TSUBA
okoro radashi karazareba,
ken mata tadashi karazu
If your heart is true, your sword will also be true
Tsuba (guard) tend to fall into two main categories, those of plain iron often with a cut out silhouette design which are the "Sukashi-Tsuba" Or they may be made in a variety of soft metals when they are known as "Kinko" work. Kinko is usually made of a base plate made up of various Japanese alloys such as "Shukado, Shibuichi or even plain iron. Both types may have a wide variety of other metals such as gold, copper, and silver applied in techniques or flattened or raised inlay. These provided a wade variety and certain additional artistic leverage in the construction. It was during the EDO period that the skills and artistry were predominantly taken over by the much despised merchant class which further gained favor with the wealth. Some schools going so far as to mass produce a favored pattern which would be known as "mach-bori" the Soten school was well known for this.
We only sell tsuba which are manufactured of iron or steel.