Mumei tanto in Koshirae

[Bugyotsuji]

  Brian said:

  Bugyotsuji said:

...piercing of a new hole and blockage (in copper, did he say?) ...

No..not copper. Iron usually, but I have seen lead used, and this is the route I would go here.

I have a lead-filled mekugi ana on one of my swords.

 

Brian

 

Unclarity rules again. Sorry... "did he say?"... "He" being the bloke who is going to do it. I could have sworn he said 'Do' (copper), but it was in passing, so I'll check on that in due course. Could he have meant Shaku-do, I wonder?

[Bugyotsuji]

Just had a sneak preview this afternoon! It's nearly ready!!!

[Bugyotsuji]

First impressions.

 

1. The looseness in the fittings is gone. It's all solid in the hand.

2. Insertion of Kinkarakawa has enabled the bashin to be inserted and firm at any position.

3. The habaki slides on and off easily but locks in the correct position.

4. The tip of the newly-created Mekugi itself lifts the tsukamaki string just enough that firm pressure with the thumb pops it free enough to enable removal with the fingers.

5. The nakago was hitting the end of the Tsuka internally. It has been slightly shortened and reshaped.

6. The old double hole has been filled and hammered with copper, which I have been assured is quite hard and often used. A new Mekugi-ana has been created.

7. The top of the nakago where the Machi was moved up has been tidied up.

8. Rust management has brought about a pleasant change in the appearance of the Nakago.

9. The bent tip of the bashin, which I had straightened out to some extent, now looks more businesslike.

 

It brought a smile to my face and I would like to say a big thank you to the man!

[Bugyotsuji]

And the last piccie, Nakago from the right.

(All taken with a hand-held digital camera. Apologies for the quality.)

[Jean]

Piers,

 

for the small sum of ......?

[Marius]

I love it :D Great job

 

More pictures of the nakago, please, please

 

PS: I have just noticed how nice the seppa are!

[Bugyotsuji]

  Jean said:

Piers,

 

for the small sum of ......?

 

The guy asked for 5,000 JPY. I tried to offer more, but he wouldn't accept it. It seems to be a personal favor/favour.

 

Mariusz, I will put up a couple more Nakago shots, then, the ones I rejected earlier!!! (Too lazy to take new ones.)

[Stephen]

let me know if you ever find this expendable and looking to up it to something else, and ill find a store to knock over. :lol:

 

 

PS what happend to your Pix taking skills?????????? or am i drunk? :lol:

[Markus]

Nice work! It´s always a bonus when nothing rattles along the koshirae.

The habaki looks quite massive, would be a great deal for 5.000 Yen if

it was made of solid gold

[Marius]

I just love the nakago, can't wait to see good quality pics, Piers

 

I wonder how you get it repatinated... Not that I like such new patina when it is put on a nakago for the purpose of deceiving a buyer, but in this case, where it is a restoration job. I mean, how many nakagos have been "cleaned" by ignorant idiots...

[Bugyotsuji]

Markus, the cost was for the restoration work. The habaki is copper and original, but he cleaned it up and realigned it for me. It looks massive in the piccies, but is quite small, indeed the whole blade is tiny.

 

Mariusz, just for you I will attempt to take some better pics. I will replace the drunken pics above! LOL

[Bugyotsuji]

I have changed the piccies above, and here are the last 4 before I hit the sack. Held my hand super steady this time! :lol:

 

(Not had time to get tired of it yet, Stephen! LOL)

[Aloof Pegasus]

Piers

 

Came up better than anyone hoped, didn't it Your friend's an artist. What are you thinking on the tsuba? Stay as is?

 

Philip

[Bugyotsuji]

  Aloof Pegasus said:

Piers

 

Came up better than anyone hoped, didn't it Your friend's an artist. What are you thinking on the tsuba? Stay as is?

 

Philip

 

Yes, thanks Philip, I am very pleased with the result. For the time being the Tsuba looks OK and I will keep a long-range weather eye out for something better in due course. As I mentioned earlier, my friend reckons it could well have been water buffalo, which is very perishable and often gets eaten by ... something. (I wonder what it is exactly that eats the buffalo horn?)

[John A Stuart]

Piers, water buffalo horn is cheap. Easy to get and make your own replacement. Here's an outfit that sells it. John

 

http://www.chichesterinc.com/WaterBuffaloHorn.htm

[Aloof Pegasus]

I reckon that water buffalo horn tsuba was put in when it fell on hard times. Rest's higo koshirae right? Maybe you'll run across another higo tsuba ( or a Nara)

 

Anyway, well done.

 

Philip

 

PS Calling someone a water buffalo here in Egypt (a gamhoussah) is a big insult!

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for the link John. Personally I won't be creating from scratch, although I may adapt. Antique fairs tend to have stalls with boxes full of odds and bits.

 

Philip, I remember being in East Africa as a teenager how it was an insult to call people by animal names like that! I'll have to keep 'gamhoussah' (Arabic?) in reserve for a rainy day!!!

 

PS To answer your question on the Koshirae more fully. People seem to be agreed that it is Higo work throughout. The bashin is on the wrong side, however. It should be on the outside. The extant slot is for a Kozuka, which should be on the inside when worn. The bashin is indeed Higo, but was never originally for this Saya. The Kozuka slot is very narrow, however, making it hard to find a suitable replacement. The present bashin is reckoned to be a good stop-gap solution!

 

My remaining project would be to find a suitable small Kozuka and a nice little tsuba, at a reasonable price, naturellement... :lol:

[Bugyotsuji]

Managed to lose out a couple of times on the auctions, but finally... found a little iron Higo Tanto Tsuba with one hitsu ana opening. It has the Zogan remains of silver Sakura petals all round the Fuchi. The dealer sent it off today, so... tomorrow? Getting quite excited. Let's hope it fits without too much Seppa adjustment.

 

No luck on finding a narrow Kozuka yet, although I have been looking and asking around. They seem to be as rare as*... and even if I found one I am not sure whether it would be within my budget for this project. The Tsuba has eaten up most of that.

 

 

(*finish the saying! )

[Bugyotsuji]

Funny little realization this week. And a question at the end for anyone interested. The Tanto in this thread needed a narrow Kozuka for the Hitsu in the Saya. The Bashin is fine for a Kyushu saya, but it's ON THE WRONG SIDE, I was assured. Well, I have searched and asked everywhere for a kozuka, but no luck so far.

 

Then the other day I was sorting through some bits and bobs and discovered that I already owned a 'brass' kozuka which held promise and had no other use. I took it round to an artisan and asked if he could make it a perfect fit for me. He looked at the Kozuka and said, "This is a very nice Shibuichi Kozuka!" :D Then he fitted it into the Hitsu and shook his head. "No, you see the little triangular roof there? This Hitsu is made originally specifically for a Bashin, and not for a Kozuka." It was true.

 

Well, I took it home and pulled out my three little Bashin, of different sizes and styles. All three of them fit one way or another quite happily into the side Hitsu.

 

Finally I have lost the urge/need to find a Kozuka for this Saya.

 

Question. Is this a 'rare' left-handed or back-to-front Saya, or did Kyushu follow different rules as to which side a Kozuka/Kogai/Bashin fitted into the Saya?

[Aloof Pegasus]

Hi Piers

 

This was such a popular project I'm sure a lot of us would like to see the final result, I know I would. If it's not too much trouble, that is.

 

Philip

[Bugyotsuji]

Philip, here are a few explanatory shots.

 

The first two are the general appearance of the Saya, with the Bashin in place. My original thought was that with the kogatana/kozuka missing, someone had, at some point in history, added a Bashin just to fill the side Hitsu.

[Bugyotsuji]

These are the candidates for the Hitsu side slot. The Kogatana/Kozuka is a solid piece of shibuichi, and suddenly seemed to be the perfect solution. The three Bashin are tetsu.

 

The slot is triangular in cross-section. Hard to see because the horn entrance has been rather nibbled away.

 

The Bashin all slide in easily. The Kozuka/Kogatana would break the Hitsu if forced in.

[Bugyotsuji]

Some bonus shots showing how the other small Bashin all sit happily there. I have reluctantly concluded that this slot was never originally designed for a Kozuka/Kogatana of the specially narrow width I had been searching for. To try to fit it would mean a redesign of the slot, and could lead to a split and more trouble than I need.

[Aloof Pegasus]

Hi Piers

 

Thanks for the eye candy. Good piccies. I like the bashin and that tsuba too- from what is visible it looks very suitable. Is it iron?

 

Good choice of sageo colour, if that's a tanto sageo then it really is a small sword, isn't it. Btw when you first posted this topic I hadn't had much chance to trawl the local markets here. Now having done so I realize what a good spot that tanto was!

 

Philip

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks. Please do not ask me about the Tsuba, Philip.

 

I went through a crazy patch buying Tsuba on internet auctions, in fairs, anywhere I found anything seemingly suitable. This one was not cheap, but perfect, in copper with a Shakudo finish and a nice twisted edge. It had no sekigane in the central Nakago Hitsu, so I cut up some copper sheet and folded and pushed it into the corners and adjusted the Tsuba to fit tightly over the Nakago. Or so I thought I was doing until I slipped with the tool I was using and put a deep scratch right across the Tsuba face...

[Aloof Pegasus]

I've become very fond of yamagane tsuba recently too. Don't feel too bad after all it will repatinate,ne.

 

Philip

[Bugyotsuji]

  Aloof Pegasus said:

I've become very fond of yamagane tsuba recently too. Don't feel too bad after all it will repatinate,ne.

 

Philip

 

Well, no. I took it to a Kinko to see what he could do, but the result was not at all what I had expected. I wanted it perfect, just like before...