Katana project

[blacklightmike]

This is my latest late-night project. I started with an unmounted 1060 blade from Kult of Athena, a tsuba blank from Sei Do Kai, and some koshirae and samekawa leftovers. This is my second completed sword project, as well as my first attempt at acid-etching a hamon, hybrid polishing, patination of the furniture, and engraving. Thanks for looking.

Blade length - Nagasa (tip to Mune-machi): 28 inches - 71.12 cm
Width at Mune-Machi: 1 1/8" - 2.9 cm
Width at Yokote: 7/8" - 2.2 cm
Thickness at Mune-Machi: 1/4" - 5.5 mm
Thickness at Yokote: 3/16" - 4.8 mm
Tsuka length: 9 3/4" - 24.8 cm

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/blacklightmike/DSC08358.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/blacklightmike/DSC08362.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/blacklightmike/DSC08366.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/blacklightmike/DSC08367.jpg

 

[Flying Crane]

well, I don't know much about Japanese swords, or specifically about 1060 steel, but it certainly looks very nice. Good job!

 

[Sukerkin]

It's good to see a sword enthusiast taking steps to create rather than just buy :tup:.

I would never want to speak negatively of someone whose taken the time and trouble to attempt such a project but if you would welcome some constructive criticism to help you in future projects I'll gladly offer my views.

 

[JBrainard]

well, I don't know much about Japanese swords, or specifically about 1060 steel, but it certainly looks very nice. Good job!

Took the words right out of my mouth. Very cool looking sword.

 

[Sukerkin]

Hi Mike

Here's a few comments that may or may not be of help to you. Of course they come with the preface that these are my opinions and don't necessarily carry any more weight than anyone elses .

The hamon is hard to see in the photo's but I would say that for aesthetics you need to work on getting a more sharply defined edge to it and for it not to extend too far 'up' the side of the blade. Half way to the shinogi (the 'waist' or ridge-line of the sword) is more than enough. Of course, the pattern of the hamon affects this proportion quite a lot. A straight hamon should not extend as far up as, say, a peaked 'long wave' design.

The seppa should be larger than the fuchi (base) of the tsuka but not so large as to overhang the centre of the tsuba. Overhanging seppa look a bit untidy and can be seen as 'cheap' in that the parts used were what were on hand rather than what fits. If you think you can recreate the edge pattern of your seppa there's nothing to stop you filing it down a little.

It's again hard to tell from the pictures but the tsuka looks somewhat short and the bottom is too 'fat' compared to the top, at the same time being a bit 'high-waisted'. The tsuka should be about a quarter of the length of the sword (this can vary widely from school to school mind you) and ideally when wrapped with ito should match the girth of the saya. It should have a sort of hour-glass profile, the waist of which should be a little closer to the tsuba than the kashira, and whilst it can be narrower at the top than the bottom the difference should not be great.

A good ito wrap makes a world of difference to the general feel of quality of a sword. It shoud be as flat as possible at the 'twists', very tight and very regular. It's an art form in and of itself and I'd well recommend reading up on it - it's one of those touches that can make a world of difference. I actually prefer cotton ito to either leather or silk both aesthetically and practically.

Menuki should not be so large that they can affect the grip on the tsuka and should be placed so that they will fall under the fingers rather than the palm {as yours are :tup:}. I would say that the ones you have are a bit big in that they span too much of the width of the tsuka. They're nice tho'.

Coloured same is a difficult one to speak on as it can be so much a matter of personal taste. I'm something of a traditionalist and much prefer white to anything else. The 'pimple' size should vary enough so as not to look industrially uniform. When achieving this, using the real thing is much, much better than plastic or any other synthetic alternative- of course, it's also much, much more expensive .

Anyhow, burbled too long as usual; my apologies. I hope at least a little of that was useful anyway.

Please bear in mind that I am a sword user rather than maker (and a bit of a traditionalist snob too ) so take my comments with as big a pinch of salt as required to make them palatable .

 

[Flying Crane]

Very interesting and informative post by Sukerkin.

Speaking as someone who also likes to rebuild swords, I can certainly attest to the difficulty in the project, especially when you are working from your own research and ideas, and don't have a master to guide you. I build Chinese sword hilts and scabbards, but I don't make the actual blades. You can see some photos of my work in the Gallery here, I'm in the User Pages, I think on the second page or so. So from my perspective, there is a lot to be said about the process of experimenting. I know that I begin with a naked blade and I think about the size of the grip and guard and pommel, and how it will all fit together in a scabbard and whatnot. My early pieces are quite a bit different from my later pieces (I've done over 20 now, I think, maybe as many as 30). There is a definite evolution that takes place as you tinker and figure things out and modify your design and techniques to improve the final product. All of my pieces are very useable, but the later ones show a much more refined result.

What I am saying is, if this is only your second finished piece, well done! Take sukerkin's suggestions to heart and see if you can pull some truths from them and apply them to your third and fourth and 100th piece. Get guidance from wherever you can, and definitely listen to the people who are trained in the weapon and actually use it. They know the details better than the best maker, if that maker doesn't also train and use the weapon.

Keep up the good work, and I am sure your efforts will just get better and better.

 

[blacklightmike]

Michael, Sukerkin, thanks for the constructive criticism! I'll touch on a couple of points later, as I'm going home... I will take your suggestions and thoughts to heart.

 

[Flying Crane]

Hey Mike,

I just wanted to pass on a few more thoughts on this whole undertaking.

I began rebuilding swords because most of the weaponry that is available in the market for Chinese arts is very poorly made. And even the better stuff had design issues that I just didn't care for. So I decided maybe I could do a better job. I had a few ideas in my head about how to do it better, and I wanted to try it out.

I was able to figure out some basic wood working methods, enough to meet my needs for grips and scabbards. But I knew nothing of metal work, and I needed this for guards, pommels, and scabbard fittings. So I enrolled in the local community college, took some classes in jewelry making/metal working, in order to learn some useful techniques and figure out what kind of equipment I would need. I also learned how to make some interesting jewelry, you can take a look at my website listed in my signature.

Then I needed to acquire some decent blades, and put my ideas and my training into action. It's been a real journey, making this happen, and seeing if my ideas had merit (I believe they do!)

This whole thing can be very intimidating. It takes time to get the training, and it costs serious money to buy tools and equipment and supplies and blades.

Swords in particular are surrounded by a certain mythology. They arouse deeper, primordial feelings in many of us that bring us to them like a moth to a candle. We love them, and perhaps in a way we even long for an earlier age when they still held relevance in daily life.

The Japanese sword in particular carries some pretty heavy baggage. Sword smiths in Japan are considered Living National Treasures. Their work can be exceedingly expensive, and the workmanship is the stuff of legends. And here you are, trying to match yourself against that. It's a very tall order you are working to fill, and the intimidation factor can be quite high.

In my experience, at least in the Chinese arts, most people are content to practice with the junk that can be easily bought, and they don't even realize that there is a difference. A very few people are not content with this. These people are willing to search high and low to locate something of better quality, and they are willing to pay serious money for the right thing.

An even smaller group of us are willing to undertake the project of making our own pieces. We embrace the challenge and the expenses and the hard work, and we do our best to make something unique and beautiful and, most importantly, something that is real and useful and even deadly.

Welcome to the club, sir.

 

[blacklightmike]

...Welcome to the club, sir.

Thank you, Michael, for words of encouragement!

 

[Harley_Ninja237]

that is awesome...