W2 Custom by Przemek
May 3, 2012 23:49:57 GMT
Post by Rifleman Lizard on May 3, 2012 23:49:57 GMT
Introduction
This a review of a commission I just received from forum member and Polish smith Przemek P. He takes custom requests for a very reasonable price. He is based in central Europe so unless you are a Polish; deals are done internationally. All in all an entirely custom blade, with simple habaki and elegant shirasaya cost me $350.
I became interested in his work after he shared some of his previous creations over on SFI. Since then I've always wanted one of my own.
I had my own specifications and Przemek took all of them into consideration, achieving exactly what I wanted from this project. Communication was very fast, efficient and he kept me informed of his progress. He included pictures before it was finished and made sure things were to my liking before he continued each process. I had high hopes and I was not disappointed!
Customs held it for 4 days before I had it released, by proving it does not violate any UK laws.
Specifications
Classification: Hira-Zukuri. Being such a large companion blade, it skirts the borders between large tanto and small wakizashi. It dwarfs the other (already large) tanto in my collection..
Steel: W2 tool steel.
Nagasa: 29.5cm
Overall length 45cm
Motohabe: 30mm
Kasane: 7mm
Sori: 3mm
Yokote: N/A
Hada: Nil
Hamon: Hitatsura
Polish: Mirror
Habaki: Single piece copper
Mounting: Shirasaya (beechwood)
Edge: Very fine and sharp
Weight: Standby for accurate measurement
Centre of gravity: ""
Disclosure
I have no affiliation with Przemek other than that of a new customer. There is no bias in the following opinions.
Initial impressions
The parcel arrived this morning in a taped package that was totally accident proof. I had an optimistic laugh at just how well defended the sword was! It took me ten minutes to open it!
After surgically removing the very last of the tape and sliding away the paper sleeve, I discarded all of the packaging.
I picked it up and immediately noticed that this is no featherweight. I knew right away that there was some serious steel hidden inside the wooden cacoon.
The beechwood shirasaya is a beautiful and even colour, with no flaws in the grain and not so much as a carving or file mark. It fits together seamlessly and requires a firm pull to remove the blade. Turning it upside down and even shaking it proves it is an excellent fit. There is no movement or rattle at all. It has a single wooden mekugi.
Magnificent woodwork!
Removing the saya first exposed a sturdy, simple and plain habaki. The angles are fine and it sits tightly with no movement. Paying particular attention to the munemachi, I was happy to see strong assembly and fitting. It could use a going over with some metal polish to bring out a nice copper glow.
At this point I shone a maglite down the koiguchi and there are no cracks or imperfections down the inside.
Taking a decent picture of this proved madly frustrating. Take my word for it instead.
Moving on to the steel itself!
W2 steel is a popular choice for modern smiths. It is strong, holds a sharp edge and it doesn't dull easily. Another excellent reason to utilise W2 tool steel is that it allows the creation of beautiful hamon.
I asked Przemek for a very vicious hitatsura hamon with plenty of ashi and that is precisely what I got. He did admit it was his first hitatsura but I'm more than happy with the result.
From certain angles the hamon is almost completely invisible but with the slightest movement the blade detonates, exposing a powerful temper line running down the ha, turning into a well rounded boshi and flowing down the entire mune in exciting formations of ashi and tobiyaki.
I found the easiest way to expose the hamon in any real detail is to use a direct light source, so I set up an overhead spotlight. I tried to take pics at the crack of noon but the lighting wasn't enough. Besides, it's now pitch black outside.
Don your sunglasses now.
Omote side
Ura side
Complete ura and omote sides
The sori lends the whole thing a refined elegance and I prefer this subtle quality over Japanese style blades with no curvature at all.
The blade motohabe slowly becomes thinner towards the tip and it ends in a well finished and even kissaki. Hira-zukuri blades are absent a yokote line. This style is typical of tantos and it often seen with wakizashi.
A highly reflective mirror polish catches the eyes and draws attention to the hamon (ironically making it more difficult to photograph) but it also highlights and exaggerates some very minor cosmetic scratches.
The nakago is a healthy and thick furisode, the usual boat shape that is typical of most tanto. The tip of the tang is a very shallow kurijiri and is almost a flat kiri.
Filemarkings cover the whole tang up to 3mm from the habaki bottom. They aren't uniform but most of them are diagonal.
Finally, concerning the nakago at least, it is unsigned by Przemek like all of his work so far.
Handling impressions
The edge is sharp from the collar to the tip, and the blade has meat on the bones; both very good things. I will wait until it is mounted in full koshirae before attempted to seriously cut with it. I still maintain that cutting (with any real effort on target) in shirasaya can't be a good thing, despite the fact that some do it.
The balance is great and after some light dry handling I can't wait to have it fully ready for use on tatami omote and light targets.
Conclusion
To sum it all up I think Przemek did a wonderful job. He met my requests with unparalleled accuracy and I'm pleased I got in touch with him for this project. I estimate that one day he will be huge on the smith scene and people will be screaming for his work. For the price of a medium level production wakizashi he finished an entire custom. Honestly, in my opinion you cannot go wrong.
The next step for this blade is to gift it with a poplar tsuka core, full samegawa wrap and horse theme custom koshirae. I'm currently sketching up some designs.
I hope you guys enjoyed this short article and it gave you an insight into this man's work.
More pictures as things move forward.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
This a review of a commission I just received from forum member and Polish smith Przemek P. He takes custom requests for a very reasonable price. He is based in central Europe so unless you are a Polish; deals are done internationally. All in all an entirely custom blade, with simple habaki and elegant shirasaya cost me $350.
I became interested in his work after he shared some of his previous creations over on SFI. Since then I've always wanted one of my own.
I had my own specifications and Przemek took all of them into consideration, achieving exactly what I wanted from this project. Communication was very fast, efficient and he kept me informed of his progress. He included pictures before it was finished and made sure things were to my liking before he continued each process. I had high hopes and I was not disappointed!
Customs held it for 4 days before I had it released, by proving it does not violate any UK laws.
Specifications
Classification: Hira-Zukuri. Being such a large companion blade, it skirts the borders between large tanto and small wakizashi. It dwarfs the other (already large) tanto in my collection..
Steel: W2 tool steel.
Nagasa: 29.5cm
Overall length 45cm
Motohabe: 30mm
Kasane: 7mm
Sori: 3mm
Yokote: N/A
Hada: Nil
Hamon: Hitatsura
Polish: Mirror
Habaki: Single piece copper
Mounting: Shirasaya (beechwood)
Edge: Very fine and sharp
Weight: Standby for accurate measurement
Centre of gravity: ""
Disclosure
I have no affiliation with Przemek other than that of a new customer. There is no bias in the following opinions.
Initial impressions
The parcel arrived this morning in a taped package that was totally accident proof. I had an optimistic laugh at just how well defended the sword was! It took me ten minutes to open it!
After surgically removing the very last of the tape and sliding away the paper sleeve, I discarded all of the packaging.
I picked it up and immediately noticed that this is no featherweight. I knew right away that there was some serious steel hidden inside the wooden cacoon.
The beechwood shirasaya is a beautiful and even colour, with no flaws in the grain and not so much as a carving or file mark. It fits together seamlessly and requires a firm pull to remove the blade. Turning it upside down and even shaking it proves it is an excellent fit. There is no movement or rattle at all. It has a single wooden mekugi.
Magnificent woodwork!
Removing the saya first exposed a sturdy, simple and plain habaki. The angles are fine and it sits tightly with no movement. Paying particular attention to the munemachi, I was happy to see strong assembly and fitting. It could use a going over with some metal polish to bring out a nice copper glow.
At this point I shone a maglite down the koiguchi and there are no cracks or imperfections down the inside.
Taking a decent picture of this proved madly frustrating. Take my word for it instead.
Moving on to the steel itself!
W2 steel is a popular choice for modern smiths. It is strong, holds a sharp edge and it doesn't dull easily. Another excellent reason to utilise W2 tool steel is that it allows the creation of beautiful hamon.
I asked Przemek for a very vicious hitatsura hamon with plenty of ashi and that is precisely what I got. He did admit it was his first hitatsura but I'm more than happy with the result.
From certain angles the hamon is almost completely invisible but with the slightest movement the blade detonates, exposing a powerful temper line running down the ha, turning into a well rounded boshi and flowing down the entire mune in exciting formations of ashi and tobiyaki.
I found the easiest way to expose the hamon in any real detail is to use a direct light source, so I set up an overhead spotlight. I tried to take pics at the crack of noon but the lighting wasn't enough. Besides, it's now pitch black outside.
Don your sunglasses now.
Omote side
Ura side
Complete ura and omote sides
The sori lends the whole thing a refined elegance and I prefer this subtle quality over Japanese style blades with no curvature at all.
The blade motohabe slowly becomes thinner towards the tip and it ends in a well finished and even kissaki. Hira-zukuri blades are absent a yokote line. This style is typical of tantos and it often seen with wakizashi.
A highly reflective mirror polish catches the eyes and draws attention to the hamon (ironically making it more difficult to photograph) but it also highlights and exaggerates some very minor cosmetic scratches.
The nakago is a healthy and thick furisode, the usual boat shape that is typical of most tanto. The tip of the tang is a very shallow kurijiri and is almost a flat kiri.
Filemarkings cover the whole tang up to 3mm from the habaki bottom. They aren't uniform but most of them are diagonal.
Finally, concerning the nakago at least, it is unsigned by Przemek like all of his work so far.
Handling impressions
The edge is sharp from the collar to the tip, and the blade has meat on the bones; both very good things. I will wait until it is mounted in full koshirae before attempted to seriously cut with it. I still maintain that cutting (with any real effort on target) in shirasaya can't be a good thing, despite the fact that some do it.
The balance is great and after some light dry handling I can't wait to have it fully ready for use on tatami omote and light targets.
Conclusion
To sum it all up I think Przemek did a wonderful job. He met my requests with unparalleled accuracy and I'm pleased I got in touch with him for this project. I estimate that one day he will be huge on the smith scene and people will be screaming for his work. For the price of a medium level production wakizashi he finished an entire custom. Honestly, in my opinion you cannot go wrong.
The next step for this blade is to gift it with a poplar tsuka core, full samegawa wrap and horse theme custom koshirae. I'm currently sketching up some designs.
I hope you guys enjoyed this short article and it gave you an insight into this man's work.
More pictures as things move forward.
Thanks for reading,
Chris