Keeping a tsuba in your pocket?

[chuck]

I've come across a couple references to keeping a tsuba in your pocket for a day or two to restore the patina.

 

Does this actually work? How does it work?

 

Thanks!

 

peace.

[Marius]

I've come across a couple references to keeping a tsuba in your pocket for a day or two to restore the patina. Does this actually work? How does it work?

 

 

Attached are interesting and relevant excerpts from Col. Caldwell's "Tsuba". Please be very cautious. Rubbing must be very careful, soft, undyed cotton cloth only, and be extra careful NOT t touch any of the inlays. Even the copper inserts in the nakago ana (sekigane) are not to be touched.

[sanjuro]

Chuck.

 

Although it does work, I think its just an excuse for the tsuba guys to have a bit of gnarly old iron close at hand. It seems to have a calming influence on them. Seriously though, the movement of the tsuba within a pocket as you go about the daily grind, actually buffs the patina very gently. I tried it once and the result was quite pleasing. Although it takes a while it saves a lot of gentle rubbing with a soft cloth while you sit and watch TV.

[Curran]

As Keith said, it is a calming influence to some of us and it does work. But it also has its own hazards, like remembering you have it in your pocket or having it take a tumble out of you pocket. In one or two instances, I'd say it had a best result on older tsuba getting them to look healthy again after some cleaning and TLC. I would consider this for older Owari tsuba.

 

Still, not a habit for just anyone.

 

Best to get some undyed cotton / flannel and rub it while watching the TV or whatnot, as long as it doesn't annoy the wife or significant other.

Don't be in a hurry.

[Stephen]

Best to get some undyed cotton / flannel and rub it

lambs wool works well also, giving off lanolin.

[chuck]

huh. I did not know that.

 

The reason I was asking is that I have a Myochin tsuba that I had oiled to protect it from the New Jersey humidity. Then I read that oiling a tsuba is bad, because it can promote the growth of rust under the oil. So then I ordered some dessicant to keep in the display case, and cleaned the oil off with some warm soapy water.

 

Well, since being washed, the tsuba just seems kinda grey and lifeless. I think I'll just keep it in my pocket for a while now and see what happens to it.

 

Thanks for the info!!

 

peace.

[Marius]

hI have a Myochin tsuba that I had oiled to protect it from the New Jersey humidity. Then I read that oiling a tsuba is bad, because it can promote the growth of rust under the oil. So then I ordered some dessicant to keep in the display case, and cleaned the oil off with some warm soapy water.

 

Well, since being washed, the tsuba just seems kinda grey and lifeless. I think I'll just keep it in my pocket for a while now and see what happens to it.

 

Chuck,

 

don't worry, there is probably no tsuba which would not look bad after having been washed in soap-water. This does not mean that washing is bad. Au contraire, it is good, as it removes filth and grease and allows you to asses the real state of the patina. After the washing, a gentle treatment with a cotton cloth should bring lustre to the tsuba (don't rub it on your old blue jeans)

 

Do not take any shortcuts. Just rub it gently. You will see. I have once taken a shortcut, rubbing a tsuba on my old jeans. The result was that the sekigane have been buffed-up.

 

You can see how bad shiny sekigane look on an old tsuba:

http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2010/03/t ... tical.html

[christianmalterre]

Ha!Mariusz!

 

thank you for posting this one-i did not know-this in fact is an NICE! Tsuba...

 

Cheers!

 

Christian

[Jamie]

mariusz

I really like that Tsuba. Very nice. it looks like you did an excellent job on it too.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[bridgeofdreams]

It ought to go without saying - but since no one has said it yet - all this rubbing and fussing (which is the preferred technical "term") is for iron only, not soft metal tsuba.

 

Cotton works well, denim particularly as it has a bit more texture. I've not tried lambs wool, which might be fine, but stay away from synthetic carpeting. Someone, probably Bob Haynes, but don't quote me on that as it was some years back, told me that he had seen some of Sasano's tsuba that Kremers had fussed with on carpeting and they had taken on a grey dull patina.

 

Craig

[sanjuro]

Whilst we are talking about the various ways of fussing a tsuba, a friend of mine has a very clever little wrinkle on the tsuba in the pocket theme. He had his wife make up a felt pouch (real fur felt) larger than his tsuba with a drawstring closure so that the tsuba moved around in it, and puts the tsuba within its loose felt pouch in the pocket. You may ask why he did this. He noticed having fussed a few tsuba that the lining of his jacket pockets started to become not only grubby but rather threadbare. The felt stopped that and if the tsuba does fall from the pocket (less likely because of the felt pouch), it is not marked. I havent tried this myself but my friend has some really nice iron tsuba that have great patination. He also has about four different felt pouches, although I guess you could make up denim or cotton ones as well.

 

Just a variation on the theme, for the tsuba fussers and fluffers. :D

[Henry Wilson]

I personally don't like putting a tsuba in a pocket to develop the patina for the following reasons:

 

a. It can buff-up sekigane, making the copper unnaturally bright for the age of it.

b. It can buff-up soft metal plugs inserted into the hitsu ana.

c. It can remove rust from sukashi / nakago ana, which is a bit like removing rust from a sword nakago IMHO.

d. The heat / sweat of your body could loosen zogan making it more likely to fall out.

 

Careful rubbing with a soft clean cotton cloth (not blue jeans) I think is enough.

[Ford Hallam]

I must heartily agree with Henry on these points:

 

a. It can buff-up sekigane, making the copper unnaturally bright for the age of it.

b. It can buff-up soft metal plugs inserted into the hitsu ana.

 

The bright seki-gane phenomena is something I find very ugly and makes the pieces look garish. I frown on this practice

[Marius]

The bright seki-gane phenomena is something I find very ugly and makes the pieces look garish. I frown on this practice

 

Yes, I can see this effect in the picture of my tsuba. It does look ugly, and it was because I was enthusiastic and careless. Sorry.

 

The advice is: never clean the tsuba by putting it in your pocket. Use a clean cotton cloth free of any dye or other chemicals (like detergents) and be very careful not to touch the sekigane. Never touch teh zogan parts, either.

 

I will adjust my previous post accordingly.

[Ford Hallam]

apologies, Mariusz...if I sounded like the tsuba police

[Marius]

apologies, Mariusz...if I sounded like the tsuba police

 

Ford,

 

not at all, just something I have forgotten about. Sekigane ARE important and their patina must be preserved. No problem pointing this out, so that other enthusiasts avoid my mistakes :-)

[chuck]

Well, I've given this a try, since the tsuba in question has no sekigane or other metal inlay...

 

...and it's only been three days so far, and there has been an amazing improvement in the depth and lustre of the patina. It does work!! I can't wait to see what it looks like after a week or two if this treatment. I've been keeping it in my pocket, and rubbing it gently with a flannel cloth whenever I'm bored.

 

I've had a couple of co-workers ask me what the hell I'm doing. Trying to explain that "I'm fussing a tsuba" is kind of an interesting conversation. Until they start backing away slowly.

 

I only wish I had taken "before" pictures, to compare the results to.

 

Except my camera's broke.

 

And I can't afford a new one because I've been buying tsubas.

 

Crap.

 

 

peace.