Cat-scratch Habaki

[Bruce Pennington]

I love it!  Nicely done.

[C Lewis]

Thanks, I didn't do it myself though. Someone was nice enough to make that for me. He said carving it was a pain because the .925 sterling that the lighter is made of is so much harder than the pure silver he's used to working with.

[Bruce Pennington]

8 hours ago, C Lewis said:

Someone was nice enough to make that for me.

That explains a lot!  I had just assumed to stumbled across this at a swordshow or something.  It's quite gorgeous!

[Bruce Pennington]

A new one (maybe litterally) on an edo blade posted by @Jwrussell HERE.

 

Rising sun:

 

[Bryce]

G'day Guys,

Here is another Gassan. This one is silver gilt.

Cheers,

Bryce

 

[Bruce Pennington]

On 7/12/2021 at 2:42 PM, Bryce said:

another Gassan

So, obviously not a 1-off design!  Thanks Bryce.

[Toryu2020]

Not a cat, maybe a dragon and waves?

-t

 

[Bruce Pennington]

3 hours ago, Toryu2020 said:

dragon and waves?

-t

Thanks Thomas, I just learned something (from wikipedia): "Watatsumi 海神 "sea god" or Ryūjin 龍神 "dragon god" was the ruler of seas and oceans, and described as a dragon capable of changing into human form. He lived in the undersea Ryūgū-jō 龍宮城 "dragon palace castle", where he kept the magical tide jewels."

[Bruce Pennington]

Sometimes less is more.  This vine design is less flashy than the other posted earlier, yet it's simplicity gives off a calm feeling to me.  Posted HERE.

 

[Itomagoi]

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks Peter, great one!  I can't draw things like that on paper, and these guys can sculpt this stuff in steel.  Amazing.

[Bruce Pennington]

Interesting variation on the rain-pattern, found HERE. 

 

 

[Toryu2020]

Stolen from the internet - probably a repeat here...

[Toryu2020]

From the recent Kashu To-ken exhibition in Kanazawa taken by a friend...

[Bruce Pennington]

6 hours ago, Toryu2020 said:

probably a repeat here..

There's a similar one on post #95, but yours is a way better photo, thanks!

 

Your second one is interesting with the blackened background and gold on top.  A little blurry, do you think it's clouds?

[Toryu2020]

Clouds over a village...

[Bruce Pennington]

Ah, I see it, very nice!

[Itomagoi]

The next one. 😀

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, some quality work there, thanks!

[Bruce Pennington]

Not is it's best condition, but another version of the 2-piece found HERE.:

 

[Bruce Pennington]

I'm still amazed at the detail in these.  Did they use magnifying glasses to do this work?  each 'line' is made with tiny punches in a row.  Found HERE, from @Utopianarian:

[PNSSHOGUN]

Here's a nice one, Shakudo and gold with Mon:

 

[Bruce Pennington]

4 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

a nice one

That is a nice one John!  Surprised it took this long for a sakura to show up!

[Itomagoi]

Wanted to add two more habaki.

[Bruce Pennington]

22 minutes ago, Itomagoi said:

two more

Fabulous Peter, thanks!

 

I"m a butterfly buff from way back, so I got to wondering about the image on that second one and tried looking up Japanese butterflies and moths, but couldn't find one like it.  What I did find, though, was this strikingly similar image on pintrest:

 

I tried a brief search to see if the pattern had significance, but no luck so far.  It was an interesting read on the meaning of butterflies to Japanese culture, though.  Lots of love stuff, and womanhood stuff, but the one that caught my attention was the idea that butterflies carry the souls of the dead.  Another was that samurai clan often used them in their mon, and on their banners.

[Bruce Pennington]

Other sakura habaki showing up!  This one posted by @Itomagoi HERE.

 

[Stephen]

 

On my Kanetsugu

 

 

 

[Mark S.]

Two piece copper… rain on boards?

I don’t know why it rotated pics like this?

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

12 hours ago, Stephen said:

my Kanetsugu

Love it guys, great examples!

 

Stephen, do you think that's a mon, the leaf in a circle?

[Bruce Pennington]

10 hours ago, Mark S. said:

don’t know why it rotated

Works anyway!  I've found that if a picture rotates when posted, I take the original and crop the edges, even just a little, and it re-posts normally.

I like your rain-on-boards idea.