Odd find ID help

[hugegator]

I found this at a curio shop while vacationing with my wife over the weekend in a completely unlikely spot. I bought as a memento of the trip and not a serious investment. It is quite rough, is it real? I saw the sekigane and took a chance. Any info would be very interesting! Thank you!

 

Sincerely,

Jim Duell

Everett, WA, USA

 

Sorry for the poor pics, my camera does bad close-ups.

 

[drbvac]

IMHO it certainly could be an authentic tsuba compared to many I have seen 0 may look better with a light cleaning to remove some of the dust and surface junk BUT not with anything caustic or abrasive. It may appear thin compared to what one would expect but hard to tell from the picture.

 

There are Many experts who will give you a much better idea than I .

[ROKUJURO]

Jim,

 

one sharp photo is much better than five out of focus!

[hugegator]

I apologize again for the bad quality. I replaced the pictures with better ones I hope.

 

Thank you,

Jim Duell

[hxv]

It's an authentic Edo-period tsuba, but in poor condition. It looks like it has been in a fire, but it could just be the photos...

Hoanh

[John A Stuart]

When I look at the mon I get a distinct impression this is cast. John

[Stephen]

+1

[ROKUJURO]

Jim,

 

we should have stayed with the out-of-focus-photos because now it's clear that at least the MON are cast. However, there is a chance that the basic TSUBA plate might be an authentic one, having been 'upgraded'. I don't think the TSUBA's value was in fact increased by that measure, so depending on what you paid, it remains probably a souvenir, not an investment.

[Drago]

I'm not an expert, but don't those mon look they were added later?

[hugegator]

Thank you for the replies. I found it on a table of homemade jewelry and curios at a Curiosity Shoppe on a far out island in the San Juan's in Washington over the weekend. It was such an odd place to find anything Nihonto related that I couldn't resist picking it up, if even just for a souvenir of the trip. The discovery part of making this type of purchase is worth almost as much as the items to me!

 

Thanks again,

Jim

[Brian]

There is too much work for this to be modern, or a repro.

The mon do look added later. I would say an honest old tsuba that had the mon added later. But still a perfectly representative example of a genuine tsuba, and a lot better than some of the junk we see. I don't think you have anything to regret here. Some nice inlay and a tsuba with a few hundred years on it.

 

Brian

[hugegator]

Interesting, why would someone add the mons at a later time, I wonder? I've handled a lot of Chinese replicas and have never seen one with sekigane so I figured this was at least going to be a decent mystery piece to own!

 

Thank you,

Jim Duell

[Brian]

Interesting, why would someone add the mons at a later time, I wonder?

Have you seen some people's cars nowdays? :lol:

It's exactly the same for men throughout the ages. Fashion/tastes/boredom. Want something new or different?...pimp your stuff!

It's nothing surprising. People have always wanted to change or "bling" their stuff after a few years of ownership. Perhaps the mon had some significance to the owner. Or he saw a tsuba he liked done in that style and he wanted one too. A ton of reasons, any of which could be the reason.

 

Brian

[lotus]

Looks cast to me. You can see the some flashing that has not been filed away.

[hugegator]

I looked carefully at the tsuba today and decided that it was grime inside the mons which made it look cast. I borrowed a camera from work which works better and cleaned it up more.

 

 

Jim Duell

[Soshin]

Hi Jim D.,

 

Welcome and thank you for posting on NMB. Do you have any real interest in learning about or collecting Japanese sword fittings? I feel is this an important question to ask before proceeding. :|

[hugegator]

Yes sir, I am dipping my toes in the water in order to find well made examples later in life. I have a well abused gendaito and a gunto as well as a select few Chinese made replica swords which are perfect for Iaido and learning to spot fakes. Even a hastily made wartime sword shows a distinction in quality, even in the best replicas. This is a reason why I purchased this, the faux aged replicas still don't get this detailed.

 

I hope to find a particular, papered Nihonto in the near future. I have a budget for books and small "learning" purchases while researching and saving.

 

Thank you,

Jim D.

[Soshin]

This is a reason why I purchased this, the faux aged replicas still don't get this detailed.

 

I hope to find a particular, papered Nihonto in the near future. I have a budget for books and small "learning" purchases while researching and saving.

 

Hi Jim D.,

 

I would recommend investing some real money in books and sometime checking out the website links section on this website. The forums here also have a search function I found very helpful. The linked websites including my own website (link is below in my signature) is a good reference for completely free information. Since you live in the USA I also recommend visiting one of yearly Japanese sword shows. In your case of living on the west coast the San Francisco show would be the closest and best option it also is generally the largest in size. These shows are very affordable and allow you to get an exposure in hand to a wide range of quality. All of the above points are applicable to Japanese swords as much as Japanese sword fittings (i.e tsuba). I hope you find this information helpful.