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Post by frankthebunny on Nov 13, 2014 19:15:59 GMT
What are your opinions regarding a comfortable length for a ko katana with a 23 1/2" nagasa and 8 1/2" nakago? The blade style is unokubi-zukuri so it's very light. I'm thinking something like a hand and a half would be good so you can use it one handed without having an awkward amount of extra length but just enough so you can get some extra power if needed. Thanks
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Post by justin520 on Nov 13, 2014 19:20:58 GMT
Without being awkward, I can't say, but I like longer tsuka on shorter blades than that. I guess for a good fit 9 1/2" would work well.
My 20 inch blade has an 11 inch tsuka.
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Post by Jeffrey Ching on Nov 13, 2014 19:30:09 GMT
I'd say it's a quite a big nakago for such a blade Modern piece I guess? Anyway, as it resembles more a boy's katana for me, I'd say that a 9" tsuka would suffice. However it also depends on what the owner plans to do with it. 9" can be a bit small if you want to use it two handed.
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 13, 2014 19:40:02 GMT
Something like 10" or a little bit more would be useful, imho. That is the tsuka length of my Hanwei ninjato (a 24" blade), and it allows to realize two-handed power cuts on hard targets, without losing quickness and agility on one-handed handlings. Of course, I'm aware that ninjato is a mu-sori ("zero sori") blade and has a geometry that probably makes it a little bit heavier than an unokubi kokat... but I think a smaller length would transform your kokat into a... waki. You'll lose the kokat advantages.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Nov 13, 2014 21:02:09 GMT
I would go for c. 20 - 20,5 cm tsuka, so c. 8 inches. Downside is you might have to saw a bit off from the nakago to achieve that with well made core. And that is probably not wanted, so I think 8,5 inches might be easier to achieve and not that much different in handling.
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Post by Novice_Surgery on Nov 13, 2014 22:21:26 GMT
I think that 9 to 10 inches is suitable. I have a wakizachi with a 23 inch nagasa and an 8 inch tsuka, its in shinogi zukuri and its a fairly quick blade, but it feels like a wakizachi in the air. I also have a shinogi zukuri ko katana that has a 20 inch nagasa 11 inch tsuka thats shinogi zukuri with bo-hi and its feels more like a ko katana and is extremely light in the swing. Id recommend either 9 1/2 inch tsuka or 10 inch tsuka considering what you want and the lightness of the blade.
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Nov 13, 2014 22:48:25 GMT
I agree - too short and you'll turn it into a wakizashi.
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Post by grmnsplx on Nov 13, 2014 23:16:03 GMT
I'd say anything less than 8 inches and you've just got a wakizashi.
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Post by frankthebunny on Nov 13, 2014 23:19:27 GMT
Thank you very much everyone. Jeffrey, it is somewhat of an oddball piece as you've guessed. It was originally fitted with a 14" tsuka I believe and was basically a mistake, possibly a miscommunication between designer and manufacturer. Something like that. I believe this is a one-off Oni Forge sword. I have no problem cutting a bit of the nakago off if I had to and it's not yet spoken for so I can essentially do anything I want I was also thinking around 9"-ish but I'm still looking for opinions so thanks again for your input
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 13, 2014 23:42:17 GMT
A 14" tsuka on a 8" nakago is dangerous - the tsuka can very easily crack if the sword is used against medium/ hard targets. The first Practical Pro from Hanwei had a 14" tsuka (like nowadays) with a... 9" or maybe 8" nakago. Too large a difference - quickly, some dojo practicionners started to complain about cracked tsuka with this model, only after ONE day of intensive use. If I'm not wrong, the nakago on the "new" PP is now 12".
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 14, 2014 0:07:10 GMT
BTW, does someone remember the measurements of the Windglider? This little bad boy seemed to be very effective - knowing its exact measurements could maybe help...
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 14, 2014 2:07:22 GMT
You can actually use a tsuka that is quite a bit longer than the nakago if the tsuka is fit properly. Of course you would want you mekugi to fit properly as well and be tapered. A full wrap samé would help with the strength of the core, but the main issue is the nakago ana is properly sized. The reason this myth came about is most tsuka aren't properly fit by people like Josh and Jeffrey. They are mass made. If you look at the sise of a lot of nihonto katana's nakago, they are very short. Run a search for Keith Larmon on this subject on sfi. He has posted a lot of great information on this subject.
Josh, I was going to recommend a 9.5" tsuka if you want to stay with the kokatana theme. If you decide to cut it, I would make it as short as possible for the unokubi wak idea, in Hamidashi, lol. Cheers guys, Cody
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Nov 14, 2014 2:21:59 GMT
Agreed, not less than 10" and not more than 11" -
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 14, 2014 3:45:43 GMT
I agree with you, Cody - 99% of the nihonto have small nakago, indeed. And I agree with you, Cody - 99% of the chinatana are not Josh/Jeffrey made That's why modern chinatana have longer nakago (and two mekugi pegs) - chinese try to replace our fellow forumites' skills by a few inches of steel. "Size doesn't matter!"
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Post by johnwalter on Nov 14, 2014 4:01:50 GMT
I cant remember. Bleach Sword has one,you can message him.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 14, 2014 4:10:59 GMT
I'd vote for 9" to 10".
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Post by frankthebunny on Nov 14, 2014 5:42:00 GMT
Well I definitely want it to be a kokat, not a wak. My favorite katana tsuka length is around 10 1/2" (complete) with the wrapped portion being 247.5mm or roughly 9 3/4" so I'd like this one to be shorter than that. I also prefer wakizashi tsuka to be between 6-7" and I'd like the kokat to be longer than this.
The three sizes in between, allowing for the end knots to be on the correct sides (if silk ito is used) would be: 9.1" 8.5" 7.9" These measurements are not including fuchi/kashira Which would you choose?
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 14, 2014 5:49:27 GMT
I'd choose the 9.1". Beyond just wanting to get a good two-hand grip, I like the balance to be further toward the tsuba with ko-katana for a quicker sword.
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Post by wazikan on Nov 14, 2014 13:24:53 GMT
I personally like a longer tsuka. If it's for purely looks then 8-9. To me a 10-12 works great for a smaller blade. But iit's more of a what will it be used for question, the training of the person and application dictates the leangth
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 14, 2014 13:48:23 GMT
+1.
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