Spartancrest

Not number 345 in the book - close utsushi but tagane-ato wrong and nakago-ana longer. Collin's one is not signed so it is just an attribution. [guess]

The way the eyes line up - giving each other a good nasty stare? [Well Florian, if it comes to it - Who has seen a real Dragon?]

I know, it is a long time between drinks - Found this one in the British Museum. No ura view. Total four and counting.

Talking of Tsurumaki I have one with two bow strings in my box of tricks - and no bow!

For comparison there is this one - same theme just different layout. https://emuseum.cornell.edu/objects/9274/openwork-tsuba-with-design-of-a-bow-and-two-arrows

I got the other side for you as well.

Hi Gary. I would say this is a pretty close fit! Owari.

Unfortunately the Met is pretty poor on its information on about 80% of the guards - no more information is available, other than who gifted the guard to the museum. The measurements are pretty close! Do you have the weight of yours?

Wings not fins - https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1059114285 700,000yen - Way out of my pay grade!

Grev, nothing exists in isolation! This is a stock photo - they want to charge money for something already in the public domain. This is a guard found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art no. 36.120.179 Diam. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); thickness 3/16 in. (0.5 cm); Wt. 3.7 oz. (104.9 g)

Alex. Every collector will have a different reason to be drawn to tsuba and other Nihonto. For me I think it is the wonder that we can hold such history in our hands at all. Every piece has a story to tell - it may not always be glorious, some are downright dishonest others are beyond the imagination of mortals. I like Alban's theme method of collecting, in a way that was how I started - I was 'drawn' to ten-zogan [dot inlay] but I seem to have strayed far and wide into different areas as time went on. Currently more into Kawari-gata -[odd shapes] the odder the better! You will have lots of fun finding what works for you.

Hi Alex and welcome to the ride! I would agree with Dan and Alban for the most part - mainly because you have to start somewhere you feel comfortable with. Spending big money on things you are only just learning about can get you into lots of trouble. You might liken it to choosing a dog [bit of a stretch I know]. You can go out and buy a pedigree show dog or pick up a mongrel from the street, you can get the same companionship from both, one you can 'show off' one you can play rough with. Personally I like the road trip, you might start off with 'road kill', but every once in a while you find a bag of jewels that fell off a truck from when the kids cleaned out granddad's shed! See this thread-

I found an old image from 1902 - formerly from the Tadamasa Hayashi collection - sold at auction as "Chased and openwork, Six saber guards. By Umétada.- number 112"

Oh the good old days of just last week! 11,044 yen https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1058868606 BUY IT NOW for 46,000yen - now four times the price! INFLATION INFLATION INFLATION!

Bruno, I think these are the same menuki. A lot of dealers sell on multiple sites. How they work out who wins - I have no idea! You will often see a huge markup on eBay items compared to the Japanese sites, I call it Gaijin prices.

Tsuba on tsuba, I will try and keep this one secret - [small hope!]

I have seen a number of museum pieces recently, that have been badly copied and faked - this one caught my eye today. https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1050961601 The evidence would suggest that the fakes are made straight from the image - I doubt the museum would lend the piece to be copied! [especially so badly] I have been unable to find the ura view of the original, but I would doubt the image is mirror reversed as the fake has done, maybe they couldn't find the ura view as well! The mystery to me is who buys these things?

Something you don't come across every day - Anchor menuki. https://www.jauce.com/auction/m1058509368 I would not think this was ever true inlay work to start with - I would suggest they should have used better rice or fish glue when they were attaching the features. There are a number of guards made this way - unfortunately.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a nice double Shachi Tanto guard.

You want to talk about tsuba reminding you of the past - How about the old movie "Fantastic Four" [Or perhaps it is a case of Monkey-pox?] The original tsuba is 'pox free' and in the V&A.

I think you guys are living in another universe - It is obviously a Pac-Man tsuba!

Harking back to June 7th - I have found a much closer example to the rim removed Phoenix. It is to be found in the V&A Museum. Number M.290-1931 - they can run but they can't hide!

Some more 'bells' without rims from the V&A - a curiously information lacking museum. And the earlier post - is there a hidden face on the lower right of the bell? Or do I have an over active imagination?

Glen, this looks like one recently discussed https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1053959631 This has no rim but obvious it should have. Anyone with a spare rim available? Is it an attempt to resize the guard or is it a repair? Reduction rings = change the size of the rim thickness? One of mine shows the rim was added and welded to the main body. The rim is slightly thicker than the rest of the guard - difficult to see but clear in hand.

There are numerous ways to clean verdigris from copper/yamagane - However I would be cautious as you don't want to remove the rest of the patina. There is a recipe here - I would try lemon juice alone first it is something you can dilute and readily wash off if it is too aggressive. I have used citric acid on one of my pieces with great results , but it was in such a state to start with that there was little to risk. Your piece is not so badly affected and something as simple as a cotton cloth might remove the buildup without going the 'chemical' route. The old adage "when in doubt - do nowt" This is an old Cheshire proverb, 'nowt' meaning 'nothing'.