Kuya
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Posts: 1,396
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Post by Kuya on Sept 17, 2012 13:39:42 GMT
Lots of tsuba have those damn ugly holes that ruin the pictures and intrude on the design flows, to make room for these mini-accessory things. There's a tsuba I really like the design of, so if I'm going to get a sword with it, I'm going to want the little things the holes are made for, so that when people look at it, they understand that there's a reason for those near-useless design wrecking holes. What are these mini-accessories called, so I can look them up and try to find some I can buy and have installed? Thanks to anyone who can help.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Sept 17, 2012 13:49:43 GMT
They are called the kogatana(and the kozuka that fits on it) and the kogai.
You can find kogatana at Fred Lohmans and Bugei. There are other places, but those are mostly for higher priced pieces. For kogai, I'm not sure. Ebay has them, and you can find a few via a Google search. It's the same for the kozuka.
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Post by william m on Sept 17, 2012 13:50:41 GMT
Hey, This should help. (Taken from free.of.pl/h/hiro/ssglossary/glossary.htm) Replica pieces are really hard to get hold of, and when you do they tend to be quite expensive. I tend to buy common antique ones, which usually are around the same price.
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Post by stickem on Sept 17, 2012 20:03:20 GMT
Kuya ~ The d@mned ugly holes are called hitsu-ana. So if you are looking at the tsuba on its front (obverse) side, there is kozuka hitsu-ana on the left side, kogai hitsu-ana on the right side, as well as nakago hitsu-ana in the middle. Like so: Obviously the nakago-ana is the only one really necessary to mount a blade. Just so you know, you aren't the only one who has found the other two hitsu-ana to be... ummm...not very useful. For instance, this tsuba had the kogai-ana plugged by a previous owner, like so: Attachments:
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Post by Elheru Aran on Sept 17, 2012 20:12:27 GMT
The downside of buying a kozuka and kogai is that you'll basically have to make a saya from scratch to accommodate them. This needs to be done with great care as to prevent the saya from being weakened in the fairly vital area right around the mouth. Won't be easy.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 2:52:22 GMT
Not to mention that it would be hard to draw a sword from its scabbard when the guard is being used as a pocket knife and tootpick holder. I'm guessing this wasn't a battlefield mode of carry or one for fast drawing. Did they walk around with all those things in their swords ayway? I'm curious...
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Sept 20, 2012 19:44:00 GMT
Elheru Aran said what I was thinking, it will be darn hard job for the sayamaker to make slots in the saya. I will include some pictures to show these slots in detail. Not sure if many makers who make saya for production blades would agree to even make these for you, as I think the process is hard. As for their interference with fast draw, I don't think there is any if the utility tool is properly placed. The kozuka here is only tsunagi (wood with metal blade that is shaped like kogatana). Even though the kozuka "slanting" looks very dramatic in pictures, it's very subtle in real life and barely noticeable. Kozuka can be drawn out through the tsuba, yet I don't do it because this is an antique koshirae and it rubs the ito which is already very worn in the spot. Unfortunately this saya is in very rough condition, I'm hoping to be able to split this saya in future to see and document exactly how these slots are made, if plans work out. Due to possible plans to blade that it now houses and protects, I'm hoping to still learn very much from this blade and saya. This has slots on both sides, yet another seems to be filled shut. Into the saya shot shows that there is not the slightest mark of the slots seen on the inside of the saya. And I agree with William that reproduction pieces are somewhat hard to find. Fred Lohman probably has the cheapest kogatana when they have them available. But most likely getting the utility tools and getting a saya made to house them, will cost you a good bit more than your average production sword, or at least that's what I think.
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Post by birdman on Sept 20, 2012 21:07:38 GMT
I was able to find a nice kozuka on EBay for a reasonable price, considering what it was (I think it was around $100). The kogatana that fits into it, I bought from Lohman's. You can see the complete sword in my "signature" box at the bottom of this post. The sword is a cosmetically flawed, but still functional, 450 year old wakizashi blade that I had professionally remounted, using antique fittings that I had gathered to fit a theme (birds).
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Post by Elheru Aran on Sept 20, 2012 21:51:18 GMT
There was a splendid website by an authentic sayashi (I think that's the term), but unfortunately I lost the bookmark years ago...
Anyway, it showed how to do the kozuka and kogai slots. You basically have to make each side slightly thicker near the mouth, and then inlet the slots very carefully. On top of this, you glue a slat of the same wood, leaving space for the grip of the knife and skewer, and sand flush with the rest of the saya. Very exacting work.
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