Looking for a saya maker

[Nihontocollector19]

I'm looking for someone that can help me a custom saya for my wakizashi I will give measurements when I find some willing and price is right I'm thinking something basic I have sageo wrap I want it black finish with bamboo design on it open to ideas I have a bamboo koiguchi

[Nihontocollector19]

I'm also looking for a habaki maker looking for a custom silver habaki

[b.hennick]

John Tirado makes very good shirasaya and regular saya. Brian Tschernaga makes prze winning habaki. Pay for quality and get quality. I have had both of these artisans do work for me.

[Kai-Gunto]

I'm looking for someone that can help me a custom saya for my wakizashi I will give measurements when I find some willing and price is right I'm thinking something basic I have sageo wrap I want it black finish with bamboo design on it open to ideas I have a bamboo koiguchi

you just cant give someone the measures , You need to give the blade to the saya maker.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Andrew, does your wakizashi require an entire new tsuka, or just a rewrapping of an existing one? Sayashi don't do tsuka, in general, so you'll likely need different experts for your saya, habaki, & tsuka.

 

Ken

[Nihontocollector19]

It needs new everything I'm have the sageo and Ito wrap I have all the fitting I also have a kozuka knife that needs to be mounted

[Daniel]

Contact nihontoantiques.com. Moses is a top guy to deal with.

 

Cheers Daniel

[Nihontocollector19]

Also I recently found out by the person who gave me the wakizashi that it was a cut down sword and it nakago needs to be worked on is that expensive

[b.hennick]

Andrew:

Everything to do with swords is expensive. A fancy solid gold habaki is about $3k. Mounting a sword can cost more than the blade itself. The wakizashi that I bought will cost many times more than the price paid for the blade to have the restoration done.

[hxv]

Andrew,

 

"Expensive" is a relative term. To remove a gimei is the cheapest thing to do to a nakago, and it does cost $150. Anything else is uphill from there. Can you post a picture of your nakago to show why it needs to be reworked?

 

EDIT: Yes, Barry is absolutely correct on all counts!

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Nihontocollector19]

Only picture I have I'm waiting for my friend to send be the blade just a question how much would it cost to have a regular saya with a bamboo engraving that can have a slot of kozuka is all I really wanted to know and a silver habaki I came here cause I'm new to this whole thing I'm not old timers like you guys I don't have a big wallet like most on here I'm waiting till February till I'm a navy recruit on to boot camp so I can earn a decent living I come from a middle class family who's parents lost their jobs . We are living with my grand parents. And I'm looking for part time work. I do odd jobs in the mean time . I don't have a lot of knowledge so I look to you guys for advice and except for certain people here like Barry willing to help me it feels like a pool of sharks waiting to take a bite I didn't come here to be scolded I came here to learn and talk with people who liked the stuff I was into

[hxv]

Andrew,

 

It's hard judging from the picture due to insufficient lighting, but the nakago appears to be OK. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I would leave the nakago alone.

 

Hoanh

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hello Andrew,

 

Like so many of these things having to do with nihonto restoration the cost gets pricy in a big hurry, mainly because many labor hours go into the highly skilled handwork required. So, typically the first evalution especially when there is limited means and budget is to ask whether or not the sword in question is worth the investment of a somewhat fancy saya, wrap, and so forth? In speaking only for myself following twenty years of experience, you either have to have a pretty darn good sword and/or koshirae to make the investment worthwhile, OTHERWISE, you'll come out farther ahead simply buying something already done. It would also be very wise not to go the cheap route of mediocrity using less than skilled craftsman, because in the end you may end up with something to the untrained eye that looks 'nice' and 'OK', but to those that know it will be junk, money thrown away. And once your knowledge catches up with what you should know before taking on a project like this, you'll only look back with regrets instead of appreciation.

 

Now, I only know of one person capable of doing everything (in the US) you're listing, saya, habaki, and tsuka and wrap with koshirae, and touching up the nakago and that's Brian Tschernega. John Tirado is certainly capable of making saya and habaki, I'm not sure about the rest. In any case these two artisans would be a place to begin a conversation about what is involved and cost after your reality check about the worth of your sword and fittings (as a suggestion). It's never easy and it's almost never inexpensive. There are many bumps in the road to negotiate. Welcome to nihonto collecting.

[Nihontocollector19]

Thank you Franco that's the kind of reply I'm looking for and this sword is very valuable to me in sentiment value it was a gift given to me by my best friend as a token of our friendship and apericatation for Japanese swords. And I made a promise to have it mounted and foundation polish ik the foundation polish will cost a lot so that's why I want to mount it I have a good 600 in fittings