Spartancrest

I recently got this 'maple leaf' tsuba and have discovered [under the usual grime that hides these things] that there is a crack on the ura coresponding to the punch marks made on the omote side. I am aware that a 'blister' on a tsuba formed by incomplete welding is called a "fukure" and have seen some on tsuba that have 'lifted' but was wondering if there was a term for damage done after forging? Luckily the damage is restricted to the seppa-dai and the guard was not very expensive.

You might be right Chris! Could you let the Cleveland Museum know they have another 'dud' in their collection - they have a few and it would be better if it wasn't me telling them again.

Hi Roger I believe this image taken from a guard in the Cleveland Museum of Art shows an iron on iron inlay. The wing tip on the left appears broken off - not sure how that would happen if it was carved from the original plate - Just my opinion.

Chris that was indeed an early "test" and it was reported in a few old English articles - but it does not work on sukashi pieces and from my experience it is far too subjective and you would need to compare a known tsuba of similar dimensions - you might be comparing apples with apples or tomato and capsicum! I tried the sound test on these two - The one with a rim was dull, the cut down was high pitch. [Apples with Nashi?] Dan how many bottles of beer have you got? And what happened to your last bottle opener - worn out?

Jean I do hope you are right with a signature like that! - but when I see four in a row I have my suspicions especially when they all show slightly 'off' faults. Is it a style that Umetada did or is it more Kinai or even Ito? Anyone ever get to buy a genuine Umetada Myoju for $60 ? The other three don't have any signatures so maybe they are copies of mine!

I picked up this tsuba a few months back and it finally arrived today - there is an almost identical guard in the Cleveland Museum of Art 1919.329 [that one is unsigned]. I am wondering what the signature says? I know it will not be ubu but we might get some laughs from it?

Here is another Aoi and blind. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/165754149236

I am not sure a book published by forgery makers is going to be found - it is a little incriminating even if it wasn't against the laws of Japan at the time. Just a thought but are there books of kettle makers patterns? They are not directly related subjects but it is a similar idea - except they were well within the law and not trying to fool anyone. [ Is this thread the longest on record yet? ]

Brian one thing I will pick up on is that cast tsuba makers already had hand made pieces as their pattern book - they are still doing it even today. In fact they just need an image from a book or museum site. They got their schooling from what sells. The example on the right is cast [not in iron I will grant] copied from an existing published piece. I have a large number of these "published copies" this just happens to be one of the latest.

Well I have to agree with some of Fords statements - too much of what we accept is unsupported dogma. Such as the made up stories of pounding Iron tsuba in a pestle to see if they are strong enough to survive use, bullshit no matter where the source came from, Shingen were also meant to be lighter in weight - bullshit. But please don't fall in the trap of believing that 19th century museums could not keep proper notes of their acquisitions. I would love anyone to tell the Metropolitan mueum that their donations were accepted on the wrong date. Or that Bashford Dean did not talk to living Samurai experts. [even if he did have a predilection for Kaneie copies] If we could thin out and leave only the facts from most books - Japanese as well as western, we would have considerably less reading to do than now. It is a little like taking out all the dross and falsehoods in the bible - we would be left with a slim pamphlet. [But who would dare tamper with dogma!]

Jean and others - there is a double handle looking guard like that squeezed nakago one - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/314228230930 Try not to laugh at the title description! It is a type of Bushido I am unfamiliar with.

Anyone want a giant tsuba? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/285038992945 27 cm x 25 cm and over two kilo!

A previously published image of the same guard. Someone please feed the poor dog!

Chris [Vajo], You might be on to something there- the paper has an image printed on it rather than most papered items having a separate photo glued to the paper with a seal over the edges. The paper could be something akin to a photocopy? [or at least a cheaper format] JMO. - of course the images may have been slightly out of focus as well.

Well there are plenty of fakes made more than a hundred years ago - so that would mean by definition they are "antiques" but still fake! These 'new' ones are just getting in early! Who knows in another hundred years all those Chinese alloy copies might be worth something. [but I doubt it!] Scrap prices will probably be up by then?

Ah ha! Like these guys - https://www.jauce.com/auction/v1071973122 https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1071095638 - someone is making these every week! "Old is new again!" Might be the new apprentice putting too much tagane to the metal!

Mark, would that suggest the blade was shortened? It seems a reasonable hypothesis - you might like to explain what "double bohi" is for the beginners, not all are versed in sword blade nomenclature. [I know, but you brought it up - ]

As does boiled bone [obviously when dry- ] About the size of a pencil.

Jean the dimensions are highlighted in the original post, pretty big guard 88.3 mm diameter tapering from 4.4 mm from the seppa to 4 mm on the rim. It is going through auction now https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1071874185 If you use the last part of the code you can find it on Buyee and probably Yahoo as well. [ /s1071874185 ] Ura view. I too had a theory that the guard was "special" and was punched so it could not be used again - but a chisel or file would put an end to that theory.

Has anyone seen a more narrowed nakago-ana? The tang [nakago] would have to be extemely thin to pass through this aperture, so thin you would fear breakage of the blade at this point? Strange. 88.3mm Diam. x 4.4mm tapering to rim 4mm

Another familiar design - not sure but it has a "cast" look to it especially the signature [not helped by a poor definition image.] https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1071842894

Jean, I am not endorsing it - yes there are numerous mistakes and it is confusing "rust is bad, rust is good". No distinction between the different types. Perhaps these things are explained better in succeeding videos? [I am not interested enough to subscribe.] Anyway it might spur better discussion on the subject. Who knows, he might be fresh from a Tsuba no Kenkyū degree?

Just getting back to what is being described as a "fuchi" by the Walters Art Museum. Excuse my ignorance but it looks a lot like a Hamidashi tsuba to me - a bit of both? https://art.thewalters.org/detail/20562/fuchi-with-gold-rim/