How many tsuba is enough??

[Surfson]

Just One More!!!

[Surfson]

I think that maybe it's time to slow down....

[lonely panet]

dont you dare slow down,  what a collection of GOOD tsuba. 

just good, solid  examples of good tsuba. something to be proud of, all the bases are covered. shakudo, suaka, shibuichi, iron plate, iron sukashi etc

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

I hope you're located centrally on the island, otherwise you risk tipping the island over soon!

 

Love the collection!!!

[Surfson]

Thanks Bruce.  I am in the Island of Chicago!

[Ken-Hawaii]

Great question, one I've been asking myself. I have far fewer tsuba than your collection, but finding more variants for Heianjo/Yoshiro/Onin has become a hassle. I may call it quits, & concentrate my time & retirement $$ back on blades.

[francois2605]

I counted 144 tsuba (which is 12 x 12), I think you reached perfection. One more would break the symmetry.

 

Joke aside, that's a nice collection you have here, thanks for sharing.

 

About your question, I would say it depends on multiple factors:

- Your financial means

- Whether you're still having fun adding new pieces

- Whether you have the room to store them 

- Your wife's tolerance 

[16k]

Great collection!

 

... I don’t think I have any, at least none that counts and those are on swords. They are beautiful art pieces, but I’ve always felt that collecting them was like collecting the wheel of a car without the car if you get my meaning. Still many of those are outstanding!

[Bugyotsuji]

Apart from the maths of 9x15, I am envious. You have kept your aim high. 

 

Some years ago I was going for quantity rather than quality, and took pleasure in counting them. Nuts. One day my Sensei had a quick flip through them. "Instead of buying ten @￥10,000 apiece, aim more to buy one decent tsuba for ￥100,000." he said.

[Gakusee]

Piers,  I am afraid it is 16x9=144, which is the same overall answer as Francois got (but I am not sure why he was multiplying 12x12). 

Way to go, Bob. I am sure one can put them in a nice tansu so you can buy more (this space less of an issue unless you are storing the wooden boxes too). 

[Geraint]

Dear Robert.

 

I think Piers' advice is good, you just need to weed out some of those.  As a fellow collector I would be happy to ease your burden and take some of the less significant pieces away from you, provided that you will accept my advice on which ones to let go.

 

Seriously a lovely selection and I would find it difficult to let any of them get away.

 

To borrow a cycling aphorism, "The correct number of bikes you should own is the number you have now plus one."

 

Enjoy!

 

All the best.

[Bruce Pennington]

9 hours ago, Surfson said:

Thanks Bruce.  I am in the Island of Chicago!

Shoot!  I see that now.  Who was it that is in Samoa?  Or is it you that was from Samoa?

[Alex A]

When you think you have seen enough, dont need any.

[Ooitame]

Wow, quite the collection! Congrats! The answer is always just one more lol. Would like to see maybe, an online museum of your collection along with your thoughts.

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

#drool

[Surfson]

Michael, you are right about a tansu.  Do you know of one with many shallow drawers on the top and deeper ones on the bottom, so it can hold kodogu, koshirae and nihonto?  Alex, I just bought a light box and if I can figure out how to take nice photos, I plan to start photographing my favorites, studying them and doing brief writeups about them.  Cheers, Bob

[DGARBUTT]

Just one more is the right answer!!!

[Surfson]

There are a few here that are ex. Dale Garbutt Collection!!

[Stephen]

Always one more....nice to see a old friend of mine or two

[Tanto54]

Tsuba are like cowbells...

[kissakai]

These are mine does anyone what to count them?

I'll give you a couple of numbers to help out

A free Covid vaccination for the winner.

The winner will be notified by their medical authority sometime in 2021

 

1 - The wall display cabinets hold my current 'keepers' along with other small  fittings and odds & ends

2 - The tsuba box pile are my best example and quite a few are papered

3 - The tansu has my newer tsuba that are yet to checked out and labeled. Quantity = 41

4 - The office index box are my for sale tsuba (two images). Quantity = 41

I know most of you have seen my listing but for those who haven't the link is below

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0g8f5og1wl8ze5/NMB listing Nov 2020.pdf?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grev

 

 

[Surfson]

So Grev, how many is enough?!

[Shugyosha]

6 hours ago, kissakai said:

These are mine does anyone what to count them?

I'll give you a couple of numbers to help out

A free Covid vaccination for the winner.

The winner will be notified by their medical authority sometime in 2021

 

1 - The wall display cabinets hold my current 'keepers' along with other small  fittings and odds & ends

2 - The tsuba box pile are my best example and quite a few are papered

3 - The tansu has my newer tsuba that are yet to checked out and labeled. Quantity = 41

4 - The office index box are my for sale tsuba (two images). Quantity = 41

I know most of you have seen my listing but for those who haven't the link is below

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0g8f5og1wl8ze5/NMB listing Nov 2020.pdf?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grev

 

 

Wow, I knew you had a tsuba habit but that’s pretty impressive. 😬
 

I’ve got around 20 which is both too many and too few. There’s 5 I wouldn’t part with, 5 I’d be happy to move on now but can’t be bothered to purge, 10 I’m enjoying for the moment but will move on in future and around a 100 that I haven’t met yet but hope to own down the line. 
 

Kozuka are quite nice too though...

[Teimei]

11 hours ago, kissakai said:

These are mine does anyone what to count them?

I'll give you a couple of numbers to help out

A free Covid vaccination for the winner.

The winner will be notified by their medical authority sometime in 2021

 

1 - The wall display cabinets hold my current 'keepers' along with other small  fittings and odds & ends

2 - The tsuba box pile are my best example and quite a few are papered

3 - The tansu has my newer tsuba that are yet to checked out and labeled. Quantity = 41

4 - The office index box are my for sale tsuba (two images). Quantity = 41

I know most of you have seen my listing but for those who haven't the link is below

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0g8f5og1wl8ze5/NMB listing Nov 2020.pdf?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grev

 

 

 

 

Hi Grev,

 

as a librarian, those index card cabinets trigger me extremely.

Very nice collection and good luck trying to find out how many are enough !

 

 

regards,

[Curran]

3 hours ago, Shugyosha said:

I’ve got around 20 which is both too many and too few. There’s 5 I wouldn’t part with, 5 I’d be happy to move on now but can’t be bothered to purge, 10 I’m enjoying for the moment but will move on in future and around a 100 that I haven’t met yet but hope to own down the line. 
 

Kozuka are quite nice too though...

 

That is about exactly where I find myself from year to year.

 

[Japan2112]

Hi Bob,

Super assortment, and something to be proud of. You may decide to slow down in acquiring, but you have many projects of study or display in that grouping. If you are handy, simply construct a "shadow box" for your wall to display 5 or 10. Rotate your selection each month as you mentally categorize and rank. Put the rest under your bed.

 

I really like the deep orange color of some of your old brass inlay.

 

 

[Surfson]

You are correct Mark.   I have gone through them and rated them 1, 2 and 3.   I will study the 1s and then the 2s, taking photos and building a file on each of them.  I bought a Dymo labelmaker and it can support kanji, so I will make labels for the boxes (or tags if there is no box).  It should take considerable time but be fun and stimulating.  

[Greg F]

Wow Bob and Grev, excellent collections. I enjoy seeing what others have collected choosing my favorites. 

For me not being able to buy many blades I've found tsuba are a great Nihonto fix. Cheers

[Bazza]

Bob,

 

With a 144 piece collection I hope you realise it could be said that you have a Gross of Tsuba...

 

BaZZa.

[Surfson]

You are correct Bazza!

It reminds me of the joke about a scientist who used condoms for an experiment he was performing in the lab.

He went to the druggist on friday and bought a gross of condoms for his research that weekend.

The next friday he went in to buy more for the coming weekend and told the pharmacist that the last gross he bought had only 142 condoms.

To which, the druggist said, "Gee, I hope it didn't spoil your weekend"