Munetoshi Akitsushima quick review
Mar 31, 2010 17:12:01 GMT
Post by Cottontail Customs on Mar 31, 2010 17:12:01 GMT
This is a quickie review of my modified Munetoshi Akitsushima T-10 Katana
By - Josh, New York, N.Y.
WARNING
This is not a traditional style modification, if you are easily offended by something "different" or "weird" you should probably turn away now.
If you are still with me..........cool, here we go
I was initially drawn to this brand by the unique Hamon and reasonable price. I was also inspired by the great review done on the Akitsushima by Spud (Munetoshi reviews) found here-/index.cgi?action=display&board=swordreviews&thread=14605&page=1#245895
I knew from the beginning that I was going to re-dress this blade although I did like some of the fittings. I just slightly changed the Tsuba, F&K and Menuki
You can find all of the technical info on the previous review. This is one of the quickest blades I have handled and it cuts extremely well, no complaints there at all.
To start this off, here is a before shot
I was thinking for a while on which material I would use for the Tsuka wrap and I was only sure about not using rayskin.
I have leather in many different colors and textures, but I wanted something special for this project. Unfortunately, I was not able to show this off as much as I wanted to but I know it's under there so I guess I'm okay with it. Maybe in the future I will re-wrap it with a different, more revealing Tsukamaki style.
Here is a shot of the handle before Ito
this is Ostrich leg skin dyed in a cognac
I felt that it represented the segmented thorax and tail of the dragonfly (as well as dragon scales, future theme)
You will notice that I have sanded down the plain black coating on the Tsuba and opted for a nice more contemporary brushed look. I coated this numerous times with a strong sealant to prevent rusting or dulling.
I applied a matte black coating on the F&K in place of the "antiqued" look it had, again, IMO more modern. I also dulled down the bright brass color of the original Menuki. I just don't love shiny brass.
For the Ito I went with a black "Tsunami" suede-like cord from Lohman. This stuff feels great on your skin and is extremely grippy.
I actually re-wrapped it 3 times trying my best to make the diamonds as large and open as possible, a little distorted but more revealing I think.
other side
I sanded down and stained the Saya in a rosewood color to match the skin. Cognac is my favorite, I have a messenger bag, belt and shoes to match!!!
I then added a dragonfly applique hand drawn and cut from the ostrich skin. For some reason I could not seem to get my camera to get in close enough, probably the horrendous lighting, sorry.
The wings wrap around to the other side.
The Sageo wrap is again, not any traditional knots that I've seen but I thought it was reflecting the segmented tail pretty well. It also serves as a pretty good shoulder strap.
Finally, I etched the blade to further bring out that unique, billowy Hamon
(textured to show details)
Overall I am pretty pleased with how it all comes together. It's something different, something weird but then again it's something like me.
Thanks for reading
By - Josh, New York, N.Y.
WARNING
This is not a traditional style modification, if you are easily offended by something "different" or "weird" you should probably turn away now.
If you are still with me..........cool, here we go
I was initially drawn to this brand by the unique Hamon and reasonable price. I was also inspired by the great review done on the Akitsushima by Spud (Munetoshi reviews) found here-/index.cgi?action=display&board=swordreviews&thread=14605&page=1#245895
I knew from the beginning that I was going to re-dress this blade although I did like some of the fittings. I just slightly changed the Tsuba, F&K and Menuki
You can find all of the technical info on the previous review. This is one of the quickest blades I have handled and it cuts extremely well, no complaints there at all.
To start this off, here is a before shot
I was thinking for a while on which material I would use for the Tsuka wrap and I was only sure about not using rayskin.
I have leather in many different colors and textures, but I wanted something special for this project. Unfortunately, I was not able to show this off as much as I wanted to but I know it's under there so I guess I'm okay with it. Maybe in the future I will re-wrap it with a different, more revealing Tsukamaki style.
Here is a shot of the handle before Ito
this is Ostrich leg skin dyed in a cognac
I felt that it represented the segmented thorax and tail of the dragonfly (as well as dragon scales, future theme)
You will notice that I have sanded down the plain black coating on the Tsuba and opted for a nice more contemporary brushed look. I coated this numerous times with a strong sealant to prevent rusting or dulling.
I applied a matte black coating on the F&K in place of the "antiqued" look it had, again, IMO more modern. I also dulled down the bright brass color of the original Menuki. I just don't love shiny brass.
For the Ito I went with a black "Tsunami" suede-like cord from Lohman. This stuff feels great on your skin and is extremely grippy.
I actually re-wrapped it 3 times trying my best to make the diamonds as large and open as possible, a little distorted but more revealing I think.
other side
I sanded down and stained the Saya in a rosewood color to match the skin. Cognac is my favorite, I have a messenger bag, belt and shoes to match!!!
I then added a dragonfly applique hand drawn and cut from the ostrich skin. For some reason I could not seem to get my camera to get in close enough, probably the horrendous lighting, sorry.
The wings wrap around to the other side.
The Sageo wrap is again, not any traditional knots that I've seen but I thought it was reflecting the segmented tail pretty well. It also serves as a pretty good shoulder strap.
Finally, I etched the blade to further bring out that unique, billowy Hamon
(textured to show details)
Overall I am pretty pleased with how it all comes together. It's something different, something weird but then again it's something like me.
Thanks for reading