Alex A

Aye. pure nonsense. Junk with sparkles.

You any idea how many people have pm me for help and ive assisted and never been thanked????? xx off Saved folks thousands Folks think its some kind of free advice service and of they dont like what they ear they start crying Unbrlievable Your another pussy

Dan, i can tell from your replies you talk nonsense Thought you were better than that cmon

Dan, used think you were ok but now sadly think you are bringing nonsense into antique collecting Il be honest, think your a £££££ sXxcccx No excuse for buying shite, we aim to arm folks with knowledge, obviously your dim as xxxx

You can find “somewhere down the crazy river”

Lol,squirming ( funny cant even spell it) Seriously Dan and wih respect , call it a day. This aint the place for theatrical attention.

Grow up child. Folks come here for honest educated opinions. For that reason you will be ignored. No place here for nonsense, we try to aim for facts, All free, Modern wxxxx alert

Pussy Accept truth or f off

Sad to read this, the Tosogu world has lost its main man, a man that gave his time to help and educate others. His replies here were legendary and straight to the point, we all learned something. He will be missed immensely. RIP Ford.

Dale, appreciate the info. Ok, so the tsuba in the Norton has an unusual and intentional corroded surface, i get that. Obviously not for everyone, as mentioned. Would love to see that tsuba in hand to see what the attraction is and how it would differ from a tsuba that has naturally corroded. I find the topic of Provenance very interesting. Its a slightly dodgy sales gimmick if that's the case, perhaps just the comparison. I have not seen enough tsuba sales to notice. What i have noticed is that if folks list a tsuba that is genuinely listed in a publication then they fly of the shelf fast. Must admit, when i see something as such listed then my interest is far greater. Though obviously the item has to be of interest anyways, not just interesting due to the fact it is published.

Thanks Lewis, i kind of suspected small sori.

Its difficult judging a swords real shape from images, that must be said. Often swords look overly curved in images, i guess for folks that shop online, got to take real note when it comes to checking out the dimensions. The Kamakura sword above does not seem to have a great deal of sori, would be interesting to know what that measurement is. I prefer elegance over robustness with waks.

Kind of agree with Colin, slightly shortened then ok. Quickly looked through sales pages and randomly pulled a wak with the shape that appeals to me. Obviously on later Edo blades there would be more to the blade but it gives an idea.

I can say with certainty ive never bought a crappy tsuba, though one arrived with a sword i bought. Didn't receive one comment here, i later found out that it was late Edo and cut from sheet steel. Did i get upset, no, all part of learning and to be honest, ive never been the type to care what others think. I just learned that the tsuba had no real appeal, to me or anyone else. The "Norton" tsuba you show us in the collection above, picture is unclear and no information as to its "cookie" type corroded appearance?. Is this a shipwreck tsuba?, if so, with evidence then as i mentioned above i would understand the purchase. That would only be from an historical event perspective. I have a few musket balls here that came from a shipwreck, nothing special other than that fact and they were bought directly from the the salvage team. Just because a tsuba sits in a "Norton" collection does not automatically make them appealing or saleable, not to me. To me, its just an ugly looking corroded tsuba and yes, i wouldn't actually pay any money to own it, not even $20, unless there was evidence of it coming from a shipwreck and that would only be the appeal, even then id struggle. Thats my point of view. If someone wants to pay good money for such a tsuba then that's their business. Without evidence, then its a tsuba that will likely sit around in the sales section for an eternity. Did once buy a tsuba in poor condition, it had seen some corrosion (nowhere near that extent above) and someone had wire brushed it clean. The thing is though, it was kind of a rare Muromachi tsuba with no hitsu-ana. Not the type of tsuba that can commonly be bought in fine condition for a modest price. That re-patinated and looked decent. There was something special about it, had an appeal. As said, horses for courses. Not here to bash folks purchases but as always, if you put items on a public forum then expect a varied response as we all like and appreciate different items in obviously different states of preservation and with differing amounts of provenance.

Having a bit more time, finding it hard to pick one, as none really seem to have the sori and taper that i like to see in a wak. For that reason, id go with 3rd down, just because i find it the most interesting. Taper seems to be the issue here. Used to own the perfect shape Wak, deep Sori, nice taper with longer kissaki. This thread brings it to mind. Flicking through sales pages, generally fly past waks where width at the kissaki is close to width at the hamachi. Those above, just not enough difference and sori, for me.

Chill out Dan Folks make points Horses for courses

Ok Dan, no worries

Just helping from a financial point of view. As said before. Don't see point in buying 5 or so crappy tsuba that add up to $400 (with shipping) when that could get you 2 decent tsuba that you can actually re-sell If you like to throw your money away slowly but surely, that's your business. Let the OP make his own mind up, as you point out.

Paul, Wakizashi shape to me has been one of the most under talked subjects in Nihonto. Cheers for bringing it up.

They don't need to be expensive either.

Fair enough Dan. Maybe you could explain why you enjoy these tsuba and spending money on them. Might sway some of us.

Just to add to the OP. No expert but its Edo. Value, maybe $20 to $30, on a good day. Its heavily corroded, as mentioned. I'm surprised the cutlines go all the way through. To me it looks like someone attempted to cut a design but never finished it. It appears it last sat on a Wakizashi, due to small nakago-ana. I'm sure your next tsuba will be better, we all start somewhere. Folks can be picky about tsuba as they are numerous and decent tsuba can be picked up relatively cheap. Id be interested to hear about the shipwreck too, as that would add some appeal, if genuine and not a sales pitch. Disagree with Dan. Dont put all your money into buying tsuba like this, nothing much to learn and no enjoyment to ownership. It doesn't have a story to tell, as its a piece of iron without provenance and known history. I do get why folks will put up with some rusty relics. An example could be a cannon ball from the Mary Rose, bought directly from the salvage team. If you know what I'm saying. Being honest, welcome to the club

Ship wreck tsuba story here Colin ship – Tsuba Kansho

I think antiques are ok, its just that the lady I'm talking to is not up on the situation, so to speak. Was kind of tempted throw "modern traditionally made swords" in the spin but not great timing. lol On a plus note, at least more communication than last time i tried. Ps, No insurance anyways with these guys so i wouldn't use them internally anyways now. Its just for dealers sending from Japan, that's my concern. Though there is still UPS for that. Just thinking, the more options the better.,