Cheap Oppinions on Waki Koshirae please

[Guest Nanshoku-Samurai]

Hello,

 

I am looking for some cheap oppinions on this Wakizashi Koshirae. I am an ignorant when it coms to Kodugu and have near 0 knowledge. It looks like Higo parts with a Akasaka Tsuba to me???

 

Please kindly let me know what you think this might be worth, too because if it is good I will get the blade restored. Right now I see the blade rather as Tsunago as it is Muromachi Mumei.

 

But if the Koshirae is good I will keep it all together.

 

Thanks,

 

Max

[Guest reinhard]

It looks good and homogeneous to me. Just a spontaneous opinion.

 

reinhard

[Bungo]

keep the whole fittings, they are above average good.

 

milt

[Bugyotsuji]

You'll get the blade restored............... because the koshirae is good??? I don't understand your logic. The blade and the koshirae may have no relation to each other. How do you know they have always been together?

 

And if the blade really is Muromachi Mumei, wouldn't that be enough of a reason to get it restored, regardless of the koshirae?

 

But then I woudn't want to keep it permanently in the koshirae anyway as it could just go back to the same old state.

 

Are you planning to have a shirasaya made for it? Why don't you post some piccies of the blade itself, BTW?

 

PS These are just my cheap opinions.....

[nagamaki - Franco]

Tsunagi, $150.00. Blade restoration, about $2,800.00. Piers' reply, priceless!

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Max,

 

I think you are absolutely right with your call on it being essentially a Higo koshirae. the tsuba though doesn't look anything like Akasaka though. I've not seen anything like it before either, I have no doubt that it is a genuine old tsuba though.

 

The overall quality is, in my opinion, not terribly good. They are also a bit worn. the fuchi seems in reasonable condition but I suspect the gold foil nunome is quite thin and therefore rather late. The kozuka appear to have been gilded, rather than inlaid, and this is quite worn. The bashin ( thanks Moriyama San ) also looks as though it's been a bit "overworked".

The wrap is relatively new, and is not particularly well done either.

 

The kurikata ( the horn knob on the saya ) looks like a replacement to me. The rest of the saya looks to be of reasonable quality but the fuchi is obviously not original to this work, I cant tell what the kashira looks like. The menuki look to be very late Edo, or even Meiji, stamping type fittings.

 

My guess is that the saya is matched to the blade but that the original tsuba, fuchi/kashira and menuki were sold off a long time ago. These present bits don't fit in the way I'd expect, judging by the saya metalwork.

 

That's my cheap opinion, if you're prepared to pay...I can give you an entirely different one

 

regards, Ford

[Guest Nanshoku-Samurai]

Hello all!

 

Thanks for your feedback. As the blade is a Long Waki only it will be around USD 1600.00 to polish with a very good Togi or around 800 - 900.00 with a western one.

 

In my personal oppinion Mumei Muromachi works (especially considering Wakizashis) are basically not worthy of collecting or better say investing money in restoration works.

 

@ Ford: Thank you very much for your detailed reply! It is much appreciated! The Mneuki look like from around 1800 - 1850 to me and are not stamped but not great quality either. The Kashira is original to teh Fuchi but in less good condition.

 

Ford, do you have any suggestions what the Tsuba might be? My guess was Akasak but then again I am way off from being capable of judging Kodugu in any way.

 

I think the Tsuba might be the best thing on the whole set. So if anyone had any more oppinions on the Tsuba this would be great.

 

By the way, could teh F/K also be Kaga work?

 

Regards,

 

Max

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Max,

 

the tsuba is an "unknown" to me...the rectangular hitsu-ana may be a clue, some of the Jingo works have this feature so it may well be from Higo province too. There are a few different influences in it though. I'll keep my eyes open though in case I see anything like it, you never know. I'm sure someone will have some idea.

 

I think the fuchi, and the kashira if it matches, are Higo, only later than the ishi-tsuke ( the chape ) . It looks to be nunome-zogan to me and the style of curving dragon feels Higo not Kaga. That only my impression though.

 

Incidentally, the fact that it is an ishi-tsuke rather than a kojiri may mean this was originally mounted as a han-dachi.

[Thierry BERNARD]

the rectangular hitsu-ana may be a clue

 

could be kanayama tsuba???

[Guest Nanshoku-Samurai]

I also think that it once was mounted as a Handachi. The blade is probably Bizen and will be polished by Bob in the near future.

 

I thought the Tsuba to be of above average quality. Would you agree?

 

Regards,

 

Max

[John A Stuart]

May I throw this into the mix. The tsuba looks to be in the Owari group. However I think late Edo by the iron's appearance. I know Hoan tsuba had rectangular hitsuana as well, but, I would class this as Owari sukashi, which had different kinds of hitsuana at times. John

[Jean]

Piers has written

 

The blade and the koshirae may have no relation to each other. How do you know they have always been together?

 

Thanks Piers for mentionning it

 

It is alarmly frequent - I am at a loss to translate in English this French slang word "bidouillage". Different parts (bit and odds) put together to make a whole. Everything which is done away from the rules of Art (far beyond Amateurism perhaps "amateurish"in the bad meaning), it is very frequent in koshirae ....

[Bungo]

tsuba looks good, seems to have lumpy iron bones on the mimi

 

 

milt

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Jean,

 

maybe "pastiche" is a close match for "bidouillage"...but that's French too... and the French complain about English words entering their language

[Jean]

the French complain about English words entering their language

 

Tu as raison mon ami. Not entering but invading. But I don't give a damn, I dig English and Spanish (but my French is quite good :D :D )

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Jean,

 

perhaps the best attitude to this is; c'est la vie

[Brian]

The most interesting item does appear to be the tsuba. Milt has a good point..are those lumpy bones on the mimi? Or is it a bamboo theme mimi?

Maybe they are a bit regular to be bones, but would like to see a few pics of the mimi if you have them.

 

Brian

[Jean]

Hi Ford,

 

c'est la vie

....

 

You never can't tell

 

I like this song

[Martin]

tsuba looks good, seems to have lumpy iron bones on the mimi

 

Hi all,

 

I do not think that these bumps are iron bones. If you closely look at the Mimi, you will see that these appear at regular intervals and are part of the Mimi design.

 

Just my 2 cents,

[Jean]

At last I found what "bidouillage" can mean in English.

 

It is what Mc Gyver/Giver is always doing in his TV Series to get out from traps with bits and odds.

 

What is the English word for this action? Does it exist?

[John A Stuart]

Hi Jean, What MacGyver does and what most engineers in the field do or they are not worth their salt is "improvise", use bits and pieces to rig a device that ordinarily would not exist. John