SOME THOUGHTS ON BEGINNING THE COLLECTION OF TSUBA by Arnold Frenzel

[Spartancrest]

This is perhaps the best written treatise for the novice tsuba collector I have found- I have spent the best part of two hours converting it from a patchy PDF to something that can be read without gluing words back together but feel free to see the original

https://jssus.org/1973_Bulletin_Museo_Orientale_Beginning_Tsuba_Collecting_Token_Kenkyu_Kai_Kao_Artists_Seals.pdf

For something written in 1973 a great deal is still relevant. We are much better informed than was possible at that time and our resources are only a key stroke away from literally a world of knowledge - but what held true then is true now.

 

 

 

"Some Thoughts on Beginning the Collection of Tsuba",
by K. A. Frenzel  

Taken from: BULLETIN of the
Japanese SWORD SOCIETY
OF THE UNITED STATES - DEC.  1973

I . Introduction
This article is directed to the novice collector and student and it assumes that a collector is one who is in the fullest sense of the term as much a student of tsuba as he is one who gathers them together ~ . Collection without an appropriate attitude of scholarship can be little more than accumulation, and true appreciation of tsuba is based much more on an understanding of these fascinating and unique objects than on their mere possession. My own interest in tsuba dates only to the later 1960's and my credentials for writing these comments do not compare, I am sure, with doubtless many others outside of Japan. However, in lieu of other material, or at least readily available material, these comments may be of some interest to beginners, even though these remarks are little more than the accumulated observations of my own collecting experiences and reflections.
Why would a person start collecting tsuba? There is probably little doubt that most collections are started because of the associations that bind sword and tsuba together. This could range from intrigue with the functional role of the tsuba, to the more romantic aura conferred upon the tsuba by the sword as a major weapon and cultural symbol. A collection started for these reasons usually comes about simply because purchased swords are not infrequently accompanied by their own (imperfectly fitting?) tsuba. The collection is then just derived from the possession of swords. It more meaningfully becomes a tsuba collection when the owner begins to think of them as separate from his swords or when he starts to acquire them as separate objects. For some owners of tsuba the disassociation of tsuba from sword never occurs, and this article is not primarily directed to them.
When a person either through derivation from the sword or directly, is captivated by the intrinsic beauty and feeling associated with tsuba, then the necessary condition is present for a tsuba collection. If tsuba are seen as no more than the indispensable fitting required by certain sword mounts, than it is hard for me to think of their owner as a tsuba collectors as such. Surely the joys of tsuba are to be found in the objects themselves, and it is primarily from this point of view that this article is written. While it sometimes presents real strains on one's personal finances, it is certainly possible to be both a collector of tsuba and a collector of swords. On the other hand either a tsuba or sword collection can stand alone. My own interests are about equally divided between swords and tsuba, and while more experienced collectors have told me that this leads to irreconcilable conflicts necessitating an eventual commitment to one or the other, I have not reached that impasse and frankly doubt the existence of its necessary occurrence.
There are doubtless many other joint and separate reasons for collecting tsuba, though I feel that the only one that really exploits the pleasures of tsuba is that discussed immediately above. For some collectors, tsuba may simply be more available than swords, and for others the relative ease of storage, maintenance, and transportation are appealing. There can be no doubt that some new collectors have been attracted by the imagined attractiveness of art abjects as investments, with tsuba being just another "share" in that market. The presumed attraction of swords and tsuba as investments has acted powerfully in recent years in markets for these objects. My views on investing in Japanese swords have been expressed in full detail elsewhere, [*1] and that general argument is mutatis mutand is equally applicable with respect to tsuba. I do not intend to repeat it here other than to say that I feel a general argument, both theoretical and practical, against the folly of investing in art objects is a pretty convincing one when the argument is considered in its entirety. That argument in no way denys the remarkable increases in value that have occurred to the asset value of holdings of swords and tsuba when, as is currently the case, an unstable market is buffeted with short run demand increases on the part of both holders and non-holders of the art objects. Nor does it deny the huge advantage that is always possessed by those with highly specialized, expert, and hard to come by knowledge. Needless to say this knowledge is possessed by neither prospective investors, nor the vast majority of collectors.
Hind sight is 20/20 vision, and windfall speculative good fortune is a very different thing than rationally calculating before the fact what the probability of success is for the average investor undertaking the, accumulation of swords or tsuba in comparison with other assets of equal risk. While a capital gain may well be a by-product of collection, this article is not directed to those whose collection is primarily oriented toward that point of view.
I should point out at the outset that there are several well known problems faced by the tsuba collector and some of what follows is aimed at minimizing or overcoming them. To mention only a couple , while books and other studies of tsuba abound, and may even be as numerous as material on the sword, there is certainly less available, at least in the post-World War II era, in English and the other major Western languages . For those collectors without Japanese that poses a substantial limitation on study in any depth . A fairly acceptable proof can be found in going back over the publications of the J.S.S.U.S. , the British Token Society , or the monthly material of the Japanese Sword Club of Southern California, and compare the relative amount of material devoted to swords vis-a-vis tsuba. I see no prospect that this void will be filled in the foreseeable future. 
In addition tsuba seem to be considerably less well understood than swords as the availability of literature suggests. For the more advanced collector this ought to open vistas for productive research, but for the beginner the scarcity and unevenness of information , along with the contradictions, omission, and errors found in the materials available, does present a substantial frustration and disincentive. An important but by no means unique example is the confusion surrounding the popular works of Nobuiye, or more accurately the Nobuiye and their students and branch schools. The definitive study does not exist in any language.
The same can be said for tsuba made between the excavated Hoju and those clearly falling into the Ko-tosho and Ko-katchushi categories. Sword collectors can hope for the translation of a good modern Japanese work on the sword to answer many contradictions and ommissions that appear in Western language literature, but tsuba collectors would be more poorly served. The recent work by Sasano [*2] is without question a major contribution to the 1iterature, and yet through its brevity, vague aesthetic illusion, and narrowness of coverage, it leaves us with an appetite for more comprehensive and detailed coverage. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*1Frenzel , K.A . , 11 0n Investing in Japanese Swords 11, in Randolph B. - Caldwen, Ed. The Book of the Sword. (Token Kenkyu Kai , 1972) pp. 121-139 
*2 Sasano, Masayuki. Early Japanese Sword Guards: Sukashi Tsuba . (Japan Publications , 1972 ) 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

II . The Commitment to Collect
I feel that any serious undertaking requires a conscious and sincere commitment to set about a task and to do it well . Tsuba collecting is no exception. I think there ought to be a decision to collect and with that there must come the acceptance of at least the following three obligations. First comes that barrier of the Japanese language, almost as much a problem for the tsuba collector as the sword collector. You must undertake to minimize its ability to lock you out from more than the most casual use of Japanese illustrated material, and the very inscriptions on the tsuba themselves. The counsel of perfection is of course an organized study program in written Japanese with a competent instructor. Short of that, fairly quick familiarity with the written kanji can be attained by repetitive study of the English and Japanese character representations in Hawley's dictionary of swordsmiths. [*3] 
Another alternative which is laborious but fairly sure and flexible after sufficient study, is that of Koop and Inada. [*4] The relatively easily attained ability to handle dating schemes and the basic numerical system is of course also essential. Any of these skills requires time and effort, but it is much better than being entirely at the mercy of a "translator".
A second obligation which I feel is particularly important for the tsuba collector, is to invest heavily in a collection of research material. 
The tsuba collector is fortunate in being able to acquire many publications which, while they might be written in an inaccessible language, contain many excellent and extremely useful photographs. The currently available material in English can be had for a few dollars, but the expenditure of $750 or more should be anticipated to acquire the in-print and recent out-of-print Japanese material. To this can be added the occasionally available earlier material which, unless reprinted, commands handsome prices. I will discuss some of this literature below, but it is sufficient to note here that so much can be learned from the careful and systematic study of good tsuba photographs, that the failure to undertake the conscientious building of your own research library is in my view a serious error. Even in the most cosmopolitan centers you will soon discover that the resources of your public or university libraries are sorely inadequate.
Your final obligation is to recognize that you must spend money, and substantial amounts of it to build a tsuba collection these days. While this may sound trite, I am convinced that most tsuba collections grow out of an initial interest in swords and that conditions collectors to view tsuba initially as something thrown in almost gratis with a sword. While you may unflinchingly spend $500 for a sword, a tsuba for the same price that is very much as good a buy, will leave most collectors pondering for days. While all good tsuba are by no means that expensive, the point is that for many people the development of a rational economic view towards tsuba is difficult. I think that any anxiety that money spent on a tsuba is somehow "locked in" is unfounded. If anything my observations suggest that tsuba prices have appreciated more rapidly than those for swords.
Neither may be rational investments, but that is a different issue. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*3 Hawley , W.M . "Japanese Swordsmiths", 2 volumes. (Hawley, 1966 & 1967)
*4 Koop, Albert J., and Hogitaro Inada. "Japanese Names and How to Read Them: A Manual for Art-Collectors and Students". Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1960)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

III . Standards of Collection
Once you have made a commitment to devote a substantial amount of time and money to your collecting endeavours, then some careful thought ought to be given to, what for the lack of a better phrase I will term, the standards of your collection. By that I mean more than not simply collecting aimlessly or without sufficient discernment and taste. I mean the conscious consideration of what is worth collecting to you, why you might prefer this tsuba to that, and finally the possession of a fairly clear justification for your position. At first one tsuba looks pretty much like another, and I do not suggest that the assurance and self possession of an experienced collector can be attained entirely before the fact. However, some thought given to your standards of collection at an early time will ease the course of trial and error that you will inevitably go through.
I would caution against setting out to collect tsuba by type as is so commonly done. Such categories as old or later, large or small, iron or nonferrous, pierced or unpierced, signed or unsigned, thick or thin, or those with brass inlay, flowers, mythological scenes, animals, human figures, and so forth, when used as guides to collection will probably leave you regretting it later. I think you will discover that what you eventually like will transcend such arbitrary and superficial boundaries. A collection certainly ought to be more than aimless accumulation, but I think you can find more lasting and satisfying categories than those mentioned above.
At the other extreme from accumulation or collection by type is the all inclusive comprehensive collection that in effect attempts to get an example of everything. This is the mentality of the stamp collector, coin collector, or Colt collector, and I consider it a ludicrous guide to tsuba collection. To say nothing of the practical prospects of ever finishing such a collection, to proceed in such a fashion puts more of a premium on representativeness than on quality and aesthetic excellence. While such collections may be the responsibility of museums, they are a dubious goal for a collector. The distinction is one of that much over used word connoisseurship versus the peculiarly Western penchant for completeness for the sake of completeness.
If you choose not to follow the seeming line of least resistance which suggests collecting by type, any or all, then what alternative is there to follow? It is commonly asserted that the Japanese must have the best collections of tsuba, therefore the trick is to discover the dominant tsuba characteristics displayed in Japanese collections. Now certainly Japanese aesthetic taste is different from Western, and you can frequently notice certain striking differences between illustrated Japanese and Western collections, however, if the implication is that by trying to sense in some mechanical visual fashion what the Japanese prefer and by then copying that you will have a good basis for collection, I think such advice is more misleading than helpful for a number of reasons. As a first point I seriously doubt in this day and age that good Japanese taste is so geographically specific that it only manifests itself in Japan. There are fine Western collections reflecting standards of collection well worthy of a beginners study. More importantly the Japanese surely differ in tsuba appreciation between themselves at any moment of time, and they themselves are subject to changing canons of taste. If the injunction to copy Japanese collections made sense prior to World War I when Western owned tsuba, with exceptions, were quite randomly distributed among various collections, it surely makes much less sense today. There are many highly differentiated collections outside Japan, and some will seem more "Japanese" than others. It is therefore a matter of what comparisons you make, inside Japan and out. Ideally we ought to start off as students of a particular teacher, and if so we would tend to adopt his standards, even unconsciously. Most of us are not that fortunate, so we must develop our own point of view, and I would counsel that great benefit should not or cannot be derived from trying to conceive of a clear image of "Japanese" tsuba standards versus other standards. That distinction is too severe and too gross. I feel that when measured by a standard you will eventually develop, rather than one dictated by the number or the fame of pieces, you will agree with me that there are relatively more good Japanese collections than bad in comparison with the West, however, those elements of judgment run deeper than what is obvious from a simple comparison of illustrations. What makes a good tsuba, like what makes a good sword is perhaps not codifiable, though the pursuit of the question gives all serious collectors many hours of pleasurable reflection. Whatever the answer is, it does not lie in a simple juxtaposition of Japanese versus Western. 
As a second, and more crucial point, it is not so much what the tsuba looks like in a straightforward sense that is important, but rather what it is that is important, and illustrations without substantial written commentary will be of little help in trying to define intrinsic Japanese standards. Even if that could be done, it may not hold much aesthetic meaning for the beginner. Somehow you must discover for yourself what you like and why. As your collecting interests mature they will probably tend to become more compatible with powerful taste setting influences flowing from Japan, and such a convergence is desirable, but I feel that you should not try to define this Japanese standard too narrowly, nor should it be purely adoptive from any one "expert" or group of "experts". There are no ultimate arbiters of good taste, Japanese or otherwise.
While display and the approval of others are probably powerful, if unrecognized motives for collections, you must ultimately please yourself by finding satisfaction in the pleasure certain tsuba confer upon you. To do this you must develop enough confidence in your own standards of collection to really believe that you are right and he is wrong when some self-proclaimed arbiter of good taste disparages this or that piece on aesthetic grounds. There will be many better informed collectors who can help you identify fakes, burned, cracked tsuba and the like, and you would be foolish not to search out such opinion, however, on aesthetic groups you must develop your own standards, guided with all the help you can get, but your own ultimately. You may agree, and yet ask: "Just how is such a standard developed?"

I have myself switched from one imagined standard to another and almost developed the stare of a Daruma from pouring over Japanese illustrated works time and time again. I only have one rather simple and belatedly obvious suggestion to make. It is not a standard as such, but possibly it might suggest a way for you to acquire your own standard. How do you answer yourself if you ask : "What is a good tsuba?" I have argued above that it is not simply a matter of emulating Japanese collections as such, for they only illustrate the tsuba, not what appealed to the collector about that piece. If you could only buy tsuba that have attained Juyo status your problems would be solved!(? ? ?)
What then is a good tsuba? Is it size, subject depicted, state of preservation, age, lack of alteration? I suggest that it is not necessarily any of these things as such, though all of them do have a bearing on the quality of any piece. I think that the true answer is found somewhere in the relationship between craftsmanship and aesthetic content. It is easy but misleading to confuse good craftsmanship with good art. For the later has its foundation in the design, form, texture, and symbolic meaning of an object and not in the narrow quality of its execution. I would therefore urge you to eschew tsuba that are nothing more than flawless and precise in their craftsmanship, and rather try to discover what makes a tsuba good on its intrinsic aesthetic terms. To do this it may be best to try to find those elements in Japanese culture that not only brought about the social usefulness of swords and their fittings, but that are also mirrored with such clarity in all good tsuba and other works of Japanese art. When you have discovered these pervasive and powerful cultural currents, I think you will be much closer to understanding why a good tsuba is good the day it was made. No amount of skilled artifice can make a piece of iron a good tsuba if oneness with the supporting culture is not there. No one is born with an inherent aesthetic standard, Japanese or otherwise, and it must be learned. If you cannot be a part of that ongoing Japanese cultural stream, a fairly careful program of study and observation ought to move you in the direction of seeing tsuba not as objects, but seeing what is seen in a good one.

I originally began collecting tsuba in a cultural vacuum, and without giving it any particular thought, acting as if the objects stood alone. They do not, and can no more be understood and evaluated outside their cultural milieu than a Rembrandt can be understood outside the context of 17th century Holland, or primitive African art outside its supporting culture. I gradually began an unsupervised and rather casual reading program, that I feel has helped me in trying to develop some standards of collection that at least try to catch a glimpse of what is aesthetically good in a tsuba itself. I make no claim that this partial list of the material that I have covered is particularly good or that it will leave you with any firm or final notions, but it might help you to discover your own standards of collection. 
A good starting point is G.B. Sansom, "Japan: A Short Cultural History", revised edition, (Appleton-Centry Crofts, 1962).
"The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture", (Meridian Books, 1967 , by the cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict, is a classic key to the Japanese mind.
A brief introduction to the pervasive influence of Zen on Eastern culture is Alan W. Watts, "The Spirit of Zen: A Way of Life, Work and Art in the Far East", (Grove Press, 1958). 
A somewhat more specialized and personal account is Eugen Herrigel's "Zen", (McGraw-Hill , 1964). 
An extremely interesting work that is probably little known to collectors of swords and tsuba is "Zen and Japanese Culture", (Bollingen Foundation, 1959), by the great Zen teacher Daisetz T. Suzuki. It contains no less than 210 pages explicitly devoted to the cult of the samurai and swordsmanship. 
Finally you might find some very useful keys to Japanese aesthetic feeling in "The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight into Beauty",
(Kodansha International, 1972 , by the widely recognized founder of the Japanese folkcraft movement Soetsu Yanagi. It is certainly not essential that you read all or any of these works; what is essential is that you work towards some standards of collection that will separate the choice from the profane. When you have done this, you will have your standards and be well on the way to seeing tsuba as the Japanese see them and you will be much more secure as a collector in your own right. 

 

IV . Building a Reference Library
It is not the intention of this article to try to teach or even express my own feeling of what a good tsuba is; much less it is my task to discuss tsuba nomenclature, schools, artists and the like. However you will find it essential to build your own reference library, and I will briefly discuss what I consider some of the more useful works. I make no attempt to offer an exhaustive list. Works that are very rare and unlikely to be found are omitted. I will also avoid mentioning works that are specialized with respect to school or province.
From those works still believed by me to be in-print, probably the three most useful for the beginner are the following: "Arms and Armor of Ancient Japan: An Historical Survey", a publication of the Southern California To-ken Kai with an authoritative and well illustrated tsuba section by Robert E. Haynes; 
B.W. Robinson's "The Arts of the Japanese Sword" is a contemporary standard containing much useful information on styles, materials, techniques, schools and subsidiary information, though it is not free of serious errors and omissions; and finally the very much appreciated recent work by Masayuki Sasano , "Early Japanese Sword Guards: Sukashi Tsuba". You will also find much useful information, though again not above criticism, in the "Catalogue of Tsuba in the Permanent Collection of the City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery", with an introduction by Richard Hancock. Though replete with information, the recently reprinted "Japanese Sword-Mounts in the Collections of Field Museum" by Helen C. Gunsaulus is not regarded as highly as it once was, and it should not be considered authoritative.
There are a number of private collection catalogues available that are of varying quality. W.M. Hawley is now issuing "Tsubas in Southern California" which was originally released by pages bi-monthly through the Southern California To-ken Kai, showing tsuba in the collections of Club members. While I have not seen this new book, the previous issues were rather unusefully organized primarily by type or material, without the identification of artist or school, and the tsuba are quite uneven in quality.  

[The present editor Spartancrest- wholly agrees, the publication is "a picture book" at best.]

Henri L. Joly was a very well known pre-World War I tsuba writer who collaborated in a number of once scarce catalogues, some of which have since been reprinted; among these are the collections of Arthur H. Church, W.L. Behrens, and G.H. Naunton. 
Japanese works are fairly numerous, though they are in whole or part relatively less usable for those without or with limited Japanese. A basic pair is "Kinko Jiten" or dictionary of later decorative tsuba makers which can be usefully matched with "Toso Kinko Mei Shuroku" which shows many superb blown-up signatures. Published under the supervision of Junji Homa and K. Sato, "Nihon To Koza" in volumes 6 and 7 illustrates many fine tsuba. A new 8 volume set with excellent illustrations of many tsuba not seen elsewhere is "Toso Kodogu Koza". None of the books or sets mentioned immediately above comes with an English index. 

While those mentioned above are, to the best of my knowledge, in-print, there are a number of useful publications in various languages that are now out-of-print, and they occasionally can be found. Of those that I am personally familiar with, "Hugo Halberstadts Samling af Japanske Svaerdprydelser" by Karl Berger [Copenhagen, 1953. 61 pp.] is highly regarded. A good catalogue with much introductory information is J. van Daalen, Jr. "Japanese Sword Furniture Collection of the Late General J.C . Pabst". Shinkichi Hara's "Die Meister der Japanischen Schwertzierathen", in 1902 and 1931 editions is an incomplete but good list of artists, and the slightest familiarity with German opens most of its secrets. That volume should be accompanied by its supplement by Henri L. Joly's, "Shosankenshu . List of Names, Kakihan", and it is still
in print [this was in 1973]. "Masterpieces of Japanese Sword Guards" by Junji Homa contains superb illustrations and is in both Japanese and English. The English portion is reprinted in "The Book of the Sword", edited by Randolph B. Caldwell and that book may still be available in print [once again this was in 1973]. A small amount of good material is found in the exhibition "Token Catalogue" of the To-Ken Society of Great Britain. A very fine pre-war Japanese work that was reprinted in 1972 and immediately went out-of-print is Noboru Kawaguchi's "Tsuba Taikan". It contains over 640 pages of illustrations with English titles and extensive genealogies. A popular collection with English titles is M. Takezawa's "Nihon Toban Zusetu". Its coverage is extensive and I suspect many of its inclusions are not illustrated elsewhere. The dean of tsuba authorities is Kazutaro Torigoye, and those fortunate enough to own his "Tsuba Kanshoki" can testify to its excellent illustrations. Finally the "Japanische Stichblatter und Schwertzieraten: Sammlung Georg Oeder", by P. Vautier represents the finest standards of Western collection. 

 

V. Sources and Pitfalls
Tsuba these days must be welcomed wherever they are found, for along with swords they are becoming increasingly scarce on the market . A collector is well advised to join those organizations whose membership comprises persons with similar interests. Not only will this sometimes bring useful written material, news, and the like, but it will also open opportunities for tsuba study and exchange or purchase. More mobile collectors will find it worthwhile to attend various regional shows. The more interesting ones in my opinion are those held by the Chicago Token Study Group in early May, and the Memorial and Thanksgiving Day shows of the Japanese Sword Society of Maryland held at Pikesville. Shops, dealers and auctions are traditional sources of tsuba. At the very least the catalogues of Christie's and Sotheby's in London make fascinating if sometimes unbelievable reading. Local newspaper ads are a favourite with sword collectors, though I have rarely found loose tsuba through ads. Once you have developed your aesthetic standards of collection and feel that you have some notion of what is intrinsically good about a tsuba, you have additional things to consider in deciding whether or not you want to add it to your collection. Is it sound and free of the weaknesses of having been in a fire or having been broken? These were once, and perhaps still are, serious taboos, and yet in Sasano's book, tsuba with just such characteristics are prominently displayed [*5] . Are such tsuba poor? You should think that through yourself. You will have to ask yourself similar questions about false signatures, removed signatures, faithful copies, school pieces, repatinated tsuba and the like. While I have my own opinions along these lines, I will not attempt to force them on you. I do think however that the general state of tsuba study makes definitive answers about some of these pitfalls impossible. There is also substantial room for differing individual positions on factors which it could be argued are subsidiary to a tsuba's intrinsic aesthetic qualities. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*5 Sasano, op. cit., p. 85 and p. 192

 

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

VI . Tsuba Care, Recording, and Storage
Once you own the tsuba there are some important, simple, and pleasurable steps that can be taken to both discover what you have and to care for it. I will treat these in reverse order, and the following remarks refer only to iron tsuba without any nonferrous metal, where specific processes and operations are mentioned. Advice about tsuba care is characterized by both its unreliability and the disagreement in substance between various authors. My own contribution will probably muddy the water a little further, but it contains nothing that I have been able to discover that is harmful through personal experience. Both Robinson [*6] and Sasano [*7] have sections devoted to tsuba care, and for those who are particularly cautious Sasano's advice is doubtless at once both safe and sufficient. The most exhaustive discussion that I know of in English is that by Alex R. Newman [*8], however that advice is both too risky and probably substantially in error.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*6 Robinson, op. cit . , pp . 93-95
*7 Sasano , op. cit. , pp . 277-279
*8 Newman, Alex R., "The Collecting of Tsuba", Bulletin 32, The Japan Society of London, ~ Oct.  1960, pp. 28-32; and, "Restoration and Preservation of Japanese Sword Furniture",  Bulletin 34, The Japan Society of London , ~ June.  1961, pp. 2-5 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find iron tsuba in three general conditions: a depressingly small proportion in excellent over all condition that requires no further care; the majority that are in good condition and that will benefit from an active program of care; and finally those that are in need of repatination.
The first group requires only study, recording and being filed away for future appreciation. The second group will tend to have scattered yet fairly light surface rust, possibly substantial dirt and grime, and probably some light surface scratching here and there sufficient to remove or reduce the quality of the patina. 

[ ED. The following information is Not recommended for the novice without consultation with an experienced collector.]

The first thing I do with such tsuba is to boil them, suspended from a wire in an old coffee can, in a solution of a household solvent found in Canada called Varsol, and water in proportions of about 1:75. I cannot vouch for the safety of such an operation which undoubtedly needs close attention and good ventilation, however, I have had no problems. This process, involving about a minute's boiling does not harm the tsuba in anyway that I can tell. It does not damage any natural patina that the tsuba has. What it does is simply to remove any foreign material that the water and solvent agent can dissolve. After boiling I give the tsuba a careful hand washing with soap and water and a toothbrush, then a few moments in hot running water, followed by gentle drying with a clean cloth.
Unless the tsuba has some uncommon foreign material on it in the first instance, it should now be quite clean and the rusted patches should be clearly differentiated from the unrusted surface. Of course tsuba that have paint on them, or very hardened grease in pierced areas may need the application of commercial paint dissolving preparations or household ammonia.
The tsuba is now ready to have the rust removed. If it is quite light, all that should be necessary is a well sharpened piece of deer horn, perhaps assisted in hard to reach places with a very carefully used dental scaler. Under no circumstances should any commercial rust removing agent be used. If the rust is heavier a prior soaking in plain lubricating oil will be helpful. Sometimes it is helpful to loosen fairly thick rust clusters by covering the spot with a piece of leather and tapping it lightly with the knob of a small ball pein hammer. When you have removed all the rust you can without harsh or excessive cleaning, the tsuba should be rewashed. The tsuba will have a cleaned looking surface which I find unsatisfactory without further attention. The least offensive thing to do is to rub it devotedly with a soft cotton bag that you can fashion about the size of your hand and eventually by that alone or perhaps by rubbing with the bare hand, some semblance of good patina ought to occur. A standard alternative that has been called into question in recent years is to cover the tsuba with a light coat of clove oil (Japanese) and rub. It has been asserted by Sasano [*9] that such treatment eventually produces further dangerous rusting, though I cannot vouch for that assertion. 
My own treatment for tsuba that have been boiled and washed differs only slightly from the traditional clove oil process, and it is doubtless subject to the same condemnation because it uses an oil, though it is harmless in my experience and I continue to use it. I take a good quality poppyseed oil available at any artist's supply store, coat the tsuba and then rub off almost as much as possible with a soft cloth. I then brush carefully with a horsehair shoe brush twice a day for a week, and then every other day or so for about another week, depending on humidity, or until thoroughly dry. The resulting surface has a hard, dull sheen that I feel considerably enhances the tsuba. Some collectors object to the sheen, but that is a matter of taste.
Another category of tsuba are those in obvious need of repatination. Such tsuba will be deeply rusted or devoid of patina in whole or in part. Frankly I have neither experimented much with such tsuba nor have I had much luck with them. The long process outlined by Sasano [*10] is probably ideal, though I tend to avoid such tsuba unless they are truly outstanding in my estimation. I have no counsel to offer. It is possible to get such tsuba refinished in the United States and I have availed myself of such services on several occasions, with mixed results ranging from superb to poor. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*9 Sasano, op. cit., p. 278
*10 Ibid., p. 278
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the tsuba is in the final state of what you might plan to do to it, it is then ready for careful recording. At the very least that will involve the preparation of a record sheet that can contain any amount of information, but ought to contain provisions for recording the material the tsuba is made of, N/S and E/W widths, thickness at the seppa-dai and the rim, a verbal description of motif, school, signature if any, period, condition, when and how acquired, cost, and approximate value. You can attach a good oshigata of both sides of the tsuba to your record sheet, and you may want to add cross references to similar tsuba illustrated in works in your reference library. You will find that with a single-lens reflex camera, and either a macro-photographic lens or a close-up lens adaptor, and a little trial and error, you will soon be able to take good coloured slides of your collection.
You may wish to display your tsuba from time to time, but some permanent storage container is very desirable. If you can get them, the top quality Japanese wood boxes are ideal. You may alternatively like to put them in small bags that you can either buy or have made. I find good quality black felt bags sewn on three sides and then storage in a dental drawer meets my own requirements. 

Finally and with some hesitation to discuss it at all, I feel that some concluding remarks are required here on the general subject of authentication. Naturally you want to know what your tsuba is meant to be and that it is a genuine example of that type or school.
As a beginner thrown entirely on your own resources you will discover that problems of style and signature frequently make satisfactory attribution and authentication a rather difficult task. The first obvious recourse is to your reference books for similar styles of pieces and signatures. If your library is big enough and your patience holds out, that can be a pretty good first approximation technique, however, the importance and fascination associated with knowing what you have is so strong that you will not want to stop with simply finding a rough physical parallel in the books. A further step is to consult with more knowledgeable collector friends, though as your own knowledge grows you will soon find your opinions may defensibly differ from theirs. The frustrations occasioned by such experiences may leave you searching for an "expert". In very recent years this expert judgment on both swords and tsuba has come with great acceptance in the form of presumably definitive White and Green Papers. There is no doubt that the genuinely expert knowledge symbolized by these papers, when issued under the auspices of the Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (NBTHK), or similar certificates issued by such men as Kazutaro Torigoye, will for all practical purposes answer your doubts as to attribution and authentication. I feel, however, that this phenomenon should be viewed with both some skepticism and caution. 
As a minor point you might want to ask yourself if the game is really worth the candle. When you have gotten to the point where your discrimination is such that you can begin to separate good tsuba from bad, I think you will find that: (1.) Most of those tsuba will get at least a White Paper; (2.) The overwhelming majority will never go beyond a Green Paper; (3.) Your own appreciation for what the piece is before you submit it will tend to be the same as any paper it might receive.
What importance then is the paper? Can you recover the cost and trouble you had to go to in getting the paper? 
I feel that a much more important point is to analyze what such an immediate and dependent recourse to ultimate expert opinion will do to your own development as a collector. I think the danger is that of atrophy in your own development as a collector. It certainly is frustrating to run out the usefulness of fellow collectors, book illustrations, and the meager material to be found in English, but it is just at that point where the real work and fascination of collecting begins. Through every means you can you must try to discover yourself what an object is, what makes it aesthetically good or bad, and what makes it "true" or "false". Papers can only be of little help along these lines, and they are dangerous if they lead you to believe that they can build a good collection for you or if they lead you to relax in your own pursuit of tsuba knowledge. You surely would not want a tsuba just because it has a paper, nor does that paper alone make you one more iota expert. Papers are obviously important on "big name'' pieces, pieces of potential historical importance, and pieces that might seriously be considered for Juyo rating. The object of tsuba collection ought to be personal satisfaction and the development and cultivation of your own knowledge and taste, and anything that threatens to diminish or substitute for these goals is suspect . By all means discover what you have, but remember that there is no ultimate shortcut.
- FINIS -

 

 

A lot to read and perhaps this information could be placed somewhere more permanent for "Newbies"?

[Jesta]

Thank you for making the effort to get this into a useable form. 

[Brian]

Good job Dale. Let's get this back into a nice .pdf, and I'll upload it to the articles section.

[Tcat]

Hi Dale, great work and good to see you back online here.

[cluckdaddy76]

I just want to say thank you for a great read. Although I have other fittings and a small collection of swords, I have become primarily a tsuba collector. This has provided me with references for more literature to own, which is one of my current focuses.

 

Jason 

[Franco]

On 3/24/2025 at 12:35 AM, Spartancrest said:

The first thing I do with such tsuba is to boil them, suspended from a wire in an old coffee can, in a solution of a household solvent found in Canada called Varsol, and water in proportions of about 1:75. I cannot vouch for the safety of such an operation which undoubtedly needs close attention and good ventilation, however, I have had no problems.

 

https://www.jmnspecialties.com/downloads/sds/2350-varsol-sds/file

 

 

Quote

 

AI Overview

Learn more

While Varsol (a brand name for a type of Stoddard solvent, a petroleum mixture) is not specifically classified as a known human carcinogen, some of its components, like benzene and ethylbenzene, are suspected or known carcinogens, and prolonged or repeated exposure can lead to health problems including cancer. 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

What is Varsol?

Varsol is a trade name for a type of Stoddard solvent, a petroleum mixture used as a paint thinner, dry cleaning solvent, and general cleaner. 

Components of Varsol and Potential Health Risks:

Varsol contains various hydrocarbons, some of which are known or suspected carcinogens. 

Benzene: A known human carcinogen linked to leukemia and other cancers. 

Ethylbenzene: Classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). 

Other components: Varsol may contain other chemicals that could pose health risks, including skin and respiratory irritation. 

Health Effects of Exposure:

Acute (Short-Term) Effects: Skin irritation, eye and respiratory tract irritation, headache, dizziness, and passing out. 

Chronic (Long-Term) Effects: Prolonged or repeated exposure can lead to skin drying and cracking, and potentially to cancer. 

Safety Precautions:

Avoid prolonged or repeated exposure: Wear appropriate protective equipment, such as gloves, goggles, and chemical-resistant clothing. 

Use in well-ventilated areas: Ensure adequate ventilation to prevent inhalation of vapors. 

Follow safety guidelines: Always read and understand the safety data sheet (SDS) before using Varsol. 

IARC Classification:

The IARC has classified Stoddard solvent (of which Varsol is a brand name) as not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans. However, some of its components are classified as known or suspected carcinogens. 

If you are concerned about your exposure to Varsol or other solvents, consult with a medical professional or occupational health specialist

. 

varsol solvent - SAFETY DATA SHEET

H351: Suspected of causing cancer. ... Repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking. ... Vapour/aerosol concentrations abo...

SAFETY DATA SHEET

VARSOL Paint Thinner - UAP Inc

Nov 23, 2023 — Hazard statement(s) H226. Flammable liquid and vapour. H304. May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways. H315. Cause...

UAP Inc

Varsol 18 Mineral Spirits - Safety Data Sheet

Apr 5, 2021 — HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION. Signal Word: DANGER. Hazard Category: Flammable Liquids Hazard Category 3. Carcinogenicity Haza...

Safety Data Sheet

Show all

Generative AI is experimental

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

On 3/24/2025 at 3:35 PM, Spartancrest said:

[ ED. The following information is Not recommended for the novice without consultation with an experienced collector.]

Franco, thanks for finding that information. I don't advocate the addition of solvents either. The quote for boiling with Varsol is not mine - it is from Mr. Frenzel.

 

I suspect a lot of chemicals we use today will turn out to be things we will regret in the future - simple just don't use any!  If you want to wash your tosogu, use water. [Then don't drink that water ]

[Soshin]

Less is often more when it comes to restoration of Japanese sword fittings that are many hundreds of years old. This needs to be remembered especially by all collectors, not just the novice collectors.

 

I have read his article a few years ago in the JSSUS Newsletter republished shortly after his death. I was friends with Arnold Frenzel during the last few years of his long life. I remember sitting and talking to him about tsuba at table holders' dinner at the old Tampa show. I remember him later talking about recommending me to Nick to join the KTK. This was on the top floor of the Tampa Airport Marriot Hotel, and the room would rotate while you ate showing a panoramic view of the airfield. I also fondly remember the gourmet food and drinks as well at the dinner.      

[Soshin]

On 3/24/2025 at 12:35 AM, Spartancrest said:

More mobile collectors will find it worthwhile to attend various regional shows. The more interesting ones in my opinion are those held by the Chicago Token Study Group in early May, and the Memorial and Thanksgiving Day shows of the Japanese Sword Society of Maryland held at Pikesville.

 

The current show held each year in Maryland, USA is the Baltimore Antique Arms Show (Baltimore Antique Arms Show) at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD. The Pikesville Show was I think the predecessor to this current show. All of these are suburbs of the city of Balimore. I had great fun last Saturday at this show.