MaxT

Wow this sounds amazing! Is there by chance space for one more participant?

Hey everyone, I was told that one can take part as a guest in the local NBTHK meetings. There will be one this sunday in Manching and I would love to join. Do I have to register somwhere or can I just show up? Also what is the exact location? Thank you for your help! Max

The mei seems to be (hopefully thoroughly) removed.

Do you think it will pass hozon in it’s current State?

Hello Giordy, Thank you for your answer. You summarized pretty well what I already thought… shinshinto, suriage and mumei is truly Not an optimal combination and I also noticed the little hamachi. I am aware that I would need to pay above „market value“. As others have commented it would be a good idea to get it papered before I buy.

Do you think it will pass Hozon in it’s current State? That would of course be optimal

Oh the site is indeed down. Bad timing... it worked fine just minutes ago.

Hello everyone, I am once again asking for your highly appreciated opinions. I have been looking for a new sword for a while now, and happened to find my "dream sword" recently. https://shop.nihontou.jp/products/detail/29727 It pretty much ticks all of my boxes. It's a long and wide blade with extremely attractive sugata, long kissaki, and a naginata-hi (which I find to be irresistable). I also think the hamon is quite nice from what is visible in the pictures. However, it is unpapered and in quite rough shape. Fortunately the seller offers professional polishing at their shop and gave me two quotes by their togishi which are both very reasonable for a blade this size. My question now is: Are there any obvious red flags that I don't see as a beginner? Also the seller offered to send it to shinsa after my request. How do you see the chances of it passing Hozon designation considering it is mumei? Will it be worth it? Thank you all for your help Max

Hi, the second one is mine. The first one is for sale at toushin. https://shop.nihontou.jp/products/detail/31344

Hi Oli, I am planning to visit the Japan Art Fair this year, however from what I can see on the website many exibitors offer mostly higher end swords with accordingly high prices. Do you know if there will be sellers with "affordable" options? Also how do the prices of the Japanese sellers compare with their own domestic offerings (for example seiyudo)? I am tempted by not having to pay the hefty 20% VAT... kind regards Max

small update for those interested, I finally received my tsuba and I am absolutely in awe about the craftmanship. The pictures don't do it justice at all. It has easily become my favourite tsuba, so thank you all again for your help! Also, I just found this very similar example - apparently papered to be mito school? However I like mine a lot more... (and I did not need to pay 550.000 Yen )

Thank you for the tip! I will definitely check out both events

Thank you for the offer, I really would like to visit! Although Manching is a lot closer to where I live than Solingen...

Thank you for the tip. This has been pretty much my modus operandi up to now... and still the above tsuba looks really nice to me (I honestly don't mind the minor gilding errors all too much). Can you pinpoint what would make this tsuba "lower quality"? To my layman eyes the detailwork looks impressive still, and to be honest I quite like the composition... Also this might be a stupid question but isn't shakudo like 3-5% gold? If so wouldn't there be some value in the material alone? (Not that I would ever melt it down, of course - just out of curiosity)

Tank you very much for your answer. Well that is in the ballpark of my bid... I honestly expected it to be worth a little bit more, since it looked quite elaborate for me as a layman collector and the material is quite nice. I really should study more and buy less .

Thank you very much for your evaluation. I originally made an offer for 350 Euro which will be about 450 after taxes and fees... I honestly did not fully expect to actually win the auction as this looked like quite an impressive Tsuba for me as a layman. Overall there were several Tsuba in this auction that sold for little money compared to listings from Japanese dealers. I guess I have to do my homework next time before bidding. Here is a picture of the entire Tsuba for reference:

Also, could someone enlighten me on the manufacturing process of these Tsuba? Is the raw Form cast? Does this look like leftover cast flash? ?

Thank you all very much for your insights. In conclusion I can assume this is a traditionally made antique Tsuba made from Shakudo? In your opinion, what would be an acceptable price range for this piece?

Hello everyone, i made a bid on a shakudo tsuba at an auction in Vienna today: https://www.zacke.at/auction/lot/1648-a-soten-school-gempei-wars-shakudo-tsuba/?lot=95268&sd=1# I thought it looked quite nice, but did not actually expect to win it. Before I make a payment however, I want to make sure the discription is accurate and it is not a cheaply made copy/ cast. The condition looks suspiciously good and The price estimate is also a bit low. any help is greatly appreciated

Well that's quite a bummer... If the original goal was to sell it to gullible foreigners they surely succeded in the end.

Sorry, the part about paint was just guesswork as I have only pictures to go by. I thought it might be paint because you can see it "spill" at the tail in the picture above and how detailed it is for gilding. But I have no idea about these processes. Please excuse my ignorance.

Thank you for your answer, I seem to have been somewhat blindsighted by the details and fine lines. These should not be possible with a simple casting process - so I really hope it is at least not a modern copy. Any insight on how these were made? the gold color is obviously painted, but were these struck/ pressed like coins? Some parts like the river lines definitely look like they were carved/hammered...

Dear Geraint, thank you very much for the explanation! That is indeed quite disappointing. I was optimistic about this tsuba because the details looked to be much too intricate to be from a cast (see attached photo) and I naively trusted the sellers description. Aside from the cheaper material and fake Mei, is there any higher craftmanship involved? How are these details achieved? thank you for any further info

Hi, I'm a new, and honestly quite clueless collector. Early this week, I bid (and won) on a tsuba at a Japanese auction site. I really liked the design and intricate craftmanship - and I thought I paid a reasonable price. Now, just one day later, I see an almost identical tsuba with the same Mei for sale at the same site and (coincidently?) same price. There are some small differences but overall the design looks like a direct copy. My question now is if this is common and nothing to be concerned about, or if this tsuba is just a "mass produced" item without any greater artistic value. (pictures attached) Any insights are greatly appreciated. kind regards Max

Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better. I really like this blade so I am relieved.