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Post by sekki on Oct 24, 2021 8:56:46 GMT
Hi Guys, I am quite new to the scene and still finding my footing with alot of the stuff that comes with a Katana. I will be buying one shortly (either dragon king or Hanwei) but my question is can I swap parts out which I dont like the look of? the Tsuba, Menuki and the fuchi kashira are the main things I would like to swap but I dont want to get ahead of myself and hurt what I have purchased. any advise would be great I would just get a custom Katana but I dont know a reliable source in the UK so on that note if anyone knows one I'd appreciate that into too!
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pgandy
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Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Oct 24, 2021 13:35:38 GMT
Welcome to the forum.
I’m sure someone will chime in knowing more than me. Generally speaking one size does not fit all. How skilful you are will have some bearing on what you can accomplish and some parts will be easier to swap than others. The tsuba will probably the easiest. As for the menuki, this will require rewrapping the ito, no easy task. You will need some basic tools such as an assortment of files, sandpaper, shim materials, and some glue if you are willing to cheat a little. As you obviously have no experience along these lines my advice would be either to buy a sub $100 katana (making sure the tsuka is not epoxied on), with the intent to use it as a learning tool and use it as such. Or buy your Dragon King or Manwei and accept it at face value. Good luck at whatever you decide.
But then there’s a third option and that is do both of the above. I think the sceond option above would be your best choice.
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tera
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Posts: 1,601
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Post by tera on Oct 24, 2021 16:10:57 GMT
How specific are you about the replacement fuchi, kashira, and menuki? If you have specific parts in mind, those components would probably require a rewrap of the ito and possibly hand-fitting to the tsuka wooden core. You might be able to swap the tsuba yourself with only minor fitting, but that is hard to say until you have one in-hand. The reason I asked the first question is there are Etsy and Amazon sellers offering complete tsuka. The fittings look like cast alloy and they may or may not have used hishigami (paper triangles) when doing the wrap. Given most sell for $25 to $35, I strongly doubt they used hishigami and the overall quality is likely much lower than what would come on a Dragon King or Hanwei. I only mention this in case you wanted to keep your original tsuka and tsuba unaltered and completely swap out the tsuka. The main benefit here is getting to choose same and ito color. An Esty seller "might" be able to accomodate fuchi, kashira, and menuki requests. Now, the best answer in my book is to reach out to Cottontail Customs. He is a member here and is well reputed for his tsuka rewrap services. He can guide you to reputable vendors of the parts you want to change and then install them on your existing tsuka core (if it is deemed serviceable). The only downside there is you have permanently altered the original tsuka. While an upgrade, your tastes may differ from someone else's so a more personalized sword may be harder to resell if need be. I am saving and shopping for fuchi, kashira, and menuki myself to send a tsuka off to Cottontail Customs myself. Designing and 3d printing my tsuba is the slowest part of my process, but I have a specific design in mind, so it will be one-of-a-kind. www.cottontailcustoms.com/services/
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Post by sekki on Oct 25, 2021 8:25:20 GMT
Thanks for the info teraIm quite specific and I want to keep this as my own, I don't intend on selling it later down the line I want it to be unique to myself. So what I understand is I can get the parts, send it over and they will build it for me? Do I just need the Tsuba, Menuki, tsuka and the fuchi kashira? Also do you know the pricing? Thanks for the info I really appreciate the help
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tera
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Posts: 1,601
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Post by tera on Oct 25, 2021 16:23:22 GMT
Neither Hanwei nor Dragon king do custom work to my knowledge, but you could buy a stock model from one of them, purchase the specific parts you want for the tsuka, and send it off to the appropriate customizer. I mentioned Cottontail Customs because he is well known for quality rewrap and (if necessary) reshaping of the "handle" (or tsuka). The parts needed depend on your desired customization, but the fuchi and kashira are the metal pieces at either end of the tsuka, the menuki the decorative pieces (usually) found under the ito wrap on both sides, and the tsuba the round guard-like piece. I'd ask them directly, but I'm pretty sure you couldn't (or wouldn't want to) re-use the ito itself. You could buy and supply that or let them help you select it (cotton, synthetic silk, leather, nubuck, authentic Japanese silk? What color?). The same (ray skin) underneath the ito may be fine to re-use, or you could opt to upgrade that, too. Now, since everything is being hand-fit this is a good opportunity to change the habaki and/or seppa if you want as well. I'm pretty sure they can fit habaki, but contact them to be sure. So, bare minimum, based on your list, it sounds like the shopping list would be: Tsuba Fuchi Kashira Menuki Ito (Cost of work plus shipping to/from) To this you might also add: Habaki Seppa Same (if the original isn't well cut or of good quality) Reshaping (if the tsuka needs work so the ito knot doesn't stand out or to add an hourglass shape to a straight tsuka/slim down a fat one). Hanwei has a reputation for slightly oversized tsuka. This may not matter depending on you hand size and school of practice. That said, my highest quality sword is my ancient Hanwei Iaito. I do wish the tsuka was less chunky, but fit, finish, and quality of materials are all very good. Of course, I've been talking up rewrap services, but it's best to contact who you would have do the work directly. They can explain services offered and fees. They will also likely be able to recommend sources of parts for you to select from. You could hunt down antique components on ebay (buyer beware), buy from quality Japanese sources like Seido Shop, go for less expensive casts like Hyper-Cafe, or have them 3D printed (search Shapeways for Stef, who is also a member here).
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