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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2008 16:52:02 GMT
I'm gonna refit this sword I just bought from a Chinese dealer. cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-FoldedSteel-SanMai-Cut4BambooEdge-2273_W0QQitemZ120215205525QQihZ002QQcategoryZ43338QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemI really liked the saya and the blade, but I'm gonna repaint it in black gloss instead of the red half. I'm gonna keep it simple and clean, black and silver. Got a silver habaki, menukis, silver seppa and black leather ito on the way, but I need a tsuba and fuchi/kashira to go with the clean, low profile look. I want a mokko tsuba like this: Clean ridge and textured surface, the Cheness Mokko 3 has a similar tsuba. and Higo fuchi/kashira like this which I'm gonna roughen up to get a texture: I've found these at Swordstore, but the price for all is $360, far above my budget. I would be very grateful if anyone can point me in the direction where I can find similar at a lower price.
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Sept 7, 2008 19:03:14 GMT
Shadow of leaves can do something similar for $190. Tsuba on page two of Hanmade iron tsubas... not the same but may work..
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Sept 7, 2008 19:10:20 GMT
Oh , wow man... I don't want to seem rude... but i wouldn't spend more that maybe $50 total remounting that. If that. That guy has IDs all over eBay: badtrack,katana1980,djspirit,Makahala Warrior...I've had 3 swords from him... Does the expression "polishing a turd " mean anything to you? Again , sorry, not my intention to be rude.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2008 21:19:24 GMT
No offense taken, thanks for the tip! Did you buy any of his more expensive swords, and what is wrong with them? How are they compared to a $200 shop bought sword besides the obviously loose quality control and the lack of talent for tsuka-maki? I'm interested in your experience, so send me a PM if you want to. I went and bought a Bushido Oda Nobunaga in a shop here. Paid $500. Would have costed me $300 if I bought it from the US, but noone could ship it this far north. Bought two $20 sword from a chinese seller, and the build quality was even better than the Bushido. Even cut hanging paper well. The next two swords from this seller was another story with bad fitting sayas, loose habakis and scrap same. My experience so far is that you can get a good sword, or be unlucky and get a scrappy one. This is typical in other chinese products, I've imported fishing gear from China and had to throw away 25%. That is why I contaced the seller before the auction to tell him that I might be interested in bying more depending on the quality of the product and service. Might get me a good one.
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Sept 8, 2008 12:28:10 GMT
You may have gotten a good one... I bought 2 of the more expensive ones... One had no heat treat on the blade at all, and bent on a water bottle cut... The other, well I never tested the blade, but it had CHEAP fittings... The blade looked somewhat better....
As you say... it may be hit or miss, and quality may vary piece to piece
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2008 15:24:13 GMT
Ichiban, I haven't used them, but others have here have bought cheap fittings from Artsfeng. A search for tsuba there came up with 375 items, maybe one of them would be good for you. Good Luck, hope you got a good one. Debbie
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2008 23:30:20 GMT
Yes, I've used Artsfeng a few times, but they can't help me here as their fittings are too elaborate. I might buy some and modify with my Dremel tool, but it will take a lot of work. And I probably won't be pleased. Well, I'll just keep on looking!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2008 8:37:58 GMT
I found it! Had to search japanese shops, but found this beauty at Yamato Bogudo. Also fit my budget with just past $100 for tsuba, Higo fuchi/kashira and silver seppa. Lots of nice fittings on their website, recommended!
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Sept 15, 2008 11:21:52 GMT
That looks very nice!!! Can you provide a link to the site? I can't find it
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2008 12:33:14 GMT
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Sept 15, 2008 17:08:21 GMT
Thank you,,, nice stuff there
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Post by 293master293 on Sept 15, 2008 21:43:28 GMT
$100 for that tsuba? I am sorry, but that is kind of a rip-off (In my opinion). You can get plenty of good tsubas at Cheness. None go over $30. www.chenessinc.com/parts.htm
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2008 0:29:42 GMT
You should probably read the thread more careful, Master239, and follow the links. $100+ for tsuba, fuchi/kashira and silver seppa. Where else do you get quality japanese made fittings for that price? Not from Cheness. ;D
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Post by 293master293 on Sept 18, 2008 2:16:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2008 1:09:01 GMT
The sword I linked to in the first post arrived from China today, but I was not pleased with neither the blade nor the tsuka. The blade was too straight and had no good polish, and the kissaki was nothing to boast about. The tsuka was fat, straight and boring. The saya was better than I had thought though. I thought the ribbed effect came from gluing on a rattan band, but it is actually rings of wood removed from the saya itself. I decided to test the saya on another sword I had received from another promising chinese ebayer last week. This sword was light, had an overall beautiful shape and was a dream to handle. It fit OK, so I went on stripping the sword and refitting the new tsuba and fuchi/ kashira. I had to build up with rice paper to fit the fuchi, and the kashira had to be glued on. I'm very pleased with the result so far, and the sword is perfectly balanced and very agile. I'll have to make a new mekugi-ana and drill the existing a litlle bigger and fit new mekugis, but with a good drill that's no bother. Next will be to fit and glue on black same, and the ito will either be black silk or black leather. The habaki, seppa and menuki will be silver. I actually think the red half was quite cool, so I'll decide later if I'll keep it or pant the red half in black gloss with silver dragons or silver sakura like the tsuba. Another small project: A Kris Tanto III, I thought the tsuka was rather boring and a little too modern. I simply took a file and filed six grooves at both ends. Sanded and painted black gloss, don't know how many layers. A couple of layers of clear laquer to finish. I found a flower silver button at a store, which I worked on with my files and glued into the mekugi with epoxy glue. I was quite pleased with the result, though I probably won't use bad quality brushes that leaves hair again ;D :
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Oct 8, 2008 1:36:20 GMT
Outstanding work!!!
I really like the tsuba and higo fittings. Your wood and lacquer work is great... love the shape of that tsuka... that kris tanto sure looks better!!
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