Help.

[Mark Green]

Hi Gang,

 

Does anyone know the maker of this tsuba? Or know where a larger picture can be found?

 

We talked about it here a few years ago, and I lost my info.

 

Thanks for any help, Mark

[Steve Waszak]

Hi Mark,

 

I believe the maker of this tsuba is Nishio Kunitomo Masayuki, a Mikawa province tsubako of the 18th century. It's hard to tell from the small size of the photo, but it might be the same piece illustrated in Owari To Mikawa no Tanko by Okamoto. The subject is Otafuku no zu. Hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Mark Green]

Thanks Steve, that sounds about right.

 

M

[Pete Klein]

Mark -- wasn't that listed by Tokugawa Art? I went back on line but couldn't find anything. Perhaps you could ask them?

[Curran]

It was at Tokugawa Art.

It sold.

 

Theme is said to be sukashi face of a cheery chubby cheeked girl.

Mark, I believe one of the artisans on FollowingtheIronBrush made a nice gendai copy of it. I don't recall who, but I have seen a gendai copy.

 

I liked this tsuba and considered making a trade+cash offer for it, but it sold before I ever did.

[Mark Green]

Ya, that was me Curran.

I am making it again using my own iron, that I smelted in my back yard, from ore I dug one county away.

[Curran]

Awesome undertaking.

I looked at some of your smelting process photos recently (FIB or NMB ?) and hope that some day I will follow in the same footsteps.

[nagamaki - Franco]

[Mark Green]

It is big time fun Curran. I did about 12 smelts of many flavors this last year, and can't wait for spring to get here. I have been roasting ore all winter. I have about 200lbs of Magnetite, and 400 lbs of hematite ready to go when the weather gets better.

Besides tsuba, I'm making all kinds of early midieval blades, and stuff.

My new Chubby faced girl should have a wonderful grain, much like the original. We will see.

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/1068001968 ... imalFires#

 

Mark

[cabowen]

excellent!

 

Are you folding and forging the plates?

[Soshin]

Hi Mark Green,

 

Nice work on the gendai tsuba copy.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David Stiles

[Mark Green]

Thanks gang.

 

Yes Chris, you have to do quite a bit of folding and forging to get the iron from bloom to tsuba blank.

It takes a bit of practice. Getting better all the time.

 

Here is a tsuba designed by master Ford for me. That I made out of homemade iron/steel.

 

 

 

Here is another I made from my homemade steel, that I chisel cut all the sukashi. It was a bugger. It should have been a blade. the steel was very tough. The Rabbit in the moon.

[Curran]

Looks so much more fun than dayjob.

Cathartic.

[Jean]

Mark,

 

I can only

[drbvac]

I couldn't do that with all the time and all the modern equipment available

 

Amazing - now we will see these turning up after being left outside for 6 months !! :lol: :lol: NOT

[Mark Green]

Looks so much more fun than dayjob.

Cathartic.

 

 

This tsuba, and smelting stuff, is all about fun for me. I have one of those dayjobs that get in the way.

 

Mark

[drdata]

so very cool.

 

For those interested,. Mark has posted very nice photo-rich threads outlining the process over at Ford's Following the iron brush. Making iron from dirt. I bet chicks dig that.

 

Regards