Zen_Hydra
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Born with a heart full of neutrality
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Dec 3, 2020 14:23:02 GMT
I may end up moving this to the customization forum, but it has equal relevance in this one. The components are just now starting to be delivered, and the US Thanksgiving holiday shopping discounts helped make this undertaking significantly less painful. After seeing and handling my previous LK Chen swords (a Striking Eagle Chu jian, and Heavenly Horse Han dao), my partner asked me to recommend a model of jian sized more appropriately for her significantly smaller stature. We ended up deciding on LK Chen's Magnificent Chu jian, and knowing how much I enjoy modding things, she asked me to customize it for her to display in her home office (along with a similarly decorated short spear). Her preference is for me to make them over in white and silver, with a Moroccan trellis/quatrefoil pattern featured. My current intentions are to rewrap the hilt in leather, with the quatrefoil pattern cut into it and painted silver (on a white leather background), and then overwrap it with some repurposed silver Japanese silk obi-jime for cordage in a pattern with exposed "windows" to the leather beneath. The scabbard will be stripped, primed, and repainted white. I will paint the quatrefoil pattern in silver in approximately the same region as the original red and gold "phoenix" pattern. The fittings will be silver plated, or leafed. A second Japanese silk obi-jime will be used to replace the cordage on the scabbard, and I'll execute some decorative knotting if I have enough material to do so. I'll be updating this thread as I achieve project milestones, or just feel like it. lkchensword.com/magnificent-chu-jian       ...more...to...follow.... Update for 05 November 2021: This is a relatively small update. I've been working on multiple projects simultaneously, and health stuff has definitely slowed me down. I've gotten the scabbard to a point where it is just about ready to be lacquered. The trellis pattern didn't end up quite as well defined as I would have liked, but I feel like it's close enough...and I think it's still attractive in its own way. I also quite like the white and silver color pairing now that I'm seeing it in actual application.     There are some white blotches around the trellis pattern which are places where the paint is still wet from being touched up. They should dry to the same flat white color of the rest of the scabbard. I can hardly wait to get to the point where the fittings have been electroplated silver, and the handle wrap is ready to go on. I think this is going to look pretty sharp (puns!) once it's all assembled. Attachments:
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Dec 3, 2020 14:31:32 GMT
Oh, this is gonna be awesome....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 0:16:27 GMT
You gonna do the silver plating? If so, tell me how you did it. If not, tell me what it costs lol. I wanna silver plate danus blade. If not Danu, than maybe my dagger/athame
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Dec 4, 2020 7:10:08 GMT
You gonna do the silver plating? If so, tell me how you did it. If not, tell me what it costs lol. I wanna silver plate danus blade. If not Danu, than maybe my dagger/athame My current intention is to electroplate silver on to the brass fittings. |
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Post by legacyofthesword on Dec 4, 2020 8:34:42 GMT
I'm always a big fan of your customizations and frankenweapons. You come up with all kinds of fantastic yet functional stuff.
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Post by Aeliascent on Dec 17, 2020 17:25:54 GMT
Loveee Can't wait to see what you do with it!
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Dec 17, 2020 18:38:49 GMT
I'm still waiting on the sword to arrive, but I've picked up just about everything I need.
This silver electroplating is going to be my first effort at electroplating, and my first time handling potassium cyanide...so that will be fun.
If I suddenly go radio silent for an extended period of time, I may have forgotten to turn on the fume hood.
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Post by Aeliascent on Dec 22, 2020 16:48:04 GMT
I'm also in the process of modding mine, though not nearly as thoroughly as yours. My scabbard started cracking due to the change in humidity, so I figured now is a good time to wrap it in rattan and maybe change the handle/scabbard wrappings.
I reinforced the lip of the scabbard with polyester thread and superglue, and went over that with rattan. A little trick I learned from a Japanese bowyer :3
I'm keeping the lacquer because I kinda like it. If someone can put urushi over it, that would be cool, but as far as I know, the lacquer is very similar to urushi. I don't think it's done nearly as well though.
I'll post photos when I'm done in its own thread!
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Post by naue on Dec 26, 2020 20:32:17 GMT
I'm still waiting on the sword to arrive, but I've picked up just about everything I need. This silver electroplating is going to be my first effort at electroplating, and my first time handling potassium cyanide...so that will be fun. If I suddenly go radio silent for an extended period of time, I may have forgotten to turn on the fume hood.
Stay safe during customization!
Would be cool to see pictures of the process too, I'm interested in the entire construction of the sword's hilt.
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jan 14, 2021 14:01:31 GMT
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Post by pellius on Jan 14, 2021 14:46:22 GMT
Cool project
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Mar 17, 2021 18:11:41 GMT
After disassembling the hilt (which was not a fun or easy process) I wasn't surprised to find an excessive amount of epoxy, but there was also a white plaster-like substance present I am unfamiliar with. It had been applied to the pommel where it fits into the handle, and to a lesser degree the guard where the outer edge of the blade's shoulders would otherwise contact the copper alloy. It was quite difficult to remove (requiring various abrasive bits and a rotary tool), and significantly harder and more durable than the plaster it resembled. Neither the Striking Eagle jian, nor the Heavenly Horse dao I purchased almost a year prior to the Magnificent Chu jian used this substance in their construction.
If anyone knows what this plaster-like adhesive is, please let me know. It was only after it had been removed that it occurred to me that the resulting particulates might be toxic. I would assume not, and I'm mostly curious about what it might be, because it seems like something I may want to use on a future project.
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Post by alientude on Mar 17, 2021 18:16:53 GMT
I have no clue what it might be, but you might be able to ask LK Chen themselves. I watched several of Matthew Jensen's reviews of LK Chen swords, and when he had issues with pieces on the scabbards coming off, LK Chen sent him some epoxy he could apply, and they said they were going to improve the quality of their adhesive. Seems like they're pretty willing to be communicative, although for all I know, that's simply because he's on Youtube.
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Zen_Hydra
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Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Mar 17, 2021 19:13:29 GMT
I have no clue what it might be, but you might be able to ask LK Chen themselves. I watched several of Matthew Jensen's reviews of LK Chen swords, and when he had issues with pieces on the scabbards coming off, LK Chen sent him some epoxy he could apply, and they said they were going to improve the quality of their adhesive. Seems like they're pretty willing to be communicative, although for all I know, that's simply because he's on Youtube. I already did so, but considering the time zone difference between our locations, I figured I might get a quicker answer posting about it here. |
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Mar 17, 2021 19:21:09 GMT
JB Weld maybe?
I've read some folks add it to keep the piece from rattling when they don't have a really tight fit.
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Mar 17, 2021 19:25:40 GMT
JB Weld maybe? I've read some folks add it to keep the piece from rattling when they don't have a really tight fit. The JB Weld I've used before has always been some shade of gray. This stuff is snow white. I'm not saying your wrong though. |
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Post by naue on Mar 22, 2021 5:21:28 GMT
After disassembling the hilt (which was not a fun or easy process) I wasn't surprised to find an excessive amount of epoxy, but there was also a white plaster-like substance present I am unfamiliar with. It had been applied to the pommel where it fits into the handle, and to a lesser degree the guard where the outer edge of the blade's shoulders would otherwise contact the copper alloy. It was quite difficult to remove (requiring various abrasive bits and a rotary tool), and significantly harder and more durable than the plaster it resembled. Neither the Striking Eagle jian, nor the Heavenly Horse dao I purchased almost a year prior to the Magnificent Chu jian used this substance in their construction. If anyone knows what this plaster-like adhesive is, please let me know. It was only after it had been removed that it occurred to me that the resulting particulates might be toxic. I would assume not, and I'm mostly curious about what it might be, because it seems like something I may want to use on a future project.
Ugh, and here I thought the double peg construction would allow me to just unwrap the cord and disassemble it like a katana.
Glues may well have been used historically, but the amount of glue you describe just feels like compensation for mediocre work on the hilt.
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Mar 22, 2021 12:16:46 GMT
After disassembling the hilt (which was not a fun or easy process) I wasn't surprised to find an excessive amount of epoxy, but there was also a white plaster-like substance present I am unfamiliar with. It had been applied to the pommel where it fits into the handle, and to a lesser degree the guard where the outer edge of the blade's shoulders would otherwise contact the copper alloy. It was quite difficult to remove (requiring various abrasive bits and a rotary tool), and significantly harder and more durable than the plaster it resembled. Neither the Striking Eagle jian, nor the Heavenly Horse dao I purchased almost a year prior to the Magnificent Chu jian used this substance in their construction. If anyone knows what this plaster-like adhesive is, please let me know. It was only after it had been removed that it occurred to me that the resulting particulates might be toxic. I would assume not, and I'm mostly curious about what it might be, because it seems like something I may want to use on a future project.
Ugh, and here I thought the double peg construction would allow me to just unwrap the cord and disassemble it like a katana.
Glues may well have been used historically, but the amount of glue you describe just feels like compensation for mediocre work on the hilt.
The blades are good. The tangs are good. The cast fittings are good. The wood of the handles is incongruously poor, the amount of various epoxies is out of control, and it seems like a short cut to making properly fitting grips. I had to destroy the wood of my Striking Eagle jian to remove the handle, and so I'm making a new one for it out of some left over bass wood I had from my shield project a while back. |
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Post by Turok on Mar 24, 2021 4:27:25 GMT
Can you please share a picture of the tang and glue? I would like to see how it's assembled.
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Mar 24, 2021 5:13:57 GMT
I can show pictures of the tang and fittings, but I have already removed the JB Weld equivalent.
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