New Fittings? What to get, where to start?

[USMC-LCPL]

I recently purchased the following sword from AndreasU:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/OWakizashi-attribut ... dZViewItem

 

... And, in spite of the fact that it was rated Kanteisho by the NHTK (even though it is horribly out of polish,) Andreas cut me a deal because the fittings were so piss poor that they demanded replacement.

 

Obviously I need to polish the blade first- but once I do, what should I do to fit it properly? Am I going to need to have everything replaced? Will I need to have new koshirae made from scratch, or can I find "authentic" that, well... fit.

 

Or should I ignore the problem all together and just place the blade in a shirasaya?

 

I need advice...

[Mike]

Hi, if you intend to send the sword for polish, you will be needing shirasaye, especially if the koshirae is in bad condition. Mike

[Pete Klein]

If you intend on getting the blade polished you will need a shirasaya to go with the new polish. Old saya have many inclusions from years of use which will scratch the new polish so it's best not to put the blade back into them once restored.

Restoration of the old saya is an option but as you won't really want to re-insert the sword into it unless it can be opened and cleaned it's up to you if you feel it's worth it or not. Quite often these old saya simply are not worth restoring. (That's one of the reasons you see all of those fittings for sale). They were designed to be used and thrown way back when which is why you don't see a lot of old koshirae around. You can also have a new saya made chosing your own kodogu (fittings) but of course that gets time consuming as you have to find tsuba and fuchi (kashira) to fit the sword, then bring it all together with the other kodogu.

In the end it all depends upon how far you want to go with the piece. Often it's best to keep it simple as new koshirae usually aren't worth the investment at re-sale and as restoration can be very expensive the koshirae has to really be worth it in the first place as it must be 'restored to original' to have re-sale value.

Moses Becerra has a lot of information on this on his site -- look at the upper left hand column:

http://www.nihontoantiques.com/

 

Hope this helps

[USMC-LCPL]

Thank you both for the advice. The sword comes with a shirasaye, but it doesn't fit the sword. :?

 

Fortunately, I live just outside of Honolulu, so I can just take the sword in my car when I go to get it polished.

[Curran]

Ascher-san (Nidai),

 

Nothing wrong with those menuki. Look like fresh cut pine branch, of the Shinto New Year's festival? Nice little things.

[Stephen]

it looks like all you need is a new polish and new saya, Bob can hook you up with that when you get the polish done, should not run much more than a shirasaya.

[USMC-LCPL]

Really? I honestly hadn't looked at them much... After I found out that the blade wasn't being sold in it's original Saya I had given up on the Fittings all together.

 

Buy you're right, the Menuki and Tsuba match well and can probably be reused for my new fittings...

 

That'll save a small fortune in it's self.

[Guest Simon Rowson]

Always get the polish done after any restoration work, whether it be shira-saya or full koshirae.

It's a lot easier for a craftsman to work around a blade when it's still in it's knackered, "hands-on" condition rather than in a pristine polish.

[USMC-LCPL]

it looks like all you need is a new polish and new saya, Bob can hook you up with that when you get the polish done, should not run much more than a shirasaya.

 

Really? That's the problem with Bob's website: Not a price to be found on the whole thing. Everything is on an individual basis... which might be a good thing for me.

 

Would you recommend changing out anything other than the saya? For some reason I had it in my head to replace the tsuka as well...

 

Not sure why, now that I really look at it...

[USMC-LCPL]

Always get the polish done after any restoration work, whether it be shira-saya or full koshirae.

It's a lot easier for a craftsman to work around a blade when it's still in it's knackered, "hands-on" condition rather than in a pristine polish.

I was under the impression that the opposite was true...

 

After you get a blade polished, wont that greatly affect the fitting- particularly in the saya?

[Stephen]

post some pix of the F/K, as far as the Tsuka goes just a new Ito wrap if it needs to be done that should not run much more than 250-300. The construction of the saya would be much easer on the saya-shi if he did not have to handle the newly polished blade, the habaki and the mune is the main contact areas of the saya so its not a going to change after polish to a degree that it will make a difference.

[USMC-LCPL]

Oh thank you. Not sure why, but I thought that saya had to be more form fitting for some reason...

[Curran]

I agree with Stephen that you should post better photos of the fuchi kashira. The wrap looks like it was well done at some point, but has lost its integrity at this point.

All it may need is a rewrap.

 

I do not like the tsuba, but that is me. I cannot see the fuchi / kashira very well in the photo, but from the menuki and the way the wrap was done... I suspect the fuchi / kashira are okay. If so, then maybe the tsuba was swapped out by someone else for the original tsuba. This is just theory at this point. Further evidence will make or break my suspicion.

 

On polish pre or post restoration, I think it depends on the restorer. I have had it go both ways. On a wak for shirasaya, he made the shirasaya first and then the wak went off to polish. It had to be slightly adjusted afterword,, because the polisher removed so much. But all in all it was fine.

 

Please get a photo of the fuchi / kashira if you have time.

[AndreasU]

Hi Folks,

 

I had already discussions with Charles and explained that the saya wasn't ever made for this sword. The previous owner or the one before took just one that was in a corner somewhere available. The Tsuka wrap is one of the cord wrap type! There are not many tsuka wrappers around who are able to do this! In respect of the age of the sword and the total condition, I would only do a part restauration.

 

As I already said, just give it a little polish so that the mune will have the original shape again and a slight surface polish so that the Hamon/hada becomes clear! It is still sharp like hell. Believe me, my left hand tried it with the Balm.....

 

First get a new saya! Decide to have a shirasaya or a painted one. Then get a polish for the blade. Thats the way to do it!

 

Don't change the fittings! They fit together and are of a nice style especially the menukis! The Fushi got repaired because was broken where the sword slides in. It got solded and lost a bit the patina but it is easy to get a "new" Patina on it as it is brass. Ask some fitting specialist here, They now how to "age" this. The Tsuba is of no Value. Ask a member here "Bungo" if he can sell you one that fits better or has a better style. I would try to get one with some bamboo on it. This would be a perfect match for the fitings.

 

Andreas

[USMC-LCPL]

Thank you AndreasU... I was curious about how deep of a polish I was going to need...