Henry Wilson

If the chip is not cutting through the hamon I am sure it could be saved. The question is, is it worth it?

Thanks Robert. It is from this koshirae.

It's Henry :D

The tsuba shape, the inlay, the hitsuana and the softness of the metal suggest Higo. Have a look at the first two on this sight to compare: http://www.swordsandtsuba.com/tsuba/higotsuba.html

It might be fun to compare the hot stamp one with this: http://www.yamabushiantiques.com/CH%20Tsuba%207.htm

Dear Ed You're welcome. Yamagane is a raw form of copper and is more of an alloy compared to the purer copper that is used in sekigane so there is going to be some sort of visual difference. The crests to me look like the royal chrysanthemum and the shogun mon. http://wapedia.mobi/en/Mon_%28crest%29 I am sure others will have something say as well so stay tuned.

The first tsuba looks late Edo period Higo to me. A stylized form of these kanji might be on the plate. 風　　雨 The crawling dragon tsuba could be a shakudo plate in bad condition. The quality does not look that good in my opinion (but that might be the condition and photos). The gold plug fill suggests that it could be of a reasonable quality as someone was prepared to put some money into it. The hot stamp tsuba is probably made from Yamagane (a type of copper). The removal of corrosion would be a mistake in my opinion. Try handling it with cotton gloves or a cloth to prevent the corrosion developing. I don't think any Goto smith produced the yamagane tsuba of the style that you have posted. However they did put crests on some of their kodogu. I hope these rambling thoughts help

It looks very fresh and the metal does not look like Akasaka. Is it a modern remake?

Thanks to Grey and Ted as well.

Cheers Steve

I am thinking about getting a tsuka wrapped. Can anyone recommend a good wrapper located in the Japan or USA? Best regards

I can't make head nor tail of this thread. Would Chris and Steve and anyone else like to summarise in a few concise bullet points?

Indeed Keith. I think it is one of the nicest koshirae in existence. The profile of it is something else.

It seems you have answered your own question. :D However a classical old tachi I think has much more than an inverted Edo period Handachi It could have well been a part of a daisho as they were worn in the Edo period. There could also be the dai out there aswell but the chances of finding would be quite improbable.

I have no knowledge of metal science so pardon my blatant lack of knowledge. In the field of tosogu, why is casting acceptable for soft metal but not iron?

The koshirae is Handachi which is the cross between a tachi and an uchigatana. I am against mixing and matching fittings especially when there does not seem to be a need for it. The set looks alright as it is. I would leave it alone but if you can't, maybe sell it and get something that you like.

From my experience with tsuba papers, the only info that is placed in brackets is outstanding features. I had a kokinko tsuba once with a lead plug that was describe in brackets. This site might help translating the standard paper text: http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sw ... se_sword_4 These also might help translate the info specific to the tsuba: Finally, I find this page really useful looking up kanji. It enables you to search by selecting the radicals that makeup each character. It takes a bit of getting used to at first: http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi- ... dic.cgi?1R

For more info on black outs, check this out: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/keikakuteiden ... ist-e.html

Hi David Well done. The papers state

The kojiri has a gunpai (war fan)and is in a the shape of a large sack. This represents Hotei, one of the 7 lucky Gods. It also has a gold kao which I recall is similar to one used by Yasuchika 安親. Both menuki are signed SHOZUI 政随and TOU 東雨 and the fuchi is signed SHOZUI as well. All fake I assume as I should be so lucky.

Thanks all for the kind comments. Once I get the saya back I will answer your questions.

Look what is finally finished. I can't wait to get it back..... :D

I agree with you there David. My post above was pointing out that heavily carved / cut plate can also have very good and well worked metal, which was in response to you stating: "I don't think you can get that level of quality craving (carving) with such a heterogeneous iron displaying much activity".

As you know there are quite a few schools (Akasaka, Owari sukashi etc) that have a lot of cut-outs. The early work in particular has very well worked and finely forged metal. Just because a tsuba plate has alot of work on it does not mean that it has be homogenous in appearance. Just some additional thoughts.

:D