New koshirae is finished

[JunS]

Hi,

About a year ago, I started the restoration of the koshirae of a nihonto I bought.

The blade the original koshirae was mounted on is nothing special.

The price of a polish would exceed the price it would be worth afterwards.

Same with a new koshirae.

But it was the first nihonto I bought, and I wanted at least to preserve the blade.

The original saya and tsuka were cracked and no longer airtight.

First I crafted a new tsuka core and then finished the tsuka with new antique fittings because the original kashira was lost.

After the tsuka was finished, I bought honoki wood from Namikawa and started carving the saya.

After months, the carving and lacquering is finished.

I chose an Ishime pattern for the saya, and I think it was not a failure.

The Katana kake in the background was also made by me.

The next project is building a lightning solution.

The current one is only a prototype to test the function. Please ignore the cables. They will be hidden afterwards.

One of the pictures is a before-and-after picture, by the way.

I hope you like the new koshirae and don't just dislike it, because it was not crafted by a traditionally trained artist.

I did the best I can and learned lot on the way. If I were to start again, I think the build would be even better.

 

 

 

 

[Iaido dude]

Wonderful, Simon. There is no better way except by working through the process of handcrafting an object, in order to gain a very concrete understanding of how a traditional process was developed. I have been thinking of trying my hand at making a new saya for one of my practice iaito because after many years of use the fit has become a bit loose.

 

Can you provide a description of how you made the saya starting from hinoki boards?

[Tcat]

Hi Simon, I think for a first attempt you did a good job. The untrained eye is unlikely to notice anything too far amiss.

Is the blade completely secure and aligned in the tsuka and can it be removed and replaced with ease? If the answer is yes, then well done on that.

The next time you do one, you will know what you're in for, and the result will be improved further. I have tried my hand at woodworking parts for swords and it is a true test of accuracy/tolerance. I once made a tsuka for shirasaya and the result worked but it took me forever and looked not as good as yours. Anyway, you've done well and there's a serious shortage of people able to mount swords these days. Keep practising and one day people might be paying you to do it...

[Bugyotsuji]

Having seen several ‘homemade’ shirasaya, Simon, yours looks the best so far. 

[robinalexander]

Well done Simon...love your work.