Tsuba Kantei

[Henry Wilson]

Below is another tsuba that I think is worthy of discussion. It is quite big at about 9 cm x 9 cm and about 0.28 cm at the nakago ana and 0.5 cm at the rim. It is signed but the signature has been covered up so please have a go at guessing who made it. Also if possible please state your reasons for a particular kantei call.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

[runagmc]

Hi Henry, I'm not very knowledgeable about tsuba, but this is unique from what I have seen...

 

Also, thanks for starting what hopefully will be another insightful post...

[Curran]

Abstain until some others reply.

[John A Stuart]

 

Kamakura bori

 

I am thinking. Colour is odd on the edge on shot and is making me second guess. John

[Brian]

What an odd and yet interesting tsuba. I really like it. Seems good iron and pleasant workmanship. Yet totally different techniques.

I haven't the foggiest what school though. Which pic shows the true colour best?

 

Brian

[Alan Morton]

Hi Henry,

 

Iwata Norisuke 1 or 2 although it could be "signed" Kanei or Nobuei by them.

 

Alan

[christianmalterre]

Henry -what a tricky boy you are!

 

me here-do say Gendai

mine call is based on 3 obvious points:

-Sekigane

-zogan

-patination

 

remarkable is the iron!(very good!)

(if i am not completely wrong now?-i even dare to say that i do know the artist who made it-at least his tradition)

 

Christian

[Higo-san]

I would also guess for a modern artist!

 

Patina can be misleading, but the way the surface is hammered at the rim, the way the decoration is chiseled and the overall motif speak for a contemporary tsuba artist.

 

Best,

 

Chris

[TosoguCz]

Hello,

An execution of the mimi on the examined tsuba remids me this picture I have.

[christianmalterre]

Dear Roman

 

you but hopefully know who this guy(your´s picture)is?

 

LOL!

 

Christian

[Henry Wilson]

Thank you alll to those who have commented so far.

 

Below is a picture from Nobuie Tanshu by Nakamura Kakudayu for reference.

 

The colour is best illustrated in this picture.

 

Please feel free to comment and please don't be shy.

[Pete Klein]

From the patina etc:

 

Naruki Issei

 

[Chishiki]

Hi, the sekigane and nakago-ana are very crisp and fresh looking. My guess is modern (since meiji). Mark

[christianmalterre]

me had same thought Pete

 

i but am puzzeled as Kazuhiko does use Yakite Shitate generally(at least i do only know Tsuba by him done in such way)

equally i never have seen doing him Sekigane...

(of course-i can be completely wrong-just do not have more reference on him-maybe but an other boardmember here???)

see him here:

 

 

 

Christian

[christianmalterre]

mine call is what i thought first-

Hallam Ryu

 

Christian

 

Edit:

and i even dare to say-it´s the Oyabun himself here

[docliss]

 

岩田則亮

 

John L.

[Curran]

Think Pete nailed it: Issei Naruki . Though not sure about the inserts and most of his finished are a bit more glossy. Plus, inserts are a bit large for him. Thus, possibly modern work by Ford Hallam or Kevin Adams

[Kevin Adams]

The iron patina, the sekigane and there's just something about the carving - gotta say Ford Hallam.

[Ford Hallam]

Ok, time for me to come clean. This is, as some suspected, a work by myself.

 

I was very flattered by the various calls for Naruki Issei, a man who I greatly respect and admire, (thanks Pete ) and the other late Edo makers also.

 

This piece wasn't actually conceived as an utsushi in the usual sense of the term, rather I used it to explore and experiment with various effects and features to be found on Nobuie type works. Obviously the shaping of the mimi was something that I was keen to work though, it's the only way to develop a proper understanding of the methods the original makers may have employed.

 

In this case I worked the steel cold, making the job harder as the metal is thickened only slightly and quite close to the edge as opposed to working hot (red) where the displacement of metal will invariably extend deeper into the plate giving a softer and fuller effect. I think working cold is most likely what they did, perhaps with initial preforming of indented notches while hot, just to get the depth and thickness.

 

The surface texture is the other major aspect I've been working on. The usual description is 'yaki-shitate', suggesting that it was melted. I've never felt that the term was actually technically literal, for various practical reasons, but rather that it is a label that merely describes the appearance and not method. Chances are the term was invented by a collector and didn't come from a workshop anyway.

 

Having said that it seems clear to me that the softened and gently 'weathered' appearance of Nobuie style tsuba is achieved by some process of heat oxidation and controlled erosion/corrosion. What I am doing is using the forge's heat, combined with a clay slurry (with a secret blend of herbs and spices) to 'age' and modify the steel surface.

 

The decoration I applied was chosen so that I could study the effect of my developing process on these types of surface decoration. The giri-bori scrollwork when fresh has a very sharp displaced edge but on older examples we note this is very pleasingly softened. I'm satisfied that repeated applications of my method will yield an appropriate look also. At the moment I'm using 3 or 4 cycles but perhaps a little patience is in order and I could try 6 or 6 times to get a really aged effect.

 

The reverse, with the flower pattern, was very rapidly carved and left in a fairly rough state with only the lightest scraping to take away sharp edges. As can be seen the 'aging/weathering' process has rendered that side quite convincingly to a soft stone-like texture. For me that is a very pleasing result.

 

The patina is also a process in development and I'll probably use other preparatory process next time to further 'open up' the steel surface.

 

I'd like to point out that I don't, nor will I ever, deliberately try to make pieces intended to deceive as to their origin. In this case there are a few point, which have been picked up on by the eagle eyed among you :D , that mark this as a modern work. The uncharacteristic handling of the carving of the flowers was an obvious one (the usual approach would have been a simply geri-bori outline, John's call on Kamakura bori was in fact quite accurate as that was part of my thinking as I did it.) and the rather clan appearance of the seki-gane. I would caution, however, against rely too much on seki-gane. They are actually the easiest aspect to fake and make look really old. So if that was the warning signal for you please consider checking more closely other aspects of pieces your examining because a sneaky faker may catch you up on that point. In fact, next time I may be tempted myself

 

I attach a few more close up images for your examination.

 

Thanks for indulging me and for your considered input. And thanks to Henry for colluding with me me in this challenge.

 

[Guido]

The usual description is 'yaki-shitate', suggesting that it was melted. I've never felt that the term was actually technically literal, for various practical reasons, but rather that it is a label that merely describes the appearance and not method. Chances are the term was invented by a collector and didn't come from a workshop anyway.

Come on, do you mean to tell me that also Gamma-Hada is actually not made of toad skins???

[Ford Hallam]

you mean this...?

 

I believe the originals used real toad skin but animal rights activists have put a stop to that now. So I had to figure out how to do it just with metal, I'd have preferred real toad skin though

[Brian]

Nice one Ford, a good exercise and very educational.

I am particularly impressed by the ability of members to call the correct attribution. It wasn't easy, so shows how people here are learning, and also keeping an open mind whilst evaluating traits.

 

Brian

[Ford Hallam]

Cheers Brian,

 

I also appreciated the responses. Next time I may have to be more devious though On a serious note though, I do think this is a good way to learn how to really see old and new. And to always be on your guard

[christianmalterre]

:D !

 

well done!

 

Christian

[Henry Wilson]

I found a nice picture of a Momoyama period Ki Seto chawan. The finish in general and especially the blossom and vine motif remind me of the Nobuie homage tsuba by Ford discussed in this thread. I cannot find a colour version but I imagine the bowl is a soft yellow colour with green highlights. For more info on Ki Seto, check out this link:

 

http://www.e-yakimono.net/guide/html/ki-seto.html

 

[Henry Wilson]

I found this by a late Edio smith called Naoaki. Check out the link for more details. It kind of reminds me of Ford's tsuba at the beginning of this discussion.

 

 

http://www.shoubudou.co.jp/tuba-493.html

[Tiaan Burger]

My first post on the forum, been reading and learning a lot over the past couple of days. Thank you Ford for this kantei, I am working on two steel tsuba with raised rims, will have to try your technique next time as cutting the rim gives a very formal and hard look.

 

"Herbs and spices" ? I was wondering about the process you use, as I used to get a very close approximation when welding up billets. For some reason the charcoal forge and ash does not have the same effect.