Steves87

Dont worry too much about this one Roger, I remember from an earlier thread of yours that you have some great Soten Tsuba that I would love to have in my collection,

Hi Roger, If it is ok, Id like to throw in my 2 cents and agree with Jean, especially in regards to the 'dot inlays'. Judging by the photos provided, It seems as the bulk of these are a cast 'dot' which have then been coloured in gold.

If I had to take a stab at it, my guess would be a very thin nail polish? 'watered' down, but still enough to dry very hard

Thank you for pointing out the spirals George, although I did notice it, I did not take that perspective on them or the 'start-stop' carving of the rockwork.

I like it Stephen, Id consider it myself if I had the spare funds! I notice some of the rock carvings on the right side have the 'start stop marks as per George's earlier post. Im assuming the occasional carving with these is ok and perhaps unavoidable, but at what point/quantity of carves, would these be unacceptable? I hear the magic number for Tsuba with lost Zogan is 10%, would this be similar?

Some Tsuba from this seller are ok, especially when you consider the cost they are purchased for. Aside from the glued decorated Tsuba that they sell, the other issue I see from this seller is that they seem to lacquer or coat them with something. Judging by your pictures I would say your Tsuba is also coated. Heating the Tsuba could cause this coating to melt or stain? I recently bought from this seller and although it too was coated, it was (very) cheap and it filled the 'example gap' in my collection, until I can trade up to a better example.

not sure, I know that seller seems to sell a lot of Tsuba like that (glued decorations) just wondering if it was bought through them.

I really Like the first one out of the three

Hi Dwain, was Tsuba purchased from seller yumi3go55 by any chance?

Thank you for the examples everyone I think I'm generally getting it. The sitting Tiger made my heart skip a beat... wow.... Just wow...

Thanks Mark, possibly that is why I have not seen 'bad examples', I'm looking from a binary point of view... I'm looking at magnified stills of individual lines a lot of the time, this is the first thing I am going to stop doing. Great example of Pietà, I know of the artwork at the Vatican, I did a quick image search and didn't realise the existence of some of the other examples.

Thank you for your reply Mark, the feeling I had was that the two go hand in hand, but I constantly find myself being surprised in this large field. I think I understand what you mean between western and eastern artworks, this is something I'm still learning, but understanding relatively easily. I also agree I would rather good carving over good composition, however, I find myself only seeing what is considered good carving and I truly cannot say I have seen 'bad carving', this causes doubt about what I think I know so far.

Hello all, I was looking through an old NMB thread a while back regarding the differences between 'good and bad' Nanako and was wondering if there is a similar thread about Kata-kiri bori? I couldn't hit a thread with the search button, but im trying to learn if good and bad examples of Kata-kiri bori are more from the actual carving itself or from an artistic/subject matter point of view? I'm hoping someone can please help cheers

I have no idea, but as someone who changes out Tsuba on Iaito fairly frequently, you could potentially have multiple middle plates with many different designs which you could change out whenever the occasion suited, but still keeping same shape.... snow theme in December, rabbit at in spring, etc

How similar is the rust on your newly acquired vs older nice one?

I saw this one on auction today, has a bit of a Namban feel to it...?

Good job on the photoshop, even now knowing where the break lines are, its still hard to see them

I thought they were 'Kanzashi Hair Ornaments'

I agree with Jean on the funny Nakago-Ana. Zooming in it seems the tip has been filled? Or perhaps, not removed?

I really like that! The red tip end of sword makes me happy

Just saw the FB post from Bella, very sad news, wishing him a very speedy recovery.

Hi Roger, I personally would never say no to more pictures, wether they help or not!

Thank you for your reply John, my translations are something I have been practicing (where I know I can attain answers without pestering NMB). So no reason/significance, just a different choice in Mei style...

Inlaid enamel? The pupil?

Hello all, I have this Nara Tsuba with a golden patched Mei and although I have seen this style of gold patched Mei before, I am unable to find out if there is any significance or reasoning to it. Is this possibly a later addition and not an original signature? Although I have not been able to find an answer to this, I'm pretty sure the Mei reads Nao masa. Please forgive any offence to Tsuba quality or photo quality. Thank you for any help you may be able to give.