Shirasaya question

[Sadahiro]

In 2010 my second purchase from Nihontocraft needed a shirasaya and through a friend of Danny, I made a connect with a man in CA.

 

I FedEx'd my Sandai Nanki Shigekuni and it was received the next day by this gentleman, (I also included along with shirasaya cost money to FedEx it back - YMMV, but I use FedEx on anything of value as I don't want my prize items languishing around long enough to be snatched up).

 

My first issue came when he pocketed the FedEx money and sent the Sandai Nanki Shigekuni back to me "registered" special something USPS which meant it took 21 days to travel from CA to Monroe, LA where I was at the time.

 

The second came when it appeared that the shirasaya "touched" the kissaki area of the blade and although I was told it would do no harm, had I not caught the problem in time I'm fairly certain my katana would have been ruined. As it was I cleaned it up and came to realize that it wasn't just the pinching near the kissaki but some sort of glue residue which affected roughly the last 6 inches or so of the sword.

 

When deciding what to do I figured, just place it back in the Edo koshirae and found this gentleman had taken material from the mouth area of my saya in order to fit the wooden habaki (seems it was too tight), sooo.....when I get it back as it was when I orginally purchased it the nihonto was so loose I (god-forbid) ethiopian engineered a temporary fix in order to return it to the safe where it still sits today.

 

1. Whats the proper way to fix the saya?

 

2. Should he have done this to the Edo period saya in the first place?

 

3. Should I just have the problem shirasaya redone or get a new one?

 

4. I still need a proper shirasaya and don't want anything to do with this person so any recommendations?

 

 

(btw, I never spoke with guy and as it cost $500 bucks not counting the shipping but as it was more than a year later when I knew I had this problem figured I’d be wasting my time complaining to him – do ya rat a guy like this out?)

[Alex A]

Mike, for piece of mind, i would have a new shirasaya made, not too expensive.

 

Alex.

[Geraint]

If you are thinking of having a new shirasaya then it might be worth attempting the usual trick. Assuming your man used rice glue and not a modern adhesive then it ought to be possible to spring the shirasaya apart, cut back the wood where touching and re glue it. Absolutely no sanding as the abrasive will remain in the timber and cause scratching.

 

This is probably going to fail as I suspect the glue which is causing you a problem is a modern adhesive in which case you are most likely to damage the shirasaya beyond repair, hence the suggestion that you only attempt this if you are already planning a new one.

 

As to opening out the mouth of a saya to accept a wooden habaki, well that sounds barmy to me, much easier to ease the size of the habaki to fit.

 

Have fun.

[cabowen]

The person sounds like a hack but I wouldn't criticize him for using registered mail, It is the safest way to ship.

[CurtisR]

May I suggest John Tirado in Pennsylvania? He is a traditionally trained sayashi and has done two shirasaya for me, as well as one habaki. ALL are beautiful, and his prices are very reasonable if the sword deserves it. He does have a wait-time but it's because he's exacting, uses top-notch materials and has several projects going at once, especially before Shinsa.

 

The last blade I had done took 3 days from sending to delivery. I've spoken with him (unfortunately have not met him as yet), and he's a true gentleman as well .

His website may still be down (sayashi.com) but if you need his telephone #, please message me.

 

Cheers,

 

Curtis R.