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Post by Elysian on Apr 21, 2012 23:48:24 GMT
The sword in question here is the Musashi Rosewood Shirasaya that I've had for a while. Through some extensive playing with the sword the mouth of the saya has worn down, and now even a slight tilt will make the sword fall out, this isn't a major issue, but it is rather annoying, and can be a bit dangerous. I've read a few threads on using a shim to fix this, but that doesn't seem to be a very permanent solution. Could I use thin strips of leather instead of wood to do this? Leather would probably compress over time, and wear in to the point of being a decently snug fit if I make it a pretty tight fit to start off with. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Post by Maynar on Apr 21, 2012 23:57:31 GMT
I've only ever used thin cardboard to shim a saya, myself. I think a thin piece of wood like poplar or even pine is usually recommended. I tend to think leather might generate too much friction, especially the way you describe. I can see it pulling off when the sword is unsheathed. But what do I know? Give it a shot and tell us how it goes. I'd be interested to see if leather is a viable alternative.
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Post by Elysian on Apr 23, 2012 6:29:20 GMT
Probably a hell of a lot more than me. :lol:
Ill give it a shot once I find some place that has some uncured leather scraps lying around (and some time). Again, its a $60 sword, so it's not like I'm going to ruin something expensive if it doesn't work.
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Post by lamebmx on Apr 23, 2012 15:04:38 GMT
I prefer wood glue and stacked paper strips myself. The only downside to leather is corrosion & its thickness, I rarely need more than like 4 thicknessess of paper stacked. So a belt is probably thick enough to do ha and mune shims on 3 or 4 swords. Dont forget to shim ha and mune contact points and not the sides to prevent the saya from splitting where the edge is.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 23, 2012 16:19:16 GMT
Heres what I do.... I remove the tsuka, put the blade and habaki into the saya so I can still pull the nakago out. This is a good way to tell where the loose spots are like I did in this picture: This way I can determine well where I need the shims to be. I use card-stock paper. I take a dab of wood glue, put it on a chopstick or something, smear it into the area where I will place the shim and place the shim into it. Make sure you get the whole shim wet with glue before you do it, it will hold much better. Remember that the further you move into the koiguchi the looser the shim will fit with the habaki. Good luck!
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