|
Post by darknovashin on Jan 15, 2024 20:44:29 GMT
As an adjacent, though separate, project thread from the kyu gunto, I am hoping to get some advice on names and availabilities of modern koshirae makers for a project.
I am having a Howard Clark blade forged later this year (pending commission list length at current) to my rough estimation of parameters appropriate to the sword techniques I am most familiar with. I also have been collecting Howard Clark blades into a set with koshirae representative of the Direction Guardians of which this is meant to be the guardian of the Center. I am hoping to have each of the 4 represented in the 2 menuki, fuchi and kashira with the Guardian of the Center, a yellow dragon, encircling the tsuba. It has taken me the better part of 4 years looking for antiques, but given the typical sizes of fresh blades I have been warned that it will be very tricky to fit fuchi to a new Howard Clark. After a longer discussion with Jason Yoon of Motohara, I think that mixing antique pieces of several eras and a more modern make fuchi probably won't look unified in the way I want for the piece. It's going to be probably the better part of another few years till the rest of the koshirae are ready between polishing, habaki and mounting, so I wanted to look for someone who would be able to make a whole unified set rather than mix and match as I have been doing for the others.
Any recommendations?
|
|
|
Post by Gelue on Jan 15, 2024 22:32:51 GMT
Won’t be cheap but I would be tempted to reach out to Rado if you are wanting something very nice or Josiah Boomershine. As a one stop shop with amazing quality and craftsmanship it would be hard to be Rado though.
|
|
|
Post by larason2 on Jan 16, 2024 3:49:38 GMT
Marcus Chambers as I mentioned before. Roman Urban of Tosogu.cz also apparently does pretty good work. It's a tough one because even in Japan, there aren't that many tosogi left, and the market is such that it's basically impossible to find someone who can make custom work at the same price as it is possible to find very high quality antiques. But those two are a place to start!
|
|
|
Post by Gelue on Jan 16, 2024 9:20:30 GMT
Roman Urban is long retired for what it is worth.
|
|
|
Post by larason2 on Jan 16, 2024 15:12:58 GMT
Thanks, I had heard of others using his work, but it has been a while since that.
What I've personally done is accumulated the tools to make my own fittings! I am able to do that because I'm crafty with my hands that way, but I just don't have the time to do it for others. So that's an option if you have some crafting skill.
Another option is to bide your time and keep on the lookout for antique pieces on eBay or other reputable websites. If you manage to find 3/4 that fit your tastes, then getting the fourth to match made could be easier than getting all four made. It's a tough project, but it's worth the effort!
|
|
|
Post by blairbob on Jan 17, 2024 1:49:11 GMT
Patrick Hastings used to be the guy in the US though he moved to WI and his old site goes nowhere.
Gustavo Mastalli is the guy working with Tokensho.
|
|
|
Post by Cottontail Customs on Jan 17, 2024 2:24:51 GMT
I'm not sure if he can provide everything you need but it's worth checking out up and comer Manuel Koden of Koden TosoguHe does great work and is affordable to most.
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Jan 17, 2024 14:31:52 GMT
Another option is to bide your time and keep on the lookout for antique pieces on eBay or other reputable websites. If you manage to find 3/4 that fit your tastes, then getting the fourth to match made could be easier than getting all four made. It's a tough project, but it's worth the effort! This is really hard to do to be honest. I've been searching for some specific antiques for years now, even with my personal contacts of 3 different dealers in Japan. It's just pure luck and a little bit of who you know. Even then you'd have better luck winning the lotto especially if it's a specific design and size.
|
|
|
Post by larason2 on Jan 17, 2024 21:53:00 GMT
Yeah, that's fair. The problem I think is the cost of labour. If a piece of koshirae takes 100 hours to complete, and costs $3000, $30 isn't a bad wage, but to get to that point, you need to spend hundreds of unpaid hours refining the craft (no one will pay that for a piece that isn't good!). Then, it's hard to justify $3000 when you can buy a piece with the same workmanship on eBay for $300. Customers ask why you can't do that work for $300 if you can find a similar piece on eBay for that, and the reason is that no one can live on $3 per hour! Tosogu in the past had their living arrangements provided for by the feudal lord, and they didn't care if they only turned out one piece every two weeks. You can't compete in modern society against that kind of economics. Then, there's a lot of work these days that requires the same or lesser dedication and skills that will pay a lot better than $30 per hour (like goldsmithing). So the few that actually do it really are doing it for the love.
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Jan 18, 2024 1:01:11 GMT
Yeah, that's fair. The problem I think is the cost of labour. If a piece of koshirae takes 100 hours to complete, and costs $3000, $30 isn't a bad wage, but to get to that point, you need to spend hundreds of unpaid hours refining the craft (no one will pay that for a piece that isn't good!). Then, it's hard to justify $3000 when you can buy a piece with the same workmanship on eBay for $300. Customers ask why you can't do that work for $300 if you can find a similar piece on eBay for that, and the reason is that no one can live on $3 per hour! Tosogu in the past had their living arrangements provided for by the feudal lord, and they didn't care if they only turned out one piece every two weeks. You can't compete in modern society against that kind of economics. Then, there's a lot of work these days that requires the same or lesser dedication and skills that will pay a lot better than $30 per hour (like goldsmithing). So the few that actually do it really are doing it for the love. I mean no one says it better than the man himself Roman Urban. I just copied his website to share here as he articulates it so well.
"In previous years I have been receiving, and still continue to receive, many inquiries regarding possible orders for the production of tsuba and other elements of the sword koshirae.
Inquiries are very often followed by expressions of surprise at the prices of the custom works compared to the historical, antique ones. Please let me try to explain this frequently discussed aspect of my work.
In the hands of Japanese and foreign collectors, as well as on the antiques market around the world, a considerable number of sword guards from different periods and schools are accumulated and being traded.
Those items’ commercial value is not always determined on the basis of their quality and complexity of execution, but above all by dealer’s pricing approaches, purchasing power of collectors and their willingness to invest certain amounts in individual pieces.
Taking that into account, for example, an unsigned tsuba from the 17th or 18th century of high quality workmanship can now be purchased in Japanese shops specializing only in the sale of traditionally made Japanese swords from ¥ 300,000 to ¥ 800,000, depending on the content and decorative technique of the motif. At that time when the art of the Japanese sword fittings was flourishing being in high demand top metalworkers had an army of preparers, assistants, students working for them. Now it is completely impossible to create a similar work in the above price range, through the hands of a contemporary craftsman, who is burdened by the costs of running a workshop, and whose work being the essence of his existence provides living for his family. This is mainly a time expense incurred by an individual craftsman to create and complete a proper quality work.
There is large volume of old sword guards and other fittings for sword koshirae moving on the market at unrealistically low selling prices, in relation to the original economic demands of production, radically eggravate the very existence and maintaining this traditional Japanese craft alive in our current modern times.
To put it simple, the original creator – the craftsman of the antique sword guard or other sword fitting sold in specialized stores is no longer behind his work, only his signature at best. And therefore no need to pay the complete cost of the production of the entire work, the cost in most of the cases is simply unknown. And thus it all comes down to the marketing perspective and approaches of the seller of a certain piece. Of course, depending on his principles, own preferences and size of his business the seller then adjusts the price to the purchasing power of his own clientele and at the same time to the amount at which it makes sense for him to offer certain piece.
It is therefore virtually impossible for a contemporary craftsman to produce a new item based on the price idea created by the open market of antique works piled up in the hands of collectors and dealers.
Historically orders for high quality works were coming to craftsmen from lords, high-ranking samurai and wealthy merchants, for whom accurately and artistically well produced sword fittings were a sign of social prestige of the time. If we have the opportunity to look into administrative archives and records, we can also find bills for some custom works. Those, in terms of today’s money buying power, represented considerable amounts at that time.
Some of the renowned metalworkers worked under the patronage of the shogunate or individual lords receiving a stable wage in koku of rice as craftsmen serving the court. They were not limited by the order processing time, budget or availability of source material.
In summary of the above, the price of custom work therefore depends on the time required to complete the whole work, including the design, not on the price of similar works that are available on today’s free antiques trade market."
|
|
|
Post by larason2 on Jan 18, 2024 4:00:14 GMT
He definitely said it well!
|
|
|
Post by shinobigatana on Jan 18, 2024 6:15:38 GMT
I agree, Urban said it well as did Larason, and since he mentioned my line of work I will expand a bit on it. Here in the US at least, there is definitely an ignorance that IMO has come about as a result of the culture shifting from quality based to monetary based decision making. As a jeweler, there are always folks who come into see me with an idea for a custom piece only to nearly fall over when the price estimate is provided to them. I commonly see people compare todays prices with what they may have paid in the past, and by past I mean decades. They are sometimes completely unaware of the current cost of precious metals and gems. When creating bespoke pieces, my base labor charge is $100 per hour. In the 70's and 80's a competent jeweler, depending on the skill level, was $10-$30 per hour and gold was only a few hundred dollars and ounce.
The thing is, now that we have global commerce, no matter what you are looking for there are cheaper options for almost anything. The difference is usually quality. In jewelry this can be marketed MANY ways. There is hollow jewelry, there is low karat jewelry and there is NO karat jewelry that LOOKS like high karat jewelry.
Long story short, QUALITY will ALWAYS cost you.
|
|