BjornLundin

Found this lurking around, first I thought the kissaki looked butchered but the skull fittings look interestingly but probably casts. blade nr 1. https://auctionet.com/sv/1923676-katana-Japan Somehow, I think koto and most probably a new tourist piece. Another one, that someone had some fun with blade nr 2. https://auctionet.com/sv/1927840-katana-Japan-1800-tal Blade Nr 2. Blade Nr 1.

Thank you Jean, I was more thinking of removing the fushi and kashira and then commission a new tsuka to be made together with the saya. Alas, that might not be the correct thing to do. I am also inclined to agree that the tensho line is a better solution but sometimes I am wrong. Best Björn

Hi, I realized that I have not looked at Tsuka´s for sale, and found this one at AoiArt. Iron FK, with plum blossoms. This could be another option as suggested to go with the four gentlemen. To complete the four Gentlemen then I further need bamboo and orchid to represent the set. The quality looks ok, but it is possible a little too "much" going on comparing to the tsuba. What can be done to the iron to remove the rust? oil or painstaking cleaning with a toothpick. What do you all think? https://www.aoijapan.com/tsuka-2/

Thank you, sorry for the wrong side of the page. All small things are welcome, I am like a sponge keep on learning. Iron FK it is, and where to focus will be ^^ Best Björn

Hi Christian, thank you for the information. For a person with limited knowledge, like mysel,f these notes and suggestion is a gold mine. I found a similar tsuba from Artur and I hope to get it home to compare the workmanship. Hopefully learning something in the process Anyway, I cant tell from what school it is from and I got it due to that it struck a chord in me It is very nice ^^ I agree that a iron FK set would be good and Ford work is the best option right now. Commission a new one is a bit over my budget at the moment and I need to save a bit to order it, to keep the wife happy. Maybe something will pop up in between, but so far after a few months of looking, I have not really found something that for me is a good match. Why I refer it to Hoan is due to the paper work that came with it. I believe it is a later Hoan piece as stated in the papers? Sorry for the large file size.

The picture of the Hoan tsuba is in the first post of this thread. Best Björn

Ah, the left one. Yes I was also thinking that it fell out and some one replaced it with a silver one. Then I thought that when the kogai hitsu-ana was filled, they replaced the gold or it was already lost then with a silver one to be more "in balance" ... Making a new gold one wouldnt be of much trouble, but replacing it on the tsuba is another story :| There is also a possible crack in the right gold infill next to kozuka hitsu-ana. Alas it has been around. I will contact Ford and check with him. Thank you again! Best Björn

Hi, thank you for everyone advice and sorry for the absence! I was also thinking in the same are area and now I can put a name to it "Tensho Koshirae" with black Same. I have some experience with metal work, but I think I am far away to even try to do something to this or other antiques. What do you think needs to be restored? Another theme, would be of the autumn. For the FK, a good iron would be perfect. The horse FK set I have been oogling before at touken-matsumoto but it has been unsold for a quite some time and I think it is a bit over priced, but I have a perfect menuki matching it. There is a Funada Ikkin Yoshimori FK set at Yohindo https://yuhindo.com/funada-ikkin-fuchigashira/ but I think that set would then shift the focus point from the tsuba. For me this is very very nice. Alix posted a FK set of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, that might be an alternative, another he posted is of a scare crow. Ford, also posted of "simple/solemn" iron FK set, I took it of his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tsubaman/posts/2271707079556643 I like Fords version, but I also like to have a story What do you all think! So hard.

Dear everyone. I need all your help. This is a tricky one for me. I am in the process to locate and get different pieces to work together for a koshirae project for my wakizashi. The Tsuba is a Hoan and I find it hard to know what will work with it. One word I think of when studying the tsuba is solemn. One idea is a Soten style FK set. SO please add your ideas Very much appreciation from my side for any ideas!

Terrible, when this happens. I hade a tsuba sent from Japan sent early this year and got it 4-5 month later. So there is hope. As a tip with a bit more expensive orders is the possibility to add an Apple Air tracker to the package. 29 USD for an extra eye in the sky.

Interesting cockerel tsuba. I wonder if the bonhams one have been restored. Do the artist create a master tsuba and then copy the design from that one or is it from a drawing.

Hi Robert, I am wondering if any clients have had problem with cracks? Different climates have different humidity and living in the North we have large variation in humidity (in Winter very low (water is snow), and in Summer a bit higher). I very much guess our/my North is similar to that in Hokkaido. Best Björn

Thank you! Your reports have clearly pointed out the minefield that is out there. Interestingly, some of the items have fetched high prices in the auctions. Please continue to add suspected items, so that we (me) can continue to train our (my) eyes and brain. Best Björn

http://www.ncjsc.org/item_tanaka_yoshikage_tsuba.htm "Tanaka" Yoshikage 義景 (c. 1850) Certification: NTHK Yoshikage was a student of Tanaka Kiyotoshi 田中清壽, and worked in Shiba in Edo. His works are mainly in the style of the Tanaka School. His family name is Morikawa 森川, and he used the art names of Hoansai 宝庵斎, and Hoshinsai 宝真斎. This iron tsuba exhibits the original, and much admired, red-brown patina this school was known for, as well as the rust these tsuba were prone to develop. As can be seen in the photos, there is no more rust on this tsuba today, then there was when this tsuba was photographed for "The Naunton Collection" catalogue, around 1912, shortly after this tsuba was made. At that time this tsuba was only 50 or 60 years old. Much of this rust can be reduced, leaving a much nicer look, as seen on the top quarter of the back view. The iron plate has a waxy, slightly irregular, surface and looks like stone or leather. Much of the gold on the tree and branches is applied very thickly using nunome, with few hints visible as to the method used. This subject was very popular among the rich merchants of Edo, in the late Edo period. A very similar treatment of this theme was done by Natsuo.

Ty all. Thank you for the advice! I will keep my eyes on the bidding 🧐 -Björn

I noticed this a bit strange shape of a wakizashi. I was wondering if my eyes are right, it feels that the proportions are a bit of, long kissaki also... I feel, I need some more education in this one 😀 https://auctionet.com/sv/1763172-wakizashi-Japan-mei-kanda-ju-kanetsun-shinto-1597-1780-nagasa-38-cm

Hi Kyle, I like the Kuroda kanon tsuba, but is the text in white? Best Björn

Have been inspired a bit of this design with knobs, and gama hada, it is nice to work with your hands.

Another One that sparked my interest. I like the design and the dots. Anyone seen it before. The seller show a photo of a similar one in a Book. And a Link for those who want to get it 😤 https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/t807932927?conversionType=search_yac_browsing_hisotry_list

Thank you! As always need to study more 👍 Dangerous price intervall, do the sellers take that into account? As usuall when you finally saved up a good chunk you start to glance to the next budget step and then the next budget step...

First, when I noticed it, I was like 250000 Yen. It cant be true. It was 2.5m Yen lol. Any way, been looking a bit for a blade with this form. Any reasons why not, except it is beyond my budget right now. https://www.toukenhataya.jp/goods/sword/sword_s1904.html Best Björn

Thank you Jean! Ah yes, Akasuka been there a few times. I guess the brain picks the stuff it remembers 👍

Hi, Monday again. Found this one in my taste also. Yes My taste is strange. Tadatoki, Akasuka? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/t807045482?conversionType=mypage_watch_list Got outbidded, so I was wondering if the piece warrents a higher price or if I should be happy to be outbidded. Best Björn

Yea, it really destroyed my day, talk about anticlimax. Feels like a only in Japan thingy.

Hi all, I really wanted to get this tsuba, but seller withdrawed the auction in the last minute. So anyone can give information of this one and what school so that I can search for a similar piece. https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/l667744382?conversionType=mypage_closed_watch_list