Spartancrest

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/Japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2F2JP3ZzTjeBHaSvmGRQycNb/13_1/

Either a giant has got a sukashi tsuba for sale or that tsuba came off a tiny sword! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/406839530729

An unusual way to sell a rather nice hamidashi tsuba - why did they take an image where the nakago-ana is "filled"? A number of these small guards have been "repurposed" as netsuke and the hole has been filled with a plug in order to carry a cord. something else made from a hamidashi tsuba? There is one small image that shows the black hole tsuba is not filled - simply photographed badly. https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1225438063 An image from a book "Sword and Blossom Poems" ca. 1910 > 1914 shows a hamidashi tsuba. For those interested the poem translates as : "Two dragons leap from the sheath, clanging loudly in the night. In peaceful times, they are of no use; they are merely islands of injustice."

Single opening hamidashi https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30726/lot/109/two-shakudo-goto-school-hamidashi-tanto-tsuba-edo-period-18th-century-2/ Double opening hamidashi https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/28556 - museum that has very little information [doesn't even describe the type] https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24987- a little more information but wrong style given [tanto] An example of a Hamidashi Hamidashi tsuba can come in almost any style and school - they are not as common as other forms, I guess they were not replaced as often as larger types [How often did people swap out their favourite personal weapon?] As I have found [and others agree] tanto/hamidashi size tsuba tend to be cheaper to collect - so a good area to start a collection? Probably there is not a lot of information on this subject currently available - but maybe you can become the next "expert" on this niche line of research? Welcome to NMB André Nice pieces at auction now https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1225373964 https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1225319208 https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1225136036 and a more "normal" tanto https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1225314995

Perhaps it might be a generalization but I think tanto sized tsuba are underrated - they require as much [or even more] work to construct, but most collectors tend to concentrate on larger guards. Bigger is not necessarily better. Maybe we need a magnifying lens mounted over these little fellows to give them the credit they deserve?

They made a better deal than this one https://www.bonhams.com/auction/18307/lot/6093/a-nagatsune-tsuba-by-minamoto-nagatsune-edo-period-19th-century/ Sold for US$976 https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-tsuba-depicting-oni-kneeling-before-abe-no-seim-220-c-19f4a14bbb This one had an estimated auction valuation of Est: €700 EUR - €1,400 EUR - it passed!

What type of bird is this supposed to be? I don't know of any that look like this in reality.

An inlay design to add to your group of images - the birds face right and left "outward" to the rim

https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1224988813 a close look at the left hitsu and you get another "cat face" - a bit chubbier maybe we can classify a whole new style of hitsu by the type of feline species? Perhaps Dobby wearing some cat ears on the right? And yes there is a cat called "Dobby" he has FOUR ears -

Well maybe a Cheshire cat amongst the karigane!

An "Owari" you might notice the birds are inverted - pointing towards the seppa-dai rather than the mimi. https://www.choshuya.co.jp/senrigan/抱茗荷雁金透鍔（鐔）　無銘　尾張/鍔/尾張 Afew in this older thread https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/44479-wild-geese-in-the-clouds/

Well not this one anyway! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/188197194660 big money! $47

Well no surprise there - I have compiled my own book with dozens [at least 62] of tsuba designs replicated over and over [and not all cast copies] One particular pattern of the rain dragon has now reached 162 individual examples. A question better asked of Grev Cooke as he did the book - but yes I would say it was iron. A great number of guards were copied between schools so once again it is very possible for a design to be attributed to more than one school.

Hi Tim - I went through my books - - all 98 - - and found another utsushi in Greville Cookes book - "The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery - Tsuba collection V2" You might like to ask Kissaki for a better image. I don't suppose it was in that book where you first saw it? You might notice the bird has lost some of its tail in this example.