remzy

Maybe im going nuts!

ahAH! i cannot tell you what the metal is or the date of creation but what i CAN tell you is that these on the tsuba are Ginkgo "almonds"! they are not really a seed as the ginkgo has eggs, but the Japanese and chinese hate the harder part of the eggs as delicaty in merry occasions such as marriage and the like. These "almonds" are still eaten today and still are a delicaty, but eating too much can cause tummy hache so.. dont gulp down too much! Heres a picture from one of my book about ginkgo. I dont recall ever seeing such a design before, the craftmanship is passable but i like the theme. Theres always a chance that i might be wrong but i think im right this time.

I suggest posting a picture here and if the damage are not irreversible as far as metal goes, you could bother Ford Hallam and ask him if its worth sending over, if he has the time/interest to restore it.

Garbage VS mounted blade in polish, easy decision to me!

Altered nakagos cannot be saved, the metal is gone and scared forever to remain a piece of junk with a former glory, it sucks, its sad but some ignorant people just shouldnt handle antiques. My first expression when seeing this was "What the f...?!" why didnt he had a new tsuka made instead of altering the blade it is supposed to preserve. I have a koto tanto thats presumably gemei of kanemitsu, hard to be 100% certain as the blade is in about 50%polish, the tanto is bizen den with a few hadawares, dimensions looks rather similar but im not certain. Edit to add: but im not saying this to tell you to buy it from me in order to put it in your mount, mounts are made for one blade specificaly and you cannot swap them like youd swap socks!

Too tired to open a new topic : Just thnk to this What were the reasons a samurai would have had to have his sword polish...? What kind of polish/result did he expected? Answer : Only Practical ==> not unlike cleaning a gun after a battle ==> a good craftman must have good tools. Samuraï=duty==> his weapons mut be always at their top using ability for serving his Lord. A rusty bent dented sword needs togishi help ....BTW, that was the success of Mino swords, not artistic but reliable, cut well ability and did not ben easily ===> did not need often to be "polish" meaning :eliminating deep rust, removing dents/chips, straightening.... I beg to differ Jean, i love Mino den, sanbonsugi hamons are among my favorite! I absolutly adore the Tadakuni wak i have over here. But yes, mino swords are quite stiff and sturdy in general! sorry for the off topic.

My personnal impression is that the flaw was always there but that the techniques of polish used before now werent sufficient enough to show the flaw, i doubt that the seller meant to say that the flaw is the fault of the togi, but i think that the togi is responsible for us finaly being able to notice it. Only shows the skills of the togi, beside, i dont see how you could cause this sort of troma to a sword when polishing it, especially since the previous state before polish wasnt so bad. Edit: nvm i now see that he realy think that its the togi's fault.

I wonder why there is a katana tsuba on a tachi mount, the carving is upside down, might not mean much but still made me go "hmm".

Just remember to work very slowly, its abruptness and attempt at "getting it done quickly" that will most likely break the patina! Look at Milt, he is Zen and happy because he stays up late at night to rub his tsuba

What Nick said, but lightly oil every two or three wiping of uchiko to lubricate and help dirt get off, perhaps it will take some off the stain off but i doubt it will get it all off as acid job usualy mess the steel internatly.

Looks legitimate to me, what did you had in mind Milt, see anything suspicious? The seppa day is a bit oddly shaped, so is the rim but it all look akasaka to me.

Thanks Rich, nice job.

Regarding the first one; im not certain the patina is how its supposed to look, infact the whole tsuba has a really .. excuse the term here, amateur feel to it. Perhaps because it has got tempered with but judging from the shapes, i dont think thats the case. The scratched lines to define the seppadai and the ridge are odd and out of place, the lines are hesitant. I dont know, i am not an expert but all the akasaka tsuba i have seen showed elegance, refinement, smoothness and a profund sense of aesthetism.. excuse me if i insulted a master tsubashi but, i dont like *this* tsuba. All that is my humble opinion, wait for the others.

Milt, im drooling dude, nice sword! and Big Mo has done an excellent job at restoring it too!

I always KNEW there was something fishy about sushis!!!

Oh neat, i like the right one alot, any idea who might have made it (school) and if they are from the same? doubt it since one shows paterns and the other looks quite smooth. edit : hum btw Milt, do you have your geese hunting license ?! hum i mean cranes!

*place a big cup of sake on the forum floor to lure Ford back*

It is very hard to tell from pictures when not experienced as i am, but i too, sniffs a hint of Higo.

I was left with the impression that Nie was a term that refered to a steel crystal type occuring when hardening is taking place. Because if not, i got Nie on my skin!

I also have one of these but mine isnt very outstanding, so i decided to polish the mirrored surface, it help but without some tin or silver... this thing doesnt reflect much btw, if you really want to invest in restoring your antique mirror, run a search for "resilvering antique mirror" in google to find someone that could do this for you, apparently thats not somthing that you can do yourself.

Either way, if you are looking for someone thats qualified to fix this, Ford is your man! :D

I collect Nihontos because it makes me feel viril and powerful, when i put a wig on my shinto wakizashi and call him Tina, i makes my life worthwhile. (hey, i cant speak nonsence too! )

Hum, makes you wonder why someone hammered the tip like that. What was he trying to do? it probably doesnt matter but still, weird and unthoughtful.

Yes, this is a lovely birds design. Im afraid this tsuba was cleaned of mistreated

Well i think that the chisel marks did move some metal on the inside but i agree, not very aesthticaly appealing. perhaps some copper lining on the inside of the nakago ana would have been more good looking.