Are these tsuba real?

[Spartancrest]

1 hour ago, Xander Chia said:

about all tsuba in general.

I don't think you are going to find a single 'guide book'. There are just so many types and schools that any book that claims all the answers will only have room for a few examples out of thousands in each group. If it was all available in a book we wouldn't need the NMB - and believe me we still need the NMB. Books are a help but experience is better - and experience can't be taught or found in a book.  Pricing is another subject - honestly from my experience it is a guess at best, what someone will pay depends just as much on their experience as on what the seller expects to get. For instance what would you pay for this -

 

   

The sellers wants to start at 26,980 yen - but from my experience it is worth what I paid for mine = 25 cents

[by the way there are three of these selling right now and they turn up every other week!]

The seller probably thinks it is genuine and hand forged, he is either ignorant or profiteering, but I know it is one of thousands, a cast souvernir. Yet some buyers will pay up to $800 USD in the belief these are valuable. So what price would you pay?

[Xander Chia]

What’s up with the mishapen nakago ana? Not the first I’ve seen but have always wondered how/why they have an irregular shape.

 

There are also two kogai hitsu ana and the tsuba is thinner around the seppa dai in some parts (irregular), almost as though it is sinking in.

[Spartancrest]

2 hours ago, Xander Chia said:

What’s up with the mishapen nakago ana?

It is fairly common - I know in most cases it can look odd and unattractive but as a rule it is totally invisible when the tsuba is mounted. The result of 'heavy' tagane-ato [punch marks] designed to fit the guard tightly to the sword tang [nakago] often it is more severe when the guard has been mounted several times to different blades - it shows to some extent the history of the piece. This one from another thread has similar lopsided nakago-ana and clearly shows the heavy tagane-ato.

If it distresses you to look at, it can be covered by a seppa as it would be when mounted.

 

At the far end of the scale some tsuba have the seppa-dai completely removed for mounting on Naginata or Nagimaki.

http://www.nihonto.us/ONIN NAGAMAKI TSUBA.htm

[Xander Chia]

15 hours ago, Spartancrest said:

It is fairly common - I know in most cases it can look odd and unattractive but as a rule it is totally invisible when the tsuba is mounted. The result of 'heavy' tagane-ato [punch marks] designed to fit the guard tightly to the sword tang [nakago] often it is more severe when the guard has been mounted several times to different blades - it shows to some extent the history of the piece. This one from another thread has similar lopsided nakago-ana and clearly shows the heavy tagane-ato.

If it distresses you to look at, it can be covered by a seppa as it would be when mounted.

 

At the far end of the scale some tsuba have the seppa-dai completely removed for mounting on Naginata or Nagimaki.

http://www.nihonto.us/ONIN NAGAMAKI TSUBA.htm

Wow, I would be so puzzled with the bottom one if you didn’t mention it was for a naginata/nagamaki. I do understand that punch marks can cause these sorts of deformities, but I’m confused because that tsuba does not have any.

[Spartancrest]

20 hours ago, Xander Chia said:

two kogai hitsu ana

 There are many tsuba with symmetrical hitsu-ana and they can come in a multitude of shapes - I wonder if this gives some versatility in the mounting? Which is the omote or ura on these ones?

3 hours ago, Xander Chia said:

I do understand that punch marks can cause these sorts of deformities, but I’m confused because that tsuba does not have any.

 

Perhaps the nakago-ana was cut back by a file to fit the nakago  - it is unusual though. Why is it off centre?