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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/21/2022 in all areas
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Hello friends, Allow me to introduce myself Gilles Lavandera. I am a French craftsman specialized in the making of functional miniature weapons. Here is my website > https://www.atelierarmesminiatures.com/ And my YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLDdQQLQ6fDK_n2oUqtgE2g I am making a Hinawajyu Bajyou-Tanzutsu, spelling found on the Japanese website, is it the right one ? I saw that it was often written "Bajo-zutsu", abbreviation ? This 1/3 scale replica will fire .177 caliber pellets. It will be exactly the same as the following model > http://world.seiyudo.com/product/gu-010122/ Reading your posts, it is surely a modified weapon. The belt clip and barrel band are extremely rare on this type of weapon. I think this gun received a replacement barrel. The pins and clevises (filed) on the barrel are missing but the holes are present on the stock. The thin front brass barrel band holds the barrel (not very mechanical). If there is among you people who can give me information on this weapon any help is welcome. I have a lot of nice pictures from the Seiyudo website. They allow me to have a precise idea of the dimensions of the parts with a scale ratio. On the other hand, I am in the complete blur on the lock mechanism. I'm going to make a simple system like on the attached picture. I also have many questions about the pan, was it fixed by dovetail. The stock seems to be split on the whole length of the ramrod! How did the craftsman make such a thin slit? Does the ramrod force its way into the slot and spread the sides of the stock or is the slot glued? You see my questions are numerous because I try to make miniatures as close as possible to reality. To give you an idea of my work the steel barrel 52100 is bored (for convenience .177 lead pellets) precisely to 4,5 mm = 13,5 mm in scale 1 (4 monme). According to the description Seiyudo site, the real caliber was 3.5 monme (13.2 mm). It will receive as on the photographs an inlay of brass and copper at the level of the muzzle. To make this 4-wire braid, I watched tutorials of girls making bracelets! Once braided, stretched, flattened and inserted into the snout, this 0.6 mm wide inlay will receive a layer of protective lacquer like the original Bajo-zutsu ... I'm a bit crazy it seems! Thanks for your help Gilles2 points
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Glen, Its one of the ways they staked the inlay in. You see it on some Ounin and Heianjou tsuba. here's a piece I have (out on consignment) that was done this way. I believe these were originally lacquered so they would not have been visible on the finished product. It would probably be an interesting research topic to try and study ones done like this versus the more "typical" inlay methods... Best, rkg (Richard George)2 points
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... Begin with the Board and the Search... feature and plug in tsuba. Just begin at the beginning and work through the topics and do remember that the Japanese sensei would spend a lifetime studying tsuba. One of my favorite 'sensitising' threads is here: I hope you enjoy your journey, may it be long and fruitful. BaZZa.2 points
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Beautiful work! As a lover of miniatures, I love these. Your work is amazing. Piers will correct me if I am wrong, but I want to point out that the Hinawajyu/Bajyou/Tanzutsu are still Tanegashima/Teppo, just of a different style. So they could all fall under the same classification and are essentially made the same. Just method of carry/use differ. It's like a carbine/pistol/rifle classification. If I win the lottery, one of your products will be way up there to acquire.2 points
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I have had problems with several koshirae getting stuck (no pun intended) with Buyee for various reasons, or no reason at all. They will sometimes give you the choice of paying storage or to have them destroy the item. Their communications are often either bad or non existent. My solution to this problem was fairly direct. I have canceled payment (through Paypal or the credit card company) on more than one occasion, which puts them in a bind. They don't mind holding a "stuck" item if you own it, but once they own it, they suddenly get motivated to solve the problem. I hope this helps.2 points
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Chris, Could I get some shots of the full sword and fittings on this one. It is what we call a Java Sword. The inscription saya "Shiyawaka Sumaran." If memory serves, we call 'Sumaran' Sumatra today. Sumatra and Java aren't the same place, but they were close to each other. They were making Japanese styled swords and the fittings are usually not as well made.2 points
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Seeing iBot's Sakai teppo description of lotsa brass on a teppo I was reminded of these pictures of a teppo discovered by a mate in the 'deep country' here in Australia. There are 15 images I present for your delectation. Any comments will be welcome. No, the barrel was not removed as it was thought to be an 'imposition too far' on the elderly owner. BaZZa.1 point
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I think it's all late-war stuff. All the parts look legit, just lower-end workmanship, including the blade.1 point
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Gilles, Oh, no worries. Your work is not expensive at all. I follow all the major miniature firearm makers, and your work is very well priced. What I mean about needing to win the lottery is that I am unfortunately in South Africa.... about 18 of our Rands to ONE Euro. It's not your work that is expensive, it is our currency that is worthless. It prohibits much of the good things in life. Didn't mean to make it seem I was commenting on the price. At an hourly rate, it is a steal. Looking forward to watching your new projects.1 point
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If you can’t wait to buy, buy papered examples. If you’re sensible and hold off, look at the dealers’ pages in the links section at the top and check out as many papered examples as you can. Avoid eBay and the Japanese auction sites. Also read through old threads in the tosogu section and learn what you can from them. I’ve been fooled and probably will be again as the fakes are getting better but I’ll probably stick to buying papered examples going forward.1 point
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Thank you very much for your compliments on my work Brian. I would be delighted if you could one day afford one of my creations without having to win the lottery. They are certainly expensive but not overpriced. For a Bajözutsu like the one in this project, I have at least 300 hours (2 month) of work (research, plan, manufacture of special tools, etc.). At the minimum Australian hourly cost, this Bajözutsu would be worth AUD$ 6300 = 4300€. 2000€ is a reasonable price for work close to jewelery and to own a unique example in the world. You do not think ? I know what it's like not to have "big money". I offer all my customers payments over several months by Paypal transfer. For example 2000€/6 = 333€ or AUD$ 486 per month. Our world is far from perfect. I like to make sure that the exclusivity of a unique handmade object is accessible to everyone. Gilles1 point
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Merci Piers, si tu me permets de t'appeler par ton prénom, c'est plus pratique et court que Bugyotsuji, mon prénom est Gilles. Je comprends mieux, pour moi aussi il s'agissait d'un "Tanzutsu" par la taille. Merci pour l'info sur la police, je nommerai mes créations Bajözutsu. J'aimerai tant avoir un client Japonais, j'ai eu un Coréen du Sud en 2020. Je viens de lire la réponse de Brian qui est Administrateur et réside en Afrique du Sud. La communauté du forum est éclectique et répandue à travers le monde. Je pensais que le forum était principalement lu et suivi par des passionnés Japonais. Je ne veux pas m'isoler en écrivant en Français je vais employer l'Anglais. A très bientôt Gilles.1 point
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The simple answer is you need some experience and you need to make a few mistakes - like the rest of us. You can always post images of what you are interested in buying, here on NMB, and we will do our best to guide you. I would post just the images if possible, or you may find other people who may be interested in competing with you. Hopefully members would not do this if you make it clear it is something you are likely to buy and have found on your own. It gets more complicated the further into the hobby you go - just check almost any thread and you will see that! "Bad design" - I for one think this is in the eye of the beholder, 'Bad workmanship' is something else.1 point
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Ah, thanks for posting this BaZZa. It’s definitely ringing bells. Recently Jan and I have been discussing which decorative themes were popular in which area of gunsmithing. Someone should research this subject! The samurai head caricature wearing Akoda-Mari helmet seems typical for Sakai, for example.1 point
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God creates the heaven and earth… and then creates man… and then man expects and demands that God prove he exists? Hmmmmm……1 point
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There are smaller ones of course but that one is a Tanzutsu. The police in Japan today do not like the word Tanzutsu, so sometimes it is safer to say Bajōzutsu. (Most people do not know where these definitions cross over.) I can understand your French, no problem. If this site does not have a translation facility, perhaps you could find one on the web… translate and then post here(?)1 point
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Merci pour les précisions Bugyotsuji, 45,3 de long et 25,7 cm de canon, c'est ni long, ni court. C'est peut-être pourquoi Seiyudo l'appelle "Bajyou-Tanzutsu" ! Je vois que tu résides au Japon et je me pose cette question. Dois-je traduire mes réponses en Anglais ou je peux directement écrire en Français ? Car ta réponse apparait pour moi directement en Français sur ma page. Le forum intègre-t-il un traducteur automatique ?1 point
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Hi Gilles Amazing project! The shortest ones were called 短筒Tanzutsu, for wearing and carrying by your side. (Like the one above) 馬上筒 Bajō-zutsu were a short/medium length carbine for horseback, not as long as a normal Gunyōzutsu army long gun.1 point
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Bashō, or Japanese ‘banana’, as they sometimes have banana-like fruit. (I have a Netsuké in this design!) The leaves and roots were used in Chinese medicine as an antiseptic and to help urination. The leaves were also used in family Mon/Kamon in different configurations like bashō-domoé, daki-bashō and hitotsu-ori-bashō. 14 x 4 cm1 point
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Glen Here are the papers for my tsuba with the best translation I was able to provide (if you have comments please do not hesitate) 鑑定書 Kanteisho Certificate of Appraisal 一つ 芭蕉葉文鐔 Hitotsu Bashōba Mon Tsuba One Banana leaf composition tsuba 無銘 (正阿弥) Mumei Shōami Without Signature Shōami 鉄地 変形 鋤出彫 Tetsu-Ji Kawari-gata Sukidashi-bori Iron Ground Irregular Shape Sukidashi-bori 右は當協會に於て審査の結果特別 保存刀装具と鑑定しこれを証する Migi Wa Tō-Kyōkai Ni Oite Shinsa No Kekka, Tokubetsu Hozon-Tōsōgu To Kantei-Shi Kore O Shō-Suru Examination by this organization has resulted in the decision that the item to the right is a sword fitting that is extrodinary worthy of preservation 昭和 五十年 四月 三十日 Shōwa Gojūnen Shitsu Sanjūnichi Shōwa, 50th Year, 4th Month, 30th Day (30th April 1975) 財團法人日本美術刀劍保存協會 Zaidan-Hōjin Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords [. . . ] 殿 [. . . ] Tono [. . . ] Mr. 鑑定書 Kanteisho Certificate 一つ 露玉透し芭蕉の鐔 Hitotsu Tsuyutama Sukashi Bashō no Ha Tsuba One Dew Drop Sukashi Japanese Banana Leaf Tsuba 銘無銘 (塚田直鏡) Mei Mumei (Tsukada Naoaki) Signature Without Signature Tsukada Naoaki 変り丸冊土 両櫃(鉛埋) 芭蕉葉の 高肉彫露玉透し Kawari maru-satsu tsuchi Ryō hitsu (namari uma) Bashōba no takanikubori tsuyutama tōshi Irregular shape body Two hitsu-ana (lead plugged) Japanese banana leaf high relief carved dew drops transparency 右は審社に於て審査の結果上二作 と鑑定|認定書を交付する Migi Wa Shin-Sha Ni Oite Shinsa No Kekka Kamini-Saku To Kantei Nintei-sho O Kōfu Suru Examination by this organization has resulted in the decision to the issue of a certificate for the item on the right 昭和 五十一年 三月 七日 Shōwa Gojūichinen Sandtsu Sanjūnichi Shōwa, 51st Year, 3rd Month, 7th Day (7th March 1976) 刀苑社審査委員會委員長村上孝介 Toen Sha Shina-i Kai In Chō Murakami Kosuke Chairman of the Judging Committee of Toensha Murakami Kosuke [. . . ] 殿 [. . . ] Tono [. . . ] Mr. The Toen Sha certificate seems to identify the sukashi as dew drops ... Regards Luca1 point
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Nice! A 19th series commercial Mantetsu. It is the lowest reported serial number for this series. The highest is ツ 六五一 [TSU 651]. ツ 二九 = TSU 29. 昭和辛巳春 = 1941 Spring. 興亜一心 満鐵作之 = South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) made this.1 point
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Dear All This one came at hand for the weekly rotation of the tsuba on display. Could be considered controversial? Maybe... FT-0097 papered NBTHK Hozon but I am not telling you straight away to which school to foster some discussion. Dimensions 89.4 mm x 89.3 mm, thk 2.3 mm at seppa-dai, 4.5 mm at mimi. Regards Luca1 point
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It's more likely to be gold foiled over copper, in keeping with Japanese tradition and aesthetics. If it was solid gold you can be bloody sure the vendor would have mad a BIG point of it!1 point
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Weight will be a easy indicator. If you are unsure you can have it tested at a jewelers.1 point
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Yes a very interesting post So many times I've stated katana or wakizashi size tsuba just by looking at the dimensions but unless the nakago ana was over or undersize I never really took this into consideration Sometimes I have a DOH moment like this one from GRC Haynes also pointed out that the size of tsuba had no consistent relation to the size of the blade, so to get a better sense of what was fitted to what, just look at the size of the nakago-ana. Makes me feel a bit silly.1 point
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Friends, this has been a very useful thread. Thank you. MNB at its best. I think I know much more about brass inlay than I could have suspected. The quality of the work is clearer to me. I thinking my assessment of early brass inlay is not higher than it was (I still find it challenging) but as a result of this thread I feel we/I understand it better. Like I said, Thanks. Peter1 point
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I tried to form my opinions before looking at what you wrote: [1] The first one, I would have said "Onin" partially because the mon (circle with 2 or 3 lines). Also the iron looks slightly better to me. The "brass" looks extensively hammered in and carved from there. In my head, "Onin" [2]The second one, honestly... I wasn't sure. It has some of the Onin worked feel to the inlay, but some pieces look pre-cut. That would have been a tough one for me, and I suspect a papering organization would just go to the more cautious Heinajo attribution? [3] I can see what I believe to be pre-cut to the "brass", pieced together and done up not too different from the way you do a stained glass window. Yet it has a large amount of inlay. In some ways, it looks like more work than the Onin tsuba. Still, I'd go Heianjo on it. I admit to thinking it a very pretty example. While the price difference between Onin and Heianjo can be fairly large, sometimes the Heianjo ones are just as pretty or prettier. I semi-admitted I had one that was published in three books. Two books said Onin, but one by a very respected authority said Heianjo.1 point
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Roger, here's my 2 cents on this question: I was just reading in one of Haynes' catalogues, that the size of the tsuba on a blade had no consistent dimensions (or at least throughout the Momoyama and early Edo periods...I assume it became more regimented when the Daisho became mandatory in the early Edo period). Otherwise, tsuba size changed widely over different periods and localities, and different samurai favored different sizes to suit their needs. Haynes also pointed out that the size of tsuba had no consistent relation to the size of the blade, so to get a better sense of what was fitted to what, just look at the size of the nakago-ana. In general, I think 7.6cm would fall in that cross-over area you mentioned (smaller-katana sized tsuba, or larger-wakizashi sized tsuba), but this of course gets further complicated by the average sizes of tsuba produced by different schools at different times. I don't know the average sizes of Onin and Heianjo tsuba off the top of my head. Personally, I don't really care how big the tsuba is. A great tsuba is a great tsuba, no matter how small...1 point
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I agree with your thinking so far. Interestingly the younger (white) paperwork suggests Momoyama.1 point
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Luca, You present a very interesting challenge. Indeed, I have an opinion (and a personal judgement about the guard), but not nearly enough expertise to express it.... Peter1 point
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Peter We all started digressing into 'is gendaito better than shinsakuto?', 'oh, why, my god, why is my mass produced WW2 blade priced where it is?' and our pet loves and interests, and ignored your question. I shall provide my humble views: 1) at the moment, from a macroeconomic perspective, globally there is a heck of a lot of loose monetary policy being practised by central banks and reserves; this means, in layman's terms, than they require banks to hold lower currency reserves (thus relieving retail banks of the requirement to have reserves centrally and encouraging them to lend the excess more) and the government institutions deploy central funds to purchase debt obligations thus increasing money supply in the economy. When there is a lot of something, its price comes down. In our case, the value of money goes down through the inflation mechanism - inflation rates are high, money buys less, etc. That is why you are seeing so many people fleeing to alternative assets to fiat (i.e. normal ) money - be it gold, bitcoin/ethereum, non-fiat-token digital assets, art. Normal money costs less (you can view the interest rate in the bank as its value increment and inflation as its decrement = the net change is negative as inflation is much higher that interest rates and real GDP growth) 2) so, investing in alternative assets when money is abundant makes diversification sense - be it real estate (you know it, its price is up too!), art collections, value depository assets (gold, diamonds, platinum, silver). Now, you need to be careful with the so called commodities and precious metals as their value is influenced by industrial usage as well as financial operations (the so called forward and futures prices, derivatives, etc) 3) zooming into art more precisely, as an alternative asset class in addition to a source of personal gratification and aesthetic enjoyment, it is booming (for the reasons above plus the additional wealth created in emerging real economies such as China or the Middle East or Russia or digital economies - think of the Bitcoin and Ethereum billionaires and multimillionaires who lucked it out). It could be digital art (https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/03/11/beeple-art-sells-for-693-million-becoming-most-expensive-nft-ever/) or antique art (https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/disarming-new-findings-on-leonardos-salvator-mundi). 4) are antique weapons merely a historic artefact or art? That is a tricky question. Are Japanese swords works of art? It merits its own treatise. A-ha! It exists! Please refer to my friend, Paul's, interesting article on the subject https://to-ken.uk/onewebmedia/why article.pdf 5) so, having established that there is demand for alternative assets and art in particular, then we need to analyse whether our Japanese swords are really art, and, if so, high or fine art. Are they mass/machine produced swords, of which there are many tens of thousands, all look similar, etc or are they unique, beautiful, old (so there is the historic/antique element). What is the state of preservation? Is there historic provenance (daimyo ownership)? Is there evidence they were cherished, appreciated, etc? I suppose one could read another friend of mine's blog posts here : https://blog.yuhindo.com/what-i-learned-from-you/#more-124. and https://blog.yuhindo.com/fungible/ They sort of conclude that people like differentiated, quality items, which store/reserve their value. There is more there too (about a specialist collection, about high vs low/wide) etc and Guido has also written on that topic separately. So, Peter, I would conclude (my wife is calling me for lunch!) by saying: - there is plenty of disposable wealth and money around - it is looking for art and Japanese swords too (I know several guys in their 30s with remarkable Juyo and TJ collections at the topmost level) - however, with the plethora of available (mostly digital) information, that wealth is 'better informed' and 'smarter'. It is no longer the golden era of the Japanese or Militaria arms fair or show in the airport hotel of the 1970s-1990s where people were buying unprepared and myths were being perpetuated about Juyo swords, about what certain words in sayagaki meant, etc - to attract those buyers, or even just knowledgeable buyers, if you are selling a top item, there should not be an issue. - if you are selling an average item, then you need to be able to swallow the loss of the dealer premium you paid when you bought your sword. That premium could range from 0 to 100%. I know US dealers who tend to put 30-40% premiums, European dealers who put 50-80% premiums, Japanese, who put around 25-30%, etc. Of course I could go much further into the topic (was an item bought at the exclusive/secretive Japanese dealer auction or not, was it bought directly from a Japanese collector, and how was it subsequently priced by the Occidental dealer?) but it is unwise to discuss trade secrets . Leon T above explains well why there is a dealer premium. - if, however, you bought from a dealer, and then upgraded a certificate, then you can make money. Unfortunately the ladder theory (https://blog.yuhindo.com/ladder-theory/) works in sword pricing. I have been fortunate to upgrade swords bought from dealers and made money, but do not count on it. It is not common. - one final thought: do not sell as a collection if you can avoid it. Anecdotally I have observed through the dispersal of several collections, that it is better to 'trickle' the swords into the market, finding the right buyer for the right sword rather than flooding the market with self-competing swords1 point
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Hello Chris: Great question actually and one that could be approached many ways though Grey gives you a pointer to Sasano and from that you can noodle out some ideas, but they won't directly address the question. Iron tsuba are not necessarily the oldest tsuba once you get beyond the Kofun era, but they do represent the tsuba worn on the blades of the lowest socio-economic group of samurai and samurai aspirants who were the least sophisticated, least shielded by layers of subordinates and most likely to die doing their duty without fanfare or lingering recognition. Their simple ideas of religious belief and symbolic identification were often incorporated into the tsuba they used, and the use of those pieces had to be equally sturdy for the functions required, namely keeping the hand from slipping forward and balance in the dynamic use of the sword. People of higher social position could have tsuba full of intended artistic sophistication, but the folk art nature of early tsuba, styles of which were carried on right through late Edo times, are not to be found in shakudo and gold, at least not in the same primal way. Therein for many lies the attraction of good old ko-tosho and ko-katchushi tsuba, as well as some of the more robust iron tsuba of the Edo era. Iron bones, complex designs, "workmanship spectaculars," precious metal, are all beside the point. Arnold F.1 point
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This getting so far from the original topic that it is in danger of becoming a burlesque!!!! BaZZa.0 points
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