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Matsunoki

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Everything posted by Matsunoki

  1. ….and another thing that makes the job so much harder than it needs to be is some of the horrendous Hadori polishes that we see all the time. It’s often very difficult to see anything underneath it with the sword actually in hand let alone with a camera. Many of the swords for sale on Japanese websites look very dramatic in the images with their high contrast polishes but you haven’t got a clue what the hamon or other activity actually is…or even if there is a hamon at all. It also helps no end if you can have someone else hold or manoeuvre the blade while you look at it through the phone/camera screen. As soon and the light falls on it in a way that reveals the details you simply press the button.
  2. Depends so much on the lighting. I took these on a quite old iPhone XS Max using just daylight. Tap the images to get a better look. Not sure how you would improve on them
  3. Don’t think it’s stainless. You can see pretty clear old rust pits on the blade especially in the image of the kissaki area. Cant definitively see a hamon. You can see what looks like a polishing effect where the hamon ought to be but need better lighting and different angles to try and see any sign of hardening.
  4. Interesting…..just when you think you see a “perfect sword” (whatever that is!) you see this little “feature” and once you see it you always see it and it irritates!…..if you know what I mean.
  5. Wonder if it’s a deliberate variant of the “moon over mt. Fuji” seen on some (wartime?) blades.
  6. One of those really does look just like a low full moon over a valley. Thanks Alex. Never seen that before.
  7. Ray, don’t worry…….I get many days like that🙂
  8. Is the mekugi ana on the other side hidden under the wrap? If it was a heavily tapered mekugi the ana could very very small and not obvious?
  9. Unsigned nakago are common for two reasons….. 1. It was never signed in the first place….very common 2. it has been shortened (at the nakago end) and Mei has been lost (also very common) Yours appears to be shortened.
  10. Tsuka maki does look Japanese and seems to have some age. Meiji Tachi “fantasy piece” for eager gaijin at that time?
  11. Meiji 3rd yr 2nd month a day?……a day in Feb 1870? Seems to have a small “spare” kanji in the date?….but I’m no expert so don’t bet on it!
  12. Ray….maybe overlooked to add the images? 🙂
  13. The tsuba subject…rats dressed as humans is actually quite common and very amusing. They are (as here) usually dressed as samurai and carrying naginata, swords, palanquin etc as per real Daimyo processions to Edo. If really lucky you can sometimes (more rarely) discover fox depicted in the same way. Such subjects are quite popular. The fuchi subject could really be any dance or festival celebration although I think the drum depicted is possibly a small gagaku drum.
  14. The tsuba is an anthropomorphic depiction of rats pretending to be humans in a Daimyo procession. Thenfuchi is totally unrelated and appears to show dancers and musicians…possibly children….giving a performance
  15. Matsunoki

    Giant Tsuba

    Definitely modern. Definitely not for a traditional sword. Multi patinated rather than true mixed metal. Depicts the 7 lucky Gods In their treasure ship. Could still be Japanese but made as token/gift wishing “good fortune” Possibly an enlarged version of a genuine old tsuba…haven’t got the time to search right now.
  16. ….and I bet you’re enjoying every minute of it Piers. I love doing stuff like this. Keeps us sane in a mad world. I’ve never even seen one of these before…how/when were they used? Castle ramparts? Look forward to following this one. Excellent. Colin
  17. Can’t understand why any vendor would agree to having their “collection” sold in this was by a big name auctioneer. They would be far better off to select a good lower tier auctioneer who would sell each piece individually. They could negotiate a better vendors commission and even do the descriptions themselves if they wanted to. With just about everything listed on the internet nowadays they would receive the same level of exposure and probably a hell of a lot more enthusiasm. …imo
  18. Sorry Sam, me again. Meant to say you might consider taking it to pieces to do any refinishing. You’d get a far better end result and it would be much easier to do all the rubbing down and prep work. These things often wobble a bit so a quick tap here and there …and hey presto! (Speaking from experience, not theory 🙂) …and don’t use too much glue when you re-assemble it. But I bet you know all that anyway🙂
  19. Spot on Sam. Here’s a quick shot of a knackered Meiji hawk stand that I refinished with the black enamel aerosol and gold mon. I also used a clear topcoat of aerosol enamel. Haven’t used the topcoat that Russ mentioned. In addition I used some gold aerosol to give a dusted area here and there….a technique the Japanese used. I’d 100% go for it. I don’t think you will be spoiling anything important (no offence!) ……..quite the opposite.
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