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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2008 22:42:22 GMT
I'll get pics of it mounted once I get it back, but I just got my first picture back from my custom tsuka by Thomas Buck, I was too stoked not to share.... 11" handle for a Cheness 30" o-katana, blood red silk ito, Triple Kama silver menuki in a slightly modified katatemaki style... Menuki I ordered from Bugei, Ito I ordered through Shadow of Leaves He was also kind enough to throw in an extra pair of mekugi for me, since during my removal, I split the wooden pegs
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slav
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Post by slav on Feb 3, 2008 22:47:40 GMT
What's the damage on something like that?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2008 23:09:40 GMT
$45 US for the silk ito, 15' worth
$70 US for the menuki, which when I got them, I had to re-varnish them, since the inlaid color was a little dodgy...
$75 for the wrapping itself, discounted because I had all the parts I wanted on it sent with it...
so, sans a few shipping charges here and there, $190 US, salty, but its been something I've been researching, planning and getting in pieces for a few years, and its been worth it...
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 4, 2008 6:32:21 GMT
You can't really complain about those prices. Nice design!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2008 16:32:39 GMT
Nope, can't really complain about the price at all, especially since Tom was a sub-contractor for Fred Lohman for quite some time, then decided to part ways with him. His website is www.tsukamaki.net if anyone wants to contact him for custom work of their own.
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slav
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Post by slav on Feb 5, 2008 22:09:59 GMT
$45 US for the silk ito, 15' worth $70 US for the menuki, which when I got them, I had to re-varnish them, since the inlaid color was a little dodgy... $75 for the wrapping itself, discounted because I had all the parts I wanted on it sent with it... so, sans a few shipping charges here and there, $190 US, salty, but its been something I've been researching, planning and getting in pieces for a few years, and its been worth it... Wow. Next time send it to me, I'll wrap it for free. No really.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2008 3:07:45 GMT
lol, I'll keep that in mind Slav
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2008 11:32:11 GMT
dude i wanna contact this person sometime that wrap is awesome
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2008 15:47:56 GMT
Kleveland your customization is showed on his webbsite! , pretty cool .
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OldSchool
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Post by OldSchool on Apr 7, 2008 22:42:53 GMT
Thats an amazing looking Tsuka you got there! Im rather jealous of it, but it has given me the idea to maybe pursue something like this on the next blade I purchase. $190 seems like a pretty decent price, though on mine I think I would want to purchase new Kashira, Fuchi and Sageo also. (man this is gonna cost more than the sword itself).
Anyone know how difficult is it actually to wrap a Ito by yourself? I've seen a few threads about it but I havent tried it hands on and am not sure what type of skill this takes. Sure as hell would be cheaper to do this then send it in to Thomas Buck, though im sure the quality wouldnt compare.
Also, when buying fittings for a katana are they, for the most part, the same size all around? The only time i've seen a difference in sizes when looking for Fuchi's and such is they list them as "large version". Well what kind of swords use this supposed "large version Fuchi". Like if I bought a Cheness 30" 9260 Spring Steel or a Kaze would it just use normal sized fittings?
Sorry im rather new to all of this so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Again, nice looking Tsuka kleveland. +1 for good taste!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2008 15:52:23 GMT
Thanks OldSchool:
Yes while customizations can far exceed the initial cost of the blade, when fully assembled, I'd say the sword more than tripled in value, at least from an aethetics standpoint.... plus, the blade's completely unique.... which you just gotta love about it.... I'll put up full pictures of me with my lovely soon enough, and perhaps a video or two of me cutting with it, once I get some tatami and a proper cutting stand...
lol sl4k, I didn't know Tom had put images of my tsuka on his website gallery, I just checked it out yesterday, and I have to say I'm a bit embarassed myself..... he also posted my drawn out instructions, which I haphazardly threw together at like 6 in the morning, coming off of a 13 hour workday.... I've got a bachelor's degree in art, and I thought the sketch was pretty crap-tacular..... I have to write him and give him a little bit of hell for it, but not really... lol
P.S. ...
The wrap itself has never been too terribly hard, at least for me, the trick is keeping it all tight..... My trouble came with the terminal knots, my nubby fingers just couldn't get in there without fraying the fabric horribly, so, I got someone else with experience to do it... ^^
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OldSchool
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Post by OldSchool on Apr 8, 2008 16:14:56 GMT
Thanks OldSchool: Yes while customizations can far exceed the initial cost of the blade, when fully assembled, I'd say the sword more than tripled in value, at least from an aethetics standpoint.... plus, the blade's completely unique.... which you just gotta love about it.... I'll put up full pictures of me with my lovely soon enough, and perhaps a video or two of me cutting with it, once I get some tatami and a proper cutting stand... lol sl4k, I didn't know Tom had put images of my tsuka on his website gallery, I just checked it out yesterday, and I have to say I'm a bit embarassed myself..... he also posted my drawn out instructions, which I haphazardly threw together at like 6 in the morning, coming off of a 13 hour workday.... I've got a bachelor's degree in art, and I thought the sketch was pretty crap-tacular..... I have to write him and give him a little bit of hell for it, but not really... lol P.S. ... The wrap itself has never been too terribly hard, at least for me, the trick is keeping it all tight..... My trouble came with the terminal knots, my nubby fingers just couldn't get in there without fraying the fabric horribly, so, I got someone else with experience to do it... ^^ I hear ya man. Going professional is proably a must if your gonna throw all that money at putting together a good Tsuka, might as well get someone with experience to do it. And I cant wait to see some pics of this thing!
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Post by brotherbanzai on Apr 8, 2008 17:49:48 GMT
Very nice, great color choice.
Oldschool, as Kleveland says, the knots are the hardest part. That and getting the diamond pattern even. But it's not terribly difficult with a little practice.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2008 23:26:56 GMT
Hi OldSchool, The new fuchi and kashira that you're going to buy, may or may not fit the tsuka. To be sure that it would fit, I'd suggest you get a vernier caliper, and measure your tsuka. Then check the measurements of the fuchi/kashira you'll be buying. If the fuchi/kashira is too big, you'll have to place paper strips in the tsuka. If they are too small, you need to do some sandpapering to make the f/k fit the tsuka. I just recently received my Kaze, and I've already started purchasing the parts for customization. Bought a new fuchi and kashira from Nishijin Sword in Japan, and on their website, the only measurements stated for the f/k I bought, was just 40mm. I don't even know if that is the inside or outside measurement. But its not that much of a problem. The measurement of the fuchi of the Kaze is 39.5mm outside, and 37mm inside. For the kashira, it measures 37.5mm outside, and for the inside measure, I haven't unwrapped the ito yet. I also have this replacement tsuka for my Shura, the measurement of the fuchi is 39mm outside, and 36.5mm inside. So the measurement of the fittings are not the same. The tsukamaki on my Tenchi cost me US$64.25 for the ito, and I did the tsukamaki myself: ;D /v45index.cgi?board=swordcustom&action=display&thread=1868
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OldSchool
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Post by OldSchool on Apr 8, 2008 23:53:10 GMT
Hi OldSchool, The new fuchi and kashira that you're going to buy, may or may not fit the tsuka. To be sure that it would fit, I'd suggest you get a vernier caliper, and measure your tsuka. Then check the measurements of the fuchi/kashira you'll be buying. If the fuchi/kashira is too big, you'll have to place paper strips in the tsuka. If they are too small, you need to do some sandpapering to make the f/k fit the tsuka. I just recently received my Kaze, and I've already started purchasing the parts for customization. Bought a new fuchi and kashira from Nishijin Sword in Japan, and on their website, the only measurements stated for the f/k I bought, was just 40mm. I don't even know if that is the inside or outside measurement. But its not that much of a problem. The measurement of the fuchi of the Kaze is 39.5mm outside, and 37mm inside. For the kashira, it measures 37.5mm outside, and for the inside measure, I haven't unwrapped the ito yet. I also have this replacement tsuka for my Shura, the measurement of the fuchi is 39mm outside, and 36.5mm inside. So the measurement of the fittings are not the same. The tsukamaki on my Tenchi cost me US$64.25 for the ito, and I did the tsukamaki myself: ;D /v45index.cgi?board=swordcustom&action=display&thread=1868 Wow, thank you very much for this post. You have been very helpful and I LOVE the look of your revamped Tenchi. Maybe I dont need to send away for a professional wrapping then. I have a couple questions though. Where did you buy your Ito from? And how long would I need my Ito need to be to do a wrap on a 12" Tsuka of the O-Katana? Its only 1" difference but that could be a problem cause a lot of sites i've seen have preset lengths of Ito's they sell and im sure they arent geared towards wrapping Tsukas the size of the O-Katana. Your post and your thread have a lot of very helpful information. +1 for all your help, thanks again!
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Post by brotherbanzai on Apr 9, 2008 0:51:12 GMT
15 feet for a 12 inch tsuka
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OldSchool
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Post by OldSchool on Apr 9, 2008 1:44:07 GMT
Thank you banzai.
Does anyone know where to get silk ito cheaply? And I read on another forum about using Paracord instead. Paracord is really cheap and is only like $0.08 a foot, does anyone have any experience with using Paracord as an Ito wrap?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2008 10:01:13 GMT
Hi OldSchool, Thanks for the karma. I bought my ito from Mike Crampton of Shadow of Leaves for US$2.95 / foot. www.shadowofleaves.com/tsuka-ito.htmThe cheapest and high quality ito I found on the net (which is also the same ito that Fred Lohman is selling) is from Tommy Gilliam of Okinawa Outpost, selling them for US$2.50 / foot www.okinawaoutpost.com/tsukaito.htmlTo calculate how much ito you need... From Shadow of Leaves: "The best way to calculate the required length of ito necessary to wrap your tsuka is to take the length of your tsuka and add 3 to it. The resulting number is the number of feet you will need. Example: For a 12" tsuka add 3 = 15. You will need 15' of ito to wrap your tsuka."Then from Okinawa Outpost:
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