Falling ginko leaves tsuba - 2005

I made this for the NBTHK Shinsaku competition in 2005. It placed 5th, nyusen. I don't think it went down too well with the judges as my more sombre submissions had done much better in the past. Apparently, this style was considered a little too flashy. My brother-in-law, Jason, and my best mate, Steve, had both died within a week of each other and I just wanted to do something a bit more exuberant than my usual tsuba work. They'd have enjoyed it, so that was good enough for me.

The plate was hand forged from an ingot of copper I'd smelted. The two larger leaves were made from bits of antique metal I had salvaged from the bases of severely damaged Meiji period vases. A bit of environmentally aware re-cycling. The gold edges of the leaves were applied by fire-gilding and the smaller leaf is shibuichi, I don't remember the actual grade.