Geraint

Can't say that I'm surprised Brian, and certainly didn't mean to recommend the seller, just illustrating the point. All the best.

Dear All. Just to be clear this is not a sanmai tsuba, or even by my definition a tsuba. It's a modern production and finding fancy ideas about the possible construction is futile. This is just a badly made reproduction. The marks are the result of poor alignment in the making. the surface finish has nothing to do with traditional Japanese techniques and isn't worth discussing unless you have an interest in low level engineering practice. A couple of people have already pointed this out but we seem to be stuck on this. John, if you are thinking of buying it then don't. If you want a few more then have a look here, at the time of writing two of the same design in this Ebay shop. https://www.ebay.co....429486.m3561.l170197 All the best.

Towards the bottom of the page here, https://shibuiswords.com/papers1.htm Jean. All the best.

Dear Mark. This is, to be charitable a reproduction. As you ask about this one it seems that you do not yet have your eye trained, fortunately there is a remedy to hand, have a scroll through this thread; All the best.

Shouldn't that be 'Ronin in the groaning'?

Dear Marcin. As you have 'pulled the trigger' on this one here are some thoughts. I can see why you like it, tsuba with those two shaped cut outs with carving inside are almost always attributed to Shoami and, as has been mentioned the paper is not problematic. It looks to me that someone has cleaned up what I would expect to be shakudo plugs in the ryohitsu, if that is the case then avoid handling these areas and you might find that over time they re patinate to black which would be much better. Hope it arrives soon, it's always fun waiting for and then opening such a parcel. All being well it will feel much better in hand than it looks in the photographs. Enjoy. All the best.

Dear Stefano. To answer what might be part of your question, the smith who made the kogtana, the blade, is almost always a different person to the one who made the kodzuka. Different crafts - different makers. Both kodzuka and kogatana are often swapped and or replaced, for example I have a wakizashi which came without either and I have added them since. It would be impossible to say when this was done or to get the period of the koshirae as a result, after all it is quite common to find a sword mounted with a much earlier tsuba or a late koshirae made with earlier pieces. If your question in bold is what I think then there are styles of mounting without menuki. If the silk ito looks original then you might see some slack if menuki have been lost or the remains of some adhesive if they were fixed outside the wrap. A photograph of the tsuka would help us. All the best

Dear both. Note what happens to the hamon at the ha machi............. All the best,

Dear Jake. Well lots of images I really don't want to see but none of your tanegashima. Why don't you add images directly to your post? All the best.

Dear Jacob. Welcome to NMB. Here is a little something to get you started. https://shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm and when you are ready for more have a look here, https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/ All the best.

Clearly your 'shoddy' sketch was good enough to spark a memory for me. All the best.

Here is one. Perhaps the one you saw? https://nihontoart.c...uishinshi-masatsugu/ All the best.

Dear Raymond. Welcome to NMB! This one is signed 'Bishu Osafune junin' on one side and 'Yokoyama Kozuke daijo Fujiwara Sukesada' on the other. Forgive me if you know this already but many Japanese swords have spurious signatures added to them and I fear this is the case here. This is a big name and from a school who have a very distinctive style of chasing their signatures, not clear that this is one of them. Also I have never seen anyone run out of space and have to add the last kanji to the side of the rest. Add to that the shape of the nakago/tang is off as is the end of the tang/nakago jiri. So this is a genuine Japanese sword whose mounting has had a hard time but I do not think it is by the person it claims to be. Do have a look here for comparison. https://sword-auction.com/en/product/8753/as21118-脇差：横山上野大掾藤原祐定/ The fuchi, the metal collar around the end of the hilt is interesting, is that signed at all? Enjoy the research. All the best.

I suppose this really concerns UK collectors but it might impact some others. Courtesy of Schola Gladiatoria this petition has come up and I think it's worth taking a look. https://www.change.o...mTFmLB3h4c52Tuo3ITSg All the best.

Dear All. This has been and continues to be a wonderful thread. Thank you to all for sharing your treasures. I have to say that the gakumei kozuka that Ed shared is quite something and I think Jean has it right, the gold is simply a way of making something of the nakago ana but it certainly adds to the piece. All the best.

For those of us who have an interest in Namban guards here are a couple of videos from someone with a Chinese perspective on what would have been identified as Namban. https://www.youtube....v=Njri9wKhP5A&t=630s All the best.

Dear Grev. Forgive me if this is obvious and you have already used it but.....https://shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm You'll have to scroll down a bit. And from, 'Tsuba:An Aesthetic Study', "The term Bushi tsuba means the Ito school. Though there were many other workers, and several other schools at Edo at this time. These other schools were, for the most part, branch schools that came to settle in Edo, whereas the Ito school was native to that area. They were the most powerful, and largest school in Edo, with influence over all the others who worked around them. The Ito school became so popular that schools as far away as Choshu felt compelled to adopt its style." All the best.

Dear Michael. Please bear in mind that I know nothing. When I first saw this I was worried by the treatment of the cloud over the face of the moon, given that one might expect the cloud to be dark/shakudo rather than silver. On reflection I find the textured treatment of the other side rather stiff and uninspired. Also the face of Hotei and the child...... Just not sure about this one. Hope to be wrong in every regard. All the best.

Dear Mark. While I hesitate to disagree with my two august companions I fear that I must. It would be useful to see the whole of the nakago but no habaki shi would mark the nakago to show where the habaki should finish and I think the presence of kiri yasurime above the line confirms this as there would be none beneath the habaki. Nor do I think that a loose seppa would cause wear as they are almost universally made from copper, sometimes foiled in shakudo, silver or gold. In any of these cases it would be the much softer metal of the seppa that would take the wear. Having said that I certainly own blades where the prolonged wear from an iron tsuba has caused a shallow and slightly diffuse groove but not one with the characteristics of the example that you show. Example here. Assuming that we accept that this blade has had suriage performed then I believe what you are seeing is where the shape of the nakago has been adjusted to ensure a good fit in the tsuka and for the habaki. If you are interested in exploring this more then 'Facts and Fundamentals' has some enlightening sections on the nakago though I have not found a specific name for the clear change in yasurime that you illustrate. All the best.

Dear All. One description of Mino den suguha describes them as always having fushi or thickets somewhere in the hamon so perhaps that would be the description here. All the best.

Ah! So less common than the usual arrangement but perfectly genuine as a method. All the best.

Dear Stefano. Anything like this? All the best.

Dear Justin. Lovely tsuba, search around Hizen tsuba and enter the wormhole! All the best.

Dear Petro. Welcome to NMB! You have posted this in the military swords section which is primarily for those with an interest in swords carried by the Japanese armed forces after the Meiji restoration, your sword appears to be from before that period so posting it in the Nihonto section might get you better responses. We are not going to be able to tell you very much from these images, at first glance it appears to be a Shinto katana, a sword whose blade is longer than 60cms made after about 1600 but before 1860, which is unsigned or mumei. A clear photo of the whole blade without any fittings, one of the nakago and one of the kissaki or tip would be helpful, along with some measurements. Better pictures of the fittings would also help. All the best.

Dear Justyn. Yves tells us that it is iron so I think the gold sheen is light reflection. All the best.