Spartancrest

I presume it was this auction site? https://page.auction.../auction/e1157163192 or https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1157163192 Also seen on an old Christie's auction blurry image so it may not be the same guard? So the problem is they have gone missing here in Australia - that is unusual - lets just hope they may turn up a little later. I will keep my eyes open.

They come in various shapes and with differing types of additional decorations. A popular design. The last two have fukurins added to the rims and the design has the hitsu reversed compared to the other four.

So popular that the Chinese are still making copies! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/202747314034 I would much prefer your plain iron guard to this pretend piece!

Welcome Dee. Not ten a penny - just a popular design. Plain iron tsuba are held in high esteem by the majority of collectors and by the samurai who used them. I agree it looks old and a true period piece. [The "Why?" thread just shows that many, many tsuba patterns are copied over a very long period of time - they wouldn't have persisted if they weren't liked.] "Rusty" is one of my favourite words with tsuba

< From this to this > https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1159132466 - cut nakago-ana and another original Heianjo "intact" https://www.cordys.c...s/AA6/catalogue/0084 No shortage of basic "stock" if you wish to tamper with them [heaven forbid!] These "modified" tsuba could be a new area of study.

I think it might actually add a little to the value, someone treasured it enough for the "up-grade"

Cut down Kaneie - why would you do that? https://www.jauce.com/auction/v1159117366 This "Tanto" tsuba caught my attention with the small carved decoration on the lower edge and a partial signature that even a mei dyslexic like myself could recognise. The top right of the signature has been erased like 80% of the original guard, for reasons unknown. I know a lot of Kaneie were faked but never seen one this cut up!

Another "fish bones" https://www.bonhams....-and-19th-century-2/

x2, Long, long time coming but I don't forget a face. https://www.bonhams....17th-19th-century-5/ By the auction account Akao school.

That said, pocket watches or the like were items of Western ephemera. I could see why Japanese people in the Edo Period with a fascination for Western culture might want such a design. Essentially, it is for the same reason that we obsess over Tosogu in this forum! [Quote from Jake6500 Posted August 22]

Same guard? https://ikedaart.net/?pid=157631118

Tats! Get inked!

Super chunky rim - I don't think it is a close "relative", naive or even crude? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/126135397583

As Chris has said it is a good idea to check any openings and the outside edges. Here are a few more points to look out for [there are lots more] This example has an excellently done "signature" but it can't be real because the tsuba has so many faults pointing out it is modern and a fake. As a rule I always suspect a signature and don't buy just on that basis - buy for the quality, if the signature turns out to be good so much the better.

Another - chunky version that sold recently. Not as nice as yours Colin but something to compare. https://www.ebay.com/itm/186569600604 sold August 12th.

Come on you know you want one! They certainly make an entrance statement! Now that is a DOOR HANDLE ! https://silkroadyamb...ndle-grab-old-style/ https://www.etsy.com...r-handle-pull-katana [PS THEY COME IN THREE COLOURS AND MATCHING PAIRS OR SINGLE] I wanted one but could not justify the expense so I just used a cast tsuba. [Also over on the cast tsuba thread]

At last a good use for CAST tsuba. I converted this cast guard into a door handle on my barn door.

Ron - first, welcome to the forum From your images are we seeing just the one side of the tsuba? If you check this image you will see two modern "reproductions" showing that they were injection moulded on one side but not the other. So check the other side of the guard. I have to agree with Colin that it looks like yours is almost identical to two of the modern ones. One of the modern ones is trying to sell at an unbelievable price!!

Tim, a large following of tsuba used the same flower container motif. It would not surprise me if your Kozuka went along with a matching tsuba. Numbers 5 & 6 look like the oldest? [straying a little ] and may as well add one extra.

Well this guy the "Backyard Blacksmith" https://www.jauce.co...j2hmyuc?search=tsuba is a big fan of the stuff - all his work is uniformly coloured with the same artificial patina. It stands out. [but in this case not in a good way!] JMHO

Hi Colin have you seen this? https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1158008208 obvious differences but a lot of similarity particularly the bottom of the guard where the stems come together. I don't think the seller has attributed it to any particular school or smith which is a pity.

Well I have to admit one of those Antler tsuba is mine! Number 5 with the metal seppa-dai - not much bigger than a fifty cent piece with its own custom box [also not much bigger than a matchbox!] Had it since 2018 - is there a statute of limitations?

You bet! Like swallowing a fish hook - fishes revenge?

A friend sent me a link to a strange looking tsuba design currently up for auction: The image [eventually] sparked my memory of a similar themed guard in the Royal Ontario Museum: However that description just does not gel [a design of leaves "After the style of Risei of Sadol"] Having found that image, I found another from Japan with a much more plausible explanation of the design. https://www.seiyudo.com/tu-120519.htm Bream bones With that clue I found this image which would seem to confirm the fish bone accuracy. What do others think?

It is just YOU. No there are some "spectacular" fakes getting about [But this is not one of them!]- the production techniques are improving all the time - I don't envy future generations at all. Is there such a thing as "Deepfake tsuba"?