Help ID with Tsuba

[Yamamoto]

Any Idea??

[brannow]

Hi it is a poorly cast copy if a Soten school tsuba.

[Andy Harris]

I'm seeing more and more repro Tsubas made to look antique here in Japan. Last week, I was in Kamakura, and saw quite a few for sale. I asked the seller if they were "real" (homono desuka?), and she replied that they were. Finally, after some hesitation, she told me they were "real" but not antique. I went ahead and bought one, for a thousand yen (about $9).

[Yamamoto]

Well....I don't know now http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontome...pic.php?t=1135

[Bob Coleman]

I Would Not Describe Your Tsuba As A Fake As It Is A Tsuba. It Is Definitely A Cast Tsuba Likely Made In The Late Edo Period. Therefore, It Is Not A Fake, But It Has Little Value As A Cast Example. I Have Found Similar Cast Tsuba On Late Edo Mounted Wakisashi. I Well Remember The Time A Fast Talker Who Knew Little About Swords Took A Wakisashi From My Hands(that I Was Examining For A Vet), Dropped The Cast Tsuba And He And The Vet Watched As It Broke In To A Hundred Pieces. As I Mentioned, Such Tsuba Can Be Found Mounted With Poor Wakisashi Blades. However, They Have No Artistic Merit.

[Andy Harris]

I hope that "fast talker" was ordered to commit seppuku!