wublet Posted January 3, 2015 Report Posted January 3, 2015 I’m not entirely sure how contentious an issue this is, but I’d love to see some of the examples of work done by others, so I’ll start with my very first purchase. It was done with advice linked here with some old ivory, a plastic toothbrush, some tooth picks and a great deal of elbow grease. There’s a little more to be done so please don’t be too harsh The original pictures aren’t mine so take them with a pinch of salt. 1 Quote
Stephen Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 well done, I love doing this, wish id held onto one or two. amazing what crud comes off. Quote
Mark Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 looks like you did fine to me.. be careful not to go too far Quote
Stephen Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 lol yep ya can take it off but ya cant put it back on Quote
Marius Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 Iron lloks good, but you have removed patina from the bras and copper inlay Quote
Ford Hallam Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 I think you did a very credible job, nicely done. I wuldn't worry too much about the loss of patina to the copper and brass, it wasn't original anyway and will redevelop soon enough. 2 Quote
wublet Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Posted January 4, 2015 Thanks for the comments, guys. I was wondering about trying to re-patina those elements but it seemed very fiddly with my eyesight and I really didn't know how or if any solution used would affect the iron. Some research needed there methinks. I'd be very interested to hear why you think the copper and brass weren't original though; most intriguing. Quote
Ford Hallam Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 Jeff, I only meant the patina that was on the copper and brass was unlikely to be original. I say that because of the overall condition of the tsuba when you aquired it, clearly it hadn't been cared for. Best to leave it alone to develop a patina on it's own. Anything you can apply may tarnish it but it won't be 'right' and will stand out as an obvious touch up. Quote
wublet Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Posted January 4, 2015 Ford, Ah, I thought after posting it may be something like that. Thank you. I'd still be interested to see this sort of work as done by other amateurs; is that the right word? Well it describes me anyway. Any takers? Seen your videos, Ford so I know what you can do Quote
jason_mazzy Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 couldn't you do a rokusho without harming the iron? Quote
Ford Hallam Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 Jason no. If you place any ferrous metal tsuba in a rokusho bath it results in an electochemical reaction and the tsuba, and any inlays, are copper plated. Trying to mask out the iron is a waste of time. Quote
jason_mazzy Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 Thank you ford. I've been trying to search that on the internet to find out what would happen to the iron. The question then becomes how did the Japanese patinate just the copper, shibuichi, silver, and shakudo parts inlayed into old iron without harming the iron? Cold patination processes? Quote
Ford Hallam Posted January 4, 2015 Report Posted January 4, 2015 Jason, we're not quite sure how it was done in the past and it's not something anyone in Japan actually does today. There are cold, paste based, processes that may have been used, I use them, but they are quite tricky to get right and the copper plating risk remains. Quote
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