Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 19, 2022 19:54:50 GMT
Looking to get a Handachi. The amount I'm willing to spend is 1300, and would like your guys' input. Option 1, and my preferred option is to have my huawei remounted into handachi koshirae. I have contacted Fred lohman co. About this and i estimate it will cost upwards of 1500. My other option is to purchase this handachi from dragon sword(same one zsey used to carry) swordcn.com/product/handachi-halftachiAnd see if they can customize the ito and everything to my specifications. My main worry is that they won't be able to switch out the ito for silk and I'll have to settle for fake silk.
Which option do you guys think I should take?
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Post by Drunk Merchant on Oct 19, 2022 20:22:43 GMT
Handachi and tachi koshirae have way more points of failure than standard uchigatana koshirae. Production, even from top sellers can have faults. That’s why some top sellers say they’re backing off from them. Too much risk for a tiny flaw and an angry customer.
Lohman is possible but honestly it’s such a massive expense that I would only bother for things like that dremelled but otherwise still nice pre sengoku bizen I talk about.
Would probably just get uchigatana koshirae; momoyama style though since much easier to maintain.
You can try to buy one and fit it but that’s like an organ transplant. I wonder if a copper smith could modify your fittings. Make friends with one and ask.
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Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 19, 2022 20:27:52 GMT
Handachi and tachi koshirae have way more points of failure than standard uchigatana koshirae. Production, even from top sellers can have faults. That’s why some top sellers say they’re backing off from them. Too much risk for a tiny flaw and an angry customer. Lohman is possible but honestly it’s such a massive expense that I would only bother for things like that dremelled but otherwise still nice pre sengoku bizen I talk about. Would probably just get uchigatana koshirae; momoyama style though since much easier to maintain. You can try to buy one and fit it but that’s like an organ transplant. Yeah I've also considered trying to do it myself, but handachi koshirae seems much harder to do than uchigatana koshirae, combined with the fact that I've never done it before.
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Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 19, 2022 20:36:23 GMT
Also contacted zsey asking if they would still be able to make the one they had listed for me. It seems my only other option is motohara, and I don't have the budget for one of those currently.
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Post by Drunk Merchant on Oct 19, 2022 22:27:39 GMT
Maybe you can buy handachi parts and see if they fit? I have a bucket of low grade gendai and late edo fittings like sepa, habaki and some fuchi and kashira. Maybe see if you can lacquer them on?
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Post by jyamada on Oct 20, 2022 0:58:39 GMT
If you buy fittings, make sure they're same size or preferably larger than the stock fuchi/kashira on your Huawei. It's hard to find good handachi fittings that are sized for modern blades with larger nakago and blade width.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Oct 20, 2022 23:08:46 GMT
Depending of the type of handachi koshirae you are planning to have it might be possible to modify your current koshirae for the new fittings but still it would be almost like a total remount, and quite costly. Of course another option would be getting a totally fresh koshirae made for your Huawei and you would keep your current one intact. Even though I do think Huawei makes very nice blades, I would not spend 1500$ for the koshirae of one. Now that USD is extremely strong against JPY. I would look into Japan, and getting a somewhat decent blade in decent handachi koshirae. For 300,000Y you could get something like this: giheiya.com/product/02-1478/Of course I understand you might be looking into getting a sword for martial arts use and not an antique. Now I do not know how much Motohara blades cost as their website doesn't seem to have prices (I've seen some numbers thrown on the forum) but given how low the JPY is against the dollar currently, I think you could get a second hand Japanese made sword for martial arts use (nihonto) cheaper than a Motohara.
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Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 28, 2022 16:01:10 GMT
Just received word back from lohman co., and they quoted new koshirae at around 1500(less than i thought it would be)
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George
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Post by George on Oct 28, 2022 16:18:06 GMT
Just received word back from lohman co., and they quoted new koshirae at around 1500(less than i thought it would be) It's not worth it bro. Listen to Jussi: "Even though I do think Huawei makes very nice blades, I would not spend 1500$ for the koshirae of one." I think in the long run you'll regret spending $1,500 on a Chinese sword. I know I did. I made the same mistake in my own sword journey. You spend that money, then look back and think "damn, I could have started with a much better quality blade/foundation (or even antique that has real value) for that money." Then you really feel like you ripped yourself off... Unless you're happy to spend $$$$ on swords all the time. Then who cares, you do you.
You're looking at "wasting" $1,500 on a AT THE MOST $800 blade (the blade is not worth the full $800 either). That is like putting a Ferrari engine in a go-cart.
Go the Nihonto. Cut with your Huawei and keep it as is. Then you have the best of both worlds. None of us should really be riding horses into battle *cough* tatami, so you don't really NEED to be cutting with a Handachi (I know it's not like a real Tachi but you get my point).
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Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 28, 2022 16:25:15 GMT
Just received word back from lohman co., and they quoted new koshirae at around 1500(less than i thought it would be) It's not worth it bro. Listen to Jussi: "Even though I do think Huawei makes very nice blades, I would not spend 1500$ for the koshirae of one." I think in the long run you'll regret spending $1,500 on a Chinese sword. I know I did. I made the same mistake in my own sword journey. You spend that money, then look back and think "damn, I could have started with a much better quality blade/foundation (or even antique that has real value) for that money." Then you really feel like you ripped yourself off... Unless you're happy to spend $$$$ on swords all the time. Then who cares, you do you.
You're looking at "wasting" $1,500 on a AT THE MOST $800 blade (the blade is not worth the full $800 either). That is like putting a Ferrari engine in a go-cart.
Go the Nihonto. Cut with your Huawei and keep it as is. Then you have the best of both worlds. None of us should really be riding horses into battle *cough* tatami, so you don't really NEED to be cutting with a Handachi (I know it's not like a real Tachi but you get my point).
I didnt say i was going to go with it. But on one hand, the huawei is a sword i can safely use for kata and tameshigiri. At 1500, there arent that many nihonto out there that you could do that with. To add to this, what I would consider a direct upgrade to a huawei would be a motohara, which is something you cant get until you go into the 2k+ range. My main alternative to this idea of mine is just going with a zsey. Also i dont have the money together for either option currently, so this is all just planning ahead. Still might just save up for the handachi jussi listed because of how much the yen has devalued. Hopefully someone else doesnt get it before I have the money lol
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Yagoro
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Post by Yagoro on Oct 28, 2022 16:26:39 GMT
also my main priority sword wise right now is getting a better wakizashi
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Post by ambulocetus on Nov 7, 2022 4:52:22 GMT
Yea, it's probably not the smartest investment, but if you really want a Handachi, I say go for it. You'll probably never make back your money if you sell it, but if it makes you happy, that's what it's all about. I would shop around for decent fittings and then send it out to one of the other American Togishi. Lohman does great work, but he's definitely not the cheapest. There's a lot of crappy zinc alloy fittings on Ebay, but if you keep your eyes open you can run across some decent stuff at a good price. I lurked on Ebay for like 2 years and eventually I found some great Chinese made fittings that were difficult to tell apart from real Japanese fittings. You just have to be patient and careful.
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