loiner1965 Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 long story short here.....this tsuba was given as a present from Japanese goverment officials to a chap here in the uk in the 1920s...various members may remember this a few years ago as i shown this on forums before. steve smith from gb token society and the kashima sisters both say the quality is high and probarbly nara or aizu shoami and around the 1800....your views will be most welcomed....... and the rain is in gold and the birds in silver....never cleaned it as i do not know how so may be even better if i did Quote
Grey Doffin Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 May be even worse if you did. Don't clean it. Grey Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted October 16, 2008 Report Posted October 16, 2008 I have seen people habitually rubbing tsuba with their thumbs. This could be acidic, though, and might remove too much of the precious patina. I was advised by a tsuba collector to carry a terry-cloth *cotton towel and rub it gently, me love you long time. * Make sure it is 100% soft cotton and not a mixture of artificial textiles. If you cannot guarantee the purity/content of the cloth, don't bother at all, as the tsuba looks pretty good as it is. NB This is just one person's advice, to be ignored or altered by subsequent readers... Quote
Brian Posted October 16, 2008 Report Posted October 16, 2008 The old method of keeping a tsuba in a soft cloth and carrying it in your pocket, or rubbing it gently over time is, I think, better suited to iron tsuba with no inlay. I would be very cautious about friction when you have gold or mixed metals on the tsuba, as the friction will likely buff or polish the softer metal, and you really don't want that. Cleaned patina or shiny inlay is hazardous to collector's value. Brian Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted October 16, 2008 Report Posted October 16, 2008 Brian said: The old method of keeping a tsuba in a soft cloth and carrying it in your pocket, or rubbing it gently over time is, I think, better suited to iron tsuba with no inlay. I would be very cautious about friction when you have gold or mixed metals on the tsuba, as the friction will likely buff or polish the softer metal, and you really don't want that. Cleaned patina or shiny inlay is hazardous to collector's value. Brian Well, there you go! I am happy with that. Gold tends to stay shiny, but silver tends to go black and brass red, black or green. Quote
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