Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2008 2:36:09 GMT
I was getting tired of the rather "Plain Jane" koshirae on my furubushido wakizashi. So I took it upon myself to change it's physical attributes and make it much more attractive katana using nothing more than some older koshirae from my old wall hangers, and some stuff i picked up at a hobby shop. It's not battle-ready, but it will be soon... I just need to install the mekugi pins. (I should have wrapped the tsuka AFTER installed the pins, NOT BEFORE..*slaps head.. ah well live in learn anyways here are the results of three hours of work, including lots of filing, shilling, and epoxying.. What do you guys think? ~Jesse
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2008 22:40:24 GMT
I changed the kashira. I think this one tends to suit the golden tone of the koshirae a little better than the previous one. Oh, and i also reinstalled the mekugi thereby making this blade combat worth again. again... your thoughts? ~Jesse
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Post by oos3thoo on Feb 27, 2008 22:51:50 GMT
That looks sweet! What you use for a wrap?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2008 23:40:13 GMT
Well most people will laugh at me for this, but i used a ribbon. I know, there are WAY better materials out there for such an undertaking, but regardless... I'm quite pleased with the results. I wanted to create something a little more ostentatious than the dreary albiet' traditional bamboo koshirae. to simplify... It looks like an anime katana now baby!
~Jesse
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slav
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Katsujin No Ken
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Post by slav on Feb 27, 2008 23:48:12 GMT
Sorry, but to me it looks like you taped the tsuka up with that blue masking tape that painters use. Check out a girly craft store (such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby) and you should be able to find better material if you wish. Michaels stocks some nice faux-suede ribbon in black and light brown that could easily be dyed...just one idea of many. Great idea though! Just needs a little refinement IMO. +1 when I can for the effort.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2008 23:57:27 GMT
even i will admit that it looks like it, but nope it's ribbon. Cheap, flimsy ribbon... The only reason why it looks that way is because of the uneven wrapping over the 2nd mekugi ana, and the fact that i used some rubber cement to hold it glue it to the tsuka in some areas. Also, the kashira was an extremely tight fit. so in order to continue the wrap I had to cover the cut-outs using small stips of the ribbon, and then glue them onto it. Thanks, ~Jesse
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Post by zacaroni on Feb 28, 2008 2:22:58 GMT
If you added patina to the tachi fittings, and made a tachi tsuka of dark wood it would look more legit. Not to be a semprini but that ribbon has got to go! But karma for doin' something different and puttin' it out there. Practice makes perfect, and patience, trial and error, and a little efort can make sub 300 look like gold!
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Post by zacaroni on Feb 28, 2008 2:23:28 GMT
If you added patina to the tachi fittings, and made a tachi tsuka of dark wood it would look more legit. Not to be a semprini but that ribbon has got to go! But karma for doin' something different and puttin' it out there. Practice makes perfect, and patience, trial and error, and a little efort can make sub 300 look like gold!
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Post by zacaroni on Feb 28, 2008 2:24:22 GMT
Not the color gold tho', too tacky
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 4:52:18 GMT
hmm, use a better quality silk ribbon, shouldn't be too expensive. Only problem with ribbon is that it can be sharp on the edges and not give a good grip.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 5:01:04 GMT
thanks for tip, I will make sure to get a more ornate looking, and hopefully slightly more substantial silk-ribbon ito in the coming days.
~Jesse
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 5:14:16 GMT
what about some sort of flat leather cord?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 5:32:41 GMT
That would provide a much more stout and slip-resistant grip. Hm... I wonder if i could find some at a truevalue store... (TrueValue is my hardware store)
~Jesse
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 17:04:08 GMT
My first impulse was " why did you do that?" but ya'know, after looking at it a couple of times and thinking about what you were going for, good job. It does indeed look like a sword that would be in an Anime, or a fantastical wire-fu movie ala "Curse of the Golden Flower". Karma for the originality.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2008 22:00:48 GMT
Haha I do not mean to insult you but that looks like a 10 bucks wall hanger. But I appreciate the the work and if you buy some furniture and some ito you could probably make it nice.
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Post by oos3thoo on Feb 29, 2008 4:39:47 GMT
I like the pommel piece. I added a tassel at the end of my katana to give it a similar appearance, but alas, a chain is a lot cooler. In my opinion.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2008 5:20:49 GMT
Yeah, i wish i had some nicer koshirae... but here's the reason why it looks like a 10 dollar wall hanger... because the koshirae is from a 15 dollar wall hanger.
Again, T'was my attempt at an anime-esque katana.
~Jesse
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2008 10:51:38 GMT
I actually really like it, good job man I just hope the ribbon doesnt rip
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Post by oos3thoo on Mar 19, 2008 18:22:32 GMT
What you can also do if you want an antique look is soak your fittings in bleach. It made my Wallhanger fittings look less wallhanger-ish.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Mar 20, 2008 1:02:38 GMT
I can sooo remember doing stuff like this when I was first getting into swords. I would take apart something that I thought looked too ordinary and spend hours re-doing it some different way. Usually a few months later I'd look at my little pride and joy and think "wow, that really looked so much better before I messed with it". Props for taking the plunge. This is how it starts my friend, the addiction never ends.
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