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Post by hongkongtaipan on Dec 22, 2011 3:14:55 GMT
I just got a new sword and needed to remove the tsuka so I could turn the tsuba around. Got one mekugi out as usual, but the other one is proving to be impossible to remove. I am hitting the small end of the mekugi, but the mekugi seems to be very soft and is really wedged in. Any suggestions on what I can try to get it out?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2011 3:36:02 GMT
Were you using the brass hammer and the pin to remove the mekugi? I find those to be too small for any good use. What I do is I a small rubber mallet and a cut down Japanese chopstick. It doesn't dent the mekugi as bad as a brass pin on bamboo, and the larger mallet does help in providing that extra force to dislodge the mekugi. Of course take precaution not to use excessive force in hammering out the mekugi. Also the mekugi in production katana are much softer than a mekugi made from well-aged bamboo, so it needs replacements anyway.
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Post by hongkongtaipan on Dec 22, 2011 3:45:28 GMT
I actually used the end of the brass mallet and it dented the mekugi, so I tried using a spare mekugi and a rubber mallet, but it just flattened out the end of the mekugi. I may try to drill it out with a small drill bit and then just replace it with a new mekugi when I reassemble the tsuka.
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Post by Vue on Dec 22, 2011 3:53:09 GMT
Make sure that you hit the correct tapered side of the Mekugi, sometimes it could be just that but if it still doesn't come out then it's likely will be destroyed in the process of removal and will need a replacement....which is relatively inexpensive.
Good Luck with it!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2011 3:56:10 GMT
What Vue said, but if you decided to drill the mekugi out, make sure you are drilling it at the correct angle, otherwise you will risk drilling right into the wooden tsuka.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2011 5:58:44 GMT
Sounds like you've been given good advice. A couple of other ideas to consider....if you haven't drilled it out yet.
One- the angles (mentioned already) are sometimes surprisingly far off from 90 degrees to the tsuka. I've seen some closer to 70 degrees..........like a drunk monkey drilled and pegged the hole! lol! Look from the back and front of the tsuka near the peg to determine the hole angle. Like this angle // so vertical tapping doesn't do much.
Two- sometimes a few light taps on the tsuba and on the kashira can help loosen the grip on the mekugi. Stiffly with the palm ...softly with ANY tool like a mallet. Just a time or two each direction helps.
Good luck! some can be really stubborn.
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