Pete Klein

Do any of the attendees recognize this tsuba and what it's attribution was? Thanks much!

I am, as always, looking forward to another GREAT SHOW! Fred W. always does a bang up job and aside from going to the Dai Token Ichi this is where you can run across dealers coming in from Japan. Yoshindo Yoshihara is also usually there.

I believe the piece is validated by the paper?

I am wondering if Grey is onto something with the fukurin idea. If you enlarge the pictures you can see there is a circumferential channel on both omote and ura between the central elements and the mimi which could very well accommodate a fukurin. The mimi patina is also a bit different and seems a bit rough which might indicate a fukurin was placed at one time. I've not seen this before but it could be something associated with the school or perhaps a specific technique of placement to prevent rotation of the fukurin. Interesting.

Excellent!!!

Sorry but what is F & G?

AWESOME!!!

Steven - RKG used 'Cheep' insted of 'Cheap'. That old advert was from my childhood in Chicago and the logo was, Cheep Cheep - little bill as in a bird tweeting and 'Little Bill' was their mascot. It's all just a play on words at many levels which is something I have always done myself.

Cheep - Cheep -- Little Bill! LOL

"you should've checked his feedback ratings..." Trust me, I did. The most recent feedback as of today was from the TBH blade / cutting test which apparently met the same fate. Quelle dommage! Like I care. He can have them for breakfast.

Brian -- Nah - it's all good. I'll find a nice set of menuki instead and be happier!

So - I won this auction and paid for it. Within an hour the seller refunds my money under the heading 'it's out of stock or damaged'. Yeah, sure. Whatever.

If papered it would most likely be attributed to 'Hikone Bori', which is Hikone carving. Hikone is the city in what is now Shiga region where Soten were produced so this is akin to 'Shoami' in utilization but associated with the Soten style of carving.

Thanks much Darcy!

Oui -- Le Jazz HOT!!!

If you're still up - watch / listen:

http://iidakoendo.com/6013/

Could be Sado. Thickness, a lack of refinement and unusual design would go that way.

Thanks for the link. I am so happy for Matsumoto san as he is such a great guy and one of the nicest gentlemen I've ever met. I had the pleasure of meeting him last year at the San Francisco Token Kai. No pretense and very willing to help. I laughed when I read his line about 'finding many more'! I hope you do!!!

Hi - I am attempting to find a first edition volume of the book, 'Shosankenshu' by Henri Joly, 1919, self published. I am not interested in the Holland Publication 1963 forward reprint but only the first edition from 1919. This is for research as I have a copy here but I need a second to view to see if Joly annotated these. If anyone has one please contact me via PM and thank you kindly.

I would suggest you get in contact with Paul Martin about this as he is an agent in Japan, is well connected there and would most likely know how to handle it and / or who to go to.

The menuki DB had were around 40K so yeah, more like a Juyo katana.

They are in the collection of the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum: http://www.sannenzaka-museum.co.jp/index_e.html This is a great book of the collection when you can find one: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b951-late-edo-and-meiji-period-sword-guards-and-fittings

https://yuhindo.com/kano-natsuo/ Robert - I'm assuming you saw these awhile ago but just in case and for others who might not have seen them before. PS: LOL - great minds think alike and apparently at the same time!