An opinion request

[Thierry BERNARD]

few days ago I posted picture from new Tsuba

 

Material : Iron

Size : 84mmx84mmx4.3mm

weight : 103 g

 

I Received a PM from a member suggesting it could be a cast tsuba ( no offense here! )

here are his points:

 

"I've attached two pictures with certain parts of the tsuba annotated. I've done rubber injection molding and lost wax casting over the years and the parts of the tsuba that I've marked are some possible indicators of casting.

 

Specifically, on the back, the three elongated chrysanthemum petals that attach to the rim are characteristic of a molding defect. The Nakago-ana gives the appearance that this tsuba was never mounted and the angle at the mune is not correct at all. The Peony at the bottom has a "sprue" where it connects to the Seppa-dai, which is also characteristic of casting instead of carving or chiseling. The chrysanthemum at the bottom near the mimi has a casting bubble.

 

On the other side, the Seppa-dai has casting bubbles and flaws and the signature is "rounded" instead of "carved". You can see more of the casting flaws and bubbles on the chrysanthemum at the upper right corner where it meet the mimi. At the bottom, the peony is missing some petal texture due to casting flaws and the chrysanthemum has a large casting bubble near the center."

[Thierry BERNARD]

so I took some pictures

[Thierry BERNARD]

others

[Thierry BERNARD]

!!

[Thierry BERNARD]

!!

[Thierry BERNARD]

with a myochin tsuba for a surface comparison

[Thierry BERNARD]

please don't turn this thread to a war ! I just want it as an educational one!

 

after an examination I don't think it's cast

 

my points are :

 

firstly the size of this tsuba is large and relatively thin which make quality molding hard to produce

secondly what is considered as molding bubbles on the seppa dai can be produce by the folding (see the surface of myochin tsuba for comparisons)

thirdly I am not sure this tsuba were never mounted if it was mounted it could explain why the mei seem not too sharp

fourthly I see some chisels mark in the mei

in one of the kogai ana there is what i think is a delamination ware ( seem too flat to be a bubble )

the metal is not very homogenous an i can't really see bubbles in the chrysanthemum petals it could be chisels mark

 

and finally this tsuba is papered ( I know an old paper )

 

what do you think!

[Ford Hallam]

I don't think it's cast either.

[Brian]

Before Ford answered, I was thinking "this is not cast"

Now I am sure of it.

But the anonymous poster did raise good points, and I think it is always a good idea to go through these exercises.

 

Brian

[Thierry BERNARD]

But the anonymous poster did raise good points, and I think it is always a good idea to go through these exercises.

 

Brian

 

indeed! it's the reason why I decided to open this thread!

 

and I am waiting for other opinions! don't be shy!

 

by the way I am thinking this tsuba was repatinated! what do you think??

[Grey Doffin]

On picture 2123, what is it I see on the edge of the iron? Looks like a thin flange of some type.

Grey

[b.hennick]

It seems to be cast to me. Given the number of good tsuba out there I would pass on this one. The key thing for me is seeing the casting lines in photos 719 and 723.

[Antti]

Picture 7123, flange or some trick of light?

[Thierry BERNARD]

Picture 7123, flange or some trick of light?

wax!

[Alan Morton]

Thiery,

I would be happy to own your tsuba

Alan

[Gunome]

Hello,

 

Look at the hitsu ana carefully.

In my opinion they are too thin to be cast. Moreover, this tsuba seems to have a sanmai construction. Have a look at Pics 7133 and 7138, we can see the lamination crumble at hitsu ana level. It is clearly visible on these 2 photos. So, it appear that it is technically very difficult to believe this tsuba would have been cast.

 

indeed, a very nice tsuba :D