George KN Posted October 15 Report Posted October 15 Has anyone seen this before where instead of a wooden mekugi a rivet has seemingly been hammered in? Is it even possible to get something like this off? Seen it online, and I'm thinking it could be a satsuma rebellion sword... (It's in rough shape - not sure what's going on with the habaki either) 1 1 Quote
Ray Singer Posted October 15 Report Posted October 15 All types of strange things were done post-war. It is likely this is the same, a post-war modification. That said, the tsukamaki looks like the type we see in Satsuma rebellion koshirae and the habaki may date from that same time (it appears to be a makeshift piece formed out of a wrapped band of metal). 1 1 Quote
George KN Posted October 15 Author Report Posted October 15 Imagine if that rivet was original to the rebellion though - who knows what's underneath... I can only think that drilling it out is the only incredibly risky option? If original its a shame, but I can't think of any other way someone could polish the blade without removing it (which it desperately needs) Quote
Franco D Posted October 15 Report Posted October 15 22 minutes ago, Ghoul said: but I can't think of any other way someone could polish the blade without removing it (which it desperately needs) What little exposed steel there is that can be seen in these images looks like what Yamanaka describes as "lifeless." If that's indeed the case, it makes the question of polish moot. 1 1 Quote
George KN Posted October 15 Author Report Posted October 15 Yeah, it's likely not the best piece... I just can't get over why someone would ever decide hammering a permanent rivet was a good idea. They've thought a little about potential damage by adding a washer to distribute the weight, but I didn't think the mekugi was ever a point of failure during combat? Perhaps the satsuma koshirae weren't very well fitting, and this was a hasty attempt to fix that? There are one or two other examples of modern rivets on the forum, like this one: From here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/37912-assistance-please/#comment-393113 And another (but this time a yari) here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7816-fukuro-yari/#comment-77759 It's just odd is all 😅 Quote
ROKUJURO Posted October 15 Report Posted October 15 George, bamboo is readily available in Japan so I don't think that a lack of it was the cause for this rivet. By the way, it would not be a big thing to remove the rivet if you have a basic workshop equipment. Going carefully is the way. 2 2 Quote
Kiita Posted October 16 Report Posted October 16 17 hours ago, Ghoul said: Imagine if that rivet was original to the rebellion though - who knows what's underneath... I can only think that drilling it out is the only incredibly risky option? If original its a shame, but I can't think of any other way someone could polish the blade without removing it (which it desperately needs) From the pictures, drilling it out wouldn't be difficult at all. Center punch with a freshly sharpened punch, clamp it well, then drill it out in a drill press with a short stiff bit such as a center drill somewhat smaller than the pin diameter, which will be far less likely to flex and wander. After that, depending on how it looks, either step up the bit diameter until you've basically got a hollow thin walled tube, which will flex and crush rather than mark the ana, then pull it out from the backside, or just cut out the rivet head on the side you drilled with a countersink and drive it out gently. The first if the pin section of the rivet is deformed and bent, the second if it's straight. Don't try to drive a bent pin through a straight hole. I have unpinned many straight razors with this method, and the pin diameter on those is only 1/16" or about 1.5mm, so the amount of real estate you would be working with here is massive in comparison. 2 1 Quote
Shugyosha Posted October 16 Report Posted October 16 Hi George, I once had a tanto koshirae where the mekugi metal and was in two halves that slotted together through the mekugi ana and the tops were decorated and formed the menuki. That might be the case here, or it might be more permanent that that. 1 Quote
Alex A Posted October 16 Report Posted October 16 Must admit, this is a riveting thread, Boo, get him off. 5 3 Quote
raaay Posted October 16 Report Posted October 16 I once had a sword with two rivets, one copper one aluminium , presumed it was for test cutting ? Quote
The Blacksmith Posted October 18 Report Posted October 18 Alex, go and stand in the corner facing the wall........... I have seen recently an aluminium hilted NCO's katana with a rivet instead of the normal screw. Possibly, a field repair, but perhaps not and added later. As Aaron has explained, removing the rivet wouldn't be a problem, but to be honest, it probably isn't worth it, even for curiosity's sake. Perhaps just think of it as a 'battlefield' repair? Which it may even be. 1 1 Quote
George KN Posted October 18 Author Report Posted October 18 Thanks all for the replies and suggestions on how to remove the rivets. I decided not to go for the original sword - I sadly don't have a workshop available and it needed too much work for my risk tolerance, so it's contents shall remain a mystery unless someone else on this forum bought it and is feeling braver than I... If anyone does have any pics of other swords with rivets, please do share though! Quote
Alex A Posted October 18 Report Posted October 18 4 hours ago, The Blacksmith said: Alex, go and stand in the corner facing the wall........... Was only joking, sometimes forget humour isn't universal but at least a few laughed. Like all Japanese sword threads, even ones about rivets/fixings. Particularly like the tsuka. 2 Quote
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