Steves87

yep, that is a good practice to get into. Not sure how critical it is for iron guards, but any of the softer metals/alloys, it is important. Just in the last couple of weeks while searching, enough cases have appeared to know that it is a problem.

There are a few leather ones out there, but this one is by far, the best of them. Most of comparable age are in very bad condition, and none are of a quality that can compete with this one.

The other issue for collectors is exchange rate. A 75usd Tsuba is actually about 130aud for me after paypal adds their cut and that's not including local taxes and the post covid shipping rates of 35-75aud on top. Bidding against someone who's primary currency is USD is almost impossible these days. The cheap bargains are a life saver

Dale, I think that seller's tape measure is older than a lot of the Tsuba we see on this forum

Reverse side

As promised and with a massive thank you to Dale (would not have happened without him) here are the two! I think they are a perfect difference in overall size?

I followed back, great shots!

Great, I'll keep an eye out for you, do you post your Tsuba there? Im in a similar boat, I usually look at timber carvings there. My user name is tachikaze350 if you see me follow at some point

I generally suffer from bad timing syndrome, I really must thank Dale a thousand times over for the opportunity! It really is a popular theme, didn't think so before this thread though! I'll post both together soon, all things going well

Great collection! I vote for the bottom left (as orientated on screen)

Nice shot David, are you on instagram?

That is excellent, thank you for sharing. I also want to add how very rare it is to see depictions of fire on Tosogu. I have not seen it depicted as finely as this.

That looks great Marcos, congratulations! My Iaito has modern reproduction menuki (which I specifically requested). TSUBA is a great theme, as well as an item!

I have a pic like that ! This is approximately 14 months wear from dojo use. The material is magnetic and was advertised as iron.

according to a post by Hristo Tenev on the facebook post, the translation is "the sound of the mountain is high"

I agree with all Dale has said. For a first Tsuba it is not the worst you could do. Every guard you buy is another piece of valuable information towards your learning. You may or may not hold on to this guard, but anything you learn from it will transfer to the next piece. Helping you in your decision of the next acquisition and further maintenance. You have a starting point to your collection, keep us updated to where your collection heads.

A little bit distressing, they were some very nice examples. Where did he get them from? The lower left looks to be Soten/Hikone.

Thanks John, good to know someone got a win!

Went for the reserve price, 1000aud. How was that for price?

Quite interesting. I personally think the "more decorated" side would still have been mounted facing out while worn, in this case. From a functional point of view, I also cannot see a good reason to suggest otherwise, especially if the prongs serve as catchers. It does vary, but a general rule of thumb is that the Tsuba sits approximately one fist from the body when sheathed. Taking sword angle into account, the prongs shouldn't interfere with the body. From a drawing sword point of view, there may be some hindering for the hand reaching the koiguchi. Less so though, than compared to having the prongs as hand guards

Thanks John, I'm not up with it on this side of things and was wondering how accurate it might be. I'll be interested in see how much it goes for

my local auction house is having another militaria auction soon, I thought some of the lots may be of interest, especially lot 50 Interbid Bidding Window if the previous direct link doesn't work, maybe try this Welcome - Todd's Auctions (toddsauctions.com.au) and choose the Bayonets, Knives and Sword Auction from the 4 listed auctions

I used to sell items on ebay. On my last sale they incorrectly charged me fees (x10) and I stopped all sales immediately. They did re-fund all fees about 2-3 months later, but the damage was done. Now if I see an item on ebay which is from a seller who I can also find an outside site or store to, I contact them directly about that item and they are usually happy to split the difference with me on the fees which would have come from ebay (not necessarily Nihonto related). As a buyer, ebay used to give me 10 to 20% discounts on a regular basis which did influence a purchase, haven't had any for quite a while now though.

A great first bunch of Tsuba. The Jakushi dragon is quite a good example to what I have seen out there before. That particular design is common enough you will see a few a year, most with slight differences and most will be "Katana sized". If you come across a smaller waki or tanto size, get it, they are a lot more rare and I can only recall seeing two (my own being one of them). As I mentioned to Dale, I resigned from my work in December and I had a bunch of Utsushi photos on my work computer. In lazy fashion (or not enough time fashion) I never properly catalogued them and it seems I missed transfering a folder on my work computer (which I definitely will not be going back to)

I always thought mine was a scroll, but a rolled mat makes so much more sense. I hope someone can chime in with a good meaning to the theme