Veerdin
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Post by Veerdin on Aug 4, 2016 13:35:48 GMT
UPDATE:
This issue has been solved thanks to Jon Frances' advice. All I needed to do was wrap a few layers of tape around the tang and vollia! fits together like clockwork. No more wobble, and a much tighter, more snug fit for the handle. Never expected it to be such an easy fix!
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First of all, hi all! This is my first post here, I made this account primarily to post this question, in fact. But I suspect I'll lurk around quite a bit. Maybe even post a review or two here and there.
Regardless of that, I have a question: I recently purchased a katana from out of China. It's a reproduction of a Shin-Gunto, a style of sword that's always fascinated me. And all-in-all, it's of a remarkably good quality. The blade is pattern welded steel, properly put together, accurate colouration, the whole shibang. I'm very pleased with it - excepting one small issue.
When I swing the sword, I can feel the tang moving around slightly inside the handle. It's nothing extreme: The sword isn't exactly rattling or threatening to come apart if I hit something with it, but it is slightly bothersome. I have a feeling that it's due to the sword only having a single tang-pin holding the blade into the handle, as opposed to the more stable 2 or 3 pin construction of some swords.
I've taken the blade apart and had a fiddle with it, but currently nothing seems to help. So I was contemplating pouring a bit of wood filler into the handle cavity and letting it set to sort of "tighten" the fit of the tang and handle a bit.
Is this a good idea?
I don't have much experience working with swords and don't want to ruin an otherwise good product. I'm hesitant to use anything like glue or the like, either, as that could potentially keep the tang stuck in the handle and prevent future maintenance. But wood filler - to my understanding - won't adhere to the metal and will instead act as a kind of "buffer" to keep the tang set in place.
If this is a good idea, does anybody have any advice on how much to use or how best to go about it? And if it isn't a good idea, then could somebody please suggest some alternatives? Again, I don't know much about sword maintenance so if there's a better way to tighten the tang up, I'd be very interested to hear it!
Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 17:58:53 GMT
The real answer is to replace the handle. If it costs more to replace the handle than the sword is worth, I'd explore returning it.
The number of pins has nothing to do with whether the channel for the nakago is made correctly. If something is moving, that means it is not.
If there's a big movement, I'd hesitate to recommend anything. If it is only slight, as a stopgap you could try to thicken the nakago a little, strategically placed tape maybe? You want to make certain once it is in there that the little retaining peg locks in properly and there isn't any shifting when you move the sword as the whole construction is suspect. That should let you get a little time to do whatever while you sort out getting a proper fix, wait for a spot in someone's queue to open or save up the cash for the repair.
Using a sword with a dodgy construction is pretty risky, you can seriously hurt yourself or others and I don't recommend it. If it isn't right, the smartest thing to do is send it back or pay someone to fix it correctly.
Or use it as is and accept that something could happen.
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Veerdin
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Post by Veerdin on Aug 4, 2016 18:06:37 GMT
The real answer is to replace the handle. If it costs more to replace the handle than the sword is worth, I'd explore that. The number of pins has nothing to do with whether the channel for the nakago is made correctly. If something is moving, that means it is not. If there's a big movement, I'd hesitate to recommend anything. If it is only slight, as a stopgap you could try to thicken the nakago a little, strategically placed tape maybe? You want to make certain once it is in there that the little retaining peg locks in properly and there isn't any shifting when you move the sword as the whole construction is suspect. That should let you get a little time to do whatever while you sort out getting a proper fix, wait for a spot in someone's queue to open or save up the cash for the repair. Using a sword with a dodgy construction is pretty risky, you can seriously hurt yourself or others and I don't recommend it. If it isn't right, the smartest thing to do is send it back or pay someone to fix it correctly. Or use it as is and accept that something could happen. UPDATE: The tape worked like a charm! I wrapped a few strips of simple masking tape around the two areas of the tang, and lo-and-behold the blade fits together better than ever! Not only did this fix the slight movement, it also tightened up the tsuka fittings slightly! Huge thanks for that advice, never expected it to be such an easy fix! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the advice! I never even thought about using tape, that might just fix the issue. The movement of the tang is very, very slight, probably only a few millimetres each way and I have to move it pretty vigorously to get it to do even that. It's not even a visible amount of shift, but I can feel it when I swing the sword. Apart from that minor detail, the construction of it seems pretty solid overall. I've done some tests on the blade and it's very solid, the fittings are cast solid copper and none of them are loose, the ito wrapping is tight and the rayskin - while a bit on the aged side - isn't flaking off or anything. The only part that seems a little on the cheap side is the wooden handle scales, but even then, it's not to the point where I think they'd need a replacement. The blade is no masterpiece, it was fairly cheap and I got it mostly as a collectors piece rather than a serious cutter. I wouldn't buy a no-name katana if I was getting something for heavy usage. I'll try the tape idea and report back on how that goes. Thanks again for the response and the advice!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 18:14:53 GMT
If it makes the tang too snug to fit back into the handle, be careful re-installing it, easy to slip and I'd hate anyone to get hurt.
I can't make you replace but I really want to underline that it is a temporary suggestion to get you by and not a long term solution. Do as you will and best of luck!
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Veerdin
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Post by Veerdin on Aug 4, 2016 18:22:42 GMT
If it makes the tang too snug to fit back into the handle, be careful re-installing it, easy to slip and I'd hate anyone to get hurt. I can't make you replace but I really want to underline that it is a temporary suggestion to get you by and not a long term solution. Do as you will and best of luck! I appreciate the concern, but the edge on this sword is - at present - not enough to cut my skin unless I were to really, really try. As I mentioned, it's mostly a collector's piece and despite it hardly being the most high quality item, I do love it a lot. I doubt it's going to be any cause for concern, but I do know that China isn't exactly well known for it's quality control for no-name swords. If I were to get into serious cutting, then I'd definitely invest in something more well-known and reliable. But the tape trick worked better than I could have hoped! So thank you again for that.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 19:52:22 GMT
No problem, just wanted to make sure I underlined that last post of mine, not just for you but in case other people run across the issue and dig up this thread in a couple of years or something. Best wishes to you and I hope it gets you through!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 13:32:11 GMT
Jon, how can something happen if the sword is secured with (mostly) two mekugi? Could the grip break apart due to such slight movement? By the way, i have none in my kats...just curious.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 18:34:18 GMT
It's more of a CYA thing. Ideally, the little pin is just a safety, and a good tight fit holds the nakago in once it is seated. If you remove the pin and hold the sword upside down the blade shouldn't just fall out, it should take a little effort ideally to remove the blade, that way the whole construction is solid.
One mekugi, two, 27... if they are in there then they should keep the blade from falling out, but to me it's flirting with trouble if you are relying on the little pins. Even if the little peg holds it, if there's wiggle room in there every time you use the sword whether hitting something or just "dry handling" in air, hard stops the more it can move the looser it will get over time. Redundant systems are best, so a good tight fit in the tsuka along with a properly shaped mekugi (or two or whatever) will be more likely to keep things safe if something weird happens like a change in humidity or temperature or mistake when cleaning or all of the other millions of possible things that can happen.
Maybe he will be fine, but with sharp swords I like to have more than a maybe.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2016 4:32:53 GMT
I see. Well good thing my katana grips wont move AT ALL. I tried several times to disassemble my CS Warrior, my Huawei and even my price-reduced Sinosword...no chance. Once i removed the Mekugi, i tried all kinds of pulling techniques until i got afraid...nothing. So pins back in place, and no Tsuba exchange... :-(
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2016 13:03:49 GMT
If you go carefully a rubber mallet can help, I had tried numerous methods with a tight fitting sword and that seemed to get the job done. Obviously don't whack it so hard you deform your tsuba. A couple hits around the fuchi should get you some space to work with. Go a little at a time so you don't crack anything. Then you get the joy of discovering the difference in thickness means it doesn't line up right and get to start playing with that. XP
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