Kaiken Display

[Moley]

Hi Guy's, 

 

I have a small tanto / Kaiken that I would like to display on my shelf. 

All the other blades are on stands.

Any suggestions / ideas how to display a small Kaiken (8 inches / 21 cm ) long ?

 

Thanks

 

Gwyn

P.S. Photo's would be very nice 

[kusunokimasahige]

I used a Doyusha samurai sword model kit stand for my Boys day tachi :




You can find these here but also on Ebay :

https://www.hlj.com/product/DYS14022/Jpc

Depending on the thickness it should work.

And if you are handy with scratch building in wood you could make your own kake.

[BIG]

Hi Moley,

 

[Moley]

Clever Peter , Well done 

[Moley]

I had an idea guy's,

Imagine this with the rod removed and the holes cut out at the top.

And it's only £3

A bit of dark wood stain and a coat of olive oil ?

What do you think ?

[Alex A]

Looks ok to me, looks varnished though, so i would strip it all back to bare wood beforehand. Otherwise you may get a poor finish.

[Shamsy]

I've had a search through the forums and google without success, so is anyone able to tell me what can be safely used to finish a kake and what to avoid? It would be awful to stain a polished blade by using the wrong finishing agent. I'm currently looking at some sort of oil that will enhance the wood as opposed to altering it.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Steve,

The easy answer is to use nothing; I don't think finish is necessary on a katana kake.  If you use an oil finish make sure it has a long time (at least a few days) to cure before you use the kake; uncured oil will stain shirasaya and might mess up lacquer.  I don't think any clear finish (like varnish, shellac, lacquer, or poly) will damage any part of a sword once it is dry; ditto for paint.  Stains should be no problem also, once they're dry, but they don't protect wood.  They only change the color and they are ugly.

Not sure what you mean by "enhance the wood as opposed to altering it".  Any finish will alter the appearance of any wood and enhancement is a judgement call.

Grey, a furniture maker.

[BIG]

Hi

 

for our handworking members..

 

http://www.daikudojo.org/index.html

 

Best Regards

[Shamsy]

Not sure what you mean by "enhance the wood as opposed to altering it".  Any finish will alter the appearance of any wood and enhancement is a judgement call.

Grey, a furniture maker.

That's great to know, thanks Grey.

 

What I'm trying to say above is that I'd like to avoid paint and stains as these alter colour completely or at least more than a natural oil finish, which IMHO acts to bring out the grain and colors already present in the raw wood. Oils are my preferred option for that reason and there are some excellent ones available. As you suggest it may not even be necessaryto apply a finish. I am planning to try this with Hairy Oak, as I absolutely love the timber and have been looking for an excuse to use it for something. The raw wood is quite spectacular.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Steve,

If you plan to have a bare blade touching the kake, oak may not be a very good choice.  Oak has a relatively high acid content and may corrode the blade.

I'm not sure an oil finish is more likely than other finishes to bring out the grain and colors already present in the raw wood; about the same in my experience.

Grey

[Geraint]

Hi Grey.

 

Your thoughts regarding oak were what went through my mind, certainly English oak has a very high tannic acid content which will rot steel screws quite swiftly.  However these antipodean timbers are a whole different ball game and apparently Hairy Oak is in a different group of timbers altogether from the oak we know.  It would still bother me having a bare blade touching the stand whatever it was made of.

 

Not sure I could bring myself to use a toilet roll holder as a kake either but looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

All the best.

[Alex A]

Do they not make acrylic stands for tanto, sure i seen some somewhere..

[Shamsy]

It would still bother me having a bare blade touching the stand whatever it was made of

Ah, a good point from you both. What I've typically done for bare blades is cut a small patch of suede leather that sits between the wood and steel contact points. It seems to help balance, protect from scratches and will by chance prevent the wood to steel contact and corrosion mentioned. I've learned something though, so as always I appreciate the advice.

[SAS]

If Hairy Oak is the same as Silky Oak that grows in the  southern Pacific, it has an resin in it that is irritating to some people's skin and can cause respiratory issues.

[Baka Gaijin]

Just a thought:

 

http://www.morplan.com/shop/en/morplan/natural-wooden-bangle-stand-wooden-natural-bangle-stand

 

[Ed]

Careful with those leather "patches" as well. There are multiple corrosive chemicals used in the leather tanning process.  If leather is to be used where it will come in contact with metal, only vegetable tanned leather should be used.

[Shamsy]

Oh dear, it seems there's a few things to learn on material selection for me. Thanks Ed, leather is out. Maybe I'll just stick to the stands I bought, since surely the wood selected for those will be suitable.

[Stephen]

visit your local billiard store lots of scraps to find your felt, 

[Moley]

Just a thought:

 

http://www.morplan.com/shop/en/morplan/natural-wooden-bangle-stand-wooden-natural-bangle-stand

 

Wow - this is great. Excellent "thought" Malcolm.

So many things out there we can ehhhm "utilise" ?

[jason_mazzy]

http://www.westerncounties.co.uk/product.asp?strParents=0&CAT_ID=181&P_ID=7827

[Shamsy]

visit your local billiard store lots of scraps to find your felt,

 

Felt it is!

 

As to the original post, a Google search of acrylic or perspex sword stand will bring up some cheap but effective options. Also, some of the designs are made with two 'seperate' stand sections, so could be made narrow or wide as needed. They also come in several sizes. If you are happy to use a material other than wood of course.