, probably even right in the midst for most. Imulating others and disregarding their own beautiful traditions. I have seen just a couple with German stamps, but always thought of the blades that are shaped thusly to be German, but probably just the design and they were made in Japan. I don’t know. I’m sure you forgot how full a crap I am since I haven’t posted for a year or 2. Dear Martin,I have the Dawson’s book and want to unload it so just give me an offer. I’ll sell it for $80 but just give me an offer if you want it. The shape of your blade isn’t German as it has a kissaki and shinogi zurkuri shape but too thin. I didn’t look at the picture very well. I agree probably machine made in Japan. Is it oil hamon or etched? Most were etched. Pretty cool anyhow.

I am likely wrong, but I always consider blades like that to be German made. After Franco-Prussian war Japan was all over the German weapons and war strategy. Before that maybe there was a French influence? Nice looking piece! I especially love the naval dirks, probably because I have one that is not bad and a forged and oil tempered (I am sure it’s oil but it does trick people it’s nice) blade. Jim dawson’s Book is the best reference for these, I believe. Grey Doffin (NMB Contributer) sells books for good prices, and is a nice guy (Brown noser award of century here). Grey we’ve met and you are a nice guy so there.

To expand on what Jean is bringing up, and to gain knowledge: are the F/K typically glued on or simply tightly fit? I have glued them when making a tsuka for a blade with very large motohaba and only regular sized katana f/k, when I consider the F/K to be more critical to safety. Otherwise I have only made a tight fit. I have seen glue remainents inside a Kashira (the tsuka had ito not just same) so I assume many were glued on... I also bring this up to reiterate the old wisdom or never handling a blade roughly when it’s in shirosaya as the tsuka is only rice glued (maybe just the saya is rice glued?) has no f/k, or ito, etc.

If I was going to try and carve out new Tsuka or saya, then I had better have some decent examples to study or a teacher, or both ideally! I have at least 4 different stand alone Tsuka to study, and have purchased old ones to steal the f/k from, but you gotta save the old innards to study and hopefully gain insights from.

I found a place to get American magnolia wood in rough cut 1” boards for cheap, but really it is probably best to buy honoki (Japanese white magnolia) over 1” rough cut boards because (maybe mine are shaky?) handsaw splitting 1” doesn’t give much room for error when later shaping takes place. So far I haven’t done much besides age it. I will send you some to play with if you want just PM your info. Can chisel both directions ok like honoki, and it is as soft as the tulip poplar you are experimenting with (but with likely less rust making properties like its Japanese cousin).

I’ve seen this exact casting go for $900 on eBay, a few years ago. In that instance I was saved from Buying it by an expert I met on this forum. Trust Steven he is looking out for you. Don’t worry, this Tsuba has tricked many many people over the years.

Ubu ha is seen by the unsharpened edge near the habaki, Incase anyone’s eyes didn’t pick that up from Rays pic. The blade wasn’t polished recently, Stephen (oops, sorry), that seems assured. -Grant G

Fred is tops fellas. He's president of one of the oldest clubs in the US. Many of us have come to really appreciate his sharing of treasures and research. He is knowledgeable and honest, so I very much doubt any website errors would translate to more serious issues. Thanks Ray for the heads up!

From what I recall about masamune (we had a soden-bizen kantei blade this Sunday) his works are thick and wide, often having wild hamon that goes quite a ways into the ha. The Soshu style of making blades so hardened in the edge (having profuse nie) with so much meat in them, so that they could cut through many less hearty blades. The soshu style was so popular that it proliferated throughout Japan during the late 1200's. The nanbokucho era blades reflect the popularity of the soshu blade advancements, in their huge sizes and extreme edge hardening, etc. The soden-bizen blade we saw had masame near the ha which changed to itame in the balance. The pattern was midare with choji, and the blade reflected bizen (has some utsuri and vivid choji parts, with itame and maybe mokume grain), but was drastically thick (maybe 14 mm at widest kasane, having diamond-ish (?moroha?) cross section mind you) and wide, with hamon wildly and thickly done in parts, with some small tobiyaki, and all the nie you expect from soshu. The masame in the ha made very vivid hamon activities also. While the blade was freaking huge and had to weigh a good bit, the thing didn't feel heavy at all. Just goes to show the attention to detail of the smith maybe, or an understanding of mass distribution who knows... Your blade doesn't make me think soshu den, but koto: due to many polishes (ha has receded from ha-machi), but lacking reverse curvature makes me think not very old. Maybe it's just the relative size difference, but to me soshu works have smallish looking nakago. Yours has a larger looking one, just my 2 cents. Don't really know, but I wanted to put out the bit about soshu den. Please correct my errors/generalities, becuase I'm just beginning to learn nihonto. Also, this post is in tosugo section, so maybe nobody interested will see it???

.94cm????? Quite an amazing blade with some DEEP bohi. A feat to forge and/or a lot of metal to chisel? The huge shape seems quite unique! Pretty damn hard to bend that! I wonder what the providence of the blade is?

If I could just like a post a million times! A good polisher could probably fix the ware, or stabilize and hide it (just guessing). The tip looks to be ~8mm thick too! You would think that would be specified?

better pictures please? Any clubs in your area, or anyone close by wanting to check it out (duh all of us!)???

Please delete

Diamyou54eb has one on eBay, but with odd papers and claim is marumachi but it has the Shinto masame in the shinogi ji, some hada ware, and therefore seems overpriced to me but I guess maybe they are rare???

Quite welcome John! The nihonto examples are very alluring. I'd think that the kyo gunto handles (with nihonto) would be uniquely made to fit the blade, and thereby be a great way to experience the excellent Japanese chraftmanahip. Good luck in your hunt!