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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2012 16:16:49 GMT
Helo, I'm new to the forum so I don't know if this is the right section to post a few photos of the first piece I have signed. This one is my 5th piece so I just started to learn how to do stuff. Basically this is a wakizashi adorned with karakusa motifs and themed with Koi fishes. I have told by a very professional friend in japan that they haven't see any japanese blade with such motifs or any large etching/engraving on the blade...however that's the path I want to follow with my piece: fully beautified and artistic blades  I'm using very unorthodox procedures and materials since I don't have access for much else, so I use scrap metal from very rusted I beams, wood from where I find and copper from rusted pipes I cut, plane and smash to make sheets. So I'm not using the traditional way in any means, although I would love so much trying to learn that way! The only thing I could say I do perhaps like in the old days is that I'm not using powertools heheh Thank you for reading and seeing my photos, any comments are welcome! Cheers Aram This is from where the blade and tsuba came Tsuba: steel is the same as from the blade. Tsuka: for ito I cut a piece of tapestry cloth with 4 threads running all the way long, so it has about 7mm width. For ray skin I used a basketball ball's skin which I paint to mimic ray skin Kojiri Mounted stuff |
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jhart06
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Post by jhart06 on Mar 9, 2012 16:54:20 GMT
i'm fairly well impressed with the aesthetics given the sources. not sure they would come out balanced, or the like, but if you end up opening yourself up to customizing with blade etchings and parts you could do a whole world of things. you got some talent man.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2012 18:04:38 GMT
Thank you jhart06 for your comments. I'm really trying to get into this path of making all from zero including and most important, the blade itself and then do artistic stuff with them. I could say I'm not even an apprentice since I have no other master than books and other materials, and certainly I'm very new to this...I started about 7 months ago. But I'm trying...
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jhart06
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Slowly coming back from the depths...
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Post by jhart06 on Mar 9, 2012 18:28:03 GMT
you have the artistic influence down, which is the one thing i've noticed you have, or you don't.. smithing can be learned, for some it's harder than others but i've been repeatedly told anyone can learn it. keep on keeping on man, the more oyu learn and grow, the better your stuff will be.
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Post by wnydel on Mar 9, 2012 18:29:20 GMT
I have to say that I am very impressed. You have a bright future, given what you had to work with, that is amazing.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Mar 9, 2012 23:32:51 GMT
Very nice work considering this is only your 5th work. And the materials you used make this even better, as it's very improvised.
Mind me asking where you live?
Here are some constructive comments and questions... Bear in mind that I am very traditionalist when it comes to japanese swords. With this level of skill you will surely do great stuff in the future.
Was the shinogi "pattern" done by carving alone or in combination with etching? Hard to say but I think the pattern looks to stand out from background a bit (being over the background) at least giving an optical illusion of carving. However with that kind of quality you could try doing more traditional looking horimono too.
Tsuba pattern looks nice and I like the carp design. Menuki seems to look good. Fuchi and kashira have nice pattern too. Fuchi could be little smaller widthwise and those shitodome maybe stand out bit too much (I'm really impressed that you did them but kashira might have looked better without them) but these are just minor details. Very innovative decision with basketball and tapestry cloth but they actually look good. If you had not mentioned it being tapestry cloth I would not ever thought of that, neither would I have thought basketballs. How is the tsuka attached to nakago? As I dont see any holes drilled I assume it's currently just pushed on?
Saved best part for last, I think that kojiri is really lovely. My favorite part of that sword definately.
Keep up the good work, doing everything from scratch by yourself is very impressive.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2012 0:30:05 GMT
Thank you people for such fantastic and warm welcome. I really appreciate your encouranging words. I want to explain here a few points asked by Jussi above. I like criticism, decent and nice critism that help me to improve is very valued to me, so keep sending comments friends. So starting to answer...
I'm from Cuba, I live in Havana City and there isn't any access to otherwise perhaps normal things for the rest of you like ito cord, or any ito-looking cord, good wood, neither steel in its healthy state. It is possible to find some but it may require me to do a lot of driving, talks, etc.
The way I adorned the pieces are like this: I first design what I want to have on them with Xara, the graphics design program I use for my "normal" career everyday. I use real scale and do lots of prints, so I can put over the pieces or as templates and check if they look as I want. Once they are ok for me, I transfer the design by hand using the following procedure: first I put a resist on the piece, could be spray paint or heat the piece and melt a crayon to cover all the area I want to work. Let the pieces dry, then with a pen I changed its tip to one diamond tip, very thin, those used in Dremels, with patience I start scratching the resist based in the design I printed. I found out that an easy way is to print in the design some "notches" or lines, like a ruler, and put also these painted with a permanent marker in the pieces, so I can check where I'm and avoid having the patterns enlarged or shrinked by eyesight tricks.
Once done that comes the funny part: I add tap water, table salt to a bucket, put the piece on the + of my car battery charger, put - to a piece of metal, currently the guide rod from a discarded scanner, which is thick like a pencil, and fully chromed. Then turn on the charger. The time to etch depends on the size of the piece. The blade took about 20 mins each side, the tsuba took about 2 hours since it had to attack a lot of naked area. Once that is done I clean the piece with water, apply some 00 steel wool and comes the second funny part: plating.
For plating I use the same solution: water and salt, but current is connected reversed, ie, - to the piece, + to a rod what will provide the plating metal. For silver look I use a galvanized piece, a screwdriver, a piece of pipe, sheetmetal, whatever looking that have zinc on it, even zinc/lead batteries' cases. To make it happen takes just seconds or minutes. The fushi/cashira etc took just 1 minute to cover silvery, the tsuba took about 5 minutes. I wash the pieces and then heat a bit. If I want to make it "gold" I heat them more but only works for copper pieces --since, I guess, copper + zinc = brass-- For heating I just use our kitchen flames. However I found a way that did for the tsuba: covered all the tsuba with spray paint --once the etching in there was done, so I was really afraid I would screw it, but it didnt-- but kept the rims without paint. Did the salt water but used a copper scrap as electrode, so I got a copper rim, then did the zinc over copper, then took out the paint and did the heat process, so I got the handmade kitchen brass in the rims.
To work pieces like the kojiri, I did the etching when the sheet was flat, then heated the copper to red so it got soft like a cardboard and used the saya as template, put the thing on the tip there and with a piece of wood beated the hell of the copper to wrap it around the tip. It was easy, I guess, but was my first time and I was nervious all the time.
I made the blade etching look deeper by painting the thing with a permanent marker, black, and then wipe it with a cloth before it dried completly. Lately i tested with a scrap piece, if I heat the painted etches the permanent ink gets really difficult to come off, I think it would with a thinner or with scrapping with a hard sand paper.
The tsuka is attached like it should, I guess: drill + menugi. I used bamboo for the menugi. I think it is not on the pics because I didnt have it done by then.
Now sizes: I guess and I agree with Jussi the fittings may look bigger than normal. The main problem is: I have zero chance to see one real piece in my hands. I don't know anyone here with a katana, or better said with an original piece. In the museums they are too far. So my only option are books and images from the net. I'm even writing down things like dimensions of those fittings in my notebook but it seems I need to research a bit more. That kashira I did by ovaling a piece of copper like a ring, then soldering the encountering edges, then made a cap with copper, domed it with two spoons, filed it down so it would slightly seat inside the rim, then solder it from inside. I used the kitchen flames and electronics solder tin. Now for the next piece I think I can apply something I have being experimenting which is make the kashira in a single piece of copper by pushing it with a rod through a hole in a thick steel piece, like stamping. I did some tries and I think it worked, but didn't wanted to use it in this piece. Maybe the other I'm about to start.
And to finish --i'm sorry about the length of this post, sorry about that-- I have pictures of a tanto I did previous to this. Should I post the pictures here or should I open a new post?
Cheers and thank you again for your welcome!
Aram
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Mar 10, 2012 2:16:12 GMT
Well I feel you as living in Finland and many things that are regularities to most people in here have to be ordered outside country and there are postage costs & taxes to really pump up the price. That scratching with diamond tip is pretty much similar how they are done. As I believe they are made by hammering different types of chisels to remove tiny amounts metal. Doing horimono is an artform in itself and I liked your design on the blade even though it was bit too much for my taste. Nice to read about the making of these. As I am not skilled in crafts myself most of the work here goes way beyond my skill but I've toyed with an idea of making a kojiri. I have to say it's almost impossible to get the fitting size right before seeing examples of them. So I'd say you did pretty good job. Aoi-art has been my favorite windowshopping sites as long as I can remember, they have really good pictures and measurements of all the things they have. Here is their fuchi/kashira section: aoi-art.com/fittings/fuchikashira/main.html. For fuchi I would advice trying to keep it below 1,5cm in height. For reading I could recommend The Craft of the Japanese Sword. Usagiya has an answer with good pictures how fuchi and kashira are made: www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/fuchikashiramade.html |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2012 2:30:22 GMT
Thank you for the URL. I will certainly browse for info there... USAGIYA!!! They are tremendous help for me! In fact, these ladies are the responsibles of my baby steps; each time I have a doubt I ask them and always always get their feedback in a day. Awesome persons they are. In fact, I'm forever in debit to them with all the knowledge and patience they has have with me! I called them my remote masters |
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Post by lamebmx on Mar 16, 2012 20:02:48 GMT
Wonderful work. I do have a comment for your though. You have the internet. Proportions are a constant. Now that you have pictures of your work you can estimate your proportions against other pictures. IF you want to change your proportions that is, it looks great regardless.
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