Few newbie questions and my third purchase

[Antti]

Greetings again everyone!

 

The first two tsuba I acquired proved out to be adequate purchases, so it is time for the third round. But two questions first if I may:

 

1. Just out of interest, are the nihonto/tosogu collectors all men, or are there any active female collectors in the community? I'm just interested whether women appreciate the aesthetic grace of Japanese swords and their fittings, or are they, with their masculine connotations, only desirable to men?

 

2. The tsuba of my new purchase has some rust in it. Therefore, I have been giving some thought of trying to remove it. Now I have read the "Cleaning Iron Tsuba" guide from Richard Stein's website, and also several topics related to this subject from this forum. Now what I have learned that you can use bone (antler for example) to remove the rust. However, I remember reading about a fiber "pen" of some sort, perhaps used by car paintshops or something, that can also be used. I cant remember where I read it, so could someone elaborate. If they can be ordered somewhere, a link would be great.

 

All right, to the purchase. This time I decided to buy a koshirae instead of a tsuba, as the opportunity presented itself. I still intend to concentrate on tsuba, but I think getting a koshirae was a good idea. I could not help feeling like someone who wanted to collect stamps, but had never held a letter in his hands. Also, I must admit, that I had my eyes on a kinko tsuba I liked, but thank goodness I asked mr. Hallam's opinion about it via Facebook, and it turned out to be rubbish. A healthy reminder indeed.

 

The koshirae comes from Frederick Weissberg at http://www.nihonto.com. I must note that he was absolutely great to deal with, and I was very pleased with all aspects of the transaction.

I think none of the individual parts of the koshirae are particularly good. The fuchi/kashira seem to be decent shibuichi ones, but nothing out of the ordinary. The fuchi also has a small area of damaged patina, shown in the photos. The shakudo menuki dont seem that great either. The tsuba however looks sturdy and rugged, and I would love to get your ideas of it. It has a lobed mokko shape, but I cant figure out whether this represent a school?

 

The red saya is in excellent condition however, and I find it very attractive. Also, it should be noted, that the koshirae was very reasonably priced.

 

I recently moved to another city, and lost my access to a good camera and the person behind it. Therefore, you can find better photos from mr. Weissberg site here:

 

http://www.nihonto.com/10.10.13.html

 

I tried to take few dozen photos with my friend's digital camera, but they all turned out to be rather crude, so I'd rather not post them.

 

Also, there is a very strange design in the tsuba. Double-lines from the tsuba's 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. They look a bit out of place. They are also difficult to make out in the pics, so by using some very advanced image manipulation software I managed to enhance the pattern for you. The design appears on both sides of the tsuba.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing your answers to my questions, and all opinions about the koshirae are very welcome.

[Antti]

Ok, thanks to my friends smartphone, I managed to get some decent pictures.

 

Perhaps these will help to spur some conversation about the koshirae and the questions I asked above.

[runagmc]

Hi Antti, since no one answered your post, I will try...

 

1. I think there maybe a few women, but mostly men collecting...

2. Any material hard enough to remove the rust without damaging the patina will work for cleaning, but caution should be excercised...

[Brian]

Antti,

I guess most of us use ivory or bone, hence the lack of replies to your query.

Can't guess about the tsuba design, can just say that the koshirae looks very nice, and is a good package. Well done on starting with a proper dealer and not eBay.

The fittings are attractive, and nothing wrong with collecting a koshirae.

 

Brian

[Antti]

Thank you Brian and Adam for your answers.

 

I just remember reading about this tool that could be ordered somewhere, so I wouldnt have to produce the tools myself out of bone or ivory (is that even legal).

 

Thanks for the opinions about the koshirae, the lack of replies made me wonder whether it was any good at all.

 

More opinions would be most welcome, and the tsuba design still bothers me.

[Henry Wilson]

A nice koshirae. Well done. The red saya is very nice and the blue hue ito matches it well. It reminds me of a koshirae I saw last year that was a similar red, but had very nice ensuit iron fittings of dragons.

 

The heavy rim tsuba and design is nice too. The lines might represent nothing in particular, however as a very long shot, what about a Japanese family kamon? Look at the one in the fourth line down. Just some food for thought.

[ROKUJURO]

.....I just remember reading about this tool that could be ordered somewhere, so I wouldn't have to produce the tools myself out of bone or ivory (is that even legal?)......

If the elephant is caught by hand by yourself in Finland, it is legal :D. But you should try a small piece of raindeer antler in the shape of a very small knife, it works as well and is easier to obtain up there.

[Jussi Ekholm]

As there isn't a single elephant currently in Finland, I could lend my reindeer antler knife to you. You can PM me the city where you moved to, and other stuff as well.

 

There are few female collectors actually living quite close to us.

 

I really like that koshirae, looks to be nice overall package, and I do like red saya a lot. Can't comment anything about possible schools. The rim on the tsuba looks very beefy.

[Antti]

If the elephant is caught by hand by yourself in Finland, it is legal :D. But you should try a small piece of raindeer antler in the shape of a very small knife, it works as well and is easier to obtain up there.

 

Thanks guys!

 

If I ever see an elephant on the road while driving... it is going to have a little accident

 

By the way, can the tsuba be linked to any school? Sort of reminds of some Myochin tsuba I've seen with thick rims, brownish patina and the mokko shape. But what do I know?

 

Thanks Jussi for your insight, I'll PM you.

[Alan Morton]

Hi there Anti,

the rust on your tsuba only looks very light

around the inside of the rim and would not require

much work at all. I would not use horn at this stage

but give a tooth brush a crew cut so that it is stiff

and go to work on the rust with a little of

some sort of anti rust oil and just remove this with

a soft cloth.

On the other question about females, I have met a few

and I met my partner Sue through swords.

Alan.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Aloha, Antti:

 

Both my wife & I are collectors of Nihonto & tosogu, & are also active sword-swingers. In fact, we're the senior students in our iaido dojo, & Linda is on the Board of Directors of our Japanese Sword Society of Hawaii, along with one other sword-swinging lady.

 

So, yes, there are indeed women who are collectors. I do most of the NMB communicating because I'm semi-retired, while Linda manages a few dozen other engineers in her environmental manager role for the next few years.

 

I agree that you have started with some very nice koshirae. I think that may be unique for NMB, as I think most of the rest of us started with blades.

 

Happy New Year!

Ken