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Post by Nishikigoi on Dec 22, 2015 7:05:38 GMT
I have a Hanwei katana displayed in my home office, and I was concerned about possible injury for one of my birds who regularly visits me there and likes to perch on most everything and of course explore. I imagine that some of you may have similar concerns, so I wanted to share my solution.
I initially thought of creating a display case, but I didn't really want the "big box" effect so after some research decide to use a blade edge protector. As you can see (see detail in pic) the protector is a strip of plastic with a tightly fitting groove wherein the blade is inserted. The plastic guard does fit tightly, so can't easily be removed, even by a bird who is good at such things.
This guard is typically used for hand saw blades, yet worked nicely for my needs. I was able to purchase twice the length I needed for under $9, though I should note the company I purchased from (Tools for Working Wood) charged me about the same amount for shipping, ... which seemed unnecessarily high.
My only concern at this point is possible condensation build up.
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 22, 2015 17:58:18 GMT
Interesting idea. I'm curious if the tight fit might cause some scuffing, if only in the initial installation. I doubt the "climate" inside your office fluctuates enough to worry about affecting the plastic in any way as far as expansion/contraction/warping, which I figure this particular plastic is probably already designed to resist.
I don't personally keep any exposed blades, too many kids and animals and all that, but I know a number of our members do. I wonder if any of them might weigh in on this?
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Post by DigsFossils-n-Knives on Dec 22, 2015 18:22:39 GMT
I would not trust any animal near a blade, unless it's the marine kind. They are naturally curious, very clumsy, they like to gnaw on everything, and poop anywhere they please.
My bird might bigger than yours and he would definitely knock over that katana stand if he landed on it. And it would take him minutes to gnaw though the saya. More so if he saw me handling it. It would just make him more interested in it.
Unless the blade steel is very very soft, clean plastic will not scratch the surface. And if the blade is well oiled then you wont have rust issues.
Just my 2 cents
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Post by Nishikigoi on Dec 22, 2015 22:35:35 GMT
2 cents are good, thanks!
Hey Random - there actually is a fair amount climate variance in my office since I have a large lizard Vivarium with high humidity, and an access panel to an outside Aviary. As a result temps and humidity level do fluctuate more than the typical office. As for rust, I assumed that so long as I maintained the blade (clean/re-oil) per a 3/mo cycle all would be well. If not, well, a reason to learn to polish.
Hey DigsFossils - we have a Congo African Grey, Blue Fronted Amazon, and 3 Rainbow Lories. The size of each is representative of the breed yet none would be able to knock over my stand (custom constructed, and much sturdier than the average commercial option). Your concern is valid though, and while they all fly about our home, only the youngest Lorie (and smallest of all) makes her way into my office, and so far she's shown no interest in the blade or stand itself.
The important thing for me with regard to safety is that the blade edge guard does fit snuggly on, so unless my Lorie was free to work on it for a long while she would not be able to remove it, and I never leave my birds in my office unattended since I also have expensive computer supplies, and attentive vigilance is needed to remove the poop offerings of my flock.
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Post by william m on Dec 22, 2015 22:49:59 GMT
The problem I find with displaying a sword like this is dust. The dust sticks to the oil on the blade and leads to rust. For blades I have exposed to the air, they are coated in ren wax. Wouldn't recommend that with a good japanese blade though as you don't want that stuff in your saya or have a finely polished blade changed by the mildly abrasive nature of ren wax.
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Scott
Member
Posts: 1,676
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Post by Scott on Dec 22, 2015 23:25:34 GMT
Lucky you don't have a cockatoo, you would find yourself the owner of a lovely bare blade. I don't think you need to worry about rust under the edge guard, I've got something similar on an axe and have had no problems with rust forming under it. It gets plenty of humidity too.
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Post by DigsFossils-n-Knives on Dec 22, 2015 23:29:48 GMT
"Congo African Grey, Blue Fronted Amazon, and 3 Rainbow Lories" that's cool. I once had a regular African Grey and Cherry-headed conure, lost them both during the divorce. I kept and still have the Green-Winged Macaw.
Wouldn't your birds be large enough to tip the katana over if two landed on the tsuka at the same time? The tsuka looks like a nice spot to pirch.
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Post by Nishikigoi on Dec 23, 2015 1:00:17 GMT
Hey William - dust as a corrosive agent? Never considered that, but you very well may be correct ... if I do notice any then I will definitely keep renwax in mind as an option. And I would agree with your caution about the abrasive nature of renwax on a fine polished blade, yet my Hanwei katana could certainly use a bit more stone polishing.
Hey Scott - we actually fostered a Cockatoo for a while (Pierre was his name) and what a crazy bird!
Hey DigsFossils - sorry to read about the bird loss, but the Macaw is cool! We considered getting a Macaw but they get so big, and they look like freaky clowns! As for my stand, it was designed by a furniture maker using hard English Walnut. It's quite heavy and has large/sturdy base. I also have it positioned against the wall which provides additional support, and only my youngest Lorie spends any amount of time in my office with me. The others are either in the Aviary or flying about the livingroom.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Dec 23, 2015 1:17:18 GMT
Hopefully that “fair amount climate variance” does not create a condensation problem between the plastic and blade contact. The plastic looks good. Personally I do not leave bare blades exposed in order to protect the blade and others. I use a dry preservative so as to minimize dust sticking. A large portion, if not the majority, of the dust here is volcanic ash, otherwise known as pumice, a fine abrasive.
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