watsonmil

Dear Contributors, I look, and I look again at the fittings on Matt's sword, ... and I DO NOT SEE that you can judge these as being necessarily showa-to, .... or if they are that they are of such POOR quality that they are unfit for anything but contempt. The ones offered on eBay give the appearance of being a cheap copy, .... with that I agree. It was not unusual to copy older examples, as can readily be seen in the proffusion of tsuba of virtually IDENTICAL subject BUT of varying QUALITY. Certainly Matt's set are not GOTTO which some of you seem to think is the only quality worthy of appreciation. Without Matt's set in hand to examine I think it impossible to completely dismiss his set as being showa-to, ... or if they are that they are necessarily of poor quality. Some people find Gendaito to be their cup of tea, .... to me they are of NO interest. This does not give me reason to dismiss them as being " less ". Some are quite good, ... some not so good and ALL find a treasured home somewhere. I may not be an expert on fittings, ... but I find it hard to fathom that these particular fittings are so terrible from what I see. ... Ron Watson

Dear Matt, I notice the menuki match ( or at least go very well with the fuchi kashira ), .... being a sahai, and gunsen ( war fans ). I doubt very much if the sword is showa-to as well. It may have been remounted in showa times, .... but then I have swords remounted MUCH later. I think on the whole the combination is just perfect. But then, .... my eyes are getting old . ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, My guess : .............. Execution Grounds .... Ron Watson

Eric, Beauty / Value is in the eye of the beholder. ... Ron Watson

Dear Mark & Matt, As I stated previously, .... I like the set VERY MUCH. I can agree with reinhard, that the workmanship is not perfection, .... but then NONE of us are perfect. The work appears to me at least to be similar in style to a Myochin School example ( except I believe the Myochin are always iron ) pictured in B. W. Robinson's book " The Arts of the Japanese Sword ", ... plate number 50. Whether the piece is Showa-To or earlier I personally could care less. I like the subject, I like the execution, and I AGAIN thank you for posting. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, .54 inch caliber = 13.72 mm = 4 monme. For God's sake Piers quit sticking your fingers down gun barrels ! One of these times you'll find it stuck :lol: . ... Ron Watson

Dear ALL, If anyone is naive enough to believe that Japanese dealers are above selling reproduction and/or outright fakes just because they are dealing in artifacts that are culturally from their homeland, .... think again. I am sure there are many Japanese dealers who are completely honest, ... but from my experience they are just as many prone as any nationality to dishonesty. I've noticed on the NMB a tendency to accept whatever the Japanese say as being the last word on the subject of Japanese Art and artifacts. I can only smile at this, ..... given that the Japanese probably have faked more signatures on swords, Netsuke, Bronzes, etc. as examples than any single European nationality ever thought of faking signatures on art works. This often done at the actual time of manufacture in some cases 100's of years ago ! We occidentals do not have a corner when it comes to forgery. It is a WORLD WIDE phenomena. ...Ron Watson

Dear Grey, I assume you are asking about one of the rather long matchlock barrels. If so these are not overly thick, ... and since you are not likely to be worrying about shooting it, .... you may simply be able to but it in a good vice with a block of wood on each side to protect the metal, ... and gently bend the barrel using your hands and applying opposite pressure to the bend. A little trouble to explain, ... but not impossible. You may have to adust the positioning of the barrel in the vice as you continue to straighten. If you care to phone me this evening and e-mail me a photo or post a photo of the overall barrel showing the extent of the bend I will walk you through the task. Alternatively, ... you should be able to find a competent Gunsmith who will straighten the barrel satisfactorily. I will PM you my phone number and e-mail address momentarily. ... Ron Watson

Dear Mark, I'm a little surprised at the lack of responses to this post, .... I can only assume that like myself most are too green with envy. Congratulations Matt, ... I wish I could be of more technical assistance, ... but I am far from being an expert on fittings, ... but I do know what I like ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, A huge amount of replica and fake material is coming out of China. At an average factory hourly wage of 75 cents US, .. it does not take a PHD in economics to figure that someone with a little talent working as a " cottage industry " can turn out this stuff in an array of slightly different styles. One cannot blame the labourer whether he lives in Canton or Timbuktu ( Tombouctou ). The real culprits here are the people ( dealers ) ordering this stuff and the venues like eBay and the Japanese auction sites willing to handle it. The artifacts of the samurai are not the only target of fakers and dealers. Here in Canada there was a fellow producing the very rare " Indian Trade Silver " of the Fur Trade era. He not only was faking ( making ) the items, but wrote a bloody book on the subject which was taken as gospel by some of the big auction houses, ... who in turn sold some of this stuff as genuine. I could go on with examples of fakes in the American Civil War artifacts. The sad part of all this is that once these items are in circulation, ... it decreases the value of the genuine. Once collectors lose faith by being burnt, .... there are that many fewer to carry on and study and purchase from those of us who are by necessity of our mortality wanting to sooner or later sell. Unlike ... P. T. Barnum, ... I believe that there are only so many fools in the world and since most of these have found their niche in Government, ... we may soon see an end to collecting as we once knew it. ... Ron Watson

Dear JPH, In trying to visualize what would happen by putting a twist rather than a fold, ... I should think that this would actually weaken the metal structure, as the smith is going to have to hammer each of the cross-sections many more times than the flats in order to come back to a flat billet surface. To answer your question more simply, .... No, ... I have never seen evidence nor read where a Japanese smith has ever used such a technique. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, I've always been told size does not matter, ....... . Since you ask, .... mine are 3 3/4 inches in length, ... and give or take a fraction of a mm all are 9 /16 inch wide. AM I ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE .... that is the question :? . Very neat examples pictured by the way. ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, I seem to be taking on the role of spoiler, .... BUT never-the-less I DO NOT like what I'm seeing. When I started out collecting Japanese works many years ago, the fakes and/or copies were EASY to spot. The first of the fake Chinese tsuba were so terrible they were laughable. The Netsuke for instance were so poorly executed that my 8 year old son at the time went with me to a big time Doctor's home to look at his collection, ... and he picked out the fakes one after another to the astonishment of the good Doctor. I lost this son to a very rare type of cancer. He was my protege, .... God would he have been something .... having such an eye at such an age. Just one of the bones I have to pick with the Almighty should there actually be one which the way the world is going I'm beginning to question ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, The basic jitte appears to be quite alright. It may well have had the sleeve with the rather poorly SOLDERED on dragons added at a later date. Note in pictiure # 10 how the sleeve metal looks crushed and forced against the iron fork ( kuchi ). Not the type of work expected in the Edo or Meiji period for genuine craftsmanship. Note also the dragon on the butt end being simply wrapped around and soldered into place loosely. Again not my opinion of the workmanship one would expect. It may be all quite old, ... but it looks like additions were made after it's original form. Just my view ..... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, I was looking over the photos you posted again, ... and I notice : 1. Both barrels have identical inlay around the muzzle. 2. Both stocks are virtually identical, even down to the depth of the stock/barrel bedding. 3. Both Touch Holes appear to be identically drilled ( note the counter-sink, ... and exact placement behind the rear sight ). 4. Both appear to never have been fired, or at least show NO indication of burning around the touch holes that I can see. 5. The blueing, and the amount of wear on each is pretty much identical. I'm beginning to be rather suspicious of them, .... as they both are in the possession of one dealer, ... and are just too similar to have been made by anyone but ONE maker. Again I am not saying the dealer is dishonest, .... as the reproduction and fantasy items are showing up on too regular a basis, .... and without a solid background in Japanese weaponry it can be VERY difficult to tell the genuine from the fantasy items and/or forgeries. This dealer certainly has some excellent pieces in European and other weapons, .... so I would say he may not realize the items may not be correct, .... or of course I could be incorrect, .... and it is simply coincidence that he aquired both somehow . ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, I just do not know. I have a great deal of trouble reconciling these type of items with being " powder testers ". Outside of telling one that the powder will ignite, ... they measure absolutely nothing. I have had many eprovettes ( powder testers ) over the years, ... albeit European and American, .... and ALL were capable of measuring STRENGTH of the powder ( in fact further down the same page is an eprovette item # 1902 ). Eprovettes come in many different shapes and configerations, ... but even the most basic are more complicated than these POSSIBLE Japanese examples. I Think they fall more in line with the very small ones being either Nesuke, or alternatively Priming Powder Dribblers. These larger examples, ... I would suspect are more to do with either SIGNALLING, .... or as a Novelty Item used in conjunction with Fireworks. Europeans did use small cannon to give signal of approaching danger by a loud NOISE. Their examples sat flat on their butt and consisted of a barrel only with a touch hole. Loaded with a charge, and heavy wad they were ignited by touch hole, and made a loud bang as a signal. These Japanese items IF they have any great age are something of a mystery. Interesting items, .... but I have some scepticism. Ignor the " sights ", .... for some reason if it were related to gunpowder, .... the Japanese afixed sights even if said sights were totally useless. My guess is that they may well be " signalling devices " ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, They may be powder testers, .... or simply novelty items, ... designed to make a loud bang with smoke. What are their barrel lengths, OA lengths , and bore diameters ( caliber ) in inches or in mm ? ... Ron Watson

Dear Steven, I would concur with Mark, .... a tired old man. The amount of metal you would lose in straightening out and sharpening the lines I should think would make a new polish impossible. It is obviously a very old sword, ... but not really even a study piece any longer. That would be my opinion. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, I doubt if it is Teppo related. It looks like it might have been used for just about anything. A flint and steel ( strike-a-lite ), tobacco pouch, ... change purse ?? For what you have invested, ... it is worth the money just as a converstion piece. Interesting none the less. ..... Ron Watson

Piers, A ball starter is pretty much as you describe, ... for ramming a large caliber ball ( or at least getting the ball well started ) Thinner ramrods simply snap under the much greater pressure in starting a large caliber ball down the barrel. ..... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, A serious question, .... on the far right in the photo is a long rod with a mushroom shaped top. Am I correct in guessing this is a " ball starter " for a very large caliber Tanegashima ? All I can say regarding the Portuguese who sold the first Tanegashima for what was in reality a fortune, .... is that .... if legend is true, .... and a later Portuegese gentleman sold the secret to cutting the Bisen ( breachblock ) threads to the Japanese Swordsmith for his daughter in payment instead of for gold Ryo, ... she must have been quite some beauty :D ! What a few months at sea will do . ... Ron Watson

Dear Chuck, Personally, ... I have only seen them pictured. I can't recall ever seeing one for sale, ... but that counts for little. I should imagine that unless one turns up in some used book store somewhere as a new find, ... all that are known will already be in major collections. ... Ron Watson

Dear Bill, Could you post a picture ? ..... Thanks, ... Ron Watson

Dear Chuck, There is absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of. The Japanese used pattern books. It is quite possible to have two tsuba that are quite similar, ... but slightly different. Having said that, ... to see two unusual subject tsuba on the same venue ( ebay ) at the same time is reason to question, .... therefore NO reason NOT to question. I am not an expert on Tsuba or other fittings, ... but FAIR WARNING, ... the forgers are getting better. They may well destroy this field of collecting given a little more time and finess. I don't know about the rest of you, ... but after what I have seen lately in yanone for example, ... I am very leary about buying from just about anybody without a 100% return for ANY REASON policy. I care little what the dealer says, .... without the item in hand and EVEN then ... as I've already stated buyer be VERY wary. ... Ron Watson PS> REMEMBER if you want something bad enough, ... you will often not allow yourself to see the questionable. You, .. no ALL of us are guilty of this fault. It is difficult to overcome, .... and some never do !

Dear Piers, Putting on a display like that is not only time consuming, ... but I can only imagine the discomfort your voice box must be suffering. I would hope that not only the folks you got to explain the "obvious" uses to, ... but ask anyway as their way of appreciating your efforts, .... but also members of the NMB will realize the items they are viewing will only rarely be seen in some of the best of museums. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that for a collector and enthusiast there is no greater reward than seeing people's faces light up when viewing, ... and learning. . PS> Even the sword is sorta OK to look at :D . ... Ron Watson