Folding tobiguchi

[Timo Nieminen]

Here is something I hadn't seen before: a folding tobiguchi, where the handle is (the bottom end of) a sword scabbard, so that it can be worn like a sword. Just from the style, I'd guess late 19th century, and with it in hand, I don't see anything to contradict that guess. The head has been brazed and riveted onto the bottom of a sword scabbard.

Also a photo of it next to two conventional tobiguchi. The middle one is relatively recent, with aluminium straps along the haft. The top one has lost its original butt, and its new butt is just a ring (possibly one of the original rings).

For those who haven't met the tobiguchi before, it's a Japanese fire-fighting pick, used to pull down burning material, walls, etc. There are/were long two-handed ones, for heavy-duty use, while the short ones were worn by firemen as a symbol of authority (compare with police wearing the jutte/jitte).

[Battara]

Well these blow my mind!