Edo Period Corner Part II

[Bugyotsuji]

Mal X content, thanks for the link. Must have been posted by my evil twin. I was tempted to put the red cross into that thread, actually...

 

On another note, I hope to be updating this thread shortly with regards to the new pan lid/cover for the latest Sakai long gun. I have asked the guy if he can manage to loosen the Bisen breech screw at the same time. (He has some terrible vice, inherited from the old gunsmith.) Stupidly, I told him I am in no rush.

 

Also, the So-Shu Masahiro 'wakizashi' tanto has been away for a while and I'm hoping that this weekend there will be a phone call announcing that the new shirasaya and tsunagi are ready. Stupidly, I told him that I am in no hurry, although that usually puts pressure on people here to speed things up.

[Bugyotsuji]

Point of interest. Asking about the tanto shirasaya and tsunagi, I got a message back saying it should be ready shortly.

 

As to togi though, we face a fine problem. The primary dilemma for the togishi will be how to preserve this blade's sugata throughout any polishing process undertaken. Change the silhouette or geometry, and you could soon have a new kitchen knife. My guess is that previous owner(s) have already agonized on how to best preserve this blade.

[Bugyotsuji]

Today a little birdie told me that the work on the guns is complete, so we will need to set up a collection day.

 

I have one more long gun with a blocked 'himichi' vent that I may ask him to help with. I've tried just about everything I can think of, but every thickness and strength of wire gives up and bends eventually. If I could introduce an angled awl into the breech chamber... and attack the barrel rust in the vent passage from within, that could be a new angle of attack, though.

[Brian]

One thing I have tried before successfully is to put a very short section of cable, such as bicycle brake cable, into a drill, and go slowly. The multiple wires in the front act as a flexible "drill" but take it very easy and use oil.

[Bugyotsuji]

Brian, for some reason I missed your inspirational answer here. I can 'see' in my mind exactly what you are saying; that will be a really great tip for next time.

 

Although I had booked a slot at my friend's house for this coming Saturday, I actually managed the break-through yesterday morning. The wife was out so I had the house to myself, and I decided this thing was not going to defeat me. Altogether, including previous sessions, the whole effort took about six hours, but using Kure 5-56 spray, a tough wire and various pipe cleaners, from outside through the pan vent entrance, and from inside the barrel (angled sunlight showed the inner end of the channel), I started to get a blacker colour of gunge on the wire tip. It was a question of belief, as I could not be 100% sure that it had not been deliberately deactivated. Gradually I began to be able to 'see' what the tip of the wire was doing (the passageway is only one strand wide), as it scratched endlessly and then slowly began to engage; minuscule changes in the colour of what I was wiping off it became my only source of courage.

 

But what a relief! I was dead pleased yesterday, and this morning the same feeling of relief is still with me. This matchlock (the Inatomi-Ryu long gun I was discussing in the translation section) was no more than an interesting decoration when I bought it, but it is now back to full working order. 

 

Lesson learned. Always check everything, including the vent channel; assume nothing.

[Bugyotsuji]

Good news and bad news.

Which should I announce first?

 

To go with the bad. When I bought the Inatomi-Ryu military gun at auction, there was some trouble with another bidder. Can't go into detail here, but he thought that I was driving him up beyond what he was willing to pay, so as a point of pride he started to outbid me. After the auction he absolutely insisted on letting me have the gun at my highest bid, at a loss to himself, but the air between us was not good. Anyway I took it home, added a proper ramrod, gave it some TLC, and eventually managed to clear the blocked vent, as above. Ta-daaaa!

On Sunday he suddenly said, "If you're not too bothered over that gun, can we have it as a spare for the matchlock group?"

This is an offer I cannot refuse, and I know he will give me what I paid. 

So, I have to hand it over. He virtually runs the group and I cannot really say no. But I know inside that he will sell it to one of our members. On the other hand, he is the leader of the group, and this will finally clear the air between us. Seen it before! So a short but sweet goodbye to my first Inatomi school gun.

 

The other piece of bad news is that the trusty shirasaya-shi is overloaded with other orders, for Jinja ho-no-to, etc., so my tanto is stuck in a backlog. 

 

The good news is that the Sakai long gun is back with the bisen loosened and missing part replaced! Can you see it?

(He also opened another two stuck bisen for me, but the final one of those three he gave up on.)

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Oh, one of the rusted and stuck bisen I had asked him to have a look at was on a signed Bizen barrel that someone had given me a while back.

 

As a kind of joke I asked if he had a spare stock for a Bizen gun. "As a matter of fact, I do, but it is in terrible condition, and most of the lockwork is missing!" he said, and went off to fetch it from the back of his garage. Well, it's filthy, but close, and about the right length, but doesn't quite fit. I may be able to ream out the walls of the stock a little and get the barrel to settle in properly.

 

What do you reckon? Two-thirds of a Tanegashima must surely be better than one third!?!?

And with a missing serpentine, perhaps there will be no need to legally register this Frankenstock...

[Brian]

I like projects, and seems to me with Tanegashima there is always a way to find parts or make them, and it isn't seen as badly as messing with swords. So I say go for it.
As for the other dilemma...seems internal politics there overrules desire and decency. You may have to do something, doesn't mean I would do it under the same circumstances

[Bugyotsuji]

Sometimes wish human relations could be simpler…

[Bugyotsuji]

Today the long-awaited phone call!

 

The sun-nobi Masahiro tanto shirasaya and tsunagi are ready at last. He says that they have used a nice piece of ho-no-ki 朴の木 magnolia wood for a jewel-like surface finish. Hoping to pick them up at the sword museum on Sunday.

 

All good thngs come to those who wait.

 

The little pension is a blessing though, oil to the clanking gear wheels.

 

Then the decision will have to be made on nugui, etc. "To polish, or not to polish" as my old friend Hamlet once said.

[Bugyotsuji]

Resolution. No further action on this venerable old blade. A request for Togi would put a Togishi into making impossible choices. Although it could be tweaked, a Togishi might be tempted to give it the full works, but what would then emerge? Something very different?

To summarize package update.
Shirasaya created, received. Check.

Tsunagi created, received. Check.

Tantō blade tucked safely away for preservation. (*Shows typical Sō-Shū second-half of Namboku Chō workmanship. Around Eiwa.)

Has accompanying Koshiraé and NBTHK paperwork.
 

 

長さ一尺O寸二分 反りわずか

重ね薄く、三つ棟板目肌に地景がからみ地沸つ

く。表裏の刃文が違い、裏側は皆焼となる。”Length 1 Shaku 2 Bu, very slight sori, thin kasane, mitsumune, itame hada containing chikei, shows ji-nie. Blade front and back manifest contrasting hamon features, the back showing hitatsura.”

(Quoting my sword appreciation sensei.)

Photos available.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

On 4/16/2025 at 5:19 PM, Brian said:

I like projects, and seems to me with Tanegashima there is always a way to find parts or make them, and it isn't seen as badly as messing with swords. So I say go for it.
As for the other dilemma...seems internal politics there overrules desire and decency. You may have to do something, doesn't mean I would do it under the same circumstances

Valuable words. 

Today I messed around with the Bizen barrel that someone gave me a year or two back, and the old Bizen stock I was given ten days ago. They are so close! Obviously the Mekugi holes do not line up (about a centimeter off, although the front one actually fits!) so I had to cut out two new channels inside the stock for the little iron loop-hole bridges under the barrel. The stock is all split lengthways so I held a partly-successful gluing session.

Anyway, if you want to see what a hybrid, two-thirds of two small-bore Bizen long guns, looks like, here it is. Transformer!

 

 

PS Another friend says he feels sorry that I have to give back the Inatomi-Ryu battlefield gun. He wonders if I would be interested in buying his extremely rare Hōkin (bronze) barrel long gun! So kind. I said “No, appreciate the thought”, etc., but…