Marius

Jacques, as wiritten - I try not to confuse chikei with layers of mixed steel. But whether this sword has "real" chikei or not is really impossible to say just by looking at photographs. Also, I suspect that we get hung up on all those chikei, inazuma, kinsuji, sunagashi and what have you, because using these terms is fun and makes us look more like experts.

Please enlighten me... What is special about this sword? It had an orikaeshi(?) mei that has been removed (my guess would be that the mei was Norishige). It has a nice shape and is relatively healthy. It is certainly a good sword, that the NBTHK has attributed to ko-Uda (a grab bag for swords with certain characteristics that cannot be credibly attributed to a sword smith). It has what the NBTHK calls "chikei" (which is their damn right to do, of course) and which seem, in fact, to be the result of a particular forging technique using mixed steel. These chikei are very attractive and we all like them, but there is also another definition of chikei - arrays of steel particles that form a web disconnected form the patterns of the ha. I read that the latter are found in great swords, but even if they were present in this sword, we could not discern them in the pictures. Not in this polish anyway (regrettably, this type of modern polish is being applied even to the most valuable swords, defacing them IMHO - if you don't believe it, study the Norishige tanto at the Tokyo National Museum with its ridiculous notare-like whitening) I used to own several "ko-Uda", all of them o-suriage mumei. I loved all of them - they were simple functional swords made with steel of varying quality in such an ingenious way that even with its mediocre steel the sword could still hold a sharp (hard) edge without being brittle. None of them was contrived, their beauty was natural, it was a result of pure function and a certain tradition that you can see in very old swords (Shōsōin anybody?). They do not have those fascinating choji as Ichimonji. They were not as "perfect" and clean as many great Yamashiro swords (you certainly know what I mean). They lack the flamboyance of Soshu masters, nor do they show innovation like Kagemitsu's slanted hamon. But they are honest weapons. Like the one discussed here So what is so special about this "ko-Uda" in your opinion? How does it differ from the other ko-Uda that can be bough cheaper? The potential it has to be papered to Norishige at some point? I am just being provocative, so feel free to bash me

Mekugi ana have strange habits. Some have been made to deceive.

Uchigatana, late Muromachi, ubu. I have no idea why the mekugi ana close to the end of the nakago, but it does not make the blade suriage.

I think it is yamagane, but hard to say from your pics. The sukashi style is rather rustic and if the material is yamagane, it could be ko-kinko.

Snow flakes

This is an exquisite tsuba. The photos aren't showing the quality of iron, which I expect to be superb. Also, the mimi is incredible. Those tiny irregularities - what a subtle juxtaposition! A lesser tsubako would have given the plate a "perfect" mimi. This is Owari workmanship at its best, but also an emanation of Genroku art. At this price it is a steal.

They are actually tobacco pouch clasp ornaments. Sometimes sold as menuki.

Arnold, persuade Grev to wait for two years, submit it again and that tsuba will come back as ko-Shoami. Or Sado

Six ken tsuba - ko Shoami Waterwheel - Naoaki (?) Flower and leaves - ko-tosho Abstract - late Akasaka Daikon and steam - (ko)tosho

Me? A voice of reason? Well, thanks for the compliment Brian, but please look at my signature. It still holds true

@Matt No time wasted. You gave me a good opportunity for an occasional rant

Honestly, gentlemen. We are attempting kantei here with nothing else but a hint of a shape and out of focus pictures? Matt's only decent pics are not his (hey, that is not a reproach, just a fact) and they do not disclose much. The "kissaki" is just a polisher's work, the original shape was probably devoid of yokote. In Matt's pics you see the hadori not the hamon. In the two pics by the seller you see only parts of the hamon. Please let us not make all this a joke. I know we have limitations, but for goodness sake, let us try to do this fun game (because that is what a kantei game is) based on decent pictures. Otherwise it becomes a caricature. Now, I wait for the flak.

Grey rocks. One of the best dealers out there, always honest, always great service. Thanks Grey!

Slight correction to Guido's input: Ii no Hayata, (Yorimasa's retainer s) slaying the nue at the Imperial Palace. It was Yorimasa who has shot the nue when it descended on a roof, but it was his retainer who finished the monster off when it fell dwon. A lovely story, one that has been shown many times in Japanese woodblock prints. My favourite one is by Yoshitoshi: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ii-no-hayata-kills-the-nue-at-the-imperial-palace/6QFXg9S4Us3qvw

Geraint, you are right. It's called reading comprehension, something I seem to be sorely lacking. Then again, my signature says it all

OK, let's cut the price to: $355 incl. shipping, PayPal extra. At this price the tsuba will be offered only for one day, and if unsold, the thread will be deleted. No more cuts , so if you want it, that's your only chance.

Asking prices are not necessarily sale prices

BTW, the dark stripe that looks like the tsuba had an indent is just a shadow obstructing the light. Please note that it is in the same place on pictures of both sides. Attached are two pictures taken with my phone - crappy quality but they show the tsuba is perfectly in order.

Here is a tsuba with shigure yasuri from Torigoye's "Tsuba Kanshoki". Please observe how similar these yasuri are to those on the tsuba offered here.

A lovely tsuba, whether you want to attribute it to ko-katchushi or ko-tosho is your decision. "ko" it surely is, and charming, too. A very thin tsuba (tapering from the center) with a sukashi of a dragonfly (tombo) and rain (shigure) yasuri. The sukashi composition is excellent, the stylised tombo has been done very imaginatively and skilfully. This leads me to believe it might have been a later addition, while the plate seems older. Only on this account am I pricing this tsuba at such a low level. On the other hand, I might be completely wrong. The iron is excellent, with great colour and texture (the shigure are sublime). There is slight patina wear, almost indiscernible, on the edge of the lower part of the tombo sukashi. Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.5cm, 1mm at rim, 2.5mm at seppa dai. Late Muromachi/Momoyama $425 (EUR 345) incl. int'l priority shipping (to EU and US, others ask), PayPal extra please, wire transfer possible (and actually desired).

SOLD, thank you

You have a budget, now determine what you want, and post it in the Wanted to Buy section. I am sure that if your expectations are reasonable, you will get plenty of offers.

HOLD.

A very nice ko-kinko sanmai tsuba with beautiful patina and copious amount of black lacquer. The tsuba is made from three layers of yamagane - a core and two sheets finished in the same manner, with a motif of waves. Now, I have seen many such tsuba, at some point I owned three nearly identical sanmai guards that must have come from the same workshop. They were smaller and didn't have the presence or the lacquer remnants of this one. 7 x 7.5 x .35 cm at the fukurin. Late Muromachi/Momoyama All yours for: SOLD incl. shipping. PayPal extra.