Please Help Identify Tsuba

[johnnyi]

Hello, this might well be an impossible task, but hopefully the style might be a clue to the maker?

Tsuba is forged iron. There is a  delamination of metal  between hitsu-an and nakago-ana (not shown in photo) which shows the metal was folded at least once.

It is mokko gata with raised mimi. Well worn shigure yasuri and overly large hitsu-ana. There is much tekkotsu.

Size: small, 6.07mm high  x 57.7mm wide   mimi thickness 2.2mm

 

(what appears to be a curve to the right of mei is in fact a curve and part of the mei, and there also seem to be three faint vertical lines at top.)

 

Thank you in advance for whatever insights you can lend to age or maker.  Regards,  John 

[ROKUJURO]

John,

please try again with better photos! 

[johnnyi]

Thanks Rokujiro. Yes, it is a challenge to try to capture any of the mei as it is so worn. Here's another try, but as you can see it will only be be elements of a whole that are visible. Hopefully the style, age (if discernible), size of hitsu-ana, and the forging can narrow possibilities down a little bit?  By the way, it is fine iron with nice ring.  Regards, John

 

 

[Surfson]

First kanji is hard to make out.  Yasushige saku?  

[Guido]

Too blurred to read with confidence, but my impression is "Shigetsugu".

[johnnyi]

Thank you very much Surfson and Guido.  I'm going to try again to post better pictures, but the mei is well-worn. One of our expert members on Owari thinks this is Owari, or at least Owari iron. Do either of these makers fit in with perhaps mid-Edo Owari? Regret my library of mei is scan and have neither of the names mentioned. 

 

Thank you   John

[kissakai]

Hi John

I copied the mei and tried to photoshop it better but without success

You could either try to copy the signature as you have it in hand or look up the kanji for shigetsugu and yasushige saku and see if they resemble your kanji mei

 

 

Grev UK