Tsuba info requested please

[Chriso]

Hi all, It's been a while since i posted but I have been sitting on the side trying to learn from the wealth of experience on this forum, enough of that.

I'm looking for information, thoughts on the Tsuba below. I acquired the piece attached to a nice little Katana by a ShinShinto smith by the name of Inaba Toshizane. I am hoping that the piece is authentic, and not just an after thought.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards and best

 

Chriso

[Jean]

From Ford Hallam:

 

Actually David, it's not at all regular. Examine the ura, top left quadrant, and you'll notice it's significantly less coarse than the rest of the surface.

 

But why would you expect natural corrosion to be irregular anyway? This is merely a consequence of specific situations and conditions. If you leave steel to rust long enough, and it can take as little as a couple of months, it results in a perfectly even and convincing 'ishime-ji' ground. Now imagine scrubbing the loose surface rust off the example posted below and developing a nice dark magnetite based patina. In my opinion a great number of early Tosho and Katchushi guards exhibit exactly this finish. I think there is far too much talk of hammer/punch marks and effects of forging etc. that's based on what people imagine and not on actual empirical evidence.

 

Just as an example here's an image of exactly that, an evenly textured steel plate' Note the very clear indents, which might understandably be mistaken for punch marks under different conditions. This is a feature of steel corrosion. Obviously this example has advanced to a stage where the surface has been completely covered but it's a gradual process that starts out as isolated points being attacked and gradually develops like a rash.

 

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here's an example of an extreme degree of corrosion. It shows well the sort of textural development that severe corrosion results in.

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This is a micropictograph that shows how pitting starts. What you can see, the overall 'stonewall' appearance of the surface, is the grain boundaries of the crystals of the steel. Corrosion begins at these boundaries, typically where three or more 'islands' intersect, resulting in tiny voids. The patterns and character of this sort of corrosion can tell us a lot about the structure and nature of the steel. Some of which would probably be counter-intuitive to those who have no background in metallurgy or practical metalwork.

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_________________

Ford Hallam

 

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"Das ist nicht nur nicht richtig, es ist nicht einmal falsch!" Wolfgang Pauli

 

 

Last edited by Ford Hallam on 04 Mar 2014, 09:30, edited 2 times in total.

 

See post:

 

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=18303&start=0

[Geraint]

Hi Chriso.

 

Would love to see some pictures of the Inaba sword as I have an interest in them. The tsuba is certainly genuine in that it is Japanese, not reproduction. Looking at the surface it seems that the rust on the seppa dai is much shallower than the rest of the tsuba, could be that this area was protected by the seppa but the fact that there seems little rust inside the two piercings suggests that perhaps this was made at the same time as your sword but deliberately finished to look much older. I had the same suggestion made about a tsuba from a sword from the same province and age as yours which is what made me think of it.

 

What is the rest of the koshirae like?

 

Have fun.

[Soshin]

Hi Chriso,

 

The overall design is referred to as mu-mon (無紋) "no design". The small holes are not part of a design they are called udenuki-ana. It is where a leather wrist cord (udenuki 腕抜) was used. I have the same thing on my tsuba of my Budo training katana. I generally notice that one hole is larger than the other.

[Chriso]

Guys, thanks very much for your input. Geraint, I'll takse some pickies of the sword for you in the next couple of days and post them in the Nihonto section.

Is anyone prepared to attempt a school or time on the tsuba?

 

Regards and thanks

 

Chris o

[Soshin]

Hi Chris O.,

 

I think your tsuba dates to the later part of Edo Period about the late 18th to early to mid 19th century. In terms of school or group I would say your tsuba was likely made by a late Edo Period Tosho (swordsmith). This is just my interpretation of the information provided.

[Jean]

Very thick.

[Chriso]

Many thanks for your replies, and an apology to Geraint. I've inadvertently posted the info regarding the Toshizane Sword in the General Nihonto, old timers problems.

 

Chris O