Hokke

Leave the chickens out of this

Technicalities aside, as a general rule, US military are prohibited from carrying their personal firearms. If they were allowed, the feelings toward “spoils of war” might look a bit different. At the end of day carrying a family heirloom into battle is a choice and so it’s unrealistic to feel entitlement to have anything returned.

This is actually a very simple question to answer. Of course swords collected after a conflict are going to belong to the victor, or anyone else who happens to collect an item once the guns cease fire. The reason is simple, the owners of those weapons did not bring their swords with the expectation they would be returned if they were killed in battle. Therefore the fact that many of these swords were heirlooms or of superior value historically means NOTHING because it was not mandatory to bring your own swords into battle, it was optional which means it was a choice. Even if it were mandated by the Japanese govt for troops to bring any weapon they owned, there still would be no reasonable expectation the weapon would be returned by the enemy. What makes this discussion interesting for me is perspective. American troops, for example, will generally agree with the idea of “spoils of war”. However, is this because they actually believe in the spoils of war concept or do they support the premise out of convenience, because in the US military, so far as I know, troops are prohibited from using their own weapons. I wonder if it were permitted for Private Pyle to bring the .45 1911 that had been in his family since 1911 and passed down through the generations, if he would be more in favor of returning heirlooms to the family if he were to fall in battle.

Well....yes and no. After all, people often see what they WANT to see, regardless of evidence......hence 2+ BILLION christians and two BILLION muslims

Sounds good to me, glad thats cleared up now, thanks for the confirmation

It’s likely one of two reasons…. Genuinely believes they have the original or Purchased it as original and must sell as original in order not to lose money im not aware of anyone here having had the opportunity to actually hold it in hand, so I don’t know anyone can claim 100% that it’s a copy, however, the pictures don’t seem to be ambiguous…

Much nicer in person.....lots going on here

Im sure we'll get a picture of them in about......36 days

Im afraid the implications are far more serious if a site and its operators wish to maintain a respected or trusted status for ANY of their items. Luckily this is something VERY easy to remedy. Additional pictures and an appropriate explanation for the likeness to the numerous copies posted would go a long way to demonstrate both competence and honesty. As for the question of Mr Haynes status......someone here either has to know or knows someone who must know.......I cant imagine that if he passed it would not have been big news in the "community".

So we have a tsuba that is both listed AND not listed for sale, the authenticity of it being both confirmed AND questioned, in the possession of someone affiliated with an individual who may OR may not be alive?

Ok, so if you quoted him accurately, he is representing he has the original. Im curious, when you reached out to him, did you simply ask about his tsuba, or did you mention this thread and the number of referenced copies contained within it? Lastly, did he mention whether or not its for sale since his site lists both possibilities?

ummmmmmmmm ok........but what are you going to do for lunch and dinner?

Must have been pizza day at Bonhams

Yep, kinda went off on a tangent.....my bad But you are right, this never should have made it onto his page.......only proves how pernicious this problem is.

Agreed, unfortunately, I cant imagine so many selling it, and continuing to sell it if they werent actually selling it.

This is another super popular one that you will always find being sold concurrently.

There hasn't been a time in the past 8 months when there hasn't been at least two of these (among others) listed on eBay at the same time from different dealers, for different prices, using the same pictures.

Well thats a mixed message.....hopefully thats the case

Not so sure about that

Thanks Dan, I appreciate your willingness to indulge me. The picture I posted is nothing.....literally. I made it many years ago as a demonstration. It is a simple sterling silver fork which I used to demonstrate cutting, filing, sanding, annealing, bending, geometry, texture and stone setting. My point is this: IMO, when a craftsman "creates" something, it doesn't always have to be representative of "something". It can simply be a blank canvas by which one can practice or demonstrate techniques. It can also be representative of someone just killing some time when they are bored. So, when I look at the picture you posted, and you ask what * I * see......my answer would nothing in particular in terms of a "thing". I see geometric shapes oriented similar to what I have seen in shippo motif's I see radiuses carved that could represent rudimentary hills or mounds. I see hitsu-ana that seem to be offset or crooked and lastly I see gold accent. I dont have a clue what the artist was trying to represent with in this tsuba, but there is a chance it wasn't meant to represent anything at all. We will never know.... I think it can be enjoyable to look at tsuba like a Rorschach test, but not if is degrades into a "my view is more valid than your view", which is where we seem to have gone and that, for me, sucks all the fun out of it.

I will tell you what I see in the picture you posted Dan, but before I do, would you tell me what you see in mine? The isnt a trick or a trap, just a genuine curiosity.

one more Myochin into the mix

Fantastic day......just don't react well to lazy and incompetent

For 3000? Wow, what a deal.......Since you didn't mention the currency and this is a Japanese sword, I'll assume Yen. 3000 yen...I'll take it. Since you didn't mention it, I will assume the cost of shipping is included in the price. Since you didn't mention what countries you can ship to, I'll assume it can be shipped to ANY country. Im buying this as a gift, so it will need to go back to Japan. Since you didn't mention it, I assume you will take care of all the paperwork. If the sword doesn't meet my expectations, since you didn't mention it, I assume you will accept returns for any reason. Since you didn't mention it, I assume the full cost of the return will be covered by you. Great good to know. lemme know where to send payment.

Good looking tsuba.....I like the texture and it looks like it tapers nicely toward the edge. What are the dimensions and any idea of the motif?