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I picked this tsuba up for my collection at the 2024 Baltimore Antique Arms show last month. It is the current focus of my tsuba study. Rare musket pistol and target theme in excellent condition. Feel free to discuss it politely.

Ikeda Kazutsugu - one of few soft metal tsuba in my collection.

What color does a copper Tsuba have ? I have expertimented with the patination of copper with heat or Niage (Rokusho) technique and the possibilities are endless. I cannot say anymore from wich alloy a Tsuba is made

I got this one https://www.aoijapan...gned-grape-design-4/ I think they have a lot in common but I don’t know more then what is written on the Aoi page.

David, if it helps with your study, you can use this one for comparative thoughts (polite).

Hello all! My Dad, Otto, collected Samurai swords for over 45 years and lived in South Australia. Unfortunately he has alzheimers and dementia and I have slowly been going through his collection and slowly selling items. Through this forum I have gotten in touch with people he used to know and all of them have been incredibly helpful. I am also at the start of my journey and I am looking forward to learning and communicating with other forum members. Plus sharing my journey on the way which has already started! Seeya around! Cheers Mark/South Australia

Hello Victor, Reiterating Franco's comments. It's often difficult to just look at a mei and validate the authenticity. This is especially difficult with lesser-known smiths. And still more difficult if, as in this case, some part of the mei is illegible. If the mei is supposed to be Kanetsune, we can say that the final kanji doesn't really look like 常 (tsune). it looks more like 定 (sada). But its too eroded to say with any confidence. And, if there is no known smith who signed as "Kanda-jū Kanesada", then we're stuck with a Kanetsune mei that doesn't look very convincing. But as Franco says, the normal thing to do is to look at the sword and make a judgment as to whether or not the sword looks like a sword from Kanetsune. There is too much uncertainty to say whether the sword is gimei or not (but it definitely looks problematic to me).

http://www.nihonto-c.../seiten/termine.html

Western names are usually transliterated phonetically into Japanese using katakana, so that would be somewhat unusual, I suppose. That said, one possible reading of 哥德呀 in Japanese would indeed be Kadeya which does sound a bit like Cardeilhac. Alternatively, could it have been a Chinese transliteration instead? The standard Chinese reading of 哥德呀 is Gedeya, and all three characters are very commonly used for Western names.

https://babel.hathit...=uiug.30112105828336 Found this nice write up, while trying to find a past auction. Hope and trust it is of interest.

An updated version is available in the downloads section with colour images and museum accession numbers that I did back in October 2023.

As far as I could understand I tried to read. 越前国康継　小札 – Echizen no kuni Yasutsugu, Kofuda 磨上無銘□□□□ – Suriage mumei + something 審定二代康継□□□ – Attributed to Yasutsugu 2nd+ something 昭和拾一年霜月上浣 – Showa 11th year, early Novenber 長壱尺参寸九分 – Length: 1-shaku 3-sun 9-bu 時代　寛永 – Era: Kan'ei 本阿弥宗景 – Hon’ami Sokei

my two

Good deals if you actually get a decent sword. He sold me one with a fukure going through the hamon on both sides and played it off like it was no big deal. It still sickens me to look at it.

Now you can begin to appreciate what a professional fittings restorer has to go through. Regards

Hello Victor, Of course, when it comes to mei verification the answer is "shinsa." However, with some patience perhaps one of the good folks here will chime in with an opinion? Regards "The sword confirms the mei and not the other way around." p.s. The importance of a library when it comes to nihonto collecting cannot be overstated. As a collector your homework should have already been well on its way to researching the object of your desire, and I'm not talking about only the mei, before completing the sale. Of course the mei, that is, if the sword has one, is of importance. But more importantly is the research that says that yes indeed this sword is in fact what it purports to be. If kantei is the foundation of sword appreciation as the Japanese claim it to be, then it should also make up the foundation for our sword collecting as well. Collecting nihonto is an open book test! One should know the answer before completing the exam.

I stumbled across Hawley's books in my Dad's library - which are now part of my Nihonto journey ( @Bazza - I am still looking up from the bottom of the well and it's still dark!) I Googled his street address and amazingly his website is still operational, link: http://www.wmhawley.com/ I also saw a real estate link and the empty house is sad to see considering how "overflowing" the house was when he resided there. Link: https://www.zillow.c...90046/20797595_zpid/ Thanks @Ian B3HR2UH for posting about his story being in a newsletter of the Token society of Great Britain. I found the link of that newsletter and his story is fascinating to say the least! I have attached the newsletter here. @Ian B3HR2UH - you mentioned that the second biggest advancement that you made in collecting was Hawleys books - would love to know what the first advancement was! Programme 78 January-February 1974.pdf

This was just posted by Andrew Ickeringill ( @Andrew Ickeringill ) on Facebook, and I thought it was worth posting here, and pinning for the future. Andrew is a FULLY trained traditional polisher and one of the most qualified to make these statements. Before bringing up the subject on this forum, and risking a storm of fire, please read this and take it to heart. Amateur sword polishers… I know you probably won’t listen, but I’ll try anyway. Recently, I’ve been seeing more and more rubbish from amateur polishers on the internet, it’s not a new problem, but with social media being what it is, amateurs have been given a platform where they can prosper. It’s beyond frustrating, it’s infuriating, and it's working directly against what I'm striving for, the preservation of Nihonto. I’ve had to correct the damage caused by amateur polishers many times, and the damage is always severe. Correcting these hack-jobs takes a lot of work, and it means removing more steel than would’ve otherwise been necessary if the blade had previously gone to a traditionally-trained togishi. A traditional apprenticeship in togi takes years to complete for a reason, THERE’S A LOT TO LEARN! It means giving up everything else to spend your time in servitude to Nihonto. My apprenticeship was 12 hours a day / 7 days a week / for over 6 years, and even my spare time (what little I had) was usually spent studying nihonto. But if you want to be a togishi, this is the way it must be, you have to go all in. Through arrogance or ignorance or both, amateur polishers have completely forgone this necessary training. Some of them may have attended seminars in Japan, or visited a togishi for a few days… but this obviously doesn’t equate to traditional training. And for many amateurs, the bulk of their training consists of reading books and watching youtube videos of swords being ruined without a clue. Unfortunately, these videos receive plenty of misguided encouragement from those who don’t know any better… “wow, so shiny!”. Amateurs will often argue… “this sword isn’t worth sending to a pro, should we just leave it to rust?”… but how would THEY know? They haven’t been trained in kantei, they have no idea if a sword is worth a professional restoration or not. A cold chill passes up my spine every time I think about this, how many great swords have been ruined by amateurs? I know I’ve already seen a few in my time. If you’re an amateur polisher reading this, let me give you a tip… this job is not for you. This isn’t something that should be attempted by anyone but a traditionally trained togishi, and if you haven’t realised this fact by now, then you need to develop more respect for Nihonto and the craftsmen who have worked their butts off to complete the proper training. Please stop scraping the life away from these works of art, you’re doing far more damage than repair… this job is not for you!

I decided to build a display case for my small nihonto collection so that I could easily view them in my home office. To match the existing bookcases and desk, I built a box from 3/4-inch white oak plywood and 1x white oak for trim. The doors are tempered glass on minimalist pivot hinges. I also installed concealed LED lighting on the top and bottom to better highlight the contents. Finally, I cut out racks from MDF board that have satin covers to hide the unused spaces. It can accommodate 12 swords, so my collection has room to grow. I wanted to share because I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I am also curious if others here have unique ways they display their blades. If so, please share!

Henry, EDO JIDAI = mostly SHINTO, except the short SHINSHINTO period. You may get closer to the age (which is less important than the quality of a blade) when you find out more about the smith > seventh generation YOSHIMITSU. There have been many YOSHIMITSU, but who signed this way? You may need some books for the research. To me, your YOROIDOSHI looks to be at least early EDO.

Here you go, first time photographing a Nihonto for this board, hope I did a passable job

Well, this is for sure a pretty good information and example. As I am conservator of antiquities, except my coffee company, I know that they can make rust but until now I wasn't sure for patina too. Always learning of course. I really appreciate it and thank you so much for your knowledge that you shared!

George well the main thing is that you are happy and that’s what really matters. It is obviously a very interesting sword, I hope it brings you pleasure. Just my opinion, but I think it’s pretty shabby behaviour not to declare 7 hagire. “Some issues” doesn’t really cut it. A clever description that can be “hidden behind”.

Hello guys, I was wondering if I could get more info about what I have here. First, the material..Shibuichi? Bronze? Some mixed metal? And period maybe? Thanks a bunch.

Maybe, but not likely as the Saotome School was not known for their soft metal inlay work. Post a photo of the tsuba and everyone can discuss it or just send me a photo of it via PM for a more focused private opinion.

Hi Kirill, its fun and most of the time Kantei. Almost every meeting has some highlights.. So you are very welcome!

HI Mark , meeting Barry Thomas was the first big step . Regards Ian

Hi, 越前国康継　下札 – Echizen no kuni Yasutsugu, 　sagefuda. 磨上無銘御脇差遂 – Suriage mumei Wakizashi.(No signature, shortened Wakizashi) 審定二代康継ト相極候也 – Attributed to the 2nd generation Yasutsugu. 昭和拾一年霜月上浣 – Showa 11th year, early Novenber (1936) 長壱尺参寸有之 – Length: 1-shaku 3-sun.(39.4cm)) 時代　寛永 – Era: Kan'ei (around 1620s) 本阿弥宗景 – Honami Sokei

Thanks Fred, Kiyo is much clearer for me now!

The above says it has a torokusho (registration card) which should be surrendered before leaving Japan. Aoi Art also mentions an NTHK certificate which is a separate thing and should come with your wakizashi (44cm blade).

This odd surface looks like it may be from this Japanese tsuba smith. His site is worth checking periodically so you know what the reproductions look like. See the top left image for the odd surface. http://tsubaryuken.com/sono2.html

Thanks for this one Peter, I hadn't read this one yet, but I have the perfect chance to cite it at the moment, in a study. Page 155 brings up a point that is often asked, which side is the omote when both are identical? I usually say the omote is the side with tagane ato, if there are none, then I say the side in best condition (or most remaining zogan). I have a utsushi to the example they have given (fig4), in this case I had to go with condition (one side had slightly better nunome zogan). It would be interesting to see what others have to say. Back on topic though, I will definitely confirm the importance of using a lighted base support. It is basically the only way to take the shadows out of the sukashi, without affecting the colour and contrasts of the Tsuba plate. I still can't get it right, there is always a compromise, especially when shadows are needed to convey the relief of carvings.

Wakizashi, mumei Yoshimitsu (賀光). nagasa: 1 shaku 7 sun 8 bu

Adam: I personally do not think he is as bad as some others on Ebay. I have bought two swords from him - both ww2 era so I knew what I was getting. The transactions went smoothly and the swords were just as described. For nihonto, you really need to be educated because he will not make a commitment about the condition of the sword. He expects the buyer to know what they are looking at. Many of his "gendaito" appear to have the same nakago, hamon, etc. and always come with the warning "unproven signature. Bid on the steel." I would stay away from these, personally, unless you just want something for tamashigiri or iaido. I too have noticed his swords listed with origami are usually pre-1980 green papers. I would treat these as un-papered swords. He does have some swords with current origami and I know he sells on consignment, so maybe these are okay. Just my two cents. John C.

Those are quite nice, thanks Stephen!

Easy enough to search the forum for his name and read the threads. If you buy something with old papers, you can be pretty sure it failed subsequent shinsa or would not paper again.

Hi Adam, I'll speak from my personal experience... Earlier in my collecting, I was mostly focused on military swords and other general militaria. I wanted a Japanese parade sabre, because they're typically so cheap, and he also had another lower-end item I wanted. I bid on both - I wanted them, so I bid slightly higher than I expected them to go... Both items went to exactly $0.50 under my max bid. I found that extremely suspicious. Long story short, I acquired the items and they remain in my collection. They also appear worse in person than they did in the photos, and they had some flaws that were not highlighted in the listing. A few hundred dollars later - lesson learned. If I had searched this forum, I would have probably avoided the blunder. I am sure David and Brian have even better warning tales. All the best, -Sam

the evolution of collecting and study that we have all been on for sure!

It is an expensive way of saying it's not modern and if you are lucky a school For a seasoned collector they usually know what they have but for a newbie what else is there? Of course it is a good selling point

More.. https://www.arc.rits...r24-2-05-01jb_en.pdf

It's a surname and first name. 堂富武雄　(Dōtomi Takeo).

The transcription is 哥德呀, but no idea how to read it.

Hello Victor, The nakago should indeed not be cleaned! What I do in the case of red rust on the nakago. In the beginning, using only your (clean, dry) fingers apply a coating of sword oil onto the nakago allowing it soak in for about a minute or two. Then, using a soft clean absorbent chem free cloth blot (do not rub) the oil off, such that you're only leaving a very thin film of oil on the nakago denying the red rust access to oxygen and moisture. This process is to be repeated, using less and less oil, on a daily > then, semi-daily > then weekly basis until you can visibly see the red rust turn into black rust. Which is what you want. Any thicker or heavier rust will generally flake off in this process. In the end it should be barely visible/detectable that any oil remains. When in doubt ask! Regards,

2024 is my last great submission year for me as a collector. I have a fair number submitted this year (all confirmed accepted by the NBTHK via broker in Kamakura) that group represent the "bread-butter" of my collection. Next year and beyond I am going to focus only on a very few higher end pieces for the NTBHK Tosogu shinsa. I am in complete agreement with the points @Gakusee had made. I deeply respect @Curran, but do not completely agree with some of his points. Look at all those old people in the photo @Gakusee posted. It is fundamentally a demographic problem. This hobby's demographic problem is not at all limited to Japan in my opinion.

I've seen it done a few times over the years, usually with the Showa stamp. We don't know who actually does it, whether the original owner, or an arsenal worker, or one of the post-war owners.

Please be patient and I will take better pictures when I will find time. Thank you!

Lex, there are two more KANJI in the signature which are difficult to read for me. The SUGATA of the blade with its little SORI reminds me of KANBUN era (early EDO JIDAI). The blade is not at all too long for a KATANA, and the signature is KATANA MEI. The blade does not seem to have been shortened a lot. Just my 2 YEN.

Here is an old interesting article: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-18-me-43508-story.html

Hi My wife and I met up with Robert Haynes yesterday and it was a wonderful day I took 36 tsuba with me so we had a couple of hours in his rom while we discussed them I had sorted them into groups Myochin, Kanaguchi (tachi), Tosho, gimei, two very good Namban and a selection of my favourites The first four groups were to see the quality of my tsuba, their characteristics and what to look for when buying Bob told me about the Haynes crud index, just so much to learn! We had a bite to eat then he took to Bonham's to look at some tsuba along with other Japanese items Back to his room for a bit more chat about how he started and about people and teachers he had known I was surprised no one else apart from Alan Bale had arranged to met him whilst in London but that's life I know Bob (computers and Bob are like oil and water) won't read this but I'm still going to give him our very hearty thanks At Bonham's Grev