Made my own Tsunagi

[GeorgeLuucas]

Got bored today and decided to try to make my own Tsunagi for a Wakizashi I’ve got. It’s an out of polish, mumei blade with WW2 leather saya cover. 
 

Anyway, the process gave me a whole new appreciation for the precision of koshirae craftsman. Wow, it was challenging to fit! 
 

Just sharing for the sake of sharing,

All the best,

-Sam

[Stephen]

I'd say pretty dang good. Way better than the one I tried.

[GeorgeLuucas]

Thanks Stephen!

Thankfully the blade is hira-zukuri, and not very long. A good length and shape for a first try.
 

Otherwise I think I would have failed or given up! 
 

Cheers,

-Sam 

[robinalexander]

Very nice Sam.

 

Your next challenge replacement saya inserts for 95's. 

 

Time aside, you could become a sought after craftsman 

[Vermithrax16]

Great end result. Nice work.

[Mark S.]

If you do again, take pics of your process!!!  Well done.  

[Wayben]

Good job!!  Is a shirasaya next?

[GeorgeLuucas]

Thanks ya'll! Very kind words!

@Wayben, probably not anytime soon for the Shirasaya. Although, I would love to learn a craft like that from a professional. Like everything Nihonto, I'm told it's no easy task, and would require some training and mentorship to do it correctly. I imagine some special tools too. I'm still relatively young, so maybe someday! 

My next challenge will be making a shinogi-zukuri tsunagi for a longer blade. I'm also working on an antler kake for myself. 

I'll photo document my process next time - but for now here's a synopsis (i'm sure there are better ways).
I used an 8mm plank of wood from a craft store, and measured the blade with plastic calipers. I then drew the blade on the piece of wood with a pencil, and used a dremel tool to cut out a rough blade shape. I then widdled it down with a pocket knife to get a closer blade shape and establish a slight bevel. From there, I took some more precise measurements, and established the mune-machi and ha-machi locations. After that, it was all sandpaper and filing - being careful to sand an iori-mune at the mune-machi.

*The hardest part was getting the habiki to fit, and I was surprised how thin the piece of wood needed to be. especially at the edge. (probably no surprise to ya'll ).* 
*I used a photo of the blade and measurements for reference, and took the sanding and filing to another room (Don't want to get sand paper particles all over the blade).*
*Being extra careful to clean the wood of particles before attempting a fit (see above ^).*
*All said and done, I learned a lot. I ended up with a slightly different blade geometry, but at least it fits!*

My motives are to be crafty and practice, rather than entrepreneurial. Unfortunately I work too much right now.
Thanks for reading my long winded comment,

Edit: added side by side photo, and the next blade I hope to make a Tsunagi for, from my type 98.

Cheers, and all the best!
-Sam

Edited February 19 by GeorgeLuucas
Added photo

[vajo]

Very good Sam. Talented.

[atm]

Impressive!

[GeorgeLuucas]

Well I made another one for my Type98 

 

This one was tough, and ended up a bit more crude than my first. I used a harder wood. The shinogi-zukuri shape was considerably more challenging… and I would say I failed at establishing it 

 

That being said, it fits great, and holds the koshirae together nicely! 
 

Here’s some photos I took along the way. I followed the same method described in my comment above (while being constricted to the tools that I have at hand. Better/more tools would have made it much easier)

[Bugyotsuji]

Great stuff, Sam, way to go!!!