Small hole on tsuba?

[Okan]

Hello, 

 

I just found a very little and carefully drilled hole on a tsuba. Did anyone see anything like this before? What might be the purpose of it? It's weird too see that the hole didn't rust..

 

[ChrisW]

Probably a spot where a bit of metallic or enamel inlay was and has since fallen out. Or could be recent and done by someone who had no idea what they were doing (trying to make a necklace and discovering the metal is harder than they thought or something like that).

[Okan]

3 minutes ago, ChrisW said:

Probably a spot where a bit of metallic or enamel inlay was and has since fallen out. Or could be recent and done by someone who had no idea what they were doing (trying to make a necklace and discovering the metal is harder than they thought or something like that).

It can't be recent. But yes I guess something was in there and fallen out..I hope it wasn't diamond and hope it wasn't me who made it fall  

 

[Stephen]

35 minutes ago, Okan said:

It can't be recent.

Not recent as from you getting it...but yes recent. Someone started to drill it and change ther mind it's pretty obvious.

And no nothing fell out inlays not that deep.

[noneed2hate]

Very curious indeed, I wonder if it was drilled to verify it wasn't a plated piece of brass or something to that affect (in lieu of just using a magnet). 

[Bruce Pennington]

5 hours ago, Okan said:

I hope it wasn't diamond and hope it wasn't me who made it fall

I am no follower of Tsuba or civil fittings, but I have to say I have never seen an actual jewel on sword fittings. My dad’s Mantetsu was missing several parts, that were stolen in his time in the Marines. He always said that he believed someone stole the metal parts thinking that there were jewels to be found. 

[Shugyosha]

Tsuba occasionally have coral set in them and some go way further:

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20905/lot/2231/

 

But that's a recently drilled hole as there is no patina in it - it's shiny metal. No idea why someone would do such a thing.

[WillFalstaff]

Maybe some knucklehead was trying to make it into some kind of wearable jewelry, but then the tsuba fought back, and won. 

[DoTanuki yokai]

Looks exactly the way my "holes" look like when i try to drill a hole into hardned steel before my drill gets dull and i have to reevaluate what im doing.