ROKUJURO

Ray, the writing is faded, and with out-of-focus photos, you are making reading (and helping) still more difficult!

Thank you, I see it now! Looks a bit different from other TSUBA that I have seen. Every day, you learn something new! Cleaning might be a bit difficult on this one!

Zachary, there are blades with a high SHINOGI that may require this shape. As you see often, the NAKAGO-ANA can get a bit distorted after some time of use. Sometimes you even find TSUBA with a NAKAGO-ANA that follows the shape of a BOHI in the blade.

It reads SHOWA JU SHICHI NEN - SHOWA period (starts counting in 1925) 17th year. The painted numbers are 3845. They are assembly numbers from the manufacture of the sword.

Minh, do you see the gold foil clearly? To me, it looks like a brass HABAKI that was gold-plated. It is important to remove any oil that may have gathered inside the HABAKI to prevent the build-up of Verdigris.

If you push that backwards, a slot opens for headphones.

SUKASHI TSUBA

Dear members, it is already July, so I would like to remind you of my TSUBA Forging Workshop. At this moment, I have still 2 workplaces left so in case you are interested, please sign up. This workshop is for NMB members only, so it might be a good opportunity to get into contact with others of our board. TSUBA forging workshop 2025.pdf

SUGATA and NAKAGO condition point to KANBUN era in my opinion.

Bob, in this case, "Jean" is a French male first name. The world is not all American.....

Let Mike do them, I have no time right now.

Bob, it may not be a "s**t storm" (SHITODOME) TSUBA, but a SHITOGI TACHI TSUBA? The SEPPA look like ordinary ones with the adapted bend.

Barrie, ask her directly: bella@theremarkablegoldsmiths.co.uk>

Not SOTEN and not a cast copy, I believe. Could have some TAKADA influence.

Carlo, you may have read that somewhere, but it is nonsense. Acid treatment can only work in case different materials (= alloys) react differently to the acid attack. In most swords, the HADA (= KAWAGANE) consists of a rather homogeneous steel, so that will not work. To an acid, the YAKIBA is chemically different from the JI, so there a different reaction may occur which enhances the YAKIBA/HAMON. If you have different alloys in, say, a Damascus steel of the fire-welded laminated type, then an acid helps greatly to define the different layers. This is why in the West, an manganese steel and a nickel containing steel are often combined for "Damascus" steel (which has nothing to do with the wootz steel made traditionally in India and Persia).

Hi Jeannette, welcome to the NMB! The stamp has probably to be read upright, not lying on the side. And: What is it?

Hi Paris, this blade looks like a genuine Japanese WAKIZASHI in bad condition, as you say. The KISSAKI is always visible (it is the outer shape of the tip), but you were probably referring to the BÔSHI which is the HAMON in the KISSAKI. It looks to be SURIAGE, but how much is difficult to see in photos. It might be even O-SURIAGE. You are asking about the age, but in terms of value, the quality is much more important. As the corrosion does not seem too deep, it might give much more information if polished properly. But nobody knows if the cost will come back in re-sale. The condition of a NAKAGO of a SURIAGE blade does not necessarily tell a lot as far as age is concerned. My personal guess would be end of MUROMACHI/ early EDO. In this time, quality can vary on a wide scale. The first photo is upside-down, and if you would use a dark, non-reflecting background, the contrast is increased, and better photos might reveal more to the experts (I am not one of them).

I think Dirk is correct in his statement. In my opinion, it is a very late TSUBA (MEIJI ?), made in series. Now, probably to remove some corrosion, it has been ground and is heavily damaged. The cross-hatching is irregular and somewhat crudely executed, and does not convey an aesthetic appearance.

Dale, I am not sure that so much traffic was caused by the wish to shut the thread down. In my opinion, it is more the concern of many responsible members that so much nonsense should not remain uncontradicted in an otherwise highly competent and specialized forum. But I have come to the insight that the whole discussion has nothing to do with Japanese culture or TSUBA. It is a psycho-pathological thing about being perceived and accepted (even in the form of "friction"), but this forum cannot offer therapy.

Frank, looks like a KATANA blade (SHOWA-TO) in a modern ITOMAKI no TACHI KOSHIRAE.

If I remember correctly, there is a similar TSUBA depicted in the black W. COMPTON catalogue.

Ian, I was wrong. Now I think it is a modern, non-Japanese cast-iron sword-guard in the shape of a TSUBA, treated with a brass wire-brush..

A wild guess without having seen the TSUBA: A modern, non-Japanese cast brass sword-guard in the shape of a TSUBA.

I would like to see someone using it two-handedly.....

Yes Piers, indeed I overlooked it, or I didn't identify it as a crack. If Paris has the TSUBA in his hands, he might confirm. On the other hand, looking at the second TSUBA image, the TAGANE strokes have a certain resemblance in my eyes, so I would not exclude the possibility of them being a personal mark.