chuck

I got these earlier this week. I would love to post pictures, but pictures do not in any way do these justice. I cannot capture in pixels the grace and power that Ford has imbued in these miniature sculptures. Absolutely gorgeous. I am in awe. Thank you Ford!! ...and Raiden says "gu-bah", but that's about all he says right now. I think it means thank you. peace.

Six months ago my son Raiden was born (short version of a long story - My wife wouldn't let me name him "Thor" and I wouldn't let her name him "Aiden", so we found a happy compromise!). I wanted him to have something personal and special, to carry with him as he got older, something that would always be his. So I contacted Mr. Ford Hallam and commissioned a set of menuki special for the boy. Raiden: http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/ ... C_0398.jpg Raiden Menuki: https://picasaweb.google.com/1029203212 ... unmpLL6zwE Ford's own discussion thread: http://www.followingtheironbrush.org/vi ... 33&p=25881 Don't have these yet - they'll be on their way real soon! But I am ecstatic how well they came out, and Raiden and I can't wait to get them! Just thought I'd share. Thanks for looking. Peace.

Well, I'm sad to say it not just eBay. There's a local annual antiques fair where a large number of antiques dealers show up and display their wares. The only dealer there in Asian "antiques" has, the last two times I have been there, one of these obvious copies with a price tag on it of $1,750 (there's still casting flash in the nakago-ana!). I've seen the exact same tsuba up for $10 on eBay. Sad. Especially since there were a couple of other pieces he had that I liked a great deal (a bronze vase and something else I can't remember now), but I didn't buy because I couldn't be sure if they were antiques or "antiques". I figure someone willing to try to sell a $10 tsuba for $1750 is pretty much to be avoided in everything else as well. I'm not sure if there's anything I can say or do about it, but I hope to gods that no-one's dumb enough to pay that much. peace.

Really nice!! Is there anything of interest on the kojiri, or is it just a plain metal cap? pax.

Trying out a new camera. Figured I'd post my favorite menuki. Anything anyone can tell me about them would be appreciated. They're red copper with gold and silver plating. Late Edo, I'm pretty sure. EDIT: Ok, I can see the picture doesn't do them justice. I'ma git the tripod and try again soon. Damn newfangled technology. pax.

Ah! I had mistaken that for grime from age... the whole "never clean inside the sukashi" thing. Grrrrr... I'm getting better at spotting the fakes but obviously I'm not 100% yet. Apparently, I knew something wasn't right, but I was wrong about why. I know this is probably going to ultimately sound silly, but I've also been haunting nihonto sites and the aoi-auction site, so I've seen a number of tsuba in the 1000-1500 price range. This tsuba didn't have the "look" or "feel" of the other tsuba I'd seen, so I was wondering if I was either misunderstanding something about the tsuba or if the seller was trying to pull something. And now I know. Much thanks for all the info. The more I learn, the more I realize there's more to learn.

Whoops! Sorry!! I was only trying to improve my understanding. I didn't realize I was breaking any rules. Many apologies. I will wait for the auction to end before any further discussion Thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Edo-period-tatemaru ... 231076e00a Not that I'm thinking of bidding on it. But since I've started collecting and trying to understand tsuba and tsosogu, I've been looking at as many examples as I can find (even on eBay - I love it when I can spot a fake!). This looks to me like a real tsuba, but also pretty unexceptional. But I've seen unexceptional looking tsubas before with hefty price tags. So if this is, in fact, a reasonable price for this tsuba, I am interested in understanding why that is the case. In other words, what is it that makes this particular tsuba rare and valuable? (assuming it is at all)? Thanks!

By "sword oil" I'm assuming you mean choji oil? Ok, that makes more sense than trying to rub it dry. Good to know. Thanks!

Is alcohol ok to rinse off the "rust dust", or should I just try to brush it out best I can with a soft brush? Thanks for the help!

I just acquired a new tsuba three days ago, perhaps without examining it as closely as I should have, got it home and took it out to show a friend of mine, and I noticed several small spots of red rust on the back. Deep in carved grooves. I'm not taking it back. I like it too much. Perhaps not wisely. It's one of those things, you know. I know rubbing with ivory splinters are the best thing to use to get off rust spots, but I don't have the first idea where to get them. Also, once the rust is out of the groove or wherever, there's a lot of rust dust on the tsuba (I tried rubbing with a wooden toothpick, then I figured I'd better do it right and see if I can get ivory). Is it ok to use a q-tip maybe wet with a little alcohol to get this off? (I know better not to do this without checking with the experts first.) I'm between cameras so I don't have any pictures right now. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I know it's a tsuba and not munuki, but could someone perhaps explain the "Mentally Unstable Man Taunting a Frog with a Gourd" motif? http://www.japanesesword.de/?site=fitti ... b25s6pmg85 I'm just not comprehending it.

Thanks for the info!! I had heard the story before, but I didn't make the connection to the munuki. Also of interest: A kozuka showing rats pretending to be samurai: https://www.aoi-art.com/auction/en/auct ... 1213703271 I would unquestionably buy this if I had the spare cash. Shame that I don't. damn.

Turtle in a Gift Box? http://cgi.ebay.com/3653-Edo-Samurai-sw ... 4aa92ce544 Weird. Can anyone explain why "Turtle in a Gift Box" is a menuki motif? I'm really kinda curious about this one. pax.

Gorgeous!! Thanks for posting those!