Grey Doffin

The tsuba above that I used to own, T536, was papered by the Fittings Museum to Shonai Shoami. Grey

Hi Lewis, Send an email to me and I'll respond with Prices Realized attached. Grey gdoffin at gmail.com

I sell swords and kodogu online and I suppose I'm offering 3/10 to 6/10 range of quality. You need to consider that 9/10 and 10/10 items can't legally be exported from Japan; no wonder they aren't offered online to westerners. I have had and currently have swords that I consider quite fine and I'm proud to be able to offer them And, I would never try to disguise a defect; my pictures and descriptions always point them out to my customers. And I'm not the only online dealer who tries to warrant trust; there are others. I think, Lukrez, that you are being too harsh in your judgement. Thanks, Grey

I think mid to late Edo and a real tsuba, not cast. Not a treasure and you can do better but not a fake either. Grey

Hi Dave, Unless my eyes fail me, this isn't a sukashi tsuba. The filled openings are the ryo-hitsu, for kotsuka & kogai. They are filled because the last time the tsuba was mounted to a sword there were no kotsuka and kogai, and the owner wanted them filled. Sukashi refers to openwork design, not function. Grey

Hi Matt, My care and cleaning kit consists of a bottle of choji oil (light machine oil with a drop or 3 of clove oil for the scent), white unscented facial tissue for applying the oil, and micro fiber lens cloth to remove the oil. Nothing else is needed. Grey

Another option for the 3 early softbound books: https://japaneseswor...gory-in-one-binding/ Thanks. Grey

If it is wax on your tsuka - and this is more likely the case than lacquer, which is uncommon on shirasaya - it should come off with alcohol. You can try just a drop on the tsuka to see if it will work, before going after the whole tsuka. Grey

If the sword is salvageable and worth the effort and expense, to reshape the kissaki and save the boshi the polisher can bring the mune forward to limit the amount of reshaping necessary. Only a properly trained polisher should be considered for the work. Grey

Maybe a standard Shinto naginata with a broken kissaki and reshaped. I believe this is called Satsuma-age when it is done to a sword. Grey

But if you send me an email asking to be put on the Wants List for a book, if a copy comes in and you're at the top of the list I let you know. Grey

Hi Josh, It is good that someone who knows more than you is going to see your sword in hand but I suggest you go that far and no further for now. You don't know anywhere near enough to make informed decisions about possible restoration and shinsa. Polish and shinsa may be appropriate for the sword but there is no reason to hurry; polish does nothing to preserve the sword - a light coating of oil does that. See: I'm new to Japanese swords and I want to get my 1st sword polished and/or have koshirae made for it. in FAQ under Nihonto Info above. The more you know before you spend money on the sword the happier you'll be with the results. Grey

Hi Josh, Do not use soot and tape and do not listen to anyone who recommends it; it causes damage to the patina. A clear photo of each side of the tang, taken with a raking light (from the side to better show markings) and on a dark background will do fine. Here you will find a care and handling brochure; you should read it twice but use micro fibre cloth rather than uchiko to remove old oil: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ Grey

In my humbled opinion, the best material on the subject in English is the 59 volume set of English Token Bijutsu written by the staff of the NBTHK: https://japaneseswor...ition-all-59-issues/ on my site. While there you can search for many of the other books mentioned here to get an idea what they're like. Cheers, Grey

The proper link is: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ Grey

Hi Jake, Hard to tell from the photo with my old eyes if that is just the hand or something else but, would a properly trained artist have even only the hand covered when mounted? Doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps this is very late work, possibly made for western tourists to Japan, and no one worried about mounting. Grey

The item in the hand on tsuba 2 would be covered by the seppa when mounted, which is troubling. Grey

The tsuba in the original post is questionable at best. There is no reason why tsuba would be significantly wider than tall - I can't recall ever seeing one - so there is no need for the 2nd nakago ana. Also, if the 2 nakago ana are sized to fit any sword with a close to usual size nakago - hard to know because the seller doesn't give the dimensions - in either orientation the seppa would cover parts of the sukashi. This again wasn't done. Most this one can hope for is that it is a real tsuba that has been crudely altered; otherwise it is some sort of fantasy piece. Grey

Hi guys, As some of you know, Mark and I sold a few hundred tsuba from the Skip Holbrook collection a few years ago. I have just added 7 more tsuba from the collection to my site. You will find them on top of my Tsuba and Kodogu pages: https://japaneseswor...tegory/tsuba-kodogu/ These are nice; have a look. Thanks, Grey ps. If anything interests you, contact me through my site please, not with personal message here on NMB. I need your emails to keep track of business.

Or, by soldering 2 habaki together you can build a sword from random parts. Easier than making a new tsuka. Grey

Hi Scott, Here you will find care and handling: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ It is perfectly OK that the shirasaya doesn't close all the way; this is not a problem. Don't force the blade further in then it wants to go. Don't put the blade in the koshirae; it belongs in the shirasaya and may get scratched by the koshrae. Grey

Hi John, Bingo Masayuki will be one of two smiths who worked in the mid 19th century. Neither of them were particularly famous but even mediocre smiths have a good day. Hard to tell much from such limited information but, as long as there are no serious defects in the blade, this should be worth $1K or a bit better. This just a guess; in hand examination by someone knowledgeable and honest is needed. Grey

Hi guys, Someone bought a tsuba from me at the show and didn't get the Hozon paper that belongs with it (Mumei Kodai Higo). If this is you please send me an email with a picture of your tsuba and your address; I'll send the paper. Thanks, Grey Doffin gdoffin at gmail.com

Hi Sherif, Here you will find a brochure: Care and Cleaning, that will help you with proper handling: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ Cheers, Grey

Hi Brano, I have a few of the issues you want: https://japaneseswor...uyo-token-hardbound/ Grey