Tosho tsuba question

[Ken-Hawaii]

I just received a nice Tosho tsuba, & while examining it, I noticed that on one portion of the sukidashi mimi I can see a glint of what looks like copper. I can also see the same glint at the middle of the sukashi, which shows in the photo. I can't get a decent photo of the mimi copper.

 

 

I've never seen a combination of metals quite like this - is it common?

 

Ken

[Rich S]

Ken - you're much more knowledgeable than I, but I don't see the copper color on the mimi. I do see the color in the flower sukaski, but are you sure it's not just left over rust? I've never heard of a copper - iron sanmai tsuba. What ever, it is a very nice tosho.

 

Rich

[Ken-Hawaii]

I thought it might be red rust, Rich, but under my 10X loupe & a strong light, it definitely looks like copper, as does the small patch on the mimi. It's definitely a strange combination to me, too.

 

Ken

[ROKUJURO]

Ken,

 

while your nice TSUBA looks more like a KATCHUSHI style one (EDO JIDAI) to me, I believe there is copper when you saw it under magnification. As we know, the production of a TSUBA plate from raffinated TAMAHAGANE steel excludes other metals, so this must be a later addition. Perhaps someone tried to 'embellish' the TSUBA in earlier days with the addition of copper, and a connoisseur of later days restored the simple and elegant design without removing the copper completely?

 

Just a guess to explain one possibility among many. If it is just on the surface, it may be scraped away with a fine, sharp steel tool.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Maybe it's my eyes but i find the location of the nakago ana odd.

[Pete Klein]

Ken - are you sure the 'mimi' isn't a soft metal fukurin? It might be the picture but it looks to be a different metal than the plate, and the 'copper' you see might be an un-patinated spot, possibly from a rub or bruise. It's probably just from the lighting but a thought.

[Jean]

Jacques is right, it comes probably from the fact that the picture was taken in a hurry and probably sideways, result visible in the shadows of the hitsu ana and central ana. Otherwise, were it not the case as was saying Sherlock Holmes : "Watson there is something horribly wrong in the central ana, it is not centered..."

 

Agreed with Pete, the fukurin seems made of an alloy as shakudo..

[Stephen]

right side up you can tell it looks off from angle shot, sorry i cant help on what looks like rust.

[Pete Klein]

Interesting. I think this might be an example of photographic parallax. The picture was taken close up and at an angle which causes the tsuba to appear narrower and compressed in the distance. RKG - where are you? LOL!