ROKUJURO

Hu Arnaud, this happens because hot melted borax/boric acid is highly corrosive. It can solve iron oxide at moderate temperatures (1.100°C), but at white-hot, it will even attack the metallic iron.

Carrie, please NEVER touch a bare blade with your hands/fingers!

It is not a KATANA but a TACHI. It is a cruel fate for a potentially decent blade to fall into the hands of clueless and respectless people. Oh my!

Hi Collin, welcome to the NMB forum! A plain dark, non-reflecting background would have resulted in better contrast of the photos. And it is a TACHI, not a KATANA.

Thank you Mauro! Everyday, you learn something new!

I cannot see a FUKURE, but multiple KITAE WARE. They can be an indication for a "tired" blade. A closed FUKURE will not be affected by carefully cleaning and oiling a blade.

Yes, it is really nice! A very solid, perhaps early EDO TSUBA in my opinion. You might call it a MOKUME TSUBA, but I don't think it was intended to be one. The SUKASHI looks more like KUMO (= cloud) than snowflake to me.

Yes, we all wished that.....

Colin, what you see as strong iron bars might in fact represent a bamboo wicker fence or shade. It is a rather elegant TSUBA in the dark iron world! The HIRAZOGAN grooves are indeed a bit shallow so that the gold was worn off more easily, but it looks that corrosion did a part of the damage. All in all a very nice TSUBA with many artistic aspects in my opinion.

Steve, it is good to see that you oriented the UTSUBO correctly! And in the drawing, the correct arrow orientation in the UTSUBO is also clearly visible. This is most often wrongly shown in exhibitions and museums.

As it has to do with KYÛDÔ, I am posting a woodprint that seems to show the old WASEDA shooting range. I was told this is where the university is now located.

Nazar, that is o.k. I think, as you have two TSUBA to start with and study. A low price alone is not always a good argument for a purchase. As you train your eyes and learn, other interesting TSUBA will come up!

Hi Nazar, with these better photos, I think this TSUBA is authentic as well. On the first photo, I was puzzled by the reduced SEPPA-DAI and the glossy surface, but now I think this may be interesting as well, considering the really low prices! Do you have the dimensions? Glen has identified the design as rudder which looks correct to me.

I hope it will not detonate! Anyway, thank you! IBOTA may not be like Kryptonite, so there will always be mechanical and chemical methods to remove it.

Nicolas, your photos are good but the condition of your TSUBA not so much... I think I can read SASHÛ, but I don't think YOSHITAKA would be correct as YOSHI appears to be chiseled just before SAKU. So TAKAYOSHI would be closer, but the first name KANJI is not TAKA I think. But we have experts here in the TRANSLATION section who will certainly help, so please try it there! Concerning the condition of your TSUBA, I think it could be restored, but not with little effort. Scale will come off with moderate blunt force, that is, you tap on it and it comes off - or not! This method may leave marks on the metal underneath. A mechanically softer but in fact more brutal method is the use of acetic acid ('concentrated vinegar'). It will strip the TSUBA from the scale, but you will need a complete patina restoration afterwards. And of course scale is TSUBA material (= iron) turned into oxide, so there will be a loss of material. Another thing is the thickness of the scale. It builds up as long as the object is exposed to high heat. In your case, the scale layer is quite thick in my observation, so it must have been quite a big fire it was in.

It is certainly not intended but accidental fire damage. Scale is highly oxidized iron (Fe2O3 x FeO = Fe3O4). It is called magnetite, and in case you can peel off a tiny bit*, you will see that it sticks to a magnet. Peeled-off paint will not do this. Other than sword blades, TSUBA do not lose their functionality after being in a fire, but scale is considered a KIZU. * It will not come off easily as it is harder than the base material, but quite brittle. Usually, you will have to tap it carefully will a small but hard tool like a metal-file. You could also try to scrape it off carefully (again) with a sharp knife without damaging the metal underneath.

No, this looks very much like scale, so this TSUBA has likely been in a fire. Usually, URUSHI does not flake off. The photo quality does not allow to read the signature. Is it a KINAI TSUBA?

Certainly not written as SAYAGAKI, i.e. in the function of an appraisal.

Hi Piers, what did your friend say about removing IBOTA?

The "coated" TSUBA might be a reproduction, but one photo is not enough for a guess. The other one looks like a TSUBA in later TÔSHÔ style, but again, a better assessment needs more good images.

Max, that is a beast of a sword! The low starting price reflects the quality in my opinion. As I heard, BUNGO TAKADA swords are not considered the absolute top, so it will be your personal decision (as always....). Do not buy a cheap sword with the idea of good investment!

The remaining TSUBA is not bad as well and might be the oldest of the set. Prices are ridiculously low. Congratulations! I would not have bought the TSUBA with the blue cushion.

Not even that one Dale! It is missing his leg, arm, and hand "inlay". These are 'old' cast TSUBA copies. I remember seeing them almost 50 years ago

It could be an OWARI TSUBA, but in my opinion it is not typical. My impression is more KO SHOAMI, but as said above, looking at it in hand is necessary.

Travis, I cannot open the link. Please upload the images here on NMB. We have not seen the blade, and that is usually where the value - historically and monetarily - resides. Don't worry if the bits and pieces do not fit properly, they can be found and mounted anytime later. We call this a "project sword", and in case you did not pay much, nothing is lost!