sporndackel

Hello all, thank you very much for the quick reply. (I just was not as quick to answer back, shame on me.) Then maybe the katana was less "shuffled" than I thought, since the blade is late war for sure. And the way the characters were hit into the steel was not very "careful". High throughput at the blacksmith maybe ... Again, thanks a lot. Regards Roland

Hello together, I recently received a katana which seems to be "shuffled" together. None of the parts seem to match each other. The tsuba has a signature, but I can hardly imagine that this is Japanese at all. Does anybody have an idea what this could mean or be? Best regards Roland

Hello all, the "saya experiment" is done. A little contribute to the first attempt on the older, lower layers of lacquer. After removing and flattening all, the new layers consist now of: - shibo (2x, just to be save) - kuro-nakanuri layer - white urushi (which is more ebony actually, but fits better to the old samegawa) - suzu-fun tin powder - kuro-nuritate (4x) - kijomi plus polishing Now it looks a bit prettier, with all the damages and broken parts repaired. Thanks again for the support. Roland

Thank you all for the input. I wanted to be sure before I start to experiment with a new design that I not completely off the path. Don't worry, the urushi part is familiar to me. I'm aware of the urushiol reaction. My "targets" for urushi are dishes, plates or grips usually, a complete saya would be a new experience. (Good not to start with a katana saya .... ) But as I said at the beginning: What could go wrong with this type of rotten peaces? I'll post the results. @Arnaud: thank you for the hint with the urushi book!

Hello all, the topics seem to be more about fittings but maybe somebody can help me solving the more "philosophical" question how to go further restoring an old saya. I bought it together with a blade which I planned to "misuse" to replace a shorter, broken one. Once received, I felt a bit sorry for the badly treated parts (rusty, damaged, broken, ... ) and started restoring the parts. Yes, it is just wood and horn, but it is also interesting to "explore" the parts. What I found was: 1. the saya seems to be "cut" (maybe together with the blade?), since removing the cover at the lower end shows a hole (in the form of the cross-section of the blade). I would have expected an even surface of wood. 2. the saya was painted with black urushi, but under the top layer there are several other layers, including one with a kind of nanako-nuri (I don't know actually which type of grain they used, all in irregular shapes) 3. horn application with horn in a shaded, light colour, not black (as I would have expected) The question for me is now, how to go further lacquering it again: - try to restore the first design, with the nanako-nuri style? - go the Rolling Stones way ("Paint it Black") - and how the treat the horn parts, leave it "natural" or cover it with (black) lacquer (again)? Any opinions? Kind regards Roland