Today I finished the complete sword.
It is a total conversion and I would like to share with you what exactly I did,
and what I did wrong.
First thank you nurow, I will answer your question.
The problem I faced I think had nothing to do with the lemon juice,
but more with removing the oxides that form during etch.
You see, I got really frustrated while etching
because if you apply enchant and wait 10 seconds
the hamon will pop out and be extremely visible.
And as you wipe away the oxides,
you wipe away the hamon, too.
So you have to take utmost care not to wipe off the hamon
while removing the oxides.
Now;
let`s have a look at my finished sword, formerly known as Practical Plus.
First I must say I am not satisfied with the result.
What I had in mind was the following:
Remove the complete paint of the saya to bare wood.
Wrap around some rattan to get extra stability on the koiguchi
and two more double stripes at the bottom and the mid section
of the saya to round the finish.
Then stain the wood into a darker tone (teak).
I had a very hard time removing the old lacquer.
With 240 grit I could have spend hours.
So I took 60 and it still took me several hours. What a pain in the...
After I finally reached bare wood,
I had some nasty very deep scratches in the wood,
that I didn`t get rid of.
I took a long time sanding in 240, then 400 finishing with 800
but still, there were nasty scratches.
I didn`t mind, because I spent two days so far.
I started wrapping the rattan. I moisturized it with water
so I could wrap it without breaking.
I used wood glue, clamped it tight and let it dry over night.
The next day I tried to remove glue residues as good as possible
because these would have left nasty spots when staining.
I took much care but still, you can see some spots around the rattan. Damnit!
I finished with some clear coats.
The saya was completed.
Then I went for the tsuka.
unfortunately there was no way I could make the tsuka follow the curvature
of the saya, because the tang was straight.
So I curved one side of the tsuka, to make it look like it does.
I lacquered the real same with a very thin coat of black automotive paint.
The coat was so thin, when you held it at the sun you could see right through it.
The same, I must say is a really nice piece
I went folding hishigamis out of paper and stretching the ito.
When I started wrapping I realized the hishigamis were to wide.
damnit again!
But at this point it was already too late, I had already started.
At some pints you can still see the hishigamis beneath the ito.
I spend a little more time trying to tuck them in again
so now it looks a little better then shown in the photos
I don`t know why, but I kind of messed the tsukamaki up.
I am not satisfied with it, but at least it is rock hard and tight
which is what I wanted for sure, because I am going to use this thing.
Some diamonds are uneven and the end knot is on the wrong side.
I highlighted the fuchikashira with some gold paint.
These came out looking really nice.
I like how the rattan got stained and looks totally natural
and complements the red silk ito
that got a really classy look due to the black same.
Here are some Pics:
Tsukamaki and rattan Ura-side
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00734.JPGTsukamaki and rattan Omote side:
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00735.JPG#2
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00736.JPG#3
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00741.JPGTop view
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00744.JPGa little further away
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00747.JPGTsukamaki from above
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00750.JPGkashira
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00757.JPGfuchi
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00758.JPGcomplete
lesslemming.le.ohost.de/PK%20Plus/DSC00773.JPGOverall it came out... good.
Maybe I don`t like it, because I just finished it
and have to take more time to grow a custom to it.
thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it.
Maybe you get encouraged to do your own custom work.
At least this is a great example that not everything will always go well and sometimes you have to admit you didn`t get it the way you imagined it.