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Post by Ari M. on May 2, 2021 3:01:51 GMT
Hi team, long time no see. (: Very pleased that this site is still alive and kicking! I've recently acquired a very large and heavy katana in shirasaya and am in the process of mounting it. It has a nagasa of 761mm (30") and slight sori. At the habaki it's 9.3mm thick and 37mm wide, at the kissaki 7mm and 26mm respectively. The bare blade weighs approx. 1240 grams (2 3/4 lbs). It's a late Edo period blade and appears to be signed by two students of the Gassan school named Tomoasa and Yoshitsugu. They don't seem to be notable enough to have any of their own entries on online databases. The main appeal of this sword for me was its long length and massive proportions. There is even a bit of ubu ha remaining so it probably hasn't seen much use in its life. Also it's in an old but still attractive polish so I won't have to constantly worry about scuffing it up while I'm working on it. The shirasaya was nothing special, bit beat up externally but structurally very sound and well carved. I split them open to clean them out and adjust the fit of the channels, as well as to plug the old mekugi ana and redrill the pilot holes more precisely. The nakago has a hikae mekugi ana which I decided to make use of. The final drilling and tapering will have to wait until I have all the fittings on hand as well as some delrin/acetal rod (None of the susudake pieces I have are thick enough for the diameter of either mekugi ana). From roughly spacing out the diamonds it looks like I can have them enter from alternate sides which seems ideal. At this stage I've profiled the saya and wrapped it in rattan fully. I've also roughly profiled the tsuka and established the flow from the saya that I want.   Because of the dimensions of the blade and corresponding koiguchi size it was impossible to get reproduction or antique fittings to fit. I've made a set of plain fuchi and kashira as well as some hishi motif menuki out of 1.5mm copper sheet. The fuchi is 50mm across its longest measurement! The kashira is 45mm across, and the menuki a more modest 39mm long each. I still have to make the seppa out of the same copper sheet. The tsuba will be a plain ko katchushi style, 95mm across and 3mm thick, but it's still some months away from shipping. The overall koshirae will be quite sparse and utilitarian.
For the next steps I'm mainly waiting for pieces of buffalo horn to arrive so that I can make the koiguchi, kurikata, and kojiri (although I'm tempted to make a rounded copper kojiri instead). I've not really ever had a satisfactory level of hardness from aerosol lacquers in the past so this time around I will try a two-part marine epoxy resin for the saya, same, and tsuka ito. Thanks for reading and I'll keep this thread updated. (: Ari
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Post by Paul Muad’Dib on May 2, 2021 11:29:33 GMT
Look great so far. Did you use some kind of epoxy on the fuchi and menuki? Or is it some kind of solder (doesn’t look like it).
Edit: btw, that is a beast of a blade. Sounds like a dotanuki. Surprised a blade that big was made during edo.
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Post by Ari M. on May 2, 2021 12:33:05 GMT
Cheers I used a hard silver brazing paste (specs say the one I have flows at about 788°C (1450°F)). (: It did take a couple of practice runs to get the joints nice and tight on the fuchi as I'd never done any brazing before.
As to the size of the blade: from what little research I've done it seems there was some demand for this kind of thing during the Bakumatsu period (over 75cm, heavy, less sori)?
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Post by Arlequin on May 4, 2021 23:22:17 GMT
Hi team, long time no see. (: Very pleased that this site is still alive and kicking! I've recently acquired a very large and heavy katana in shirasaya and am in the process of mounting it. It has a nagasa of 761mm (30") and slight sori. At the habaki it's 9.3mm thick and 37mm wide, at the kissaki 7mm and 26mm respectively. The bare blade weighs approx. 1240 grams (2 3/4 lbs). It's a late Edo period blade and appears to be signed by two students of the Gassan school named Tomoasa and Yoshitsugu. They don't seem to be notable enough to have any of their own entries on online databases. The main appeal of this sword for me was its long length and massive proportions. There is even a bit of ubu ha remaining so it probably hasn't seen much use in its life. Also it's in an old but still attractive polish so I won't have to constantly worry about scuffing it up while I'm working on it. The shirasaya was nothing special, bit beat up externally but structurally very sound and well carved. I split them open to clean them out and adjust the fit of the channels, as well as to plug the old mekugi ana and redrill the pilot holes more precisely. The nakago has a hikae mekugi ana which I decided to make use of. The final drilling and tapering will have to wait until I have all the fittings on hand as well as some delrin/acetal rod (None of the susudake pieces I have are thick enough for the diameter of either mekugi ana). From roughly spacing out the diamonds it looks like I can have them enter from alternate sides which seems ideal. At this stage I've profiled the saya and wrapped it in rattan fully. I've also roughly profiled the tsuka and established the flow from the saya that I want. Because of the dimensions of the blade and corresponding koiguchi size it was impossible to get reproduction or antique fittings to fit. I've made a set of plain fuchi and kashira as well as some hishi motif menuki out of 1.5mm copper sheet. The fuchi is 50mm across its longest measurement! The kashira is 45mm across, and the menuki a more modest 39mm long each. I still have to make the seppa out of the same copper sheet. The tsuba will be a plain ko katchushi style, 95mm across and 3mm thick, but it's still some months away from shipping. The overall koshirae will be quite sparse and utilitarian.
For the next steps I'm mainly waiting for pieces of buffalo horn to arrive so that I can make the koiguchi, kurikata, and kojiri (although I'm tempted to make a rounded copper kojiri instead). I've not really ever had a satisfactory level of hardness from aerosol lacquers in the past so this time around I will try a two-part marine epoxy resin for the saya, same, and tsuka ito. Thanks for reading and I'll keep this thread updated. (: Ari
Beautiful blade. How much did it cost you? how long is the Kissaki? I'm definitly internested in finding a similar blade by these guys lol. IF not, i may be stealing your specs to have a custom made. |
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Post by Ari M. on May 5, 2021 10:11:25 GMT
The kissaki length is a hair over 63mm. (: The sword was listed for 700000JPY on Aoi-Art so it was definitely no bargain when you could buy a fully mounted shinsakuto for less, and I still had to pay GST on top of that when it arrived. But I just didn't know when a blade this big and healthy would come up for sale again so I went for it (It does have Hozon papers so that's a plus). The plan is to do something like a Satsuma Rebellion style wrap which I think fits the style and period of the sword.
The mei on the nakago: 月山貞吉 門人 友朝 吉次 両 作 |
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Post by JH Lee on May 9, 2021 13:49:15 GMT
Very nice sword and great work so far on the fittings! I can't speak to the wisdom of using old shirasaya wood to make new mounts, but looking forward to further progress.
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Post by Ari M. on May 9, 2021 22:29:33 GMT
Definitely not ideal (hence the rattan wrap to reinforce the saya), but they don't seem to have any rot and probably made at the same time the sword was last polished so not too old. My channel carving skills are only so-so anyways and it's currently pretty much impossible to source suitable honoki blanks (out of stock everywhere). So I'm making do. (: Hopefully some horn pieces will arrive this week so I can finish the saya.
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Post by radbrad1984 on May 10, 2021 17:15:08 GMT
Thanks for posting this. Can't wait to see it finished. Love the copper koshire is awesome.
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Post by nebulatech on May 14, 2021 5:00:25 GMT
Nice, very nice sword, and good workmanship on your part! Regarding the use of "marine" epoxy, great choice. There is an important finish step to consider. The epoxy itself is not UV resistant and not considered a topcoat finish. ( www.westsystem.com/instruction-manuals/ )The recommended practice is to coat over it with something. Since you aren't satisfied with the durability of spray lacquer (you shouldn't be), I would recommend a catalyzed coating. My preference is automotive 2 part urethane gloss clearcoat. This stuff isn't really hard to mix, but in small batches it's often easier to catalyze by weight on a postal or food scale. It's usually packaged at a viscosity to spray with a spraygun, but you can brush it if you prefer. Automotive urethane is loaded with UV inhibitors which will protect everything underneath. Done properly, 2-3 coats of clearcoat over epoxy will last 10 years in direct sunlight on a boat. Nothing else comes close. If you use this stuff, wear a mask! 2k urethane contains polyisocyanate - very nasty! You could also use a conversion varnish. This is used in interior cabinetry and furniture. Car paint you can buy in quarts. Furniture coatings, probably a gallon is the smallest, plus hardener. This makes the car paint option cheapest, and its better anyway. Sorry for the long winded post. If you have questions, pm me and we can jump on a call |
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Post by Ari M. on May 15, 2021 4:23:11 GMT
Appreciate the advice! (: In that case I will probably invest in compressor spray gun at some point. I've applied a few coats of the epoxy as sealer and sanded it back to even out the grooves and other imperfections and have been very impressed with how simple it was to apply and how hard it cured.
All the blocks of horn I've ordered are here so it's time to work on the suigyu fittings starting with the koiguchi (one of my favourite jobs on a mount).
Also prepped the mekugi to the correct taper (: (Delrin for the primary, brass for the hikae-mekugi).
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Post by Ari M. on May 16, 2021 1:47:09 GMT
A razor saw is great for working on the suigyu fittings, along with a drill and then needle rasps and files. Doesn't need to be polished smooth as they'll be getting sealed with resin. (:
This small tenon helps to register the kojiri properly during glue-up.
You're supposed to leave all the saya fittings off during lacquering but I prefer to fix them on now. The koiguchi especially helps to protect the fragile web of wood from damage while working on the saya.
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Post by Paul Muad’Dib on May 16, 2021 3:12:06 GMT
Man this is looking awesome.
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Post by nebulatech on May 16, 2021 3:30:28 GMT
Excellent craftsmanship!
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Post by JH Lee on May 16, 2021 22:49:50 GMT
Delrin AND brass mekugi?? Yeah, that tsuka isn't going ANYWHERE that's for sure! 👍🏻🤣
Keep the updates coming please! What an amazing thread!
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Post by nebulatech on May 17, 2021 3:54:19 GMT
You can tell Ari is a craftsman. Only a true artisan would make that mortise and tenon joint that nobody will ever see, and isn't strictly necessary. I have been seeing this work in my mind's eye for the last several days. Just can't get it off of my mind. Truly remarkable. Makes me ashamed to share my work.
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Post by Ari M. on May 17, 2021 7:12:59 GMT
Craftsman/artisan is being far too generous. (: I owe everything I've picked up so far from the regulars back in the day like Frankthebunny and from reading through all the masters at their crafts who were kind enough to share some of their knowledge online (like Thomas Buck, Ford Hallam, and the late Keith Larman) and various other sources thanks to the wonderful internet. So I try to return the favour by posting as much as I can when I do a project. I hope that when I finish this mount despite its amateur nature it will be able to do some justice to the blade.
Here's my Huawei katana that started as a shirasaya conversion also back in 2014/2015. It's gone through 3 tsuka and maybe half a dozen saya refinishes since then (this most recent look was completed just this year), but it's been an invaluable piece for me to practice on. Some things worked well, some not so well.
And here's the first proper nice coat of epoxy that I've tinted a very dark brown-black applied with a foam brush and then tipped with a regular bristle brush. The epoxy levels out wonderfully on its own. It's also close to winter here and the ambient temperatures allow for a very long working time which helps a lot.
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Post by nebulatech on May 17, 2021 14:06:35 GMT
That looks great! When I epoxied saya in the past, I guess I put it on too thick, but it always is too thick at the bottom and there is a lot of sanding involved. Epoxy levels pretty well, plus if you're going to clearcoat it, you need to sand it anyway.
Great job coating the kurigata as well.
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Post by Ari M. on May 22, 2021 2:32:18 GMT
5 coats applied and will need to wait a week for it to cure completely before sanding lightly and varnishing/lacquering. The wood does appear through the finish in strong light but I'm not bothered that it's not 100% opaque and I can always adjust by tinting the clear coat.
I ordered some 3mm brass plate that I was going to use as a placeholder for the tsuba, but after having it in hand I decided to just go ahead and make a tsuba out of it. It's a plain octagon with udenukio ana and measures about 100mm across, weighs 200 grams. The nakago ana hasn't been filed out to final size yet. I like it enough that I'll probably end up using this for the mount instead. Need to make some seppa once the saya is cured and then start fitting up the tsuka.
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Post by Paul Muad’Dib on May 22, 2021 3:00:30 GMT
Plain. Simple. Elegant.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2021 4:58:46 GMT
Daaaaaaamn. Nice work. That scabbard looks phenomenal
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