Nido42 Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 Hello. I had just gotten an antique shirasaya wakazashi and the seams seem to be splitting apart. What would be a recommended way as to repairing this? Not sure if any wood glue would be appropriate or not or if it is what would be a good method at applying it into the seams. Thank you. Quote
Alex A Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 You need rice glue, dont use wood glue. Re-glue and wrap some elastic around the saya to hold it whilst it dries. Keep the blade away from it until it is dry. Its common, sometimes the saya has to be split to clean the inside of the saya, hence they don't use strong adhesive 1 Quote
Nido42 Posted February 13 Author Report Posted February 13 1 minute ago, Alex A said: You need rice glue, dont use wood glue. Re-glue and wrap some elastic around the saya to hold it whilst it dries. Keep the blade away from it until it is dry. Its common, sometimes the saya has to be split to clean the inside of the saya, hence they don't use strong adhesive Would i have to split it open wider too apply it? Probably a silly question i apologize. Quote
Alex A Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 Ive had a few that have started to come apart. Just tease it apart a bit so you you can put a bit of glue in, being careful not to split all of it open. Wrap some chord or elastic around it and let it dry over night. Dont use loads of glue. Some folks will split it apart in its entirety, clean of the old glue and then re-glue. Im in the do as little as possible boat, that will do enough to hold it. Quote
Scogg Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 I have a wakizashi in shirasaya that's also starting to split. What I did, was wrap the area with Teflon Tape (plumbers tape). Plumbers tape has no adhesives, so I figure it won't damage the shirasaya. It sticks best to itself, so several "passes" around the area is recommended. Just a temporary fix that looks better, and is less damaging than any adhesive tapes. Could also be used to hold the shirasaya together while the rice glue dries. Best of luck! Cheers, -Sam 2 Quote
Alex A Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 2 hours ago, GeorgeLuucas said: I have a wakizashi in shirasaya that's also starting to split. What I did, was wrap the area with Teflon Tape (plumbers tape). Plumbers tape has no adhesives, so I figure it won't damage the shirasaya. It sticks best to itself, so several "passes" around the area is recommended. Just a temporary fix that looks better, and is less damaging than any adhesive tapes. Could also be used to hold the shirasaya together while the rice glue dries. Best of luck! Cheers, -Sam You make a good point Sam about tape with adhesive. On more than one occasion had swords turn up where someone has used tape on a shirasaya and it has left stains that can only be sanded off to get rid of them. Its a bit annoying. 1 Quote
Scogg Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 Agreed, Alex. I see shirasaya with tape stains often. It’s unsightly, and easily avoidable IMO. Here you can see my example of teflon tape (plumbers tape). It is also unsightly, but it will keep the shirasaya together indefinitely, and when removed it won’t leave any marks. If you’re careful, you can make it look better than my example. Assuming it’s still together, and the split is minor. Cheers, -Sam 1 Quote
robinalexander Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 6 hours ago, Nido42 said: and the seams seem to be splitting apart. KA (do you have a name?) ... A picture or two of the problem would be helpful. Sam is on the right track. My only variation is that I have used Silicon Repair Tape with great success. I don't leave it on....I only use it to hold the job in place until its set. Then remove it. It has no glue and sticks to itself like Sam's Teflon tape. Silicon tape can stretch to three times its length so that allows you gauge the appropriate holding strength you need depending on how robust or fragile your job is....also common water based glues will not stick to it. 1 Quote
The Forest Ninja Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 What about using clear nail polish if You don't have a 2 part clear epoxy? 1 Quote
Nido42 Posted February 14 Author Report Posted February 14 1 hour ago, robinalexander said: KA (do you have a name?) ... A picture or two of the problem would be helpful. Sam is on the right track. My only variation is that I have used Silicon Repair Tape with great success. I don't leave it on....I only use it to hold the job in place until its set. Then remove it. It has no glue and sticks to itself like Sam's Teflon tape. Silicon tape can stretch to three times its length so that allows you gauge the appropriate holding strength you need depending on how robust or fragile your job is....also common water based glues will not stick to it. Hi, sorry my name is kevin. I'm still pretty new to the whole forums thing. It does appear to have what looks like some tape marks on it already. So, assuming someone might have done this at some point in the past as well. The tsuka seems to be split on one end and the saya almost runs the full length on both sides. Sorry if I mispronounce anything, I'm still learning. 1 Quote
Nido42 Posted February 14 Author Report Posted February 14 1 hour ago, GeorgeLuucas said: Agreed, Alex. I see shirasaya with tape stains often. It’s unsightly, and easily avoidable IMO. Here you can see my example of teflon tape (plumbers tape). It is also unsightly, but it will keep the shirasaya together indefinitely, and when removed it won’t leave any marks. If you’re careful, you can make it look better than my example. Assuming it’s still together, and the split is minor. Cheers, -Sam Thank you for the advice! It appears to already have some tape stains. (I'm assuming) but only on one side of the saya. The splits seems to be vertical on both sides. I had added some pictures to another reply on here. Quote
robinalexander Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Tks Kevin welcome. Will have a look at pics when I get home...others might chime in too Quote
Grey Doffin Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Hi guys, Shirasaya is greatest diameter at the top of the saya and bottom of the tsuka (where they meet) and it tapers down in either direction away from that point. Cut a strip of white paper about 1" wide and long enough to more than wrap completely around the saya. Wrap the strip around below where you want it to end up and tightly wrap it with masking tape. Upend the saya on a sturdy flat surface and force the paper tape downward. If you have planned correctly it will end up where you need it to be and, since neither the paper nor tape are elastic, it will be very tight. When the time comes to remove it, force it the other direction. Since the tape doesn't touch the saya, there will be no stain. These work great to hold the saya together while you wait to get it reglued. I use these bands to secure the saya when I do reglue (rice glue only). Since they exert force in all directions, the 2 halves of the saya can't misalign while the glue sets. Grey 2 3 1 Quote
Mark S. Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 If you decide you are not yet comfortable separating and re-glueing the shirasaya yet, you can use the paper bands as Grey described. If you go this route, I do recommend you search out some acid free ‘archive’ paper. While maybe a little over cautious, it will help with keeping any additional marks on the shirasaya to a minimum. The paper bands should suffice for quite some time. Quote
Scogg Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Thank you Grey and Mark, that’s great advice. You've given me a nice little snow-day project. Much appreciated. All the best, -Sam 1 Quote
Stephen Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 17 hours ago, The Forest Ninja said: What about using clear nail polish if You don't have a 2 part clear epoxy? Ah..NO follow Gray's advice he's our resident woodworker. 1 Quote
Bruno Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 I just sent my splitting shirasaya to John TIRADO. 1 Quote
Stephen Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 40 minutes ago, Bruno said: I just sent my splitting shirasaya to John TIRADO. Best advice to ORG poster 2 Quote
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