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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2008 23:08:28 GMT
I figure that a good way to become familiar with Japanese swords is to build 1. I am hoping that some or all of you will help me ;D 2 leftover blades from Brian @ Roninswords came today. Woo Hoo! The blades: Katana Folded steel (the pattern is beautiful), through hardened, etched Hamon,the tip looks counter polished to me (kissaki/ yokote, not sure which is the correct term). In some places the lines between layers have physical grooves ( I am not sure if this is an issue or not). Tanto mono steel, through hardened, etched hamon, brightly polished with lots of very light scratches, Very cool blade geometry!! My questions? ? where to get appropriate hardware? what hardware is appropriate? why are the notches on the Ha & Mune not in the same place? I am thinking this should be great fun!! i hope you all will share this project with me ( I need your help PLEASE ;D ;D)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2008 23:14:52 GMT
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Post by alvin on Jun 6, 2008 1:01:44 GMT
Beautiful blades, Steve. Congratulations. You're going to have fun with this. I know that you will do an excellent job of it and I will certainly be following this thread.
Lemon - Thanks for the pdf. Plus 1 2 U.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2008 1:43:12 GMT
I started this tread last year on Katana customization and building:
/index.cgi?board=swordcustom&action=display&thread=1731
There might be some info there that you could find useful. Let me know if you find any links that don't work or if you find something I should add.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2008 12:49:58 GMT
Thanks lemon, excellent article
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2008 16:55:10 GMT
The only problems with the physical grooves is that they may cause micro drag making your cut less clean, apart from that they are nothing to be worried about, the patternation on that blade is quite beautiful with a lovely hamon. Is it just me or is that katana in the style of shinogi zukuri?
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on Jun 6, 2008 22:09:11 GMT
Those grooves could just be minor areas where the welding hasnt taken, and may be minor enough to not affect the swords performance, or they could be major cold shuts or slag inclusions that could make the blade dangerous to use. Without seeing them, I cannot comment.
If in doubt, show the picture to Sam or Dan, as they will be able to tell you by looking.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jun 6, 2008 23:29:31 GMT
well Steve we'll be doing this project together since the bare blades I bought from him came today too. I have: three tachi blades that are somewhat etched from some water they sat in, but they look sound still, a katana blade in good condition, and a tanto blade. I'll be posting pictures in my own thread later since I don't want to hijack Steve's and since my project will probably take longer since I'm not going to have the opportunity to work on them for a little while. all I will be able to do this weekend is to clean them up and oil them down for storage.
Edit - Steve I can tell you that our nakago (tang) are too thick to fit into a cheness stock Tsuka, at least the kaze one. I'm afraid we'll be building our own. on the notches not being in the same places, if you look at the habaki of an assembled katana you will notice the mune or back of the habaki has a notch that is lower than the sides and will fit the way your blade is cut. You might have to custom fit the habaki though since I'm not sure if the distance between the notches is universal but I bet it isn't.
hardware: while the Cheness tsukas don't fit the cheness tsuba seem to fit ok and my katana fit nicely into the kaze saya. not sure about yours but I wouldn't expect it to be exactly the same as mine. my three tachi blades have some real differences in them.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2008 14:16:25 GMT
I will try to get pictures of the Inclusions posted today. I am not overly concerned about usability, my primary use for this is practice and learning the sword itself. however it would seem to be fairly important to know if it is structurally unstable.
Concerning "Habaki"...does this have to be custom fitted? is there a supplier of these pre-made? I can certainly fabricate these if necessary, but it seems easier to fit a pre-made piece.
the remaining parts seem relatively easy to find. Except Rayskin. any Ideas on where to get it?
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jun 7, 2008 14:24:12 GMT
there's some ray skin pelts on ebay right now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2008 1:24:12 GMT
The first round of close ups lack detail, i will be taking more shortly.
I will be shopping for the hardware over the next couple of days. Any favorite sites would be appreciated
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2008 5:06:22 GMT
If I'd ever want to customize my sword I'd certainly consider this vendor: stores.ebay.com/artsfengJust noticed that some of their stuff has free shipping in US. Yay! Too bad I'm in Poland
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2008 14:08:43 GMT
I ordered most of the hardware this morning. Chinese fittings off of ebay. Dragon themed stuff. and one of those blue ray-skins from Thailand. Still have to order Ito. Is the silk really that much better than cotton? Which is easier to work/ more durable?
A couple of Tsuba questions. Does the front of the Tsuba face the blade? Seems to me like it should.
Tsuba for the Tanto? It seems like most do not have one, but some do? Is that a period thing, Usage, or something else?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2008 14:43:14 GMT
Well, silk ito is way more expensive, that's for sure. For my first tsukamaki I'd start with cotton, but that's just me. Yes, the front of the tsuba should face the enemy ;D There were many types of tanto. You can find some info on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TantōTsubaless tanto is called aikuchi.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2008 19:28:07 GMT
On the subject of lamination lines: The grooves are so fine that I cant get them to show up in pics. I am thinking that means that they should not be a problem?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2008 22:04:09 GMT
Ooooh! Nice patterns in that katana blade ! However, before mounting your tsuka, have you considered drilling a second or even third hole for the mekugi pins ? Adding another mekugi lower down on the tang would help make the sword more secure. A secure blade is a safe blade!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2008 22:15:30 GMT
yes i have been considering a second hole, havent decided yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2008 12:25:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2008 0:26:57 GMT
^yeah, I really like that set not exactly my thing but it is very cool.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2008 3:25:40 GMT
I have finally gotten back to this project! I will be mounting the tanto 1st. i was going to try the traditional silk over rayskin, but the rayskin is not what I had in mind. So... I have this really nice piece of curly Black walnut (handle) and some scrap pieces of Bubinga(guard?). I had to modify the Habaki(spelling?)so that it would fit tightly. A hammer,files and sandpaper and it fits like I made it myself(I bought it ;D). the walnut block. after i cut the blank out I remembered to take pics. It is only rough fit so far. the blade fits beautifully in the grip. It takes just a light tap to seat the last 1/4" with virtually no play from 1/2way in.almost full contact between blade and grip. there a a couple of slightly hollow spots on the blade. 3 questions; Do you think the grip looks too long? And to guard or not to guard? The piece you see is not finished. the outside edges will be rounded over and the center will be dished on both sides, that is it will be thinner in the center with a bead around the rim. What do you think the dimensions of the guard should be? All opinions are gratefully appreciated, If you have one don't hesitate to post it. ;D
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