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Matsunoki

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Everything posted by Matsunoki

  1. @Dan tsuba, or perhaps we should say Hawkeye? You were right Dan, twice on one thread! I had to get my mag glass out and still it took me some time. You missed out on the cookie earlier but have one now on me…..🍪🍪 Serioulsy - hats off - good spot.
  2. Dan, if you cannot see that the plates are different then for sure you need a visit to the opticians. Being able to see the detail is absolutely vital especially in Kinko tsuba……and that is where I have failed on these. I did not spot that they were of multiplate construction and although they are horrible quality and very poorly restored you are right….if sanmai is what this method is called then you are correct, they are sanmai. This method is obviously a very cheap cheat so I doubt the plates are made from real shakudo but more probably the “look alike” alloy used on Nagoya mono. Shakudo is very expensive. The construction is really only visible on just one image where the interior of the nakago ana is shown although I’m sure those of you who are familiar with them could spot it a mile away. To describe them as shakudo nanako tsuba is a blatant misdescription….so what’s new there….sadly. Nanako work, Finely carved, gold rim….😳😳 Anyway, I’m off to the opticians tomorrow 🙂
  3. So they will happily handle blades of a size that are the size of the vast majority used in violence and stabbings but not a wonderful antique sword. That makes no sense at all but presumably it comes from their German parent? As you say David…insane…..and getting much worse.
  4. Maybe let the dogsbody actually forge the actual blade as well? Really, would competent smiths spend time making knife blades?? Never thought about that before. Even wonder if there were specialist kogatana makers from whom you could purchase blades and then put any old name on them.
  5. Hi Geraint….No I was not teasing! I simply had not twigged these are made from pressed plates! I took one look at the description and another at the quality and simply thought they look heavily restored crap!. Being honest I’m not at all familiar with this type of tsuba. So the ura and omote plates are pressed or stamped as per shiremono kozuka? Are they all this bad? Another way to create the Mino Goto look without the effort? Imo the gilding or whatever it is has been re-done with modern gold plating fluid and hasn’t been done well (usually you use masking fluid to protect areas that you don’t want gilded (as per a restorer I know)) …… as you said earlier….learning every day!
  6. So, to continue the discussion constructively, have a look at this daisho pair on eBay.. First glance you might be tempted to say WOW - but look closely. Have the customary Nagoya mono tagane ato been disguised by punching over them? Look at the really poor quality of the nanako and the poor definition of the seppadai. The heavily rippled plate. The poor definition in the flowers. Then look closely at the gold paint (?) / gilding (?)…..it looks too fresh, too new, and look at how it has spread around many edges of the flowers etc ….looks like it has oozed/flowed onto the plate. It shouldn’t look like that. Nagoya mono daisho tsuba are known to exist. Now, do alarm bells start ringing? Mine do. https://www.ebay.com/itm/356533197486?_skw=daisho+tsuba&itmmeta=01JKQH87YJJVR3K2FWZ75NDH4W&hash=item530308daae:g:Lf4AAOSwZ~NnobvT&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKklPYAfvVjm6mBHHLBasZnwpd57rVVQze96nh%2BTE%2F8q7cnwkkEPrhU%2BDAf%2FLQHFE4nSYWq1fLbz5r2jYXxCTDAhudJihLucxYvTi9zFP1JWY2goCM%2FkYGaIs8F%2FMZgSoDPATgP4P%2B5znsJfd1y2OW7wTb6UmvWr4%2B3%2BlECfeThgT9kirHol7Vw3LAympcR4KPNQUQr96b76IP13EtIWz9nGF14XfPCmL2idnYovXMzwBnG9Gza1LHdt583ygmn4aAIlV%2BQtKwYVwugsjc0FnpxiuC9ZoHH0NUATMG8e0GWMrw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7b_oPGdZQ
  7. Ignore all signatures on kogatana. 99% of the time they are “tribute” ie basically fake and are no indicator of age or anything else. However I’d like to know why this particular widespread practice arose……why put these wrong Mei on these small blades? Anyone?
  8. No, just trying to stay factually accurate. Bye then.
  9. Good job I’m not as sensitive (or rude) as you obviously are. I’m guessing yours would be a rather short list yes? I don’t think the artists I mentioned are s**t but you possibly haven’t heard of half of them?
  10. You just keep on digging Franco. Now you introduce an air of condescension into the thread. Again I suggest you re-read the thread.……and you will see they are not “my tsuba” but a very apt and suitable Lot from Bonhams that perfectly illustrated the actual subject under discussion……which most who took part in found useful.
  11. OK Franco…..tell me which of these artists you have actually owned and/or paid huge money to get restored by the best restorers in the world….. Kano Natsuo Unno Shomin Ozeki Yamada Motonobu Hasegawa Issei Iwamoto Konkan Kajima Ikkoku Suzuki Chokichi Kanazawa Doki Kaisha Sano Takachika …..and many more …..I’m talking Khalili quality metalwork, the very finest ever made. No, avoid the bottom and work your way up. Is that so difficult to understand. Now just go away and annoy someone else. You are making yourself look deliberately obtuse.
  12. Are you so blind that you cannot see that that alone is a valuable lesson? If it helps anyone to avoid buying poor quality that has to be a good thing…..Yes or No will do. Again you entirely miss the point. It was never the intention to illustrate the finest pieces…..it was exactly the opposite….to illustrate the poorer pieces thus trying to give a few warnings/pointers to watch out for. I suggest you actually carefully re read the thread, and then go argue with someone else because you’re in a hole and still digging.
  13. Many thanks. Sounds like you might have had a rough time……Hope things have improved and welcome back.
  14. Good for you. Shame your knowledge couldn’t pick out the better quality one from the two Nagoya Mono. Everyone else got the drift of my light hearted teaser but you choose to complicate it. That was not what I said nor what I asked. Again that is not what I asked. I did not ask to rank them, just pick the best one and it’s pretty obvious when you know what to look for. By having a thorough understanding of the different methods of construction, the alloys used and by handling all qualities from Natsuo to Nagoya mono…..everything in between. The difference between overlay and inlay and the different methods of inlay. The different methods of texture and patina creation. The difference between cast vs cast and hand finished vs fully hand carved from scratch etc etc etc Please be serious. In my opinion you have just decided to be bloody minded and try to spoil a simple attempt to illustrate the difference between Nagoya Mono and the real deal. I posed the question because many are getting caught out by not being able to differentiate. PLEASE go and argue with someone else or start your own thread. I await that with interest.
  15. Dan…..use your eyes. Whoever told you that😳? Sorry, but it’s a Nagoya Mono ie Mr Suzuki. It is a poorly cast and somewhat abused example. It was probably sold with no gold wash…just plain black (many were)If you cannot see that after this thread ……..
  16. Why?
  17. Please do not regard me as a tsuba expert. My knowledge lies mostly in Japanese Metalwork (and other arts) and I’m hopeless on things like tsuba schools, signatures etc. My approach has always been to understand and recognise quality irrespective of who made it. If you can recognise quality (more relevant to kinko work) then you’ve cracked it. Vital learning point (imo) ….quality can never lie.
  18. No, it’s not a trick question! Simply an illustration of how we can look but not actually see unless we know what we are looking at. Someone has paid a lot of money for 2 Mr Suzuki, albeit very flashy ones. The left hand one is head and shoulders above the other two but it is not immedi obvious is it? https://www.bonhams....ions/14043/lot/6099/ Not necessary if you know what to look for.
  19. A lighthearted question…..you can only buy one of these tsuba…..which one would you chose if quality was your criteria…?
  20. That depends on whether you want to learn or not. Being able to tell poor from average from above average from fantastic is surely essential IF you want to build a quality collection. If you just want a lot of tsuba then fine, buy anything. (and don’t believe everything you see and read in museums. Half the time they don’t know either)
  21. Mr Suzuki are NOT repro or fake in the modern sense. They are tsuba made more cheaply and quickly than high class pieces made by higher end craftsmen. Some exhibit definite signs of being mounted and I’ve had at least one sword with one on that was untouched from Samurai times. However it is obvious that they appealed to the gaijin present in Japan in late Edo and Meiji and Mr Suzuki saw an opportunity to make some money…..and made a lot of them in large multiples. In my mind that does not make them fake, just cheap and quick. By developing an eye and increasing your experience so that you can tell the difference. Handle as many as you can and learn by comparison
  22. Why not just do some research on auction websites? Bonhams is a good place to start….you’ll find hundreds of swords together with sold prices.
  23. Sam, Without checking I think that butterfly one is possibly mine!. I bought it knowing what it was and I think I put it on the Nagoya thread! I think we would really need all the pieces in hand to make detailed comparisons but once you get your eye in Mr Suzuki becomes a bit more obvious although they can look really impressive…..eg !!!….caveat emptor! https://www.ebay.com/itm/296961155764
  24. It’s also asking for trouble. Dry firing is the easiest way to snap springs and even snap the necks of the cocks. Why risk it?
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