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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 5:24:05 GMT
When a person buys a sword, they buy responsibility. With this come the need to inspect your sword for defects before using it. This is naturally part of making sure you got a good buy, however it should be second nature for safety. If you inspect, you protect.
The utmost thing to remember in disassembly, is to protect your warranty. If the sword is made to be disassembled, then research, or ask advise here in SBG forums, on how to properly disassemble. Always keep in mind, that anything that alters, or modifies your sword will void the warranty, and thus nullify your chance of refund. If you have a vendor that is still willing to refund you, be honorable and let him know first... what you have done may kill their chance of getting their money back from distributor.
Research is probably your biggest key. When i purchase a sword, I research it online, in forums, and sales sites, for around six months or so. I email the manufacture's site, the vendor, and anyone who has owned one of the type I want. Garrett at Jin-Shi swords can tell you that I filled his inbox in my quest for a decent jian. When the sword arrived, I had a question about disassembly, since it looked like it could cause harm to the hilt. So I emailed him again, before any attempt. It just so happened that the particular one i purchased would have harmed the hilt assembly should I attempt taking it apart. If I did take it apart, then repairs would be my responsibility. This business man did business with me in an informative way.
I had a similar experience with KOA. I received a sword that I had already modified before I found a defect. They were ready to make good, but knowing what I had already done, I told them it would be okay I will make repairs myself, and that I was only informing them for QA purposes.
If you get a sword that the handle is wrapped, or braided, or what ever the proper term for the type of your sword is, remember not to attempt to unwrap it. When you disassemble the hilt, look inside the handle for defects, because if you unwrap it you have just voided your warranty. There are many swordsman who do this, but they know how to rewrap, or customize the hilt, and understand warranty issues.
This is just a start. I do sincerely hope that everybody will add to this. There are so many newbies that look to us for knowledge, and there are so many more here that have more knowledge than I. Let's all do our part.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 6:34:45 GMT
Thanks Sirtre. Maybe someone could make some short youtube videos broken into smaller segments like removing the tsuka, cleaning your sword with the "typical" kit ect and stuff. I can make one but I anit a pro like some of you guys and gals:P
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Post by wiwingti on May 16, 2010 7:10:42 GMT
very good man
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 16, 2010 14:59:30 GMT
This is pretty good advice, especially for some of the newer members, I bet. Sort of a basic 'do's and don'ts' of sword buying, right? I agree with Marc. Very good, man! +1, just because. Hopefully it'll keep good folk like Marc from getting a few unnecessary headaches. I think, if we can't find a great video instead, we should at least link to a good tutorial for disassembly. I probably have some tutorials saved somewhere in my bookmarks, but I bet someone else knows of an actual good tutorial. Here's one, but I'm sure there are others (that are better): www.toyamaryu.org/katana_disassembly.htmAs evidenced in the url, this is for katana. I don't know anything about European disassembly, especially anything with peens... The hex-nuts a la Angus Trim and Tinker Pearce should be simple enough though. *Ehem* Fight well, young lions. ;D *Edited for Spelling and Layout, lol (and 'disassembly' apparently isn't a real word according to the spell check on this site)
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 15:17:09 GMT
Some videos on disassembling of swords
This first one here I would say is the better of these for actually giving good instruction and naming, very good for beginners. Not to mention Kevin is a wonderful member here on this forum.
*edit, I put these two in for examples of less than perfect ways of doing the disassembling/assembling. I would note that these show the use of hammers outside of the mekugi hammer (which should not be needed) using the end of the mekugi hammer and hammering the hammer rather than unscrewing the pin from the top. The second below video you can see quite a few unsafe moments that one would want to avoid.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 15:20:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 15:22:22 GMT
An example of someone inspecting a sword
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 17:20:51 GMT
Thank you very much.
Putting all these videos together really helps.
Now I feel way more confident on how its to be done.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 20:49:22 GMT
I like the method by the swordnarmoury video. I hate the thought of a piece of cloth being my only protection from the blade when the thing is sliding....
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 21:13:20 GMT
I like the method by the swordnarmoury video. I hate the thought of a piece of cloth being my only protection from the blade when the thing is sliding.... Holding a sword with cloth can be ok and done, but while banging with a hammer like that, and it wiggling around etc, just not such a good idea. I usually add a good set of leather gloves anytime I am gripping the blade with cloth just as a secondary back up. Any time I do anything with much movement of the blade, it gets held with padding and wood clamps. It only takes one little slip to get a deep cut or worse loose a finger. If you notice the UBC video he uses a special glove when gripping the blade. That is the smart way.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 21:33:49 GMT
I should also point out that a tsuba should not need hammering to put on. This is a fixable thing that is fairly easy to do. It is covered elsewhere in the forum but I'll post a brief idea for newbies here.
If it is that tight, then you can and should use a metal file to slowly file out the spots on the tsuba that are pinching/wearing. Go slow checking often till you get a nice tight fit but can slide on without hammering.
Usually there are only one or two spots that are causing such tightness, but there may be more. Be careful to make sure you are evenly filling on both sides so your not causing the tsuba to be off balanced or angled.
I would suggest not using a power tool for this, as it could easily take too much off before you know it. You don't want a loose tsuba.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 22:22:23 GMT
I like the method by the swordnarmoury video. I hate the thought of a piece of cloth being my only protection from the blade when the thing is sliding.... Holding a sword with cloth can be ok and done, but while banging with a hammer like that, and it wiggling around etc, just not such a good idea. I usually add a good set of leather gloves anytime I am gripping the blade with cloth just as a secondary back up. Any time I do anything with much movement of the blade, it gets held with padding and wood clamps. It only takes one little slip to get a deep cut or worse loose a finger. If you notice the UBC video he uses a special glove when gripping the blade. That is the smart way. i wear kevlar glass handlers gloves that have a nitrile coating, they are available at the local safety supplier shop. some hardware stores carry them, but hard to find there. also check online.
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Post by wiwingti on May 16, 2010 22:46:16 GMT
i wear some ninja max gloves they are glass and blade resistant. have those for 20.00 a pair but they still for ever.
Marc
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 16, 2010 22:56:54 GMT
Heheh, if the site I went to is the one that makes the gloves Marc is talking about, their motto seems to be "Ninja.... Radical Designs, Uncompromised Protection" Makes me think of something that isn't a glove. ;D Maybe they should go with this: "Ninja... She Won't See You Co-" Uh... never mind.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2010 23:14:41 GMT
So now what do you look for now you can get the katana apart? (someone else can post for Eruos and Chinese or some of the many things I leave out here)
Well, one big key important thing to look for is habaki fit, you want a nice snug habaki.
Another thing your inspection should look for would be cracked tsuka. Using a flashlight, looking inside. Along with this would be excessive shims. In a production sword, one or two smaller shims is not uncommon. These are used to fit your tsuka snugly. If however you have large blocks for shims, or a lot of shims then the tsuka was not made for that blade.
Of course another thing to look for would be extra holes drilled in the tang, any weak points in it etc. Along with how well does it actually match up with your tsuka length. A short tang and long tsuka would mean you want to check the depth of the tsuka cavity even more. If there is a hollow void past the tang depth you could end up with problems of a cracked tsuka or worse later on after a bit of use.
Of course check your tsuba for damage.
Are your mekugi holes in line or at a slight angle, they should be at a slight angle. Are they slightly tapered or one single size? They should be tapered.
How well does the sword reassemble? Is there now looseness in the tsuka/seppa/tsuba/seppa/habaki?
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 17, 2010 0:23:34 GMT
The only problem I see with Hyoujinsama's vid is that the method he showed seems to only on a katana with a good tsuka fit... I think. I tried that method a long while ago on a sub $100 Musashi and it did not work. And yes, the tsuka was removable. Found out the hard way. Cracked a tsuka 'cause I sure as hell didn't know what I was doing. ...I've only gained a smidgen more of common sense since then. So, I could have been doing something wrong. Dunno. Carry on.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2010 1:45:03 GMT
ineffableone, the extra holes in tang is a good thing you mentioned. the way i feel about that is that it would alter balance from where it was designed to be, however so slight.
dom t, what do you feel that you did wrong that cracked that tsuba. is it possible that you may have struck to hard in anticipation of removal, rather than gradual increments?
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2010 3:38:14 GMT
The extra holes, can be evidence of cut down tang or just poor craftmanship where they decided to re drill holes after the first placement. I agree it can throw off balance, it also can weaken the tang.
Damaged tsuba is because with the lower quality alloy tsubas these days, they are damaged more easily. They are often much softer and at times a bit brittle. They can get damaged in shipping and it is important for a new sword inspection to look over your new tsuba and check for damage. Especially if it has delicate cutout/molded design. Often these tsuba are modern reproductions of antiques. The original was in brass, copper, iron, or steel which was cut into shape but the reproduction was poured into a mold of the design. Some finer thin pieces may have been ment for a stronger metal but now in the new cheap alloy can't take the same stresses.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2010 4:13:04 GMT
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 17, 2010 15:26:24 GMT
sirtre, to answer your question (OH WAIT, you typed tsuba. I cracked the tsuka. God forbid I ever crack a tsuba), it was probably my very un-safe and uninformed attempt at taking it off a long time ago. A long time is relative though. Some time last year, maybe? God, I don't know. Regardless, my unsafe method involved the blade shooting forward a few feet from me after it flew out of the tsuka. Sort of a 'Do not try this at home, or anywhere else' thing, lol. After I'd done that I couldn't stop wondering why the hell I did something so stupid. That's pretty much all I remember from that. Hm... thinking about it, I've been into buying swords around maybe 2 years now (?? I can't keep track of time), so a year ago sounds about right. I'm hoping I've wizened up a bit since then. And maybe have gotten a better sense of time. Unfortunately, I have a feeling it's just gonna get worse. Tsuka comes off of the sword, not the other way around. Think that's the moral, or something.
I do think it's good we've got all the Beginner Info threads here. I remember when I just joined I had no clue what I was looking at with all the forums and sub-forums and... sub-sub-forums.... Yeah.
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