watsonmil

Dear Bill, Regarding the steel main spring. I personally have never seen an iron outside main spring. I will not say that they do not exist ( being too definitive with the tanegashima will get your fingers burnt ). I think in your case it is a replacement that someone has fashioned to operate the mechanism. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, The ugliness ( for lack of a better word ) of your matchlock does not stem from the barrel bands but rather the overall lines of the gun. They are just all wrong. The poor quality fitting of the trigger guard to the stock, ... the nailing of the lock to the stock. The stock butt shape is not well executed and actually looks clumsy to grip in a firing position. These are all contributing factors in my eyes. I am sorry but I cannot find any redeeming features on this matchlock. ... Ron Watson Dear Henk-Jan, Yes, ... I read the word hypothetical. Sometimes brainstorming and being hypothetical can lead a novice far from reality. This is the problem I have when trying to point out why a certain gun is just not correct or of sufficient quality to bother owning. There is nothing here in my opinion to learn but to ask advice before making a purchase ... not afterward. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, Henk-Jan, First I'll address Henk-Jan, ... I did not know of your expertise in the field of the study of the Tanegashima. Firstly such a rough looking specimen as this would NOT be used in a Norimono ( sedan chair ). Those who rode in sedan chairs would be carrying a quality firearm, ... not something as crude and primitive as this example. Secondly, ... no the stock on Bill's example is not typical, ... it is virtually straight with little or no curvature. In fact at one point the curvature is curving upward ! Bill, ... if you look at the quality examples of matchlock pistols that you posted, .... do you actually see anything more than a suggestion of the stocks of the posted guns ? If you do, ... then I suggest you take a closer look. As much as Henk-Jan or yourself for that matter want this gun to be something special, .... it is not ! One cannot make a Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, Definitely not military, ... at .28 cal. God alone will know its intended purpose. It is also not of the quality one would expect of a target firearm. Your gun is an anomaly ??? ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, The only sure way to date a matchlock is if it is signed, ... and the gunsmiths signature and working dated can be found. There is a somewhat incomplete listing in Japanese text only ... unfortunately. Some matchlocks ( pistols or muskets ) have an internal spring and others have an external spring depending upon the gunsmith and/or school. I cannot say whether your gun is all original, ... I have some doubts however. It has been fudged with somewhat I think, and may have been made up from a much different looking gun. I simply cannot answer you. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, On the tanegashima ( matchlock ), ... the main spring is pretty much always brass. By all means have a look under the barrel to see if there is a signature. Some tanegashima do have round barrels. It would also be of interest for you to post a photo of the barrel removed to see the shape of the breach plug ( bizen ). A photo of the pan area would also be helpful. It is a difficult little gun to figure out without having it in hand. It is most likely the ramrod is a replacement although some matchlocks did have iron ramrods. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, Well, ... Yes approximately 7/8 monme . Your matchlock looks to be slapped together by an amateurish gunsmith at best. The flash pan ( hizara ) appears to have a hole drilled right thru the center. This was sometimes done so that the pan could be relined, ... which does not appear to have had the job finished in this case. The pan cover ( hibuta ) is also completely missing as is the brass barrel protector ( amaooi ). Also, although difficult to identify the main spring ... it almost looks like steel rather than brass ... although this may be simply the brass having turned blackish. It is never the less NAILED through the lock plate rather than pinned ( not done on Japanese matchlocks that are well made ). The trigger guard is at best amateurishly installed and allows little if any room for the finger of even a child. The stock near the butt is in a shape I cannot assign to any school, ... nor have I seen anything quite like it before. The method of fastening the barrel to the stock using brass bands is known, ... but 4 ... actually counting the main stock ring ( dougane ) would be 5 on a barrel that is approximately 10 inches long ?? This is rather unusual if not unheard of before this example. I do not know what nor whom assembled this pistol or child's gun, ... but it was not a gunsmith but rather a blacksmith. I have been rather harsh in my criticism of your matchlock, ... but I think you want an honest opinion. Take note, ... this is my opinion and others may have a more favourable take on your gun. ... Ron Watson

Dear Peter, How very unusual to find two tuska with stone projectiles as menuki. I have not seen this previously and what is more unusual is that they both end up in the same persons hands ... coincidence ? I will relate what I consider a similar circumstance of strange coincidence. I was restoring a WWI Maxim MG08 Machine Gun. All I needed to finish the job was the Loading Block which was missing. Now MG08 parts are scarce to begin with, ... and I used to keep a personal " wanted " ad on my Militaria Internet Site. Of the many items I listed was ANY MG08 or 08/15 Maxim parts. Low and behold I got a phone call from a chap in Chicago stating he just happened to have one ( among other odds and ends ). I promptly bought it and when it arrived was pleased at the condition and so installed it. Now here comes the spooky part, .... the serial number on his Loading Block matched the serial number of my Maxim. The chances of re-uniting the gun and its original Loading Block after 90 odd years have to be astronomical .... yet it happened. ... Ron Watson

Dear All, Years ago, ... I was told : Women have two places in life and one of them is the kitchen. The second was obviously not museums nor antique shops/shows ! ... Anonymouse Ron

Dear Jon, Please read my second last reply to your thread, ... your gun is most probably early to mid 19th century. Yes, ... the Edo period ran from 1603 - 1867. If you want to make a slow match, here is a link : http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/lunte.html ... Ron Watson

Dear Jon, Piers has answered most of your questions. Regarding the loose breach plug ( bizen ) .... On the Japanese matchlocks, the breach plugs rarely fitted properly. The Japanese technology of cutting thread was not up to standards and consequently the breach plugs were often not tight enough to make a proper gas seal. The Japanese solution to this was to wrap sheet lead around the male thread and then screw the breach plug into the barrel. The lead took up the looseness and once the gun was fired a few times, the fouling finished the job of providing a seal from the inside ! The silver around the muzzle is simply a type of inlay using a technique known as nunome zogan. ( hammering silver onto a filed surface so that the silver sticks to the iron ) ... you can actually see the file marks in your photograph if you look closely. This is not repair work as Piers erroneously stated. Next, ... you mention the inside of the barrel being somewhat pitted. DO NOT ream the barrel out to get rid of these as this is STICTLY against the rules of the Tanegashima competitions ( as is sleeving or adding rifling ). If the gun is not fit to shoot as original ( inside barrel ), ... then you cannot compete with it in regulated competition. A little pitting will generally not disqualify your gun from competition. Next, ... regarding the number 23. This is probably number 23 of a lot order by one daimyo ( clan leader ) for his troops. The inlay work would have been added later as Piers states for the attractiveness of sale to Europeans. It is not the quality of work nor is the overall quality of the gun of the caliber to be a special order for a wealthy Samurai. Your gun is in nice condition and I would place its manufacture at early to mid 19th century. It is not however a masterpiece, ... just a good serviceable firearm. ... Ron Watson PS. My opinion is to leave the inlay work as is. I would not recommend having some craftsman touch up ANY of the inlay as I see it, ... as it appears to my eyes to be good and original Japanese craftsmanship.

Dear Piers, That is most unusual, ... a Sakai/Settsu smith ?? I guess I should not be overly surprised given the free license some of these smiths worked under. I expected to see Kunitomo in the kanji, ... but NO ! The more I see of the Tanegashima ... the more confusing it becomes. After all, ... a Winchester looks nothing compared to a Remington, ..... until the age of the bolt rifle and then it takes the novice some time to spot the differences even though to the trained eye they are obvious. In the case of the Tanegashima often so little follow a standard it is often difficult even for a person with the knowledge and a good eye to put two and two together. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on this by the way. ... Ron Watson

Dear Jon, Your matchlock ( Tanegashima ) appears to be a Kunitomo Gun. We should get a clue once the signature is translated. The town of Kunitomo is located in the central part of Honshu Island quite near Lake Biwa. There are many styles of Tanegashima ( often mixed ) but to my eyes at least your gun displays more characteristics of the Kunitomo than any other school. You gun of course is missing it's ramrod ( karuka ) and I note it is also missing a brass plate which protects the barrel from the burning of flash powder. This brass plate is called an Amaooi. The first thing you will want to do is to check and see if the gun is still loaded. To do this get a wooden dowel long enough to reach the bottom of the barrel. If it stops say 3/4 of an inch above the touch hole then you will know it is loaded with at least powder and wadding if not powder wadding and ball. About half the tanegashima I own were still loaded at the time I received them. If it is loaded and you are not familiar with a ball pulling worm to unload the gun then contact me at : watsonr@mts.net and I shall respond. I also note what appears to be a lack of breach plug end ( usually square ), .... could you please post a photo of the breach plug ? Someone else will have to assist you with the mon on the barrel as there are usually several possibilities. Overall a nice restorable tanegashima from what I can see. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bernard, Another excellent kiseru. Where in the world are you coming up with these ? This last example although much more subdued than the first is never the less very tastefully done. Again thank you ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Bernard, I too am a collector of Kiseru and accompanying accoutrements and I can assure you that the Kiseru you picture is very high quality. Assuming ( not much doubt ) that it is silver, ... the wave theme is well rendered. Someone else will render a reading of the Kanji. It is without doubt the maker's name. One does not see many elaborately carved Kiseru until after the banning of sword in 1871. At this time the tosogu-shi being out of work making sword fittings turned their attention to the craftsmanship of fine Kiseru, tobacco pouch clasps (kanagu ). The Meiji ended the sumptuous laws regulating the use of silver and gold, ... consequently many fine Kiseru were created during this period. Thank you for the photograph. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers There I go again with that terrible word " obviously " ! ... a private joke between Piers and myself. ...Ron Watson

Dear Denis, Although partially covered, ... it appears to be a HO HO bird ( Phoenix ). ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Love seeing the Kanji on the bottom ! Is it inscribed ( cut ) into the glass, ... or an ink notation ? Because you are a collector of Japanese art/antiques, I would strongly suggest you watch for other Japanese made antique scientific instruments. Some are quite amusing and ALL are considered very rare. Even basic instruments such as your thermometer which is obviously Japanese made are quite desirable. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, It looks as though it may hold a thermometer. ... Ron Watson

Dear Barry & Guido, Thank you both for sharing your DTI experiences via photos. Barry, ... I can see what you mean by " sticker shock " ! ... Ron Watson

Dear All, Orientals treat business as war. ... Ron Watson

Dear All, Firstly since most of you are strictly Nihonto, Kodogu collectors, ... there is a whole other world out there of Japanese Art collectors. Here is a definition site for Netsuke Collectors : http://www.janeljacobson.com/netsukedescrip.html Although most netsuke are small sculptures of people, Gods, animals, ... there are also other types of Netsuke such as miniature ashtrays, abumi, tools, and matchlocks ( rare ). The ones you will normally see on eBay are Chinese or Japanese copies or just plain forgeries. The real ones are of a high quality ( such as the one pictured by Lindus ) and do work mechanically. Very few however have a touchhole entering fully into the barrel, and thus cannot be fired ... although there are exceptions. To answer Brian, .... I would refer him as an example to Bonhams Auction of Fine Japanese Works of Art, ... September 13, 2011, ... lot 2019 ... Japanese Netsuke in the form of a Matchlock Pistol .... SOLD ... $ 1625.00. In my opinion, this example that Lindus pictures is at least as good as the one sold at that time. They rarely come up for sale, ... and consequently fetch a good price. In fact the only other example I could find via an exhaustive search was an example sold in 1997 for $ 2300.00 US. ... Ron Watson

Dear Roy, It would appear to be genuine. It is my assumption on viewing the first top right hand photo that the stock material may well be ivory. NOTE the grain in the material, ... certainly not bone, and YES ivory can tone to a yellowish colour. Sometimes ivory is also stained, and although this piece seems to be very yellow, ... it is not unheard of .... or possibly due to your lighting when photographing ?? This can easily be tested by the application of the tip of a red hot needle to an area of the inside of the stock ( the bed ) to see if it penetrates, or just leaves a tiny black mark. If the needle penetrates then its bakelite, if not then its ivory. Given the fact I am almost positive the stock is of ivory, and the overall quality and detail of the work, .... I am 99 44/100 % sure it is genuine. There are Chinese copies out there BUT none are of this quality. It appears to be a winner, ... value is always subjective, but I would suggest current auction value to be between $ 1500.00 and $ 2000.00 US perhaps a bit higher. ... Ron Watson

Dear Mike, Do not polish the brass, ... leave it alone. Also, I am happy you are going to attempt basic restoration. If I can be of any assistance you can e-mail me at my personal e-mail address: watsonr@mts.net ... Ron Watson

Dear Henk-Jan, You've got to be trying to pull my chain ! ... ... and you're succeeding . We're discussing a fine Japanese Art form here not something resembling a bloody Picasso. ... Ron Watson