Options very welcome before I make a novice's mistake!

[Guest Simon R]

Dear Tsuba specialists,

 

Despite the rather 'rough and ready' carving (if that, indeed, is what it is), I am drawn to this piece as it would nicely complete a fish themed koshirae.

However, some of the squares of the net possibly seem to exhibit evidence of inner casting lines.
 

Please let me know what you think before I throw good money after bad!

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Simon,

I vote cast and, even if it is unsure that it is cast, it is an iron tsuba that has never been mounted, which is usually a warning sign.

Grey

[Geraint]

Dear Simon.

 

I would add my vote to Grey's.   Also the seppa dai is incomplete at 11 and 1 o'clock.  

 

All the best.

[kissakai]

The line in the middle of the cut outs show this to be cast

Should be one of the first things to look for

 

[Guest Simon R]

Many, many thanks, gentlemen!

 

That is exactly what I suspected; it was a case of 'your eyes and brain trying not to see what your heart doesn't want you to see'. 
Regardless of eyes, brain or heart, my wallet is extremely grateful to you!

 

Simon

[Larason2]

It's also the wrong shape. Too oblong laterally. Also, look at the piece that chipped out under the bottom fish. Cast iron is brittle, and is more likely to fragment off like that.

[Steves87]

Well, I generally wouldn't go against the opinion of Grey, who has probably handled thousands of guards over the years, and I also would have said cast based on those pictures, however, I believe there is a very good chance that this is not cast, and just heavily de-conditioned.

There are some anomalies within the sukashi, but it isn't consistent with all of them and doesn't appear within the hitsu ana, or nakago ana (which doesn't appear to be modified through mounting). I believe this inner sukashi condition is in line with the general deconditioned state of the Tsuba and it would be odd to clean up some, but not all, at the time of manufacture.

The seppa dai area does look a little off in shape, but it isn't the first time a less than perfect, off centre, or odd shaped nakago ana has popped up on a legitimate Tsuba. The odd darkish arch at the top of the seppa dai is likely a shadow from a smaller mis-shaped seppa, and I would guess that this guard has been "cleaned up" at some point, from a much worse state.

 

I have an example of similar design and style which I am about 98% certain is not cast, and this is the main reason for my doubts on the above Tsuba (based on those photos). My example is pretty similar in execution, it does have ten zogan, but otherwise you can see that the two are based on a typical theme, with the fish and waves being similarly shaped and placed, but different enough not to be cast. 

 

My stance on the cast debate in other threads is complicated to say the least, and I wont state it, but I do believe the "cast" label is thrown about as incorrectly as the Shoami label is. There are no doubts that cast items have manufacturing faults, but SOME of these can be replicated through general de-condioning (flat surface anomalies, for example).