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Post by vermithrax on Jun 22, 2017 22:48:43 GMT
Well there are many ways. You could allow oil staining (usually fixable), you could bust off the kissaki tip because resting on the floor tip down seemed like a good idea (maybe fatal), you could decide to use some abrasives to "really make it shine" ($$ fix). Or you could take a Yasutsuga Aoi Mon crest engraved sword, and DRILL A MEKUGI HOLE RIGHT THROUGH THE CREST!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2017 22:56:34 GMT
Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Drill baby drill.
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Post by vermithrax on Jun 22, 2017 23:07:38 GMT
Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Drill baby drill. You in the oil business?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jun 22, 2017 23:11:28 GMT
Hmmmm
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2017 0:56:36 GMT
Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Drill baby drill. You in the oil business? :) No, just being a little silly there. Overlapping mekugi ana get a weird look out of me, but having a new one placed say for accommodating reshaping the blade or shortening it really don't bother me. I'd rather have a hole through a decorative thing if it ensures a solid construction than trying to contort a tsuka around one that isn't where it needs to be. I can understand it being a showstopper for other people.
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Post by stopped1 on Jun 23, 2017 1:04:29 GMT
I guess depending on why it was done. Chopping mei and mon were common when they turned tachi into katana and katana into kyu/shin gunto. When you go to war, you want a fighting tool, say you want a sword with menuki in a certain spot because of your swordsmanship style and the hole needs to be moved then so be it. Modern peace time, if they do that, I say burn at the stake!!!!
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Post by seriouslee on Jun 23, 2017 1:31:30 GMT
I guess depending on why it was done. Chopping mei and mon were common when they turned tachi into katana and katana into kyu/shin gunto. When you go to war, you want a fighting tool, say you want a sword with menuki in a certain spot because of your swordsmanship style and the hole needs to be moved then so be it. Modern peace time, if they do that, I say burn at the stake!!!! If it was done to better the blade for real use that is one thing. If it was done to fit a new tsuka, for looks then sacrilege.
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Post by vermithrax on Jun 23, 2017 1:33:09 GMT
Great points all. I agree, if this was refit to gunto mounts and a soldier needed it to fight, then whatever. Do what you have to do. As this smith is a smith I look for from a school I really desire I can say even at a reduced price (this is a live listed sword) I have to pass. One of the key attractions has been destroyed.
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Post by leviathansteak on Jun 23, 2017 3:08:59 GMT
Why would they drill a hole if theres one there already?
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Post by seriouslee on Jun 23, 2017 3:56:52 GMT
Perhaps it had only one hole to begin with and the owner thought two would be more sturdy?
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Ifrit
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More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 23, 2017 4:03:14 GMT
I never understood... Why do people drill an entirely new mekugi hole? Especially in an antique.
Why not do this instead: After carving the channel for the tang to fit into in a slab of wood (that will become half of the handle), drill through the already present mekugi hole, into the handle slab.
Seems like a much better way to preserve the antique and your drill bits
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Post by stopped1 on Jun 23, 2017 4:21:21 GMT
They usually do it to shorten it. Common placement is about 1.5 / 2 diamonds from fuchi. They would have chopped a few inches of tachi tang to make a katana and typically 1-2 inches from kanata to gunto. So they move the hole up. Otherwise it the peg will be at the narrowest part of the handle (assuming hour glass shap is used) and small swordsmanship school have specific menuki placement I believe so it gets in the way.
Swords were also converted into sword canes post sword ban and shortened. I had a koto blade in walking stick mount like that. Plus satsuma rebel swords were done up in a hurry.
Afaik tangs with two pegs will have holes much further apart.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jun 23, 2017 10:42:49 GMT
I think it was due to machi-okuri. They moved the machi bit upwards. Back in the day people didn't feel too much about stuff like that as plenty of famous swords were re-speced too. It would be stupid to drill a new hole to the antique tang now but in the old days it was not too big deal. Here you can see bit of the difference in tachi ana vs. katana ana. Both are tachi and the upper one has just 1 original hole. On the lower tachi the bottom hole is the original hole. The 2nd hole in the middle is most likely when it was mounted as katana when they started to be in fashion and the 3rd hole closest to blade is most likely when the sword got small machi-okuri. That is at least my reasoning for them.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2017 18:01:14 GMT
I never understood... Why do people drill an entirely new mekugi hole? Especially in an antique. Why not do this instead: After carving the channel for the tang to fit into in a slab of wood (that will become half of the handle), drill through the already present mekugi hole, into the handle slab. Seems like a much better way to preserve the antique and your drill bits If the location of the hole doesn't line up with how the ito winds, its going to an awkward job getting everything put together correctly.
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Post by berntk on Jun 23, 2017 21:32:16 GMT
I'm with Jussi (and most of you others as well) on this one. Back in the day it wasn't a big deal, and they did what was deemed necessary to fit the sword to the man. They shortened old tachi, moved damaged machi, used different ito width, higher fuchi... .
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