Hello and an Introduction

[JHrisoulas]

I hope this is in the right place..if not I am sorry..I am still not all that tuned in to the computer age tech.

 

My name is Jim..I am a swordsmith/researcher living and working in Southern Nevada and I am presently in the midsts of my fourth book and I am hoping to clean some background informaton/data about the Japanese sword for inclusion in said book and to present some of my own "raw data" to check for accuracy and content.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Below is a photo of one of my Japanese inspired pieces made in the Kobuse method of construction from 1095/84, wrought iron and meteoric iron laminate around a wrought iron core. This is just "inspired" and not of any real identifiable blade style other than "big" with a nagasa of 34" and 3/4" sori. Tsuka length is 14" done in my own version of a "modified" battle wrap tsuka-maki in black and gold chevron pattern silk ito over tiger ray samegawa. This siya is 22K gold leaf under a black "cracked" lac sealed with clear lac over it. The remainder of the siya is covered with the same tiger ray samegawa as on the tsuka with horn furniture. This blade cuts very well (at least for me it does) and is surprizingly light for its length due to the distal taper and the two Bo-Hi. I hope you like it...

 

JPH

[David Flynn]

G'day Jim, welcome and good luck with your project.

[outlier48]

Jim -Welcome to NMB. I like your work and would appreciate more pics if you have any showing details.

 

Charlie Brashear

[jason_mazzy]

Is all work on this sword your own work? blade, saya, everything?

[JHrisoulas]

Mr Mazzy:

 

Yes the work is pretty much all mine except for the kashirae. I get the tsuba, menuki, fuchi and kashira from an art foundry that specilaizes in reproduction sword furniture. I am working of finding someone who can do hand made tsuka-ito but no luck as yet.

 

The steels I use are usually 10XX series combined with something a "little different" like 15n20/L6 or refined mix of meteoric iron/wrought iron when I am feeling really masochistic. From time to time I do my own iron from ore and work the bloomery down and then make steel from there (I do two smelts every year or so for reseach purposes).

 

Now my primary area of reseach is in Northern European Pattern Welding techniques of the Migrationary Period, but I have had "my hand in" making Japanese style blades ever since my best friend, the late Mr. Bob Engnath decided to figure out how to get a hamon on homogenous material. We must of went through two tons of all sorts of steels until we can up with the proecess that I use now. Compared to some of the milti-core European swords, the Japanese methods are much simpler in terms of construction, but that is really a very general observation as there are other factors that come into play.

 

The polishing techniques that the Japanese employed resulted in a finish that can be described (when properly done) as nothing less than spectacular...

 

As I said in my introduction, I am currently doing my 4th book and that will incude a chapter on differential hardening blades to get a hamon as well as adapting traditional Japanese composite construction and forging techniques using "modern" materials. While some sword collectors call me a heretic, I hope that this is not the case here.

 

I will also be covering modern methods of polishing using both abrasion and chemical ectants in order to reveal the haomn, here again to some it would seem to be heresey but I am not advocating that these techniques be used on "old" blades, just on the blades made by someone who has an interest in getting started and even then, simply a stepping stone to more traditional techniques.

 

I am currently working on a tamashigiri Dai-sho that once done I will be posting once I get them finished and my web site back up and running (it is currently crashed due to a "uodate" by my hosting company).

 

Now I have a question.. I have a sword (blade only) made by Ansano Kanezane around 1941. It shows his kokuin at the end of the nakago underneath/below the mei so it wasn't made by his company workers..so I have been told anyway.... It is what I call a "rescued blade" as I picked it up at an estate sale in Los Angeles around 1978. It has been slightly abused, there are some very small nicks on the ha and the kissaki has lost the last 1/64" or so. I would like to have it polished and re-mounted. Does anyone know of a decent polisher that would accept the work?

 

Thank you for your time

 

JPH

[Lee Bray]

Hi Jim,

 

Long admired your work and nice to see you here.

[JHrisoulas]

Hello:

 

Thank you for the warm welcome...I hope to be of some benefit and make a decent contribution from time to time..

 

JPH