New grip for Ronin Katana Euro
Jan 11, 2015 5:18:44 GMT
Post by Draven on Jan 11, 2015 5:18:44 GMT
Howdy folks!
After having the tang rewelded on my RK Euro and satisfying myself that it wouldn't come loose, I set about making a new grip. One of the things I love about threaded tangs is how much room I have to experiment with different grip designs without feeling too much pressure to get it 'right'. The tang on this is just shy of 1/4" which makes it very easy to make a tight fitting grip core from sandwiched poplar from Lowes. This one was inspired largely by the simplicity of several sword grips in Jackson's LOTR; numerous thin, horizontal (spiral in the case of Glamdring IIRC) risers under a leather wrap. The core was simple, faceted on the belt sander and risers hot-glued on. The wrapping method was a new one to me, mostly using Brendan Olszowy's method here:
www.sword-manufacturers-guide.com/how-to-make-a-sword-a-beginners-10-step-guide/leather-and-wire-wrapping-a-sword-handle/
Usually I use wood glue and cord wrap, but for this I didn't want the texture from a cord wrap. The epoxy was a bit of a learning curve, as I'm used to having much more time to work. I also usually skive the ends of the wrap and have a little overlap, so butting the edges required a little more precision. I actually cheated a bit on this one - I have a couple pieces of plywood with thick (2" or so) foam on one side that I use for making Kydex sheaths. I applied epoxy very thin to one side of the core, put the leather on and stuck in the kydex press :D This gave me pretty low effort good definition on the two wide faces.
This sword was originally intended to be modified with something of a Tolkien look; to me, that's largely in the scabbard, as I didn't want to get too fancy with the grip - I will be making a new scabbard for sure. I may wind up doing something different in dark green; the dye was intended to come out more red than it did and I'm not sure how I like it. Either way, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and it aligns very well in the hand. After sharpening this sword up, it cuts extremely well!
After having the tang rewelded on my RK Euro and satisfying myself that it wouldn't come loose, I set about making a new grip. One of the things I love about threaded tangs is how much room I have to experiment with different grip designs without feeling too much pressure to get it 'right'. The tang on this is just shy of 1/4" which makes it very easy to make a tight fitting grip core from sandwiched poplar from Lowes. This one was inspired largely by the simplicity of several sword grips in Jackson's LOTR; numerous thin, horizontal (spiral in the case of Glamdring IIRC) risers under a leather wrap. The core was simple, faceted on the belt sander and risers hot-glued on. The wrapping method was a new one to me, mostly using Brendan Olszowy's method here:
www.sword-manufacturers-guide.com/how-to-make-a-sword-a-beginners-10-step-guide/leather-and-wire-wrapping-a-sword-handle/
Usually I use wood glue and cord wrap, but for this I didn't want the texture from a cord wrap. The epoxy was a bit of a learning curve, as I'm used to having much more time to work. I also usually skive the ends of the wrap and have a little overlap, so butting the edges required a little more precision. I actually cheated a bit on this one - I have a couple pieces of plywood with thick (2" or so) foam on one side that I use for making Kydex sheaths. I applied epoxy very thin to one side of the core, put the leather on and stuck in the kydex press :D This gave me pretty low effort good definition on the two wide faces.
This sword was originally intended to be modified with something of a Tolkien look; to me, that's largely in the scabbard, as I didn't want to get too fancy with the grip - I will be making a new scabbard for sure. I may wind up doing something different in dark green; the dye was intended to come out more red than it did and I'm not sure how I like it. Either way, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and it aligns very well in the hand. After sharpening this sword up, it cuts extremely well!