Mekugi Help

[chgruener]

Hello all,

 

I just obtained this sword and the mekugi was extremely tight. As per general advice, I made a small hole through the mekugi with intention to replace it anyway. The problem is that the mekugi does not appear to even go through the blade? I stoped drilling when the mekugi began to crumble and i was able to look inside the hole, only to see blade on the other side. I did the same on the reverse and again only see blade. I am very confused how the blade is being held inside the mount if there is no mekugi holding it in place. 
 

advice?

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

Well, it looks as if a clever seller took a TSUKA out of his sword parts box and (probably) glued it to the NAKAGO. Then he glued two MEKUGI pieces into the MEKUGI ANA to make it look as if the mounting was as it should be.

 

If he took a good glue there is no way to get the NAKAGO out of the TSUKA except destroying the latter.  

But if you are lucky, the blade is only jammed into the TSUKA and fixed with the help of a strip of wood (or similar).

All the best if you want to try, but perhaps you can give the sword back and get your money back?

[chgruener]

1 minute ago, ROKUJURO said:

Well, it looks as if a clever seller took a TSUKA out of his sword parts box and (probably) glued it to the NAKAGO. Then he glued two MEKUGI pieces into the MEKUGI ANA to make it look as if the mounting was as it should be.

 

If he took a good glue there is no way to get the NAKAGO out of the TSUKA except destroying the latter.  

But if you are lucky, the blade is only jammed into the TSUKA and fixed with the help of a strip of wood (or similar).

All the best if you want to try, but perhaps you can give the sword back and get your money back?

I believe it’s just jammed. I found the mekugiana. The mekugi is definitely original, extremely stuck, brittle, and dry.  
 

the sword was acquired from the family of a veteran who served in the Philippines. It hasn’t seen the light of day since the 1990s when it was put in the attic. 

[ROKUJURO]

Congratulations! Then the rest will hopefully be easy.

If you can, please show us the blade without HABAKI, plus close-up photos of the NAKAGO (always tip-upwards).

[chgruener]

23 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Congratulations! Then the rest will hopefully be easy.

If you can, please show us the blade without HABAKI, plus close-up photos of the NAKAGO (always tip-upwards).

Was finally able to remove it from the mount. Cleaned off the excessive amount of rust.

 

the blade itself is in poor shape, pitting, discoloration, and someone definitely took an abrasive cleaner to it at one point. Not in the last 30 years, however. 
 

see the Imgur link for all photos. 
 

https://imgur.com/a/kSgu5N1

[Mark]

Emura, good WW2 smith. a lot of info on this site and the web

[Grey Doffin]

Congrats on the sword but I don't like the "general advice" to drill a small hole in a tight mekugi. Never heard of it, never used it, and sounds like an excellent way to mess up the nakago with a drill bit. A stuck, brittle mekugi can be removed without resorting to fast moving tool steel.

Grey