zanilu

Seen too late...

You are right Alex. Probably it is better for the momoment just to use a little bit of choji oil or sewing machine oil, let it soak and then try with a cotton bud to remove the loose rust. The use of oil will at least improve its appearance. Regards Luca

Thak you Sam. Maybe this is a spoosible line of investigation Luca

Charlie It was my feeling too, something not natural, a plant on a trellis or similar. Those inverted U shapes are intriguing. Regards Luca

Hi Justyn I do not see anything suspicious. The gold parts look like standard nunome zogan to me. My two cents. Luca

I see what you mean Markus... I will keep searching Regards Luca

Here is the other side: It could be Moriyama san. Your guess is a good one. However the presence of those inverted U shape elements, the small spheres and the small cross-pieces make me wonder. The inverted U shape can be the trellis supports, and the small sphere buds? Any guess is welcome Regards Luca

Dear all. I have recently acquire a nice Heianjo Zogan tsuba. It is not a masterpiece but it is a nice one ansyway. The design is not the usual karakusa with trellis that. There are those bell shaped pieces that are somehow reminiscent of the koto string bridges. Any help in the identification of the theme is welcome. Best Regards Luca

For the shinken that I use for iaido I use susudake, cut and filed to fit the tsuka and the mekugi-ana. Susudake is smoked bamboo, thst is strong and flexible, far stronger that chopsticks bamboo. I would not trust chopsticks bamboo for my iaido practice. On the other hand if you do not intend to actually use it normal bamboo will do. I usually purchase mine here https://www.namikawa-ltd.com/product/131. Regards Luca

Complimenti Manuel! Congratulations Manuel! Regards Luca

I think it is inalyied Curran. If you zoom on the pictures you see a tiny pieces that is missing showing the inlay recess in the base metal. I may be wrong due to the low images resolution. Regards Luca

Piers The copper wire woven basket seems to have the holes between the wires filled with some sort of stuff. Does my eyes do not meselead me? If this is the case it reminds me of Shingen tsuba like this one: Regards Luca

Thank you Davel and Charlie. Using AI is exactly what I have done. With some training the translations have improved since I have started. The names are still problematic but there are work arounds. I am mainly interested in Kaga Zoban pieces, so signatures and names are not a big issues since thus far I have limited myself to translate figures captions. I plan to tackle the mai text in the future. Let's see how it goes. Regards Luca

Hi Charlie. May ask you a favor? Can you add the romanji reading between brackets beside the names in kanji? I am still struggling with kanji and this will help me follow your interesting posts. Thank you in advance. Regards Luca

Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa...

I have no more time to waste arguing with you Dan. I will not play your game. Luca

Dan Unfortunately for me I have red all the thread from it's beginning. The first few pages were interesting enough. After that it was just you trying to shove your view down our throats. But I persisted in reading this thread just to see to how deep you will go and dig to prove your point. As we say in Italy we would say "Arrampicarsi sugli specchi" that is a figurative way of saying "arguing on the impossibile", in english should be something like "clutch at straws". Every one is entitled to have is own delusions but not to force people to accept them. This thread is a waste of bits. Regards Luca

I used once a PVC tube, checked it in as extra size luggage, it arrived broken. PVC is fragile if hit too hard will broke. I switched to pipes used for underground electric lines. These kind of pipes are made of black plastic and are resistant to hits. This kind of pipes are able to even resist hits from a digger. You can find them in stores selling construction stuff. I have fitted it with a handle, hooks for a shoulder strap and a set of removable wheels to drag it around. Regards Luca

That was my fear Curran! If even you do not know about the translation I have to resign myself. Thank you anyway. All the best Luca

Dear All There exist a translation of the Kaga Kinko Taikan? Is it available? Thank you in advance. Regards Luca

Ben fatto Manuel, complimenti (well done Manuel, congratulations)!

Chemical trails, aliens at area 51, flat hearth, cast tsuba everywhere and now the dealers conspiracy... They sound the same to me.

Ah, ah

For what its worth for the discussion as far as Yoshiro tsuba go I have never found a correspondence between the mon on the tsuba and actual family kamon. They are more mon-like decorations. Regards Luca

Both of them look like cast copies. On the ebay one mei is barely readable and around the nakago-ana there are the same imperfections and defects. Sorry Simon.