Loose fittings

[JohnC]

When I received a WWII era katana recently, the blade fit snugly into the tsuka, however I noticed that the mekugi was missing. I fashioned one out of bamboo, and it is a nice tight fit. The problem is that because of the way the holes lined up where the mekugi fits in, the habaki is now no longer snug up against the tsuba. There is about a 1/8" gap, so the tsuba rattles slightly when the katana is handled. There is a single seppa in place, but it does not come close to taking up the space. What is the best way to handle this extra space? Should I consider putting in additional seppas? If I do add extra spacers of some kind, is there a preference as to whether they go on the fuchi side of the tsuba, or on the side of the current seppa?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

John C

[Grey Doffin]

Hi John,

Seppa are missing and need to be replaced. Ideally there should be the same number of seppa on each side of the tsuba; sometimes only an odd number of seppa fit the space and one side of the tsuba will have one more seppa than the other. If you don't have Gunto seppa you can make one of leather.

Grey