Memories of Jim Kurrasch

[b.hennick]

The thread on Uchiko brought up Jim Kurrasch. I considered him a friend even thouogh we only got together at the San Francisco sword show. He would always bring something "old" to the show and teach me and others willing to learn. He linked me up with a collector, now deceased, who had a late Heian /early Kamakura one hole ubu tachi that he wanted to place in a "good home". It took two years of letters and conversations to earn the right to take care of this tachi. The price was not the problem it was passing on a treasure to someone deamed to be responsible. When I take out the blade I think of the previous owner/care giver and of Kurrasch.

Jim loved to uchiko blades. I do not know anyone who used uchiko more.

If you have a story about Krash please add it to this thread.

[Stephen]

I always enjoyed Jims post on what was the group? Yahoo? ...bunch old guys will remember...always always got a smile out of his post, learned a ton (mostly fogoten) and almost belived his health problems from to much Uchiko as he ported. RIP brother. Ya live on my friend.

[Jean]

I did not know him but I read over and over his articles decade ago. I remember his website (blue), his mustache, him taking photo of kodogu. He was also a crippled veteran. I had much respect for him.

[Bazza]

Jim and I had a long and robust correspondence. I admired/still admire him immensely and miss his presence amongst us. I still occasionally read his writings. A real gem of a man. RIP.

 

BaZZa.

[bone]

The thread on Uchiko brought up Jim Kurrasch. I considered him a friend even thouogh we only got together at the San Francisco sword show. He would always bring something "old" to the show and teach me and others willing to learn. He linked me up with a collector, now deceased, who had a late Heian /early Kamakura one hole ubu tachi that he wanted to place in a "good home". It took two years of letters and conversations to earn the right to take care of this tachi. The price was not the problem it was passing on a treasure to someone deamed to be responsible. When I take out the blade I think of the previous owner/care giver and of Kurrasch.

Jim loved to uchiko blades. I do not know anyone who used uchiko more.

If you have a story about Krash please add it to this thread.

 

Can you show it to us Barry?

[Nihonto Chicken]

Jim Kurrasch lived about an hour and a half south of here in the nice community of Goleta, just north (well, actually east) of Santa Barbara. I visited him a few times to have him evaluate the stray nihonto that followed me home. We good naturedly mixed it up a bit at times on the old forums (Cole or Yahoo?) as to whose town was a better residence. Jim indeed believed in using uchiko, on out of polish swords, at least. I sometimes risk the wrath of greybeards here in recommending a Jim Kurrasch Memorial Power Uchiko Job to newbies inquiring what to do for their rusty or gray swords. I realize this may not be appropriate for a blade in fresh Japanese polish. However, in my collecting experience I somehow have managed to avoid accumulating any of those. :lol: But the uchiko works wonders on the more readily available battered and butchered Bungo that tend to find me. Jim was a good guy, quite opinionated and a bit of a curmudgeon, but knowledgeable and ready to share of his experience. RIP.

[Wah]

Friends,

Perhaps this is a little late but I feel this may be an appropriate time to share this.

I talked to Jim about a week before he left for vacation to Minnesota which will be explained below. I was asking for information on a lost important sword.

Later, his sister Jeanne wrote me thanking me for putting up a “Thanks” to Jim on a website for his help in my research. This is Jeanne's letter below which helps us to understand what he went through.

This letter was to be shared with his friends.

 

 

--- Jeanne wrote:

 

 

 

March 23 2004

Jeanne wrote:

Jim had been very sick. He never complained, although I could tell something wasn't right talking to him on the phone. He did go on vacation. He came here to see us in Minnesota, driving himself and his family all the way. By the time he got here he was so sick he couldn't even really visit with us, but he insisted that it was because Minnesota was so damp. He got back in his van and drove all the way home again. He was then admitted into the hospital in Santa Barbara where it was determined that he was functioning at only 10% heart capacity~! How he functioned is beyond me, but he did. He wanted to be transferred to the VA hospital where he would undergo heart transplant, but the VA kept playing games with him and said he had been turned down for the transplant. He was livid and wrote a letter to Congresswoman Lois Capps, even though he was so sick. That was like Jim....not asking for the help of others around him. I found out about everything and I started contacting Lois Capp's office and everyone else I could think of until he was finally transferred to the VA, about two weeks later! It was awful! He was terribly sick and the VA was not being responsive in his greatest need. Not only that, but the doctors in Santa Barbara said that he was a candidate for transplant and they wanted to begin the procedure of getting the transplant immediately, but Jim held out because he felt the VA was responsible and should be doing the procedure. When he got to LA, finally, the VA continued to resist and sent him home. A week or so later they discovered that they had been wrong and would do the procedure, but by then Jim said no. It was too late.

 

Jim spent the final time home doing things that were completely inhuman. He was functioning at 10% heart capacity but would get into his car and drive to the store to make sure the kids had the halloween things they would need. He insisted on going alone and it frightened all of us to death. How he did it, we just don't know. He was so exhausted. Then he went shopping and bought all of their Christmas presents and new dishes for his wife, etc, etc, etc. He was trying to do everything, and some of what he was doing was just silly. He wanted me to buy the church across the street from our grandmother's home in Minneapolis because it was going to be knocked down. He thought we should have it sent to him in Santa Barbara so he could erect it there! He thought it would be a great place for his kids! LOL! He wanted them to have a castle and be protected from all harm. I know he understood that he was not going to be able to do much more for them, but his final days were spent trying to do everything. He bought himself a rocking chair but was too tired to rock it, yet he still made his way to the store to buy things as he thought of them for his family.

 

Jim pushed himself way above what most people would ever imagine, and most of the time no one else ever knew how much he really suffered. So, when I see someone who recognizes his work and appreciates it, I am thrilled. The rest of the family is as well. Feel free to share this with others who knew Jim. It would honor him for his work to continue to be used in the way he imagined it would be. I think he got his strength from his love of the Samurai tradition. It was very important to him.

 

Sincerely,

Jeanne

 

 

Thank You,

Stephen T

[bone]

A big man in a small world. RIP

[b.hennick]

Thanks for that! He is still missed.

[Curran]

Enjoyed exchanging emails with him.

[Rich S]

Likewise, I exchanged many emails with Jim. A great guy greatly missed.

I did copy and save about 6-8 pages from his old website that I could

zip and upload if that is permissible and folks would like to have them.

Although I thought someone had saved and put his website online in

their archives? Am I just delusional or does anyone remember that?

Rich S

[Jean]

I remember it too, Rich:-) but who?

[Rich S]

Found it!

 

http://www.sydneytokenkai.com/p5.htm

 

I have some pages that are not on that website if

anyone thinks it's ok to upload them. Let me know.

 

Rich S

[Jim P]

Hi Rich, If you have pages that are not on the website I know Adrian would love to have them, will pass on the info in case he has not seen it. :D or you can PM me and send them to me and I will pass them on :D

[Rich S]

Jim -

 

I have five articles from Jim Kurrasch's website that

are not on the Sydney Token Kai site. I have forwarded

them to Adrian. Hope he can use them and doesn't delete

my email as a scam,virus or crackpot :-)

Rich S

[Jim P]

Hi Rich, I let him know :D thanks so much :D

[Brian]

Here is a zip file of 40 articles that I have of his. I also have the webpage archived I think, or most of it.

 

Brian

Kurrasch.zip

[Rich S]

Brian -

 

You might want to email your files to Adrian also.

Just a thought.

 

Rich S

[Jim P]

Thank you Brian, A few of us wanted to read them but up till now only the ones on STK were up on the web