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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Mar 11, 2015 16:59:03 GMT
I know some of you have probably already seen this but for those who haven't it's worth the 30 minutes to watch. Helps to make you understand why real Japanese made swords go for the prices they do. Unfortunately most of us will never have anything but a Chinese made Japanese sword.
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Post by Google on Mar 12, 2015 17:36:41 GMT
To be honest, I don't think the nihonto made for use (5-8 thousand dollars) are better than the high end Chinese (Kaneie, Bugei and the like). From my experience the balance and performance aren't different.
Antiques and art swords are a different story.
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Post by william m on Mar 12, 2015 20:39:31 GMT
They may be better swords, but once you go over the 2K threshold you really start experiencing diminishing return with the performance of the sword.
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Mar 13, 2015 16:04:56 GMT
Maybe so but I respect the guy who make one sword at a time and makes the whole sword himself rather than a sword made by several people. I just respect old world skills which unfortunately are dying out. My Grandfather was a mason from the old country so I got to see early in live the skills of the old way.
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Post by Google on Mar 13, 2015 17:21:39 GMT
But old-time smiths used apprentices too... And every part of the sword has a specialist- the blade, the polish, the habaki, the tsuka, the saya, and the koshirae.
Mostly the high price is not due to the extreme amount of skill that goes into a sword, but rather the limited number the smiths are allowed to make for their living.
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Mar 13, 2015 18:46:46 GMT
Well everyone has their own way of looking at things. We had a guy right up here in the Adirondacks who spent his whole life studying and experimenting with swordsmithing to try to get as close to perfection as he could. He even smelted his own iron ore. To me that is a true swordsmith. Nothing against the guys who buy parts and put a sword together but that's not swordsmithing that sword assembling. I do a lot of building, not swords and yes I could save a lot of time just buying but it's not the same. A piece of you really does go into everything you build. I've had people ask to buy some of the things I've built but I don't do it for money. Like I said, everyone has their own way of looking at things. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change mine but then again we don't need to.
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Mar 13, 2015 18:52:37 GMT
What's to change his mind about? He's right. He didn't say there was anything bad about the smith. Just that there were typically many craftsman to work on a single sword. Someone who makes it all himself is still cool. And traditional smiths from Japan are only allowed to make so many blades per year. So he was saying they have to charge enough per blade to survive. Not that the quality or skills weren't there, they just have to charge a certain amount regardless.
Ah, respectful disagreement. Music to my ears...
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Post by Germanic on Mar 13, 2015 19:04:23 GMT
I thought that the people who actually smelted the iron were different from those who actually forged the sword, who were different from those who ground and sharpened and polished it, and who fitted it.
I thought this was standard. Was it and has it been common practice amongst Nihonto craftsmen to complete the entire process from start to finish?
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Mar 13, 2015 19:15:16 GMT
Traditionally, no. All those jobs were done by different people. I think Gunner was just saying that it's cooler to see a guy who does it all, start to finish, by himself.
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Mar 13, 2015 19:42:19 GMT
You got it Mike. Mass produced swords have been around for a long time because not everyone can afford a one of a kind made by a master swordsmith and still can't. Watch the video Germanic, it is amazing to see a master at work. This is something we're losing in these times. All I know is if someone offered to give me a one of a kind Katana made by a master swordsmither in Japan or a top of the line Chinese Hanwie guess which one I would pick. I'll bet you too.  |
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Mar 13, 2015 22:43:22 GMT
I love to watch these kind of videos. Yeah, the lengths that they go to to preserve tradition is amazing, though it is also harming the business side of the thing. I totally agree that seeing the difficulty and skill makes the high price more justifiable to me. Seeing it done in film leads to a lessened appreciation of the complexity and labor(Hero Guy A heats up some metal, bangs on it, sword made). Regardless of whether the aid of apprentices is used, or the swordsmith uses articles made by a separate expert(who is also using very high-level skills and exacting labor to make their wares) I think that the whole process is incredible and worthwhile.
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