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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 4:02:29 GMT
I was thinking about my next sword, and what i would like it to be like...
perhaps if I list what Im dreaming of getting you guys might be able to point me to a few suggestions.
here goes....
I would like to get a Katana 1060 steel, or other steels that have a great hamon a great hamon
Real red silk on the handle handle has 2 pins, and can come off Red ray skin on the saya
good quality fittings
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Post by Maynar on Apr 15, 2012 5:04:40 GMT
You got a great sword from Hua Wei, yes? Why not ask Jacky for what you want now? If you were happy with the first result, why not go to the well a second time? I did.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Apr 15, 2012 11:49:10 GMT
Aah, now I see what you are after and it's easier to give advice. That will be fairly easy order for most of the chinese forges out there I believe. The steel and hamon style could be discussed with the forge, I believe most offer only notare or gunome, as they are probably the easiest to make. If I remember St-sword has made some choji but failed to do it sometimes when asked. It might be tricky but discussing with the forge will help. Real silk can be bit tricky one as I believe that chinese forges will use mid-level silk ito when asked for real silk, and synthetic silk if not demanding real silk. There is big gap to high-quality silk ito that for example iaito manufacturers and many customizers here use. But getting red silk ito should be no problem and depending on the forge might cost c. 20-40$ extra. I think that most manufactures use 2 pins, and their tsuka is removable. For rayskin to be red I believe it must be dyed. This is an easy process to the factory and some may even have red dyed skins around if they use it on some models. Most likely it might cost 0-20$ extra. And cost for rayskin on the saya is usually c. 30-60$ extra. Good quality fittings might be the most trickiest one. I haven't dealt with these chinese forges but I think the fittings are one department where they lack. Since they are usually alloy or brass. I would recommend getting an iron tsuba, those usually are 15-20$ extra. And try to choose a good set of fuchi and kashira. As you have one HuaWei sword already, they might be a good place to ask for a quote. Other good forges around too. Here is a one pic of red rayskin on Sinosword saya: www.sinosword.com/Picture/Proudc ... 517029.jpg just pick saya like that on the sword you've customized to suit your taste.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 15:25:51 GMT
I have noticed a lot of people seem to look down on the alloy tsuba,
Why?
I have seen some very interesting and fancy alloy and brass tsuba, with designs that I could never afford made out of other metal,,,so why be down on them?
Is there a feeling that the alloy will break?
I got a brass one that is about 1/4 inch thick, I doubt its going to break...so why be down on it because its out of brass?
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 15:35:44 GMT
and....as for the iron tsuba I have seen so far?....
in my view that are butt-ugly.....boring as all get out....and lack any "Wow" factor at all....
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Post by johnwalter on Apr 15, 2012 15:45:30 GMT
They are weaker.The fittings on a sword are a safety point.Especially in tameshigiri.And yes,alloy breaks.Seen more than one fail. As for your sword question,Dadaochen may be able to help you out.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 15:57:09 GMT
The alloy tsuba that folks are down on should be the pot metal type. These are cast zinc painted black and sold as iron tsuba.
The only iron tsuba out there are authentic antique Japanese items. Or those modern tsubashi creating iron plate from smelted iron ore. Everything else out there labeled as iron which a magnet will stick to is steel. Every ebay vendor is selling black painted cast zinc as "iron tsuba" . They either don't know, don't care or both and just want your money.
Brass is fine as is copper. Zinc will break and is non traditional. There are also many cast zinc tsuba with copper wash or paint being sold as copper. Junk. Telltale signs are the small circles near the seppa dai where the casting sprues were trimmed off before plating or painting. The plating and paint will chip or wear off revealing zinc. Cheap way to mass produce a copy of an antique or other tsuba.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 16:26:14 GMT
how would a guard of a katana break when cutting a mat?
It seems to me that the cutting takes place a LONG way down the blade from the guard...
are you saying that the "shock" of the sword's contact with the mat could cause the guard to break?...or...are you saying that hitting the guard itself is the cause of it to fail?
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Post by johnwalter on Apr 15, 2012 17:01:34 GMT
More the kashira and fuchi.I have seen two cheap alloy/zinc fuchi crack,one on a mat,one on bamboo.The one on the mat was a very bad cut. Weak points in the casting and metal itself.There is much more shock and force created even when cutting a mat than you may believe.If it can bend a carbon steel blade,it can cause a casting to fail. Is it definitley going to fail,probably not.Is it more likely to fail,absolutley. Its up to you and your teacher.Some dojos would not allow subpar fittings.And they are subpar.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 17:09:44 GMT
from the shock right,,,,not from contact with the thing itself?
In my sword class we only cut foam noddles....and Im never cutting water bottles, there is a slight chance ever once in a while I might get a shot in the future at a real mat...but mostly we always cut foam pool noddles.
I would like to find out from a guy who saw his sword handle thingys fail while cutting, what the heck he was cutting?
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 15, 2012 17:12:53 GMT
yes, this i can see, as there is a lot of force in a cut put on such things....
I cant see how a guard would fail unless you hit it with something..or unless it truly was crap. Most guards are strong enough to work..I mean we are not going into combat with the sword , so you can understand that there are going to be limitations.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Apr 15, 2012 17:29:12 GMT
Well I don't know about how the Chinese make their iron tsuba, I have thought that iron would be iron. However I know that the Chinese forges will cut corners whenever it's possible. And I don't blame them, offering the amount of customization options they offer in say sub-400$ range is amazing. I've owned 2 Chinese made alloy tsuba and both were disappointing quality. Brass and copper are fine as materials (however there is a reason why some fittings cost, and that is quality) but alloy is suspicious as it's impossible for an amateur like me to say what amounts of different materials has been used to make it. However I personally don't like the fuchi and kashira that these Chinese forges use, I've seen 2 sets of them. Like I said there are "fairly good" sets among them you just have to know or guess which will be good. Well I'm kinda an elitist and therefore I may sometimes say bit too harsh things, as I have somewhat refined taste (or at least so I like to think...). And while some may like the detailed copper and alloy fittings these forges use I personally see them as gaudy. But like I said earlier as the prices on their swords are so low it's impossible for them to use high quality fittings. At these prices that they have you can't have all the treats. This is one lovely massproduced iron tsuba, sure it might be plain to many but it's gorgeous in my eyes: www.namikawa-ltd.co.jp/cgi-bin/d ... 122205.jpg
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