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Post by ignatius on Apr 14, 2024 17:05:54 GMT
StudioGDT review of a DIY Saya semi-custom 1095 Differentially Hardened Katana from Ryansword.com This is a second part to the previous review of a RyanSword Ryan1335. The sword in this review was purchase with different tsukaito style, furniture and a Do It Yourself unfinished saya. This video explores the very untraditional usage of Cerakote to finish the saya. Why Cerakote? Having used it on firearms and accessories, it is an extremely durable finish. It is heavily resistant to moisture, oils and chemicals and the fact it is ceramic based makes it lubricious by nature, aiding in ease of movement within the obi without any addition gloss or lacquer type layers. Blasphemous? Maybe...Functional and affordable? 100% Blade Features Steel: 1095 Differentially Hardened Shape: Shinogi Zukuri Blade/Nagasa Length: 28.5” (without habaki) Sori: 1.1” Koshi Sori Kissaki: O-kissaki Yokote: Cosmetic Hamon: Irregular Polish: Mirror Edge: Sharp with Niku Handle/Tsuka Length: 12” Tsuka Shape: Haichi Tsukamaki: Hinerimaki Same: Full Wrap Ray Skin Tsuka-ito: Synthetic Silk Tsuba, Fuchi, Kashira: Brass with Silver and Gold Plating Menuki: "Silver Plated Copper" Habaki: Brass Seppa: Brass Koiguchi, Kurigata, Kojiri: Buffalo Horn Sageo: Heavy synthetic silk Where to purchase Cerakote C-Series (Air Cure) www.cerakote.com/shop/cerakot... Order and customize this exact blade here... www.ryansword.com/O-Kissaki-K... Link to Manufacturers socials Facebook: / ryanlongquan Instagram: / ryansworddotcom Youtube: / @jarismarvin Link to my Instagram page... / studiogdt
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 14, 2024 18:08:46 GMT
Good review. I’m curious about a couple of things, one being the final price with custom options, I may have missed it if you’ve already stated it.
Is it a geo yokote or cosmetic? How long is the nakago compared to the tsuka length? Were there any cracks or splits in the core? Same panels inlaid? What’s the ura side look like? Secondary bevel? Looked like a big grind spot on the kashira, any on the fuchi? What are the f&k made of? Tsuba? Did you use filler and a base coat primer before painting? Have you cut with it yet? Sorry for so many
A buffing wheel and a little polishing paste will make the horn parts shine like glass
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Post by ignatius on Apr 14, 2024 19:11:22 GMT
Good review. I’m curious about a couple of things, one being the final price with custom options, I may have missed it if you’ve already stated it. Is it a geo yokote or cosmetic? How long is the nakago compared to the tsuka length? Were there any cracks or splits in the core? Same panels inlaid? What’s the ura side look like? Secondary bevel? Looked like a big grind spot on the kashira, any on the fuchi? What are the f&k made of? Tsuba? Did you use filler and a base coat primer before painting? Have you cut with it yet? Sorry for so many A buffing wheel and a little polishing paste will make the horn parts shine like glass Lets see if I can hit all these… The base price is $297…the sword came with a full wrap standard (so no fee there) and there was no cost to request a longer tsuka and different wrap style. No cracks in the core. Nakago was just under 10.5 inches at its tip on a 12” tsuka. The fittings set was a $60 dollar upgrade and they are all brass, the unfinished saya a $65 dollar savings. So with shipping, total was $339, shipping was $47. Yokote is cosmetic. No secondary bevel I can see at least from a grind perspective, just Niku with the leaf like profile. The buffing on one end of the kashira was the only seen. Cerakote does not need a primer, it bonds to a prepared surface where microscopic valleys are beneficial. You apply directly to a roughed up surface (sanded or sandblasted) and once cured, it’s extremely permanent. I THINK I got them all? Lol
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Post by ignatius on Apr 14, 2024 19:12:02 GMT
Ah I have not cut with it yet!
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 14, 2024 20:36:06 GMT
Good review. I’m curious about a couple of things, one being the final price with custom options, I may have missed it if you’ve already stated it. Is it a geo yokote or cosmetic? How long is the nakago compared to the tsuka length? Were there any cracks or splits in the core? Same panels inlaid? What’s the ura side look like? Secondary bevel? Looked like a big grind spot on the kashira, any on the fuchi? What are the f&k made of? Tsuba? Did you use filler and a base coat primer before painting? Have you cut with it yet? Sorry for so many A buffing wheel and a little polishing paste will make the horn parts shine like glass Lets see if I can hit all these… The base price is $297…the sword came with a full wrap standard (so no fee there) and there was no cost to request a longer tsuka and different wrap style. No cracks in the core. Nakago was just under 10.5 inches at its tip on a 12” tsuka. The fittings set was a $60 dollar upgrade and they are all brass, the unfinished saya a $65 dollar savings. So with shipping, total was $339, shipping was $47. Yokote is cosmetic. No secondary bevel I can see at least from a grind perspective, just Niku with the leaf like profile. The buffing on one end of the kashira was the only seen. Cerakote does not need a primer, it bonds to a prepared surface where microscopic valleys are beneficial. You apply directly to a roughed up surface (sanded or sandblasted) and once cured, it’s extremely permanent. I THINK I got them all? Lol Awesome, thanks!
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Post by ignatius on Apr 14, 2024 20:52:05 GMT
Any time! If you need anything more, let me know.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 15, 2024 0:26:09 GMT
nope, you answered them all. as I'm looking at the tsuka, I think I would classify it more as something between haichi and ryugo, but most likely not 100% intentional. executing a proper full wrap samegawa is very difficult and most I've seen done at this level wind up a little oddly shaped and sometimes slightly to obviously bloated and could throw off the shaping they were going for initially. the tsuka ha is pretty much straight until the very end while the mune has an even and shallow curve. the previous tsuka also had a mostly haichi shaping, imo, with a couple of little lumps and bumps in the profile. at least from what I can see. I might be wrong since it's difficult sometimes to classify production tsuka but I think of Gunto/tachi tsuka as having more of an imogata (edit, was thinking morozori) shaping. both ha and mune curving together equally. it might be making it more difficult for me to classify because it's longer than the average tsuka that would typically be in imogata (again, meant morozori). I am definitely not the last word on this, so I hope others will chime in too.
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 1:49:51 GMT
It’s funny you bring this up right now-firstly you would know WAY more than myself-I thought the tsuka you have pictured below fall into the Morozori category…and Imogata was straight. Did I get that incorrect? I’m looking at mine right now straight on it is pretty parallel…if there was any haichi in there it would be by mistake. I only say this because acouple of days ago they posted a custom build for a Sensei who it looks like requested haichi (it’s not something I normally see in their offerings) and they did a pretty good job of pulling it off. My current in build sword with be Rikko WITH hishigami do we will see how they pull that off!
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 1:52:00 GMT
I’m dumb…I suppose instead of trusting my eyes I could measure it in three places lol.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 15, 2024 3:06:47 GMT
You’re right, I totally got them mixed up. Yes morozori is what the gunto and tachi are. I am seeing haichi in the rs tsuka but mixed up the imogata you classified it as with morozori since I guess I assumed you were thinking that, since it was curved a bit rather than straight and tapering from the fuchi to the kashira like imogata would. Wow, my mind and my eyes were not playing ball together, lol. I guess I also assumed you meant morozori because it’s not a shape I’ve ever really seen a production katana tsuka intentionally made in. There’s an easy way to tell if there’s a curve, just put it up against something straight, like a long ruler or the edge of a counter or table. I think Imogata would be easy to check too, using the same straight edge.
Did they say it was imogata? Again, not a usual shape done on purpose in my experience. It could just be that it was intended to be something else but because of the full wrap, wound up looking similar to imogata. As I mentioned before, many drop down menu full wrap tsuka do wind up looking a little potato-ish imo
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 3:14:31 GMT
Hah! No worries!
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 15, 2024 3:23:52 GMT
I just put a straight edge up to the ha and mune on my screen and there’s definitely a inward curve on the mune while the ha is pretty straight, so I’m sticking with haichi for now, lol
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 3:42:33 GMT
Call me impressed. I can’t believe from my images you were able to see this. But that’s why you are the professional and I am the amateur. Haichi it is. I think you are right and the full wrap probably aided in making it hard to see. I’ll have to adjust my listing! (They didn’t call it imogata, I did in my noviceness)
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 3:43:21 GMT
You beat me too it. It’s shallow at best but it’s there. My photo is too large to attach.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 15, 2024 4:21:35 GMT
I use a straightedge, actually several of different sizes, while I’m shaping new cores since I don’t trust just my eyes and it can be hard to tell sometimes without them. I thought I saw a curve, though shallow but didn’t trust completely until I checked it as mentioned. Idk, I guess after seeing hundreds of production tsuka in person vs hundreds of nihonto tsuka(mostly online), I got familiar with the shapes they are vs what they’re meant to be.
Also, when applying a full wrap(with oyatsubu) the samegawa is always thicker near the larger nodes and you need to carefully alter the samegawa and core to make up for this while also trying to maintain the correct overall shape. You also need to exaggerate the general shaping of the core to allow for the regular thickness of the samegawa. If you don’t, the shape tends to be more subtle than intended. Which again, is what I think happened here. They probably shaped the core as they normally would and then the full wrap blurred the lines a bit.
Yep, I’m the forensic tsuka investigator nobody called for, lol 😂
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Post by ignatius on Apr 15, 2024 4:51:09 GMT
Hey, I appreciate it.
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