Lacquer on Iron Tsuba

[Martin]

Hi all,

 

I just wondered if Iron Tsuba were always covered with a protective lacquer or if this was just done occasionally.

Sometimes you see Tsuba that still have large areas of lacquer remaining. Is this an indicator that the piece was well preserved or was it usual to refresh the lacquer from time to time...

 

cheers,

[Rich T]

Hi Martin. early Higo tsuba were in many instances lacquered. I am referring to early Nishigaki, Jingo, Hirata and Hayashi. I saw many fine Higo tsuba on my last trip to Japan and in this visit I learned that a lot of early Higo guards were lacquered, but in later times, trends changed and the lacquer was mostly removed. This resulted in many tsuba looking slightly polished or Migaki ji.

 

I have also seen lacquered Umetada iron, Akasaka iron, Tosho iron and others. Also, I do not think it was just a protective cover, but also an aesthetic. It would have had a rich and lustrous look when fresh on iron and I imagine rather impressive.

 

I have yet to see a lacquered tsuba in mint condition. Has anyone else ?.

 

cheers

 

Richard

[Martin]

Hi Rich,

 

many thanks for your response.

Was it also common for other schools to put a coat of lacquer on their Tsubas? Or was it rather an aesthetical point not connected to any school and added or refreshed by the owner from time to time?

I have a Kyo Sukashi guard that I think has a quite large area of lacquer remaining. The only place free from lacquer seems to be outside surface of the Mimi.

The guard in question was already discussed on the forum ( http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... highlight= ).

 

Don´t hope to bore others with multiple threads on the same piece...

 

cheers,

[Rich T]

Hi Martin, yes it is possible that Kyo could be lacquered. I am sure it was probably as much a trend as anything else.

 

Are you sure this tusba is lacquered ?, I am sorry to question that, and it may just be the photo's, but lacquer tends to be darker, and usually chips off leaving a black, patchyness to the tsuba.

 

(as per this Ko Kinko tsuba)

 

 

I was just wondering if the tsuba is not Mikagi Ji ?.

 

Cheers

 

Richard

[Martin]

Hi Rich,

 

maybe a stupid question - but was it always black lacquer that was applied?

If this is the case my Tsuba may not show lacquer but indeed has a "polished up" surface (Mikagi-Ji).

What made me think of lacquer was the glossy, shiny wet looking appearance - like it shows on objects that have a clear lacquer finish.

 

cheers,

[Rich T]

is more likely to be the stupid thing Martin. All questions are good. So the most common lacquer colour was black, red was also used in olden days (as well as for Shumei). Clear too was also used. I should have added that tin my previous post, yes clear lacquer was used, just not that often from what I know. Black or dark was the most common.

 

I have a Heinajo Zogan tsuba that appears to have clear lacquer on it, it is heavier in some sections that other and mutes the theme slightly giving it a milky appearance where it has been rubbed or worn over the years. It is not apparent on the seppa dai, the mimi and has worn away from the edges for about 5 mill (give or take) into the hira. This is the only tsuba I have seen like this to date.

 

It is near on impossible to photograph this and is best seen in hand, and I suspect your tsuba is the same. You need someone to see it or another tsuba to compare it to. I have attached a scan.

 

 

If you notice on the right side of the photo, on the tsuba Ura, to the right if the hitsu ana, the design looks sharper, it has more contrast, but on the left of the nakago ana, around the area of the highest flower, it is milky looking. This can be seen all over the tsuba when looked at closely. This is clear lacquer. As I said, it is hard to capture.

 

Now, on the other hand, I do have a Ko Akasaka tsuba that is mikagi-ji that looks like it is lacquered. It is not a black look like the tsuba above but shows the irons colour properly giving it I guess the impression of a clear lacquer. It has fooled one or two people I know of.

 

Best

 

Richard

[Pete Klein]

Hmm -- probably epoxy clear coat.

 

 

( :lol: )

[Gordon]

Hi all,

 

I suppose there is clear lacquer, but I have never seen it. Rich, are you sure it isn't epoxy clear coat?

I also suspect that the use of lacquer was purely for protection from the great deal of rain we get. I think it was used mostly on early stuff like Ko-Katchushi and Ko-Tosho pieces. It is rarer on later pieces. I am not much up on Higo pieces, but, as Rich notes, they used it too. I have never seen a tsuba that retained very much of it's lacquer coating.

 

Gordon

[John A Stuart]

Hi, I think lacquer may have been more popular at one time more than another but was used continuously here and there. Here is a tsuba just recently discussed that shows the black lacquer. Mid-Edo period. This had to be fashion in this case as rain wouldn't affect this metal, but iron examples would really benefit from lacquer. When in good nick they would have really looked keen. John

[Rich T]

though I think there would also have been an aspect of appearance as well as protection. Oh yes, I agree on all except the epoxy stuff you gits LOL.

 

Yes, mostly old pieces and mostly dark coloured lacquer, so I am still assuming this is Mikagi-ji on Martin's tsuba.

 

cheers

 

Rich

[SSt]

Hi Martin

The finish on your tsuba may be ;

 

IBOTARO Chinese Wax, (tree wax) a wax made from natural sources. Lightly dusted on tsuba surface as a protective coating for iron plate.

ref : Haynes Auction Catalog, No. 1 Nov 1981 - Glossary

 

 

Here is a thread from the carvingpath on its use;

http://www.thecarvingpath.net/forum/ind ... wtopic=694

 

"Ibotaro, a wax which imparts a fine gloss, is made from the secretion of an insect that infests the ibota plant."

 

Steve

[Martin]

Hi all,

 

many thanks for your answers and thoughts.

Taking all the possibilities written into consideration I would assume, that my Tsuba has an epoxy clear coat.

:D just kidding :D

 

I think that it indeed has an Ibota Wax finish as mentioned by Steve. I already read about this kind of finish used on soft metal Tsuba and this makes the most sense for my piece in question too.

The reason why the outer surface of the Mimi is left out is probably due to the fact that there was a Fukurin that covered it.

 

best regards,

[Bungo]

I have seen quite a few Heianjo tsuba with that " clear epoxy glue ", more so than other den.......

 

here's one Akasaka tsuba with clear lacquer ( mostly gone except the seppa dai area )

 

hier Klicken.............

 

http://www.esnips.com/web/tsuba?docsPage=15#files

 

milt the flying ronin

[andreYes]

One more question about lacquer on iron tsuba, if you don't mind .

 

After examining the surface of a tsuba, I've found dark black areas on it. They are especially clear viewed after I've removed a kind of wax and the red rust (the first picture - before the cleaning, the second - after).

Before I've found this topic, I thought that it's just patina on undamaged metal. But maybe it's a black lacquer? What do you think?

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Andre,

 

I would suggest that based on the images the darker patches you seem to be referring to are actually parts of the original iron oxide based patina...not lacquer in my opinion.

 

While I'm here I'd also like to straighten out another apparent misconception;

 

Clear too was also used. I should have added that tin my previous post, yes clear lacquer was used, just not that often from what I know. Black or dark was the most common.

 

It is practically ( by which I mean literally ) impossible to create clear urushi...it simply isn't in the nature of the material. I will also go further while I'm at it and suggest that the whole matter of tsuba being lacquered as a matter of course when first manufactured is very ( extremely ) speculative. I will admit there may be some exceptions of pieces being lacquered after the fact but I doubt the practice was widespread. If I were pressed I'd prefer to suggest that surviving examples of lacquered steel tsuba were treated this way in the Edo period as a way of, perhaps, preserving "antiquities". In any case the process is not as simple as simply painting the stuff on...it's quite an art. The associated idea that early Higo work was routinely coated in urushi I find to be completely silly, polished, soft metal appearance isn't any sort of evidence in my book. I await some sensible and convincing evidence before I am prepared to swallow that sort of fairy tale. The most obvious question one would ask would be; " If you intend to coat everything in black lacquer why bother with all those different alloys that incidentally yield

those lovely colours?....not accidentally at all or bother developing subtle textures and tones on iron only to coat it in black goo

 

your honest servant,

 

ford

[Ted Tenold]

I think what your images show is iron patina. From those I've seen and owned with traces of lacquer, it tends to remain in recesses rather than high points.

 

Wow, this thread originated in '07. Quite a thread resurrection there Andreas! :lol:

[andreYes]

Ford, Ted, thank you!

To be honest, I also thought that it's patina, but this thread has confused me.

[Ford Hallam]

Just pondering a little more on this matter of lacquer on tsuba and I'd like to add some further information and thoughts for consideration.

 

Curing lacquer is done in one of two ways. The first, the usual, involves curing over a period of a couple of days in a humid atmosphere. For obvious reasons this method is not favoured for ferrous metal.

 

The second method involves baking it. The wet lacquer is heated, presumably over a bed of glowing coals. As it warms various vapours are released and the thing continues to "steam" until it is cured. A tsuba would take about 15 ~ 20 minutes to bake in this way. Variations on this process have been, and are used by tea kettle caster and commercial workshops producing nunome zogan work ( Komai for example ). A very thin film of raw urushi ( ki-urushi) is rubbed into the metal to seal it.

 

Another point I'd like to make about black lacquer is that after a 100 or more years it tends to go brown. This is due to the fact that, generally speaking, the black colour was obtained by mixing black iron oxide into the natural urushi. Natural urushi is a milky "Milo drink" colour when fresh. It cures to a semi translucent dark brown. Over time the black iron oxide converts to basic red rust in the urushi giving it that characteristic aged brown appearance. The surface of very old lacquer also tends to oxidise, presenting a dull and whitish appearance. These are some of the reasons I'm a bit doubtful about glossy black patches on tsuba being evidence for treatments pre Mid Edo.

 

Another process used on tsuba, particularly soft metal, is that of smoking it over smouldering pine needles or even incense. This typically leaves a glossy, very thin, film on the metal that is a very dark brown or black. This is quite a hard film that builds up in recesses etc and takes some serious rubbing to remove. It tends to come away in flakes rather that merely fading away where it's rubbed. I've seen this particular effect on early Higo soft metal. I would suggest it's use was purely aesthetic and was applied as a means of enhancing the wabi-sabi look favoured by Hosokawa Tadatoki. I think he'd have hated glossy black tsuba. Incidentally, it is also used to fake age on pieces and isn't very difficult to do at all.

 

I think that any evidence of clear, or "milky" lacquer type finishes on metalwork can be fairly confidently regarded as modern coatings. Ibota wax, which also oxidises over time and becomes whitish and opaque, can be identified by rubbing with the tip of a toothpick or similar. You'll be able to scrape some of the residue off the metal.

 

Old, and oxidised Ibota wax can very safely be removed with paint stripper, acetone, cellulose thinners or alcohol. A certain degree of clearness can be returned to old wax by simply warming the piece with a hair-drier. You'll need to use some cotton gloves and keep at it until the metal is too hot to touch with your bare hands, hence the gloves

[IanB]

All, Russet pieces of armour were also lacquered to prevent corrosion. Normally iron plates for armour were given the full treatment with multiple layers that start with raw lacquer, a layer of cloth, fillers and finally the top coats. The first layer has to be 'burnt' on to the roughened surface of the iron since it is hydrophobic and the raw lacquer is an aqueous medium. I was told by an armour maker that the correct temperature is when the applied lacquer just sizzles when brushed on. Once this coat is on, the resulting surface is then hydrophilic and the rest of the lacquering process is carried out in the normal way.

With the vogue for leaving parts of the armour unlacquered, partly so that the quality of the metalwork could be seen and probably also because of the cult of tea, corrosion was a problem. It was solved by applying a coat of raw lacquer to the russet surface and then rubbing it off after a short while. This then hardens in the layer of rust and forms a protective film. One of my armours is completely russet and when acquired, about 40 years ago, was beginning to show out breaks of surface rusting. Working on the principle that antique gun barrels were finished with linseed oil, I rubbed on a solution of boiled linseed oil in turpentine, left it an hour and then rubbed it off with tissue. The result is a finish that glows with a gentle sheen that is still exactly the same today as when it was carried out.

 

Ian Bottomley

[SSt]

Came across this glossary relating to black lacquer. http://www.ross-studios.net/glossary.htm

 

Kuro urushi - Black urushi which can be made in two ways ;

Translucent black urushi can be made by adding iron hydroxide to suki urushi; the urushi reacts with the iron and the resulting chemical reaction causes the urushi to turn black.

Opaque black urushi can be made by adding lamp soot or pine soot (carbon black) to suki urushi (raw urushi with the water content reduced).

Translucent black urushi will turn brown over time but opaque black urushi which is often used as an undercoat will remain black.

 

Perhaps the opaque black lacquer, made from lamp/pine soot, was used on tosogu, rather than the translucent variety made with iron?

 

The black lacquer on this tanto tsuba is opaque as can be seen from the close-up detail.

[Ford Hallam]

The black lacquer on this tanto tsuba is opaque as can be seen from the close-up detail.

Hi Steve

I'm not so sure this is urushi? All I can see is that it's black and shiny...the first thing that would occur to me would be that it was more probably an oxide layer. I also mentioned the technique of smoking soft-metals in pine smoke to create an impression of age. I think it's very unlikely to be urushi...it doesn't make sense to put black urushi on an iroe tsuba.

 

You may have a point about the use of pine soot to colour the suki urushi ( ki-urushi) and as this is pure carbon it doesn't fade...however the urushi itself oxidises and this is essentially what reveals its age. I've never seen a piece of lacquer over 150 years old that wasn't brown to some degree...and had a very soft glow to it rather than a glossy black. The exhibition catalogue of pre-Edo uchigata koshirae that was held at the Tokyo museum in 1985 makes for an interesting study in this regard. As do lacquer works by Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637)

 

Incidentally, one of the ways connoisseurs distinguish genuine Koetsu work from the many later copies is precisely the appearance of the lacquer. It's a bit like judging the nakago of a sword to assess it's age.

[Henry Wilson]

Could the depth of the brown from a black lacquer be an indication of age?

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Henri,

 

roughly speaking, yes. But...like all things in this game every detail needs to be qualified by other factors. The surface condition for instance, because it's perfectly straight forward to create a lacquered finish that is deliberately more translucent and browner at the start. This is why the other details need to be very carefully assessed too. The relative "dryness" of the surface is considered, the degree of very fine crazing on the surface, often not visible to the naked eye ( this is what gives older lacquer it's soft glow ), the friability of the cracked and exposed edges...ie; how flexible is it? or is it dry and crumbly? It's a bit like examining the surface of an old oil painting. but I'm no expert of this subject...I just know some people who are

[SSt]

This tsuba is on the finesword website. K-779. They describe it as Heianjo, Early edo.

I emailed them about it last year, the salesman made a point of mentioning the "fine condition of the lacquer".

Having never had the piece in hand I cannot say if the colour of the image is a true representation.

What we can see does seem to be quite brown though!

[Tavroch]

As this thread is about lacquer on iron tsuba, I'd like to ask your opinions.

I was told today, at a meeting of the Dutch Token Society, by a Japanese tsuba expert

that the lacquer on these two tsuba is a modern addition and that it is not urushi.

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5053

If not urushi, what can it be?

This Japanese expert also told me that these tsuba should be cleaned and the lacquer removed.

What are your opinions? Do you agree?

Can I try cleaning them according to the principles outlined in the tsuba cleaning article by Jim Gilbert?

http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/tsuba/tsubacln.htm

Maybe I should add that these are not very expensive tsuba.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Rob.

 

if it isn't urushi it will easily come off with the use of a good paint stripper. This will also remove all traces of old wax. I'd recommend Nitromors ( the type in a brown can, not the green or yellow tins), it's horrible stuff so use it in a well ventilated space or outside, and don't get it on your skin. It does an amazing job of getting rid of such later additions. I used it a lot when I specialised in restoration. It won't harm any patina either.

 

Use a small amount and work it around with a toothpick or similar wooden pick. Wipe the mess away with clean paper tissue and then continue cleaning with a toothpick, some cotton wool and some denatured alcohol. Once the metal is cleaned of the lacquer you can re-wax.

 

hope this helps,

 

Ford

[Tavroch]

I know of what kind of stuff you are talking, Ford, and I've worked with it.

That's why I wouldn't dream of using it on a tsuba of whatever kind,

expecting to end up with a nice and silvery shining tsuba.

But Jim Gilbert, mentioned earlier, advises Strypeeze, apparently the same kind of stuff,

so I guess it will indeed turn out to be harmless to the patina (if at all present underneath the lacquer).

Think I'll try some on a small inconspicuous spot first anyway.

Thanks for the confirmation Ford.