Machine divots around the nakago-ana

[ZH1980]

Gentlemen and Ladies (are there any ladies on this forum?) -

 

First time poster here - 

 

I recently purchased this tsuba off Mercari.com. The tsuba has what appears to be machine-made divots around the nakago-ana. I recognized this before purchasing the tsuba and simply bought it because it was inexpensive and I like the cherry blossom pattern. I'm posting this because I'm curious if any forum members have seen this before and, if so, if you have any idea what these divots are/were for. I suspect that the divots are a pretty good indication that the tsuba is a modern-day cast, and/or was perhaps attached to something else at some point as some form of ornamentation? Any ideas? I have not seen this on other tsubas, including those that I have looked at on this forum, so am really quite lost about what these divots are. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

I am a fairly new tsuba enthusiast and collector, living in Japan, and doing most of my browsing and shopping on Mercari and the occasional antique/junk shop, but have also purchased some papered tsubas from some of the Tokyo vendors discussed on this forum. In short, I have benefited quite a bit from this forum, including a number of the tsuba/nihonto-related texts recommended by many of you. Thank you!

[Alex A]

Guessing that they were done as a quick and shoddy way to tighten up the fit and stop things rattling around, with regards wrong thickness seppa.

 

Though just a guess.

[Brian]

Yeah, just an amateur attempt at fitting it to the blade.

[ROKUJURO]

Zachary,

welcome to the NMB forum!

I have seen TSUBA (no plural "s") mounted as key-hole covers, so that is another possibility.

To get an eye for quality, you could also check the renowned Japanese dealers of TOSOGU/TSUBA who are easily accessible for you. You will find some addresses under NIHONTO INFO/Links in the upmost line on this site. 

[ZH1980]

Many thanks, all, for the insight! Well noted.

I will check out the Tosogu/Tsuba dealers mentioned.

 

Thanks again!

[Mark S.]

First thing I thought of was some peening marks on an old WW2 rifle of mine.  Originally used (in this specific case) to tighten up a rear sight installed in a dovetail.  Of course there are many other applications in the machining world.

 

[Bruce Pennington]

I have seen this often.  The tsuba wasn't made for the blade specifically, and the punches tighten the ana to the blade

[nulldevice]

18 hours ago, Mark S. said:

First thing I thought of was some peening marks on an old WW2 rifle of mine.  Originally used (in this specific case) to tighten up a rear sight installed in a dovetail.  Of course there are many other applications in the machining world.

 

Commonly used on AR-15 buffer tube castle nuts where you stake the endplate to prevent the castle nut from backing off. You tighten the castle nut and take a center punch and give the end plate a good smack with a hammer to stake it and push metal into the castle nut.

[SteveM]

On 7/16/2024 at 10:27 PM, ZH1980 said:

I like the cherry blossom pattern.

 

Not to spoil the fun, but I think your tsuba design is plum blossoms.

Usually many buds/flowers on spindly, upturned branches represent plum tree blossoms. 

Kind of a quintessential design (late winter, looking forward to spring which is just around the corner).

 

 

 

from https://wakeidou.com/pages/412/

[ZH1980]

No fun spoiled at all. I actually just went back to the seller listing and, you’re right, these are indeed plum blossoms!

 

Thanks again, all. 

On 7/18/2024 at 11:55 PM, SteveM said:

 

Not to spoil the fun, but I think your tsuba design is plum blossoms.

Usually many buds/flowers on spindly, upturned branches represent plum tree blossoms. 

Kind of a quintessential design (late winter, looking forward to spring which is just around the corner).

 

 

 

from https://wakeidou.com/pages/412/