Kashira and menuki on early Edo Wakizashi

[0Takeda0]

I don't know anything about fittings. I'm wondering if someone can give me any idea about the quality, make, era, of the fittings on this tsuka. The tsuka belongs to a shin-tou wakizashi I have that is in pretty bad shape.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Yasaka Azuma]

Hello Darius. Tuka-maki is a winding method called twist winding, which is common. The material of tuka-ito looks to me in mixed spun fabrics, which is lower grade than using silk.

https://twitter.com/machida_77/status/1284754616979058688

 

At first glance, kashira looks like shibuich, which is an alloy of silver and copper, but copper is exposed in the worn part. Its design is similar to umetada, but unfortunately it has lost fuchi. Menuki is mizuchi (rain dragon) and the design does not match kashira. Tuka-same uses large, good quality shark skin from oya-tubu.

 

[0Takeda0]

Thank you, that answers a lot of my questions about the tsuka