Let's briefly define the well-known facts regarding the manufacturing technology of the Japanese sword. The Japanese katana sword is the world's most famous type of full-sized edged weapon of the Far East. This is a two-handed, slightly curved, single-edged sword in a lacquered wooden scabbard, with a blade length of about 70-80 cm, equipped with a flat, removable guard and a handle braided with cord.
The technique of making katana, as we know it, has existed in Japan for about a thousand years. The five main schools of Japanese gunsmiths (which still exist today) determined the canonical proportions, internal structures, features of the metal structure of the blades, as well as methods for their zone hardening. All this has been tested by practical fencing for many centuries, which, in the end, turned this sword into one of the most advanced types of bladed weapons in the world.
Here it is necessary to note the fact that in Japan the polished blade itself is called a sword, rather than the entire sword assembly. This, at first glance, strange attitude may be due to the fact that the katana assembly technology provides for a quick replacement of not only the handle assembly, but also its individual parts. But the main factor that determined the indisputable priority of the blade, without a doubt, is the amazing complexity and accuracy of the art of its manufacture.
Sword decoration details mowing"koshirae" (guard - tsuba, elements of the handle - fushi, kashira, menuki) exist as collectibles, almost independently of the blade. These are completely independent works of applied art that can decorate almost any sword (assembly technology allows you to fit almost any part of the koshirae to any blade).
Exploring the technological features of making a katana, delving into the contemplation of this beauty, it is necessary to immediately outline the level of quality of swords, starting from which one could speak of a katana as a true work of weapon art. It's no secret that today in any Moscow souvenir shop you will be offered for US$100-300 a "real" katana made in knife factories in Spain or China. The seller will expertly explain that the blade is made of fine stainless steel, and the dangling scabbard, plastic handle and stamped frame are created in full accordance with classical Japanese techniques and belong to such and such a century, such and such a style ... Well, I think, " Spanish Japan" does not need to comment. However, the market for "hack-work" does not end there. Many, so to speak, "katan" are made by prisoners (specialized Russian enterprises) and gunsmiths who do not adhere to any traditional Japanese technologies and rules at all. Roughly crafted stainless steel blades, with a painted or etched quench line, threaded or epoxy-glued handles, saber scabbards with hanging rings. All this greatly disorients the public and, often, repels novice collectors of modern author's weapons from the topic of the Japanese sword.
A real sword of "high analysis", first of all, does not tolerate the influence of high technology. It should not contain any innovations, any inventions, a minimum of deviations from the canon. A real sword is made by a master not only at the level of knowledge of technology. It is very important to observe the atmosphere, the spirit of the process itself, the inner mood. Katana is not a souvenir, and not a formal decoration, it is a formidable weapon of a true warrior of the spirit. All masters working on the creation of a high-class sword put their soul, experience and a piece of their own destiny into it, or, in oriental terms, karma. We note for ourselves that a real katana is created by several professional masters (independently of each other), each of which lays its future level.
There are no minor details in a real sword. It is important from what, how, by whom, for what and for whom it was made, what features are embedded in its design and decorations. The set of distinctive features of such a sword consists of the level of masters and the level of technologies they used.
Mandatory attributes of a high-class, real katana are, of course,:
* "patterned" (composite) steel of the blade, obtained by hand forging (with a possible lined design of elements along the section: the butt, lining and blade can be made of composite steels of different chemical composition and structure);
* zone water hardening along the blade, obtained by coating part of the blade with a special composition based on clay, sand and charcoal with many visual effects on the transition zones between hard and soft areas);
* ultra-fine manual polishing of the blade on stones, without the formation of an edge (chamfer) of the blade and without the effect of rounding the edges of the edges (in addition, such polishing should provide a high degree of sharpness of the blade, and also show the macrostructure of composite steel and the hardening line jamon"hamon" on a perfectly mirrored surface);
* original design and sword assembly technology (o-ring habaki"habaki", guard tsuba"tsuba" and handle tsuka"tsuka" are put on the blade through the shank and are fastened "tight" with one pin mekugi"mekugi");
* the artistically decorated koshirae finishing device and the scabbard, made according to the classical rules, in full accordance with the traditional assembly technology, must carry a deep philosophical idea and the special Charm of Shinto and Zen aesthetics.
On this topic, dear readers, we can talk, without exaggeration, forever. I will only note that katana hardening is, of course, the most responsible, risky and complex operation performed in the manufacture of a sword, which lays not only half of all the physical and mechanical properties of the blade, but also, in fact, determines its aesthetics. Nothing draws attention to a katana blade quite like jamon"hamon".
Katana blade polishing
Polishing Japanese swords is a separate and highly respected profession. For several centuries, this, in general, utilitarian operation has existed in Japan as a high art. The goal of the polisher is to achieve absolutely correct blade shapes, a mirror-like, clean steel surface with a “pattern” (hada) and a hardening line (hamon) visible on it, as well as the ultimate sharpness of the blade.
All operations are performed on special stones in six to seven main phases (from coarser to finer stones). In the process of polishing, the stones are constantly washed with water, and abrasive pastes are formed on their surface from friction against the metal.
Recent detection operations hada"hada" and jamon"hamon" (hazui, jizui) are made with small, thin stones held on the polished surface with the thumb. For a more vivid manifestation of the structure of the metal, the polisher can, at his discretion, carry out the operation hadori"hadori" (weak chemical effect on the metal of the blade), which emphasizes the beauty of the metal and the temper line, but does not lead to the loss of the effect of a deep, translucent mirror.
On average, it takes ten to fifteen business days for a professional to polish a new katana blade. After the completion of his work, specialists and connoisseurs can see all his strengths and weaknesses. Hidden defects will appear in the same way as deep subtle virtues. Before the final polishing, it is almost impossible to truly appreciate the sword.
A high-class katana blade, after a good professional polishing, carries a lot of information in ce6ie. Hada and hamon are definitely visible on it. Moreover, it is impossible to fake such effects by acid etching. A picture full of drama and mystery of “freezing” or, in other words, “stopping” the blade will open before your eyes. The hamon line is not a static picture. This is a kind of photograph of the rapid breathing of metal.
It is generally impossible to see the small, moiré “pattern” on hada steel in all its bewitching beauty without a professional polisher. Neither acid etching nor electrolysis will let you see this hologram of the Universe in the mirror. Describing the beauty of hada on katana is pointless. Photographing this fleeting elusive effect is also almost impossible. That is why it is still customary in Japan not only to photograph blades for registration and evaluation, but also to sketch them on paper. The human eye sees disproportionately more in the mirror of a blade than the most accurate photographic equipment in the world.
Assembling a katana
The assembly of a katana can be divided into three large stages:
1. Production of unique parts that are made for one strictly defined blade:
* sealing ring habaki (habaki) serves to ensure that the blade fits snugly into the sheath and is fixed in them due to friction (it is forged from copper, silver or gold directly on the blade to ensure maximum fit of the ring to the blade, after punching the ring is sawn off and soldered; habaki ( habaki) can be decorated with engraving, inlay and appliqué with precious metals);
* wooden scabbard saya"saya" (glued together from two halves, each of which is adjusted to the blade and to the habaki in profile and thickness with virtually no backlash, in subsequent operations they are varnished and equipped with various elements and details)
* wooden base of the handle tsuka"tsuka", the manufacturing technology of which is similar to the manufacturing technology of the scabbard, only in this case, the shank of the sword cuts between two planks (in subsequent operations, it is pasted over with the skin of a stingray or shark and tied with a special cord tsukaito"tsukaito" made of cotton, silk or leather);
* metal rings that tightly fix the guard between the habaki and the handle seppa(seppa) and eliminating backlash, can be made of copper, bronze, silver or gold.
* guard (tsuba) - the most significant and complex element of the sword device, can be decorated with engravings, inlays, taushing, varnishes, enamels, patination and many other techniques (the material for tsuba can be wrought iron or steel, cast bronze, shakudo (bronze with the addition of silver and gold), silver, copper and combinations of these materials);
* ring adjacent to the guard footy"fushi", pommel cashier"kashira" and paired elements woven under the braided cord (menuki) are made according to the same principles as tsuba, complementing and expanding its figurative range.
3. Assembly, fitting and varnishing of the scabbard:
* the assembly operation of the handle includes the following steps: gluing the skin of a stingray or shark (same), fitting and installing elements of koshirae, tsuba and sepra, tying knots tsukamaki"tsukamak" i cord with fixation on the handle menuki"menuki" and kasira;
* installation of reinforcing and functional elements on the scabbard (can be made of various metals, black horn or hard wood);
* making special grooves in the sheath and installing a miniature knife in them ( kozuka kozuka, for cutting and straightening armor cords) and hairpins ( kogai"kogai", for tying and untying tight knots on armor);
* varnishing of the scabbard (varnish may include a wide variety of fillers, such as plant seeds, metal dust, powders from eggshell, colored stone, etc., in addition, between the layers of varnish can be used, as an element of the application, the skin of a stingray, inserts of precious wood, pieces of fabrics and leather).
Manufacture of katana handle frame elements
As already mentioned, the elements of the katana frame can exist as independent works of art. They are made, as a rule, separately from the blades, by individual craftsmen belonging to their schools and creative workshops.
There are many techniques for making koshirae. In ancient times, the fittings, especially the tsuba, were often made of wrought iron. Such details were decorated very sparingly, mainly with perforation, but the symbols and compositions on these old decoration details are striking in their conciseness and originality.
In more late time, approximately from the end of the 16th century, the method of bronze casting became very common, followed by complex refinement by engraving, taushing, application with various metals and alloys, etching and varnishing.
There are many antique decorations made by casting silver, soldering precious metal elements onto steel, and applying a polished stingray skin. As well as all sorts of combined techniques, using not only metals, but also bones, leather, wood, enamel...
But let's not dwell on the technique of performing koshirae in more detail. The fact is that even the most superficial coverage of this topic will take, without exaggeration, 200-300 pages of printed text (excluding illustrations).
For those who want to seriously study this topic (and in general all topics related to katana), I highly recommend reading the books of A.G. Bazhenov "History of the Japanese Sword" and "Examination of the Japanese Sword", as well as the sixth issue of the Chevron series called "Japanese Sword" (author K.S. Nosov).
Japanese sword metallurgy
After a brief acquaintance with the manufacturing technology and design of the katana, allow me, dear readers, to bring to your attention some of my assumptions regarding the metallurgy of the Japanese sword.
My colleagues and I from the “TeG-zide” (“Iron Fang”, Sergey Lunev's Japanese sword workshop) tried to understand the reason for the appearance of a peculiarly finely moire “pattern” hada on classical ancient blades.
Study: "moire of Japanese steel"
Studying over the past five years samples of ancient Japanese katanas (XIV - XVI centuries), I had to pay attention to the special fibrous-moiré structure of the steel of their blades. On the surface of the blades, at 4.5-10-fold magnification, the finest traces of forge welding are clearly visible. It would seem that everything is clear: we are dealing with the classical technology of the so-called "Damascus steel".
However, it is impossible to obtain such a hada pattern by layer-by-layer welding of dissimilar steel. Completely different nature of the structure.
A more detailed study of ancient Japanese swords (from private collections) in metallographic laboratories revealed that the structure of their blades is fragmentary fibrous, i.e. formed by forge welding a plurality of fragments that originally had a fibrous structure.
These fibers consist of differently carburized and differently alloyed steel fragments. Traces of welding seams are periodically traced between the fibers themselves. The fiber density is amazing: in some parts of the blade (at the edge of the blade), apparently, it can reach from 100 to 300 fibers per square millimeter of cut (i.e. up to 500,000 fibers per blade cut)! Unfortunately, no one allowed us to cut the blade and accurately count the fibers, however, museum workers and collectors can be understood. Further research revealed the following:
* the fibers themselves have an intermittent structure, with a color change when etched with nitric acid from light gray to almost black (i.e., the fibers are heterogeneous in chemical composition);
The fibers are grouped into groups of two levels, i.e. on the one hand, small fibers are collected in the likeness of bundles or bundles (1st level), on the other hand, these bundles form strongly deformed (flattened) groups lined up in layers (2nd level);
It was found that the boundaries between the fibers at the microscopic level have two main types: a forge welding seam, with remnants of non-metallic inclusions (type 1), and diffusion welding at the molecular level without visible traces of non-metal inclusions (type 2);
Each fiber is heterogeneous in chemical composition, and can repeatedly change color during etching from light to dark along its entire length.
It will be possible to obtain more detailed information about the structure and chemical composition of the investigated fibrous steel only by applying material study methods that allow mechanical and electroerosive destruction of samples (blades).
So, after a while, it became clear to us that moire pattern is a fiber built in layers. Naturally, questions immediately arose. Do they make such blades in Japan today? What kind of technology or method makes it possible to obtain such a macro- and microstructure of steel? How does this structure affect quality characteristics blade?
Let's start in order
In Japan, the best modern blacksmiths still achieve the same effect today. This is confirmed by many detailed photos modern swords forged by such giants as, for example, Yoshindo Yoshihara. Not on all, but on many of his swords is clearly visible fibrous-moire metal structure. So the first question can safely be answered in the affirmative. I repeat once again, such blades can only be found in the best Japanese masters of our time. This is an important point that will help us deal with the “mystery” of moiré fiber more thoroughly.
Now about the method of obtaining fibrous steel in Japanese. The goal is to obtain not just a fibrous, but an ultra-thin structure with an intermittent (non-uniform) fiber, built in two levels (longitudinal and layer-by-layer), interconnected simultaneously by forge and diffusion welding.
The creation of fibrous structures in steel has been solved (and very successfully) for many centuries, by many craftsmen in many countries. The most famous today has become the method of the so-called mosaic Damascus. The essence of this technology is that a package assembled from steel strips (square in cross section) is forged, welded and pulled again into a square section. Then the beam is chopped or cut into equal segments, from which a square-sectional package is again recruited (2 by 2 or 3 by 3 or more). After that, these operations are repeated cyclically. By typing in this way right amount fibers, the blacksmith twists the bag and cuts it across with grooves of 3-8 mm. Further forging into the strip and grinding “raises” to the surface the mosaic pattern of steel formed by the transverse sections of the fibers.
The cross section of a bar of mosaic Damascus is a fiber lined up in a certain way. Eight welds of a 2 by 2 pack using this method will produce a bar containing about 65,000 fibers. A 10 splices - already more than 1 million fibers!
On the basis of this method, we created several katana blades, in which famous blacksmiths-gunsmiths of Moscow and Tula took part.
The absence of the effect of intermittent fiber structure can be considered as a significant difference from the Japanese version. The pattern came out small, clear, very beautiful and dense, but without the famous Japanese moiré. The blades turned out to be quite strong and tough, but the classic zone hardening revealed hamon without a clearly defined nioi transition zone, and moreover, the hardened zone showed a hada contrast, which is undesirable from an aesthetic point of view. In short, it turned out very well, but not quite what they were looking for.
There are many methods for obtaining fibrous steel. For fun, I can offer another, just came to mind, a very irrational method. When welding a Damascus package (after a set of 100 layers), cut grooves on it along the broach before each subsequent welding. Longitudinal cuts will “raise” to the surface the transverse sections of the layers, which, when these operations are repeated cyclically, form a fiber. The loss of metal with this method will be huge, and the fiber will turn out to be “different-sized” and, of course, completely homogeneous. But why not a method? It is a pity that in Russia things are not very good with intellectual property, otherwise it could be patented. However, jokes aside.
And yet, how is the classic moire fiber made in Japanese? Let's turn to the primary sources: books about the art of making a Japanese sword, published in Japan and the USA. The whole process is described in many books from beginning to end. For us, the most interesting, no doubt, will be the materials from the book of the most authoritative blacksmith-gunsmith of modern Japan, Mr. Yoshindo Yoshihara "Craft of the Japanese Sword".
I must say that the Japanese craftsmen very skillfully hide the most important technological nuances in the abundance of very spectacular and colorful, but still secondary or well-known facts. Many important points are missing altogether. It is understandable, the secrets of mastery exist in order to protect them. I will not dissemble, I would also not want to reveal absolutely everything that I managed to understand and what I was able to learn, but, in my opinion, the technology of Japanese moire deserves to slightly open this veil of mystery. I think that many Japanese sword lovers and collectors will be more respectful of katana if they learn more about such "secrets of antiquity".
So, the most interesting was “hidden” literally in the most visible place. Let's start with forging (forge welding) steel blade.
Describing the process of folding the package, master Eshindo in his book gives a diagram, where, however, without any special comments, one very curious and significant technique is shown, with the help of which the longitudinal fibrous structure of steel is obtained. This is a package turn by 90° around the broach axis, and further welding and folding in a perpendicular plane. The package is rotated, gaining at least 200-500 layers in the primary plane. After turning and a further set of layers, the package begins to be crushed according to the checkerboard principle and collects fibers formed at the intersections of the primary and secondary layers.
I must say that, like all technologies of antiquity, this method of obtaining fiber turned out to be much more efficient and simpler than the later inventions of blacksmiths. Unfortunately, I, too, had to first, so to speak, “reinvent the wheel”, i.e. "rediscover" this method, before I realized that it had long been published in many books on the Japanese sword, and all this time literally loomed before my eyes. So once again we have to make sure that the most important (and simple) secrets are kept in the most visible place, but are not revealed to us until we ourselves understand their meaning.
However, one technique described above is not enough to obtain Japanese moiré. Remember? We agreed that we would find a way to get an intermittent (not homogeneous) fiber. Now we come to the most interesting, and, at the same time, the most controversial. In order not to bother you with a description of my numerous experiments and experiments, I will only state the essence of those methods, the results of which turned out to be very similar to the “Japanese moire” of the Koto period.
Method one (traditional, described in detail by Japanese masters)
Having received raw steel, we will break it into a flat, porous pancake. We will harden it into water, after which we will break the brittle overheated steel into small fragments (from half to a third matchbox). Let us assemble a package from these pieces (let's call it the primary package), built on a low-carbon blade. To do this, lay out flat fragments in 5-7 layers. After forging, welding and broaching, we obtain a strip of square section with a side of 15-20 mm.
Having cut bars 50–60 mm long from this strip, we lay out a secondary package from them in order to then weld it into fiber (according to the method described above). The whole "secret" in this method lies in the fact that the bars must be placed across the line of the package broach. What for? Then, during further welding and drawing into the fiber, the welding seams of the primary package, formed by welded pores and welding fragments to each other, will strongly stretch across (and introduce chaos of the welding seam along the entire length of each of the fibers!), thus making our fiber strong heterogeneous.
If you use steel melted in a charcoal furnace (U7, U8, steel 45 and 65G), the result will satisfy most collectors and fencing masters. However, until the best examples of the XIV-XVI centuries. this method is clearly not reachable. Apparently, the authors of numerous books on the manufacture of Japanese swords "declassified" for us the technology of obtaining steel for ordinary, albeit very high-quality traditional blades.
Method two (more modern and less traditional)
Let's weld the primary package of 9 plates of standard rolled steel (U 10 and steel 45). We will collect 54 layers (9x2x3) using the forge welding method and stretch it into a strip of square section. Further, everything is according to the first method (bars, secondary package, fiber). The "secret" of this method lies in the fact that the bars (lined across the package) must be oriented so that their planes with welds are turned perpendicular (towards) the plane of the hammer heads. The result will be practically the same as in the first method, except that due to the clearer contrast of the metal, the number of fibers in the secondary package should be large. In addition, the steel turns out to be more capricious when quenched and welded, but using this method, the blacksmith can get by with ordinary grade steels without performing the operation. orishigane"orishigane" (remelting steel in a furnace).
Method three (an attempt to reveal the next layer of the secret of Japanese moiré)
For the next method of obtaining Japanese moiré, we will need. ” bulat! A few words about what does damask steel have to do with it and what are the next layers of mystery. The fact is that the traditional Japanese tamahagane steel, welded in a large (not home) tatara furnace, due to the long cooling of a large mass of melt, contains a significant part of dendritic crystals. Strictly speaking, the dendritic structure is the main factor that determines damask steel. Therefore, we can safely assume that in the core of the ingot tamahagane"tamahagane", called kera"kera", contains a significant amount of cast damask steel. Many Japanese and American books on Japanese sword technology show pictures of the kera. Large dendrites are clearly visible in these pictures. So this "secret" is also from the category of publicly available.
Apparently, Japan should be considered the only country that traditionally manufactures damask steel without the use of a crucible. Here, the mass of peripheral metal itself, mixed with coal and slag, acts as a crucible. It's very Japanese: practical, efficient, and deceptively simple.
With this method, we will be able to accomplish another point in the technology of the ancient blacksmiths: diffusion welding between individual groups of fibers. Damask fibers formed due to deformation (broaching) of dendritic crystals do not have forge welding seams between them. It is this picture that we observed in the study of the metal of ancient Japanese blades.
So, let's take porous ingots of cast damask steel with a carbon content of 0.8-1.3% without special alloying additives (unless some kind of catalyst would not interfere: molybdenum, vanadium, tantalum, etc. no more than 0.5% ). Let's weld them into a coarse fiber (12 by 4) and ... be amazed at the result! The nature of the pattern, color, contrast, and when hardened and hamon - will turn out to be very similar to Japanese moire, but still somewhat large. Gaining more fibers will lose the moiré and turn our steel into a beautiful, dense and, unfortunately, too uniform fiber.
One thing is certain: the presence of dendritic structures in the original package brought us closer to the solution. In many respects (oxidation processes during heating, the purity of the weld, the welding temperature, and much more), it was damask steel that showed what the legendary blacksmiths of Japan wrote about in their treatises and books.
An important point for understanding the value of the damask component in tamahagane is the fact that after the completion of melting in Tatar"tatara" (in Japan today there is only one such furnace) representatives of the five main Japanese schools of blacksmiths carefully select and distribute pieces from kera among themselves. This process is surrounded by a veil of secrecy and takes place without the presence of outsiders. What are the patriarchs looking for in this heap of metal? I dare to suggest, and my opinion on this issue is only strengthened by our many years of practice and scientific research that they are looking for damask steel, individual fragments of which are hidden in tons of porous steel.
Needless to say, the best metal goes only to the best masters of schools, among which belongs the Yoshindo Yoshihara (Bizen school) we mentioned.
Method Four (Key to Understanding or Unfinished Experiment)
The reason for the disappearance of the moire effect with an increase in the number of fibers according to the third method lies, apparently, in the fact that the dendrites stretch along the package and become thinner (become invisible to the eye), while relatively bright and thick welds come to the fore. In the first two methods described above, we aimed to stretch the welds across the package. Let's do the same with damask crystals.
Let's start: we upset the damask ingot vertically and stretch it in a perpendicular plane so that its bottom and top become the left and right sides of the strip. We stretch a strip of square section, chop it into bars and fold the primary package out of them. After boiling the primary package, we collect up to 20 layers, and after turning by 90, another 16-32 layers.
So what have we got?
* layered fiber;
* diffusion and forge welding in one package;
* intermittent fibres.
Outwardly, the metal turned out to be even more similar to Japanese moire, it heats up beautifully, allowing you to achieve many old effects on hamon, it holds a blow perfectly and is generally very good and very close to the classics, but still something gives out a remake in it. It is necessary to conduct experiments on the selection chemical composition initial steel (damask steel). Apparently, we will have to add all kinds of metallurgical "garbage", play with the ligature, flux, etc., but this experiment has not yet been completed.
At the beginning of the conversation about the study of Japanese moiré, we asked ourselves the question: how does the fibrous structure of steel affect the quality of the katana blade? Based on the experience of practical operation of the fiber blades of the workshop, Tetsuge in Russian clubs laido (Japanese swordsmanship), it can be said with confidence that the fiber provides significantly greater strength and reliability of the blade compared to layered and homogeneous steels. The cutting characteristics of non-homogeneous fiber are generally unrivaled. In this example, once again you can admire the Japanese ability to combine beauty and practice.
The practice and beauty of damask steel in katana (continuation of the search in pure damask steel)
For about fifteen years now I have been studying damask steel. True, over the years of work in this area, one thought has come to me more and more often: the more I learn about damask steel, the less I know about it. Well, it all started for the sake of the process. I think that any results will always remain intermediate phases of some endless experiment. Bulat has long been for me not a goal, not an idea and not a dream, but rather a special atmosphere in which I am used to working and thinking.
Japan is my old love, which arose in my soul much earlier than other attachments. Many precious days of youth were given to this first love in the dodzo (martial arts hall), the library and in the forest during the Japanese simple and youthfully categorical "contemplation" of nature. Passion for Japan "infected" me with the aesthetics and practice of Zen, later with Indian philosophy and culture of India, having fallen in love with which, I adopted European philosophy, hermeticism and alchemy .... But no matter how life develops further, Japan, probably, will forever remain for my favorite, calling fairy tale.
Sooner or later, these two paths were bound to cross. This is how katana blades appeared, forged from cast damask steel, on the shanks of which the hieroglyphs Tetsu (iron, iron) Ge (in combination - fang) are neatly displayed.
I came up with this name by analogy with my favorite childhood cartoon "Mowgli". Do you remember with what admiration and awe Mowgli takes an old dagger in his hands? How reverently pronounces his name: "Iron Tooth"? The calligraphic writing of these hieroglyphs, which became our signature, belongs to the brush of our friend and my colleague at the Institute of Hard Alloys (VNIITS) Boris Anatolyevich Ustyuzhanin, who knows Chinese perfectly, and in general is an extraordinary and knowledgeable person. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him again.
Over the years, my attitude towards damask steel, swords and Japan has not changed. I, like the hero of my favorite cartoon, am in awe of the blade. I hope this feeling never goes away. In this regard, I would very much not want to become a “cynical professional”, it is better to always remain a sincere amateur.
Three or four years before the founding of the Tetsuge workshop, I repeatedly made attempts to create a katana blade from damask steel. Learning along the way the intricacies of hardening and encouraging my father to study Japanese polishing, I understood very well that a katana needs a special, specially welded damask steel.
Water hardening has become a real obstacle on this path. The classic Iranian type damask with 1.5-2% carbon could not withstand such a tough operation. Too much and too quickly precipitated martensite. When hardened, the blades bent almost into a wheel, and they broke into almost a thousand pieces. Tempering into oil, firstly, did not meet my inner needs (not in Japanese, that is, not really), and secondly, the hamon line turned out to be devoid of the beauty that so tempts connoisseurs of the whole world.
On the way to the "Japanese damask steel" I have tried many cunning tricks and methods, including such fundamental ones as thermodynamic shock in steel (quenching with an abruptly changed cooling rate). Very beautiful and high-quality things turned out in their own way, but you can’t deceive yourself, it was not what you dreamed about.
So, in 2001, due to the resumption of work on alloying damask steel with molybdenum with a simultaneous decrease in the carbon content to 0.6-0.8%, it was possible to obtain anew damask steel, which received the "proprietary" designation M-05 or at home - "Emka" . Why did you have to reopen it? The fact is that at one time, due to a stupid, in general, mistake at the stage of polishing and acid etching, a similar alloy was “written off” by us as a marriage.
The essential difference between Emka and everything that I have done before can be considered three of its important properties:
* the ability to withstand hardening with the first water phase, then oil (in the first phase, all the famous hamon effects are formed, while the second, oil phase will protect the blade from excessive mechanical stress);
* the ability to forge welding (moreover, weldability occurs at rather low temperatures of 900-1100 ° C);
* preservation of the damask "pattern" even with repeated heating to welding temperatures and above (up to 1200 ° C).
Material was received, from which, in fact, “our Japan” from Tetsuge began. "Emka" can act in different roles: as a tamahagane (if the smelting was carried out with a large amount of flux and slags specially introduced into the crucible); as an interlayer between layers of raw steel; and, finally, the most important - as a natural, natural fiber from which the blade is forged.
A one-piece forged katana blade made of M-05 damask steel, using some tricky (readers forgive me, secret) forging techniques that make it possible to obtain a semblance of welding seams throughout the entire depth of the strip, is certainly the best, to date, that we have managed to achieve in the “Japanese theme” ".
The main reason why the experiment, previously described as "method four", was suspended, was a breakthrough in the M-05 forging, which opened up much more tempting prospects than all the methods listed above.
The strength of the damask blade has always amazed the imagination, however, if this blade is a zone-hardened katana, then some miracles begin! Having received the first successful samples of solid damask “Japanese” blades, my colleagues and I quickly became convinced that traditional methods of testing for strength were no longer suitable, something tougher had to be invented.
Using this new technology for us, several swords were made, which at one time made up an integral collection and were shown to the general public in November 2004 at the Central House of Artists at the exhibition "Blade - Traditions and Modernity". Now some of them are being tested by experienced laido and Kendo masters. So far, we have received only positive feedback from them.
One of the blades has already begun to give rise to legends (given by us in 2004 to the Japanese fencing master Fyodor Alekseevsky). In his short life, he has already managed to be in the hands of kidnappers and at the assessment of Japanese professionals, and at receptions at embassies ... And recently, some not too delicate visitor to an exhibition in Voronezh took and cut them (without asking) in half duralumin profile showcases along with glass, without causing any damage to the blade. So, it seems that in the case of katana, damask tends to take a leading, if not dominant position. The legends accumulate and the tests continue.
The latest samples of blades suggest that in the near future we can “submit” to water (without an oil phase) hardening of cast damask steel. Who would have thought this five years ago! The structure of hada steel, with each experiment, approaches the famous "Japanese moire". However, despite all these, perhaps very conditional, successes, I am sure that this result will not be the last. As already mentioned, the process for us, nevertheless, is more important than any results, and there are only more mysteries along this long path. Well, the more interesting.
Instead of a conclusion
In the research, or reporting, part of this article, we got acquainted with just one, very narrow (albeit important) aspect of the katana blade manufacturing technology. Fiber steel is far from the only "mystery" of top-tier Japanese blades.
Think how many topics for the study of a real collector! Rigid, polished by time, the canon not only did not turn the katana into a dead art, but rather, on the contrary, opened the way through it to the knowledge of the infinity of the depths of perfection.
Frankly, we are now more busy with other topics. Working on katanas, we rather just rest our souls from exhausting searches and experiments. But one day, quite recently, fellow comrades-in-arms from the Guild of Gunsmiths called and asked to write about Japanese swords. Alluring, beautiful and incomprehensible, Japan again reminded of itself. Could she refuse?
In any case, I tried to show the inexhaustibility of this wise, ancient, but at the same time eternally young and modern beauty. As Zen teaches us, we tried to look closely at a grain of sand on the shore, so that through this fleeting contemplation we could mentally look into the depths of the ocean.
Against the background of this abyss, I would like my, not always successful, modest experiments to inspire novice gunsmiths to independent creative search. A search based not only on curiosity and pride, but also on a reverent, respectful attitude towards ancient cultures and their knowledge.
Katana is inexhaustible. So many features and wisdom combined this amazing sword! We completely omitted the topic of the blade design, which, according to the classics, should consist of dissimilar parts (blade, butt, side plates), did not consider the hardening process. We passed by the secrets of preparing protective fluxes, preparing the hardening medium and methods of straightening the blade, as well as its tempering and polishing. The topic of making a katana frame, the art of lacquer painting of scabbards, the symbolism and mysticism of the Japanese sword, the inner philosophy of the koshirae figurative series, and much more require a separate detailed discussion.
Maybe next time...
. Born in 1968. In 1989-1991. studied the structure of cast damask steel at the Department of Metal Science of the MATI. In 1991 -1995 - private studies of the technology for producing cast damask steel of the "Iranian" type. In 1995-2001 - practical experiments and production of cast damask steel on industrial equipment enterprises of the hard-alloy industry. 8 2001-2004 in the rank of deputy director of VNIITS (All-Russian Research Institute of Hard Alloys and Refractory Metals), he studied the physicomechanical, chemical and electromagnetic properties of cast damask steel.
Participation in exhibitions:
- "Our names" in the State Historical Museum in Moscow, 1998;
- "Blades of Russia-2000" in the Armory of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin";
- "Masterpieces and rarities of blade weapons" in the Naval Museum in St. Petersburg, 2004;
Hello dear kenshi!
Today I would like to tell you how to make a handle yourself ( tsuka) for katana ( iaito, shinken). I was prompted to prepare this review by the need to restore my old iaito, which, for a number of reasons, lacked a handle. Making a handle to order in Russia or Japan is quite expensive and takes a lot of time and resources. So I decided to save time and money, plus check out the place where the hands grow from. 😂😂😂
In this review, I will tell you how to carve a wooden handle and prepare it for winding ( tsukamaki), which I will talk about in the next review.
Any budoka dealing iaido or battodo at least once faced with a situation where the handle katana for one reason or another fell into disrepair. Usually handle katana has two flaws - it is tsukamaki(winding tsukaito) and the shank attachment point katana. If rewind tsukaito- this is not a very difficult and costly task that anyone can handle, all you need is a new cord and skill. Then with a loose shank, things are more complicated. Depending on the situation (if there is no critical damage to the integrity of the handle), this problem can also be solved by mixing sawdust with wood glue and pouring it into the hole for the shank. After that, you will need to insert the shank itself into the hole with the substance so that the substance fills all the extra cavities, and pull it out before it sticks tightly. However, this method does not always work. If the handle is cracked due to a dangling shank, then for your own safety and the safety of others, such a handle must be replaced.
Well, either someone wanted to have a front or vice versa “working” handle, then this review will also be useful for making it. And how to do it right - will be discussed further. 😏
To get started, you will need katana(unassembled). Part koshirae for tsuka, namely: habaki, seppa(2 pcs.), tsuba, footy and kashira .
The last two positions are very important, since the handle is usually machined under footy and kashira certain size. The choice of material depends on this, and specifically - its dimensions.
Of the tools you will need: a vice, a clamp, a hacksaw, a set of files and sandpaper of different grain sizes, chisel(if you have a wood cutter, this will make the task easier), a knife, a diamond sharpener (needed to sharpen the chisel in the process, because a dull chisel is a pain!), mallet, a set of rulers, a marker and epoxy glue.
For the preparation of the handle, it is best to use hardwood. You can use the "traditional" tree - magnolia or paulownia, however, they are quite difficult to find in Russia, and the prices bite. If the origin of your handle does not matter to you, then the most common and affordable option is a Russian oak. There are several online stores that offer craft bars of various lengths and widths for sale. On average, prices range from ₽500.00 to ₽1,500.00 per bar. Personally, I saved money and used the remains of solid Italian oak parquet as a blank. 😎
N.B. parquet board or any other puff wood is not suitable as a blank! And, probably, it is not worth mentioning that the tree must be dry!
So everything necessary materials and we have the tools. We proceed directly to the process of manufacturing the handle. Estimated production time is two days.
Before that, we need to determine the size of the handle. Sizes are an individual thing. I can only offer to measure your "working" tsuka which is convenient to use.
I'll tell you with my own example. The length of my tsuka(together with footy and kashira) - 280 mm. Width at widest point (together with tsukaito) - 45 mm. Thickness (together with tsukaito) - 25 mm. Length tsukamaki(between footy and kashira) - 260 mm. Width tsukaito - 8 mm.
N.B. Here you need to be very careful! Since, depending on the material (cotton or silk) and tension, as well as the method of winding, the cord can be of different widths, and the number of steps (diamonds) that can be wound on the handle between futi and kashira, as well as space for the bottom node. So that there are no gaps and the knot “fits”, I advise you to look at how your “working” handle is wound, and estimate (taking into account the material) how long the handle will be required.
Having decided on the final dimensions of the future handle, we now need to determine the dimensions of the workpiece. Of course, the wooden handle itself is under samegawa(stingray skin) and tsukamaki much smaller sizes, which I indicated (except for the length). But, it seems to me, you should not take the workpiece completely back to back, since working with solid wood requires a certain level of skill. Therefore, in the absence of it, production flaws often occur (somewhere they planed too much). If you take the workpiece slightly larger than the dimensions of the handle assembly, then in case of errors there will be more room for maneuver.
For my handle, I took two bars as a blank, each of which is long ~300 mm, height ~50 mm, width ~25 mm(see photo above).
Now you need to choose the most even sides (this will be needed later). Collecting katana for measurements. Tightly put on the shank habaki, seppu, tsuba and then another seppu. We place the assembled structure on one of the bars (see photo below) in the center. Draw as accurately as possible with a marker. Since usually the shank katana not quite flat, wide on one side and narrow on the other, then on the other bar we do the same mirror(turning katana). This is important, when we glue the blanks, we should get a hole for a specific shank.
N.B. I circled the shank with a thick marker (see photo above), I will cut a cavity for it inside this line. It is very important that the shank fits perfectly in the cut, otherwise it will dangle. The depth of the hole is not very important, since then it can be removed with a file.
We take a chisel in our hands and begin to plan out the groove for the shank. Make sure that at one end the gutter should be deeper than at the other. Constantly check the depth and width by applying the shank. In the end, the shank should fit perfectly into the gutter and not “walk” in it.
The end of the gutter can be made 3-5 mm longer than the length of the shank. This is necessary in case you will be adjusting the futi by grinding down the top of the handle so that the shank does not stick out of it too much when assembled and you do not have to use spacers.
N.B. I specifically do not show in the photo that it is necessary to drill holes for mekugi, since in my case I will make a new hole (mekugi-ana) during final assembly. If you are satisfied with the existing hole for the mekugi, then before gluing it is necessary to drill a hole in each half of the future handle. Please note that on the shank it goes at an angle. Accordingly, first mark with a drill with a smaller diameter, and after gluing it will be possible to drill to size.
When both shank grooves are ready, clamp them together in a vise to check how the shank sits in this hole.
Slide the shank in and out of the workpiece. If it enters tightly enough, but without extra effort, and if it does not walk, then you can proceed to the next stage. If it does not enter to the end, then you should still grind the excess. If the shank walks a little, then this problem can be solved by gluing the workpiece.
The next step is preparing for gluing. Earlier I indicated that it is necessary to select the most even parts of the workpiece. This will shorten our work with the file. Now you need to first grind both halves of the future handle with a file, and then with sandpaper so that they fit evenly and tightly against each other.
So, both halves are perfectly in contact with each other. Now we are ready for gluing. I had experience gluing the handle with special wood glue. However, I think epoxy is stronger and more durable, and most importantly, easier to use. I used epoxy glue in a special package (like a syringe), which, when pressed, immediately mixes the components, giving out the substance we need at the output.
N.B. Unfortunately, according to the instructions, we were given 5 minutes for the next stage, so there was no time for photos. Remove the koshirae from the katana in advance!
We take a "syringe" with glue and squeeze out the line " U» around the liner groove. Do not squeeze too much glue into this place, as the excess will flow inside. The part remaining below the gutter is smeared with glue abundantly.
Carefully insert the shank into the half smeared with glue, then cover with the other half.
We strongly clamp this structure in a vice in the area of \u200b\u200bthe beginning of the gutter. The end of the workpiece is strongly compressed with a clamp. We have approximately 5 minutes to pull out the shank.
Now back to the moment "if your shank is walking". After we clamped the glued workpiece in a vice, some of the glue fell into the groove for the shank. This is fine! To avoid backlash in the future, do not immediately pull out the shank for at least a minute. When you feel that it is pulled out with difficulty, pull it out halfway and insert it back. Repeat this procedure several times within the allotted minutes. Now all the extra cavities are filled with epoxy glue. When it hardens, the shank play will disappear.
N.B. The shank must be cleaned immediately!
We leave our design to dry according to the instructions for 8 hours. This is quite enough for the workpiece to stick together “tightly”. 👌
So eight hours have passed. Our workpiece is securely seated and ready for further processing.
As you can see in the photo above, in fact our workpiece is a bar. This bar needs to be given an oval shape. We have an axial line - this is the line for gluing the halves. it should be adhered to. We begin to grind all sides evenly, but not too much (see photo below).
In my experience, it will be more convenient to decide on the form if you attach footy to the top of the handle.
And circle footy marker. In further processing of the workpiece, it is worth adhering to this form.
At this stage, it is necessary to determine the direction of the handle, as well as adjust footy. Therefore, with the help of a chisel and a file, we grind the rim under footy.
After we fit footy and mount katana on the handle, it will be easier for us to decide on the direction where to remove excess wood.
Now the handle begins to emerge from the workpiece. It's time to think about the shape of the future tsuka. It can be straight from start to finish; it can be wider at the beginning and narrower at the end; it can be tapered in the middle, like an hourglass (I personally prefer this shape). Having decided on the form, we should outline this form on the workpiece. In the photo below you can see a slight bend at the top of the handle. Having done the same from below, we get the shape we need.
The handle should not be thicker (wider) than the edge footy and kashira. Since stripes will be located on the sides in the future samegawa, and then tsukamaki. All this will give us the thickness we need, so feel free to cut off all the excess.
N.B. Tsukamaki should be on par with futi and kashira!
Before moving on to finishing the handle, we need to place kashira at the end of the handle. Fitting the tip of the handle kashira. At kashira there are two holes for the final node tsukamaki. However, these openings are currently unavailable. Our job is to make them accessible. To do this, we need a round file and a little patience. Clamp the handle vertically in a vise. We put on kashira on her. We mark the place for the hole on both sides. And we make a hole, as shown in the photo below.
As a result, we should get something like this (see photo below), when kashira put on the handle.
Having collected footy and kashira, we bring our handle with a file and sandpaper to finishing. It is imperative that the sides of the handle are flat enough to accommodate samegawa.
As a result, we got tsuka according to our sizes for our katana, which is ready for finishing winding ( tsukamaki), which I will tell you in the next review.
Stay tuned! 😎
This review (text and photos) was prepared by Bragin Andrey Evgenievich, especially for Moscow kendo and iaido club Shogun.
This knowledge is necessary for the customer when ordering a katana, for a master when making a katana, and for anyone who goes deep into the topic of the perfect Japanese melee weapons - katana.
Here we will consider one of the elements of this weapon, namely katana handle device.
General name of the handle: tsuka.
And so let's get started:
Tsuka- katana handle
Kasira- pommel. Rather, even a cover that has a decorative and practical purpose. Kasira- completes the handle with a metal cover and has a hole for passing the tape, which is used when braiding the handle.
Same– stingray skin, the traditional material for covering the wooden handle of a katana. Expensive material.
Ho- wooden lining of the handle of the katana.
– decorative element used in finishing the hilt of a katana.
Hole and pin used to hold the hilt of a katana.
- this is the base of the blade on which the elements of the handle are mounted.
– fastening and decorative sleeve of the handle, together with the cashier, keeps the wooden lining of the handle assembled.
Metal washers have both a decorative and a practical function. Only two pieces are installed on both sides of the tsuba.
Unlike the European sword, the Japanese sword has the function of protecting the hand when struck with a tsuba, it was the last thing.
- fastening sleeve, the main task is to create a tight connection between the blade and the scabbard.
Not marked on the image. But it is equally important to specify an element such as:
Tsuka-ito- tape with which the handle is wrapped.
Now, we know the terminology. And we understand what the handle of the Japanese katana consists of. Now, using this knowledge, we can make out what is the stylization of the handle of the katan manufactured by the Zbroevy Falvarak workshop.
For example, let's take one of the previously made katanas:
The handle of the katana workshop "Zbroevy falvarak"
As you can see we do non-detachable handle, but at the same time, we retain a significant number of characteristic elements of the original katana handle .
Menuki, fuchi, sepa is brass casting.
Tsuka-ito - leather band, which is no less typical for katana.
Same- regular skin.
Missing: mekugi and habuki.
Here is a photo of a standard set for a katana handle, the Zbroevy Falvarak workshop (there is no menuki, but it is also included in the set)
Standard set for the handle of a katana, workshop "Zbroevy falvarak"
Generally, this is a high level of style. However, we strive for more.
But by default, our handle looks like this .
Consider the device of a Japanese sword using an example katanas.
katana- long samurai sword, sword length 90-120 cm, hilt length 25-30 cm or 3 arm circumferences, blade width 27-35 mm, deflection equal to or slightly more than the blade width. The handle is covered with stingray leather or shark skin. garda katana called tsuba and is usually round in shape.
The length of the sword blade is calculated as follows: to get the maximum length, you need to subtract 90 cm from your height. To also take into account issues of ease of handling the sword, another 8 cm is usually subtracted from the resulting value. For example, 175 - 90 = 85 cm, 85 - 8 = 77 cm. (my personal opinion is not scientific, below is information from another source).
If your height is not in the table, then for each additional centimeter of height you need to add 3 mm to the length of the blade, i.e. you can more accurately calculate the length of the blade (but this is only a recommendation, because throughout the existence of the sword, its length and technique of owning it have changed, here the fighter has the right to choose the length of the sword himself, depending on the combat situation).
frame buke-zukuri, or uchi-gata-na kosirae . Swords mounted in this style were worn tucked into the belt. There was a ledge on the scabbard kurikata, through which the cord passed sageo.
Frame details buke-zukuri
Kasira - the head of the hilt of swords mounted in the style buke-zukuri.
Kojiri - the tip of the scabbard of swords in the style buke-zukuri; may be absent, then the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and lacquered in the same way as all the scabbards.
Koiguchi - "carp mouth"; entrance to the sheath (or kuchigane, if the mouth of the scabbard is covered by a metal ring).
Kurikata - notched protrusion one-sixth of the length of the sword below koiguchi on the front side scabbard omote through which the cord passes sageo.
Mekugi- a fastening pin passing through the hilt and shank of the sword.
menuki - ornament on the hilt of the sword.
Sageo - cord on sword scabbard.
Same- stingray skin, which was covered fart.
Saya - sheath.
Seppa - a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard.
Futi - clutch on the handle.
tsuba - guard.
Tsuka - handle.
Tsuka-ito - handle winding
The most famous type of style swords buke-zukuri- it katana (daito) and wakizashi (shoto). Wakizashi was just a miniature copy katana. Together they formed daisho("large and small"). If all the details of the frame daisho were designed in the same style, then this pair was called daisho soroimono.
Scabbard (saya) swords are usually made from ho no ki(Magnolias) and consist of two halves. In cross section, they almost always have the shape of an elongated oval of the same shape and size as seppa(washers) located next to them, and remain the same throughout the entire length. The scabbard for the sword, as a rule, was covered with a very durable varnish. At daisho - pairs of swords worn by samurai - this lacquer is usually calm tones, as a rule, black, and all other decorations are designed in the same calm style. Bright flashy colors were preferred by the dandies, and bright red lacquer imported from China was on swords worn by samurai from the provinces of Satsuma and Hyuga, who were famous for their courage and great ardor.
The surface on which the lacquer is applied is either plain smooth, or it may have wide or narrow grooves running diagonally or transversely. The lacquered base itself can be either grainy or well-polished, one-color or decorated. nashiji(gold dust) guri-bori or in other styles, or even a striped two-tone. Quite often, there is also a varnishing type of stingray fish ( same-nuri). These bases can then receive any form of decoration, but for daisho sophisticated maki-e(loose pattern) does not suit Japanese taste. However, with regard to daggers, the master could allow free flight of fantasy, and inlaid metal ornaments are often found here. (kanamono).
The following six pieces of sword scabbards, mounted in style buke-zukuri, could have special decoration details:
Ring covering the entrance to the scabbard - koi guti("mouth of a carp") or kuchigane, if it is metallic;
uragawara - reinforcing bar running across the base of the slot for co-gatana;
Slot lining for co-gatana and kogai. Usually in polished black lacquer, polished natural horn, or soft buff;
kurikata(“chestnut shape”) - a protrusion with a slot, located at a distance of one sixth of the length of the sword below koi guti on the side omote, through which the cord passes sageo;
sori tsuno("returning horn"), or origane, -
a small hook-shaped protrusion even lower on the same side, pointing towards the hilt. It serves to prevent the scabbard from slipping forward from the belt. It is quite rare and usually wakizashi,
but his presence often speaks of good
blade;
kojiri - scabbard tip. It often does not happen, especially in wakizashi, and the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and lacquered in the same way as all scabbards. In form, material and decoration, it very often corresponds to cashier.
All these parts (with the exception of the lining of the slots for co-gatana and kogai) are usually metallic, more or less equally decorated. But in discreet settings, they may be of polished black horn, in the simplest form and in the smallest size necessary for their purpose.
Sageo - it is a flat silk cord passed through kurikatu with which the sword was tied to the belt. Length sageo was from 60 to 150 cm, depending on the size of the weapon, and it could be removed before the battle and used as tasuki for tying long sleeves civil suit to give freedom of hand movements. Sageo They were also used to bind a captured enemy. Color sageo matches the color of the scabbard. If the latter are in good Japanese taste, discreet and strict, the same will be sageo. Have bright and dog three frames sageo corresponding.
Handle (tsuka) always made from two halves of wood glued together, preferably ho no ki(Magnolias). Between them there was a hole for the shank (nakago), called tsuka-guchi. The tree was usually covered with a single piece of white same- knotted stingray skin. The seam went down the center of the side Hooray, and usually the piece was selected so that the central row of three or four larger knots was on top of the side omote.
Winding was applied on top tsuka-ito("hilt thread"), consisting of a strip of strong flat silk (less often leather or cotton) ribbon uchi-him about up to 0.6 cm wide. Quite rarely, instead of a flat ribbon, there is a cord wrapped in rows. Usually, tsuka-ito was black, occasionally soft brown, dark blue or green. Sometimes daimyō used katana with white winding; it was also a trait of a certain type tati. Occasionally, a leather cord and a whalebone are found. The center of the tape was placed close to the handle sleeve footy on the side omote, and the two ends were wrapped around the handle, respectively, on the right and left, and twisted twice at equal distances. As a result same turned out to be completely closed, except for a number of diamond-shaped gaps on both sides of the handle. After the tape was passed through the sides of the handle head cashier, it was fixed on both sides of the handle with a flat compact knot. Slightly below the center of the handle on the side omote and a little above him on the side Hooray the winding partially covered and fixed two decorations in place menuki.
Handle wrap options tsuka and the wrapping technique resulting in the pattern shown at top center
Attaching the cord tsuka-ito on the cashier
There were many exceptions to this usual tsuka-maki(handle winding method). For example, on swords worn daimyō with formal attire called kamishimo, at the court of the shogun during the Edo period, black silk windings crossed over cashier, instead of going inside; cashier in this case it was of plain black horn. This style is known as maki-kake-no-kashira, and a sword with such a winding was called kamishimo-zashi.
Certain court swords, as well as most short swords and daggers, had their stingray skin hilts left unwrapped. In such cases cashier and both menuki had to be fastened with glue, hidden pins, decorative buttons, or other suitable method. This style is called hanashi menuki(free menuki). There are also many forms of unwound hilts, mostly on daggers whose hilts are covered with polished or carved wood, lacquer, rattan, or metal. Usually, if there was no stingray skin on the handle, the side joints between the halves of the handle were closed with strips of metal called kenuki-kanamono.
The shape of the handle consists of a narrow elliptical section and usually thins quite a bit from both ends towards the middle. Daggers with an unwound hilt have a side omote may have an oblique cut at a distance of 2.5 cm from cashier. In the case when the dagger is worn on the chest in clothes ( kwaiken), this feature gives a person the opportunity to immediately feel which side the blade is on.
Garda (tsuba) usually in the form of a disk. The only exceptions are the guards of ancient swords, which have the shape of a small cross and are called sieve-gi(shaped like a Shinto sacrificial rice cake, hence the name). Such guards are also found on some parade types. tati. Cup-shaped guards come across, but quite rarely.
Guards come in a variety of shapes and sizes, although the most common are round or oval with a diameter of 6 to 9 cm.
Guards are almost always made of metal, although on dress swords they may be patent leather, leather stretched over wood, or papier-mâché. Up until the 16th century. tsuba guards were usually made of iron. Simple in design, they served the purely utilitarian purpose of protecting the hand. Later, with the development of metallurgy, the tsuba also became a work of art. Guard decorations reached their peak during the peaceful Edo period. For their decoration, metals such as gold, silver, copper with various reddish patinas, as well as copper alloys began to be used: shakudo, shibuichi, sambo gin, rogin, karakane, nigurome, sentoku and pure brass shinchu. The use of various chemical compounds made it possible to give them the most different colours. To these must be added interesting contrasting combinations of two or more alloys of different colors.
Guard details (tsuba)
Hira("flat body") - part of the guard between mimi and seppadai.
Mimi - bezel.
seppadai("position for pucks") - a place for pucks seppa. The oval part of the guard around the hole for the shank. There are two washers adjacent to this place ( seppa) between the guard and the blade and the guard and the hilt. When the guard is on the sword, seppadai completely hidden from view. Usually completely unremarkable, except for the signature, it is often a slightly convex regular oval.
Nakago-ana - shank hole. A hole in the center of the guard through which the tang of the sword band passes.
Udenuki-ana - lanyard holes. Some guards have two holes different size. A lanyard was attached to them.
Sekigane - aggregate. A metal filler used to fit the hole for the shank to a specific strip of the sword and keep it in place. These holes are found on iron guards and indicate that this is an early guard. The placeholder is also used in ryo-hitsu.
Kogai hitsu-ana - hole for kogai. This opening is often in the shape of half a four-petalled flower.
Kozuka hitsu-ana - hole for kozu-ki. This hole is opposite kogai hitsu-ana, designed for handle co-gatana. The hole is often shaped like half a moon. Together kogai hitsu-ana and kozuka hitsu-ana called ryo-hitsu.
Handle sleeve (futi) and handle head (kasira). These two parts of the frame are usually considered together, as they are usually designed in the same way and made by the same craftsman.
Function footy(handle couplings) and cashier(handle head) consists in strengthening the handle at both ends. Term "cashira"(lit. "head") is short for the original name "tsuka gasira"(handle head), and footy is a general term for a boundary. Both things together are usually called futi-kashira.
Futi, as a rule, consists of a flat metal ring band up to 1.3 cm wide, which wraps around the handle next to the guard and is easy to remove. at the base footy there is an oval plate called tenjo-gane("ceiling metal"), usually copper, with a hole for the shank of the sword.
Kasira is a small cup usually with a flattened bottom, although it is also common cashier with a perfectly round bottom. On the footy the main part of the pattern is located on the side omote. On the cashier the pattern is located on the end of the handle so that it is visible when wearing the sword.
From each side cashier there is an oval slot - shitodome-ana, equipped with a retractable eyelet - shitodome("oatmeal eye") of gilded copper, just large enough to fit the cord of the hilt. On a hilt with a winding handle cashier no longer sticks. However, on an unwrapped handle, it is usually secured not only with glue, but also with two leaf-headed pins large enough to conceal shitodome-ana(the loop from which is removed).
Futi signed on the side omote outer surface tenjo-gane and sometimes on the visible part. On the cashier the signature, on the rare occasions when there is one, is on a small metal plate soldered on the inside or outside. It is also located at menuki.
menuki- This is a pair of small ornaments made of decorated metal, located on both sides of the handle. They serve not only as a decoration, but also for a tighter grip on the handle. They probably trace their origins to the decorated pin caps on ancient swords. Together with kogai and co-gatana (kozuka) they can form a single set, called mitokoro-mono("three places things"). A single style can extend up to complete set metal parts for a sword - soroimono("uniform thing") or pairs of swords - daisho soroimono. Mitokoro-mono or soroimono the work of a famous metalworker - preferably one from Goto - was a favorite gift for daimyō and other dignitaries on solemn occasions.
Mekugi- this is a mounting pin that goes through the hilt and tang of the sword and prevents the strip of the sword from falling out of the hilt. It is usually made from bamboo, but often from dark horn (very rarely from ivory). Slightly tapered when wrapped around the handle mekugi enters on the side Hooray in the center of one of the open diamonds same so that's on the side omote its narrower end is hidden by winding. But there are exceptions to this rule. In unwrapped dagger hilts mekugi can pass through an eye made of metal or ivory or through a metal band - do-gane("metal of the body"), covering the handle.
Metal mekugi is a striking feature of most unwrapped hilts. It consists of a thick copper tube with a decorative cap, often silver, into which a copper pin with the same cap is threaded or screwed on the other side. The threads on the screws are often left-handed, and one must be extremely careful when dismantling such weapons.
Washers (seppa)- This is a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard. They are almost always made of copper, plain, gilded, silver plated, or plated with gold or silver foil. Visible surfaces may be polished or covered with light strokes. Their edges are usually milled or decorated with holes. Some swords have two or three pairs, and tati in addition to these usual seppa often there is a much larger pair, called o-seppa(large washers). They cover a large part of the guard and are decorated with engraving, and the basis of the pattern is often an elegant Maltese cross. They say that seppa began to be used in the 12th century. Their purpose is to protect footy and guard from damage and give everything a finished look.
Coupling (habaki). Despite the fact that from the artistic side habaki least significant, it is absolutely essential, and it is found on all Japanese swords, daggers and spears. This thick metal sleeve, the inner side of which fits snugly to the last two to three centimeters of the blade and the first two to three centimeters of the shank ( nakago) (approximate figures for a medium-sized weapon), has several functions. Firstly, it tightly holds the sword in the scabbard, eliminating the friction of the blade and especially the hardened part of the blade on the inner surface of the scabbard. Secondly, it to some extent protects the blade from rust in this dangerous place, so part of the sword strip under habaki should be lightly oiled. But its most important function is that it transfers the recoil of the blow through the guard to the entire hilt, and not to a relatively weak restraining peg. mekugi bamboo or horn.
Khabaki usually made of copper, silver-plated or gold-plated, or plated with gold, silver, or alloy foil shakudo. The surface is either polished or covered with oblique strokes, which are called neko gaki("cat scratching"). If a thin foil coating is present, it may be incorporated into these neko gaki or decorated with a stamped pattern. Occasionally also found habaki of iron, precious metals, or even of ivory or wood, but only on swords mounted not for serious use. If the stripe of the sword is thinner than the average and thus requires habaki additional thickness, then can be used ni-zu-habaki- double habaki. It's just a regular sized habaki, reinforced with a separate but neatly fitted piece that adds two "cheeks" to reinforce the lower part (adjacent to the guard). By habaki you can often judge the quality of a blade. Niju-haba-ki and especially habaki adorned with family crest mon, usually belong to good swords.
Sword strip terminology
The strip of a sword, dagger, or any other bladed weapon consists of a blade and a tang.
Point (kisaki)- This is the most difficult part of the sword to forge and polish. The value of a sword is largely determined by the condition kisaki. Hardening line at the point ( bossy) may not be the same on different sides of the blade.
There are a great many types of hardening line on the point (as well as on the blade itself).
Sword point types ( kisaki) and hardening lines (bosi) are classified:
1. according to the shape of the blade:
- fukura-kareru- direct;
- fukura tsuku- curved;2. by size:
-ko-kisaki- a small point. Characteristic of the tachi of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period;
- chu-kisaki- the average. Widespread type for all swords from around 1232;
- o-kisaki- long;
- ikari-o-kisaki- long and curved;3. along the hardening line (boshi):
- ko-maru- weak rounding;
- o-maru- strong rounding. The width of the hardened part is narrower than in ko-maru;
- jizo- in the form of the head of the deity Jizo;
- yaki-zume- non-returnable. As a rule, the quench line reaches the point and turns back to the shank. In this case, the return kaeri) missing;
- midare-komi- wavy;
- kaen- fiery;
- ichi-mai- complete. The whole point is hardened;
- kaeri-tsuyoshi- straight return line;
- kaeri fukashi- long return;
- kaeri-ashashi- short return.
Sword band
Komi, or mi,- blade.
Nakago- shank.
Tosin- stripe of the sword.
Sword strip terminology
Bosi - hardening line on the tip.
Yokote - the line separating the point and the blade.
Ji (ilihira-ji) - plane between blade and sinogi(its width is called niku).
Jihad - surface pattern hada.
Ji-tsuya - darker (compared to ha-tsuya) part of the blade (the rest of the blade, except for the hardened part).
Kasane - blade thickness, measured along the butt; happens moto kasaie and saki-kasane.
Kisaki - tip (sometimes this term means the entire area from yokote to the tip of the blade).
Ko-shinogi - edge of the blade on the tip.
Mizukage - fuzzy line on the plane dzi, usually occurring when re-hardening the blade.
Mihaba - blade width; happens moto hub and saki-haba.
Mitsu-kado - point where they meet yokote, sinogi and ko-shinogi.
monouti - the part of the blade that most strikes is the part of the blade about 15 cm long, located about 10 cm below yokote(data for a long sword, for short swords and daggers it is proportionally reduced).
Moto kasane - blade thickness mune-machi.
Moto hub - blade width between ha-mati and mune-machi.
Mune - butt of the blade.
Mune-machi - a small cut separating the shank from the blade on the side of the butt, the edge mune.
Mune-saki - the name of the butt near the tip;
May - inscriptions (on nakago and etc.).
Mekugi-ana - holes in nakago for menuki.
Nagasa - blade length (measured between mune-machi and point).
Nakago-jiri - extremity nakago.
Sabigiva - border between habaki moto and yasuri-me.
Saki-kasane - blade thickness yokote.
Saki-haba - blade width yokote.
Shinogi - blade edge.
shinogi-ji - blade plane between sinogi and mune.
Sori - blade curvature.
Sugata - blade shape.
Fukura - blade shape kisaki.
Ha(or ha-saki) - blade.
habaki moto - part of the sword strip that is under the clutch habaki.
Hada - lamination of steel; the result of the folding of steel during the forging process.
Ha-mati - a small cut separating the tang from the blade on the side of the blade, the edge Ha.
Jamon - line yakiba.
Hataraki - "activities", workings on the metal surface ( nioi, nii and etc.).
ha-tsuya - the lighter part of the blade compared to ji-tsuya; practically the same as yakiba.
Hee - USD
Horimono - blade engraving.
Yakiba - hardened part of the blade.
Yakihaba - width yakiba.
Yasuri-me - notches on the shank.
Edge of the blade (shinogi) absent on blades hira-zukuri. There are two types:
speaking (shinogi-takashi). The thickness of the blade between the stiffeners is much greater than that of the butt;
- smooth (shinogi-hikushi).
The plane between the edge and butt of the blade (shinogi-ji) is wide and narrow.
Dol (hee) originally made to increase the strength of the blade and to reduce its weight. Later it began to be considered as an ornament. Sometimes the fuller was made in order to restore the balance of a shortened sword or to hide the flaws in the blade (such fullers added later are called ato bi). There are 8 types of valleys, of which koshi-hi, tomabashi, shobu-hi, kuichigai-hi and naginata-hi- on short swords.
In addition, there are 4 forms of the fuller at the shank, of which kaki-toshi and kaki-nagashi commonly found on strips of swords made by smiths from the Old Sword Period ( koto).
Dol can cross yokote(a type hee-saki-agari) and stop a little before reaching yokote(a type hisaki-sagari).
Plane shinogi-ji, not cut out full, is called tiri. Dol may have tiri on both sides (type ryo-chiri) or only on one side (type kata-chiri).
Types of fullers on the sword strip
Bo-hee- wide dol.
Bo-hi-ni-tsure-hi- wide and narrow dol.
gomabashi- two short dashes.
Kaki-nagashi- going up to half of the shank.
Kaki-toshi- passing along the entire shank.
Kaku-dome- rectangular end.
Kosi-hee- short dollar
Kuitigai-hee- double irregular dol, connecting at the end.
Naginata-hi- short wide dol; characteristic of naginata, but also found on swords.
Shobu-hee- double dol, connecting at the end.
Futasuji-hi- two narrow valleys.
Maru-dome- rounded end.Engraving (horimono). On the blades of Japanese swords are found different types engraving. The most frequent plots: chopsticks ( goma-hashi), ritual sword ken, the Dragon ( kurikara) and inscriptions in Chinese or Japanese characters ( bonji).
Hataraki
Ji-nie- spots noe v dzi.
Kinsuji, inazuma and sunagashi- stripes below and above the line jamon.
Ko-nie- small dots noe above jamon.
utinoke- "Activity" in the form of a crescent.
Evgenia Smirnova
To send light into the depths of the human heart - this is the purpose of the artist
Content
This question is asked by many parents of mischievous boys. All the guys play various role-playing games or imitate their favorite ninja characters from the animated series. There are many toys, swords, laser weapons on store shelves, but it is much more pleasant for a son to receive a gift that mom or dad made with their own hands.
How to make paper katana - diagrams with photos
This process is not at all difficult, the main thing is to start. WITH step by step instructions everyone will figure out how to make a katana out of paper. Attract a child so that he does not get bored at this time, or prepare him in the evening a pleasant surprise. You can make a Japanese sword with your own hands from plain paper, cardboard, or use the origami technique.
DIY paper katana using origami technique
If you are wondering how to make an origami sword out of paper, follow the instructions:
- Take half of a regular landscape sheet. It is advisable to use colored paper light shades.
- Prepare more similar parts of the sheets, but already dark in color - this will be the hilt and sheath of the katana. Attach the resulting blade to one, mark the length of the future handle and separate the dark-colored sheet.
- Make most of the scabbard. Bend the edge that will be located at the tip inward, the opposite, on the contrary, outward.
- Wrap the blade in a dark sheet, fix the sheath with glue.
- The remaining small leaf is the handle. Insert its edges into the slot of the blade, wrap it. In order to understand in practice how to make a sword out of paper and please your child, it's time to glue the two halves of the finished Japanese sword.
How to make a sword out of cardboard
To prepare a pleasant surprise for your son or husband, you need to know how to make a katana out of paper. For this you will need:
- cardboard (you can use ordinary boxes);
- PVA glue);
- knife (clerical);
- glue (carpentry);
- paint of different colors - silver, black, red, blue.
If you still have no idea how to make a sword out of cardboard, you should know that it should be at least 60 cm long. This should be taken into account when calculating the size of parts. Toy weapons, just like in Japan, are easy to make:
- From cardboard, you need to cut five rectangles 50-70 millimeters wide. When doing this, consider how the wavy stripes are located on the material. On two of them they should be located vertically, on three - horizontally. Next, you need to stack them on top of each other, starting with those with stripes in the vertical direction.
- Glue the pieces together. For a stronger connection, it is worth putting the workpiece under a heavy object (then the sword will become dense, like a wooden block).
- When the blank dries, you need to draw a drawing in the form of a weapon and cut it out of cardboard.
- Lubricate the sidewalls with glue (carpentry), where the corrugation is visible. It is better to pour it in two layers, and then let it dry for about 10-12 hours.
- The last step before the paper katana is ready is painting. We cover the blade with silver paint, make the handle black, paint over the invented pattern on it with the remaining colors.
- If desired, coat the blade with clay and sand before painting - then the sword will be even denser.
DIY samurai weapon made of paper - Deadpool's katana
Before you make a paper sword, you need to prepare:
- cardboard;
- compass;
- marker (black);
- paper tubes (two thick, two thinner);
- scissors;
- braid.
The easiest way to make a katana out of paper:
- We make 3 circles on cardboard, one equal to the diameter of the smallest tube, the second to the diameter of the other. The last circle will be 1-1.5 cm larger than the second. We cut off the excess cardboard, cut out a small circle with a clerical knife.
- We flatten the smaller tubes, we get two rectangular plates, fasten them with tape. This will be the blade. We perform similar actions with large tubes that will serve as a sheath.
- We make the tip of the blade: draw what it will be, and cut it off, glue it with tape.
- We put two tubes inside the blade, giving volume.
- To make the katana look like steel, we wrap the blade with foil several times, fix it with clerical glue or tape.
- We make a handle: we fix the main tube on which it will hold with glue. The plate, which will serve as a tsuba, is painted with a black marker. We wrap the tube-handle with tape, fix the edges with tape. We dress the tsuba, then the handle.
- We paint over the sheath over the entire surface with a bright black marker.
Hello dear kenshi!
Today I would like to tell you how to make a handle yourself ( tsuka) for katana ( iaito, shinken). I was prompted to prepare this review by the need to restore my old iaito, which, for a number of reasons, lacked a handle. Making a handle to order in Russia or Japan is quite expensive and takes a lot of time and resources. So I decided to save time and money, plus check out the place where the hands grow from. 😂😂😂
In this review, I will tell you how to carve a wooden handle and prepare it for winding ( tsukamaki), which I will talk about in the next review.
Any budoka dealing iaido or battodo at least once faced with a situation where the handle katana for one reason or another fell into disrepair. Usually handle katana has two flaws - tsukamaki(winding tsukaito) and the shank attachment point katana. If rewind tsukaito- this is not quite a difficult and costly task that anyone can handle, all you need is a new cord and skill. Then with a loose shank, things are more complicated. Depending on the situation (if there is no critical damage to the integrity of the handle), this problem can also be solved by mixing sawdust with wood glue and pouring it into the hole for the shank. After that, you will need to insert the shank itself into the hole with the substance so that the substance fills all the extra cavities, and pull it out before it sticks tightly. However, this method does not always work. If the handle is cracked due to a dangling shank, then for your own safety and the safety of others, such a handle must be replaced.
Well, either someone wanted to have a front or vice versa “working” handle, then this review will also be useful for making it. And how to do it right - will be discussed further. 😏
To get started, you will need katana(unassembled). Part koshirae for tsuka, namely: habaki, seppa(2 pcs.), tsuba, footy and kashira .
The last two positions are very important, since the handle is usually machined under footy and kashira certain size. The choice of material depends on this, and specifically - its dimensions.
Of the tools you will need: a vice, a clamp, a hacksaw, a set of files and sandpaper of different grain sizes, chisel(if you have a wood cutter, this will make the task easier), a knife, a diamond sharpener (you will need to sharpen the chisel in the process, because a dull chisel is a pain!), mallet, a set of rulers, a marker and epoxy glue.
For the preparation of the handle, it is best to use hardwood. You can use the "traditional" tree - magnolia or paulownia, however, they are quite difficult to find in Russia, and the prices bite. If the origin of your handle does not matter to you, then the most common and affordable option is Russian oak. There are several online stores that offer craft bars of various lengths and widths for sale. On average, prices range from ₽500.00 to ₽1,500.00 per bar. Personally, I saved money and used the remains of solid Italian oak parquet as a blank. 😎
N.B. A parquet board or any other puff wood is not suitable as a blank! And, probably, it is not worth mentioning that the tree must be dry!
So, we have all the necessary materials and tools. We proceed directly to the process of manufacturing the handle. Estimated production time is two days.
Before that, we need to determine the size of the handle. Dimensions are an individual thing. I can only offer to measure your "working" tsuka which is convenient to use.
I'll tell you with my own example. The length of my tsuka(together with footy and kashira) — 280 mm. Width at widest point (together with tsukaito) — 45 mm. Thickness (together with tsukaito) — 25 mm. Length tsukamaki(between footy and kashira) — 260 mm. Width tsukaito — 8 mm.
N.B. Here you need to be very careful! Since, depending on the material (cotton or silk) and tension, as well as the method of winding, the cord can be of different widths, and the number of steps (diamonds) that can be wound on the handle between futi and kashira, as well as space for the bottom node. So that there are no gaps and the knot “fits”, I advise you to look at how your “working” handle is wound, and estimate (taking into account the material) how long the handle will be required.
Having decided on the final dimensions of the future handle, we now need to determine the dimensions of the workpiece. Of course, the wooden handle itself is under samegawa(stingray skin) and tsukamaki much smaller than the sizes I indicated (except for the length). But, it seems to me, you should not take the workpiece completely back to back, since working with solid wood requires a certain level of skill. Therefore, in the absence of it, production flaws often occur (somewhere they planed too much). If you take the workpiece slightly larger than the dimensions of the handle assembly, then in case of errors there will be more room for maneuver.
For my handle, I took two bars as a blank, each of which is long ~300 mm, height ~50 mm, width ~25 mm(see photo above).
Now you need to choose the most even sides (this will be needed later). Collecting katana for measurements. Tightly put on the shank habaki, seppu, tsuba and then another seppu. We place the assembled structure on one of the bars (see photo below) in the center. Draw as accurately as possible with a marker. Since usually the shank katana not quite flat, wide on one side and narrow on the other, then on the other bar we do the same mirror(turning katana). This is important, when we glue the blanks, we should get a hole for a specific shank.
N.B. I circled the shank with a thick marker (see photo above), I will cut a cavity for it inside this line. It is very important that the shank fits perfectly in the cut, otherwise it will dangle. The depth of the hole is not very important, since then it can be removed with a file.
We take a chisel in our hands and begin to plan out the groove for the shank. Make sure that at one end the gutter should be deeper than at the other. Constantly check the depth and width by applying the shank. In the end, the shank should fit perfectly into the gutter and not “walk” in it.
The end of the gutter can be made 3-5 mm longer than the length of the shank. This is necessary in case you will be adjusting the futi by grinding down the top of the handle so that the shank does not stick out of it too much when assembled and you do not have to use spacers.
N.B. I specifically do not show in the photo that it is necessary to drill holes for the mekugi, since in my case I will make a new hole (mekugi-ana) during the final assembly. If you are satisfied with the existing hole for the mekugi, then before gluing it is necessary to drill a hole in each half of the future handle. Please note that on the shank it goes at an angle. Accordingly, first mark with a drill with a smaller diameter, and after gluing it will be possible to drill to size.
When both shank grooves are ready, clamp them together in a vise to check how the shank sits in this hole.
Slide the shank in and out of the workpiece. If he enters tightly enough, but at the same time without any extra effort, and if he does not walk, then you can proceed to the next stage. If it does not enter to the end, then you should still grind the excess. If the shank walks a little, then this problem can be solved by gluing the workpiece.
The next step is preparing for gluing. Earlier I indicated that it is necessary to select the most even parts of the workpiece. This will shorten our work with the file. Now you need to first grind both halves of the future handle with a file, and then with sandpaper so that they fit evenly and tightly against each other.
So, both halves are perfectly in contact with each other. Now we are ready for gluing. I had experience gluing the handle with special wood glue. However, I think epoxy is stronger and more durable, and most importantly, easier to use. I used epoxy glue in a special package (like a syringe), which, when pressed, immediately mixes the components, giving out the substance we need at the output.
N.B. Unfortunately, according to the instructions, we were given 5 minutes for the next stage, so there was no time for photos. Remove the koshirae from the katana in advance!
We take a "syringe" with glue and squeeze out the line " U» around the liner groove. Do not squeeze too much glue into this place, as the excess will flow inside. The part remaining below the gutter is smeared with glue abundantly.
Carefully insert the shank into the half smeared with glue, then cover with the other half.
We strongly clamp this structure in a vice in the area of \u200b\u200bthe beginning of the gutter. The end of the workpiece is strongly compressed with a clamp. We have approximately 5 minutes to pull out the shank.
Now back to the moment "if your shank is walking". After we clamped the glued workpiece in a vice, some of the glue fell into the groove for the shank. This is fine! To avoid backlash in the future, do not immediately pull out the shank for at least a minute. When you feel that it is pulled out with difficulty, pull it out halfway and insert it back. Repeat this procedure several times within the allotted minutes. Now all the extra cavities are filled with epoxy glue. When it hardens, the shank play will disappear.
N.B. The shank must be cleaned immediately!
We leave our design to dry according to the instructions for 8 hours. This is quite enough for the workpiece to stick together “tightly”. 👌
So eight hours have passed. Our workpiece is securely seated and ready for further processing.
As you can see in the photo above, in fact, our workpiece is a bar. This bar needs to be given an oval shape. We have an axial line - this is the line for gluing the halves. it should be adhered to. We begin to grind all sides evenly, but not too much (see photo below).
In my experience, it will be more convenient to decide on the form if you attach footy to the top of the handle.
And circle footy marker. In further processing of the workpiece, it is worth adhering to this form.
At this stage, it is necessary to determine the direction of the handle, as well as adjust footy. Therefore, with the help of a chisel and a file, we grind the rim under footy.
After we fit footy and mount katana on the handle, it will be easier for us to decide on the direction where to remove excess wood.
Now the handle begins to emerge from the workpiece. It's time to think about the shape of the future tsuka. It can be straight from start to finish; it can be wider at the beginning and narrower at the end; it can be tapered in the middle, like an hourglass (I personally prefer this shape). Having decided on the form, we should outline this form on the workpiece. In the photo below you can see a slight bend at the top of the handle. Having done the same from below, we get the shape we need.
The handle should not be thicker (wider) than the edge footy and kashira. Since stripes will be located on the sides in the future samegawa, and then tsukamaki. All this will give us the thickness we need, so feel free to cut off all the excess.
N.B. Tsukamaki should be on par with futi and kashira!
Before moving on to finishing the handle, we need to place kashira at the end of the handle. Fitting the tip of the handle kashira. At kashira there are two holes for the final node tsukamaki. However, these openings are currently unavailable. Our job is to make them accessible. To do this, we need a round file and a little patience. Clamp the handle vertically in a vise. We put on kashira on her. We mark the place for the hole on both sides. And we make a hole, as shown in the photo below.
As a result, we should get something like this (see photo below), when kashira put on the handle.
Having collected footy and kashira, we bring our handle with a file and sandpaper to finishing. It is imperative that the sides of the handle are flat enough to accommodate samegawa.
As a result, we got tsuka according to our sizes for our katana, which is ready for finishing winding ( tsukamaki), which I will tell you in the next review.
Stay tuned! 😎
This review (text and photos) was prepared by Bragin Andrey Evgenievich, especially for Moscow kendo and iaido club Shogun.
Consider the device of a Japanese sword using an example katanas.
katana- long samurai sword, sword length 90-120 cm, hilt length 25-30 cm or 3 arm circumferences, blade width 27-35 mm, deflection equal to or slightly more than the blade width. The handle is covered with stingray leather or shark skin. garda katana called tsuba and is usually round in shape.
The length of the sword blade is calculated as follows: to get the maximum length, you need to subtract 90 cm from your height. To also take into account issues of ease of handling the sword, another 8 cm is usually subtracted from the resulting value. For example, 175 - 90 = 85 cm, 85 - 8 = 77 cm. (my personal opinion is not scientific, below is information from another source).
If your height is not in the table, then for each additional centimeter of height you need to add 3 mm to the length of the blade, i.e. you can more accurately calculate the length of the blade (but this is only a recommendation, because throughout the existence of the sword, its length and technique of owning it have changed, here the fighter has the right to choose the length of the sword himself, depending on the combat situation).
frame buke-zukuri, or uchi-gata-na kosirae . Swords mounted in this style were worn tucked into the belt. There was a ledge on the scabbard kurikata, through which the cord passed sageo.
Frame details buke-zukuri
Kasira - the head of the hilt of swords mounted in the style buke-zukuri.
Kojiri - the tip of the scabbard of swords in the style buke-zukuri; may be absent, then the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and lacquered in the same way as all the scabbards.
Koiguchi - "carp mouth"; entrance to the sheath (or kuchigane, if the mouth of the scabbard is covered by a metal ring).
Kurikata - notched protrusion one-sixth of the length of the sword below koiguchi on the front side of the scabbard omote through which the cord passes sageo.
Mekugi- a fastening pin passing through the hilt and shank of the sword.
menuki - ornament on the hilt of the sword.
Sageo - cord on sword scabbard.
Same- stingray skin, which was covered fart.
Saya - sheath.
Seppa - a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard.
Futi - clutch on the handle.
tsuba - guard.
Tsuka - handle.
Tsuka-ito - handle winding
The most famous type of style swords buke-zukuri- it katana (daito) and wakizashi (shoto). Wakizashi was just a miniature copy katana. Together they formed daisho("large and small"). If all the details of the frame daisho were designed in the same style, then this pair was called daisho soroimono.
Scabbard (saya) swords are usually made from ho no ki(Magnolias) and consist of two halves. In cross section, they almost always have the shape of an elongated oval of the same shape and size as seppa(washers) located next to them, and remain the same throughout the entire length. The scabbard for the sword, as a rule, was covered with a very durable varnish. At daisho - pairs of swords worn by samurai - this lacquer is usually calm tones, as a rule, black, and all other decorations are designed in the same calm style. Bright flashy colors were preferred by the dandies, and bright red lacquer imported from China was on swords worn by samurai from the provinces of Satsuma and Hyuga, who were famous for their courage and great ardor.
The surface on which the lacquer is applied is either plain smooth, or it may have wide or narrow grooves running diagonally or transversely. The lacquered base itself can be either grainy or well-polished, one-color or decorated. nashiji(gold dust) guri-bori or in other styles, or even a striped two-tone. Quite often, there is also a varnishing type of stingray fish ( same-nuri). These bases can then receive any form of decoration, but for daisho sophisticated maki-e(loose pattern) does not suit Japanese taste. However, with regard to daggers, the master could allow free flight of fantasy, and inlaid metal ornaments are often found here. (kanamono).
The following six pieces of sword scabbards, mounted in style buke-zukuri, could have special decoration details:
Ring covering the entrance to the scabbard - koi guti("mouth of a carp") or kuchigane, if it is metallic;
uragawara - reinforcing bar running across the base of the slot for co-gatana;
Slot lining for co-gatana and kogai. Usually in polished black lacquer, polished natural horn, or soft buff;
kurikata(“chestnut shape”) - a protrusion with a slot, located at a distance of one sixth of the length of the sword below koi guti on the side omote, through which the cord passes sageo;
sori tsuno("returning horn"), or origane, -
a small hook-shaped protrusion even lower on the same side, pointing towards the hilt. It serves to prevent the scabbard from slipping forward from the belt. It is quite rare and usually wakizashi,
but his presence often speaks of good
blade;
kojiri - scabbard tip. It often does not happen, especially in wakizashi, and the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and lacquered in the same way as all scabbards. In form, material and decoration, it very often corresponds to cashier.
All these parts (with the exception of the lining of the slots for co-gatana and kogai) are usually metallic, more or less equally decorated. But in discreet settings, they may be of polished black horn, in the simplest form and in the smallest size necessary for their purpose.
Sageo - it is a flat silk cord passed through kurikatu with which the sword was tied to the belt. Length sageo was from 60 to 150 cm, depending on the size of the weapon, and it could be removed before the battle and used as tasuki for tying the long sleeves of a civilian suit to give freedom of hand movements. Sageo They were also used to bind a captured enemy. Color sageo matches the color of the scabbard. If the latter are in good Japanese taste, discreet and strict, the same will be sageo. Have bright and dog three frames sageo corresponding.
Handle (tsuka) always made from two halves of wood glued together, preferably ho no ki(Magnolias). Between them there was a hole for the shank (nakago), called tsuka-guchi. The tree was usually covered with a single piece of white same- knotted stingray skin. The seam went down the center of the side Hooray, and usually the piece was selected so that the central row of three or four larger knots was on top of the side omote.
Winding was applied on top tsuka-ito("hilt thread"), consisting of a strip of strong flat silk (less often leather or cotton) ribbon uchi-him about up to 0.6 cm wide. Quite rarely, instead of a flat ribbon, there is a cord wrapped in rows. Usually, tsuka-ito was black, occasionally soft brown, dark blue or green. Sometimes daimyō used katana with white winding; it was also a trait of a certain type tati. Occasionally, a leather cord and a whalebone are found. The center of the tape was placed close to the handle sleeve footy on the side omote, and the two ends were wrapped around the handle, respectively, on the right and left, and twisted twice at equal distances. As a result same turned out to be completely closed, except for a number of diamond-shaped gaps on both sides of the handle. After the tape was passed through the sides of the handle head cashier, it was fixed on both sides of the handle with a flat compact knot. Slightly below the center of the handle on the side omote and a little above him on the side Hooray the winding partially covered and fixed two decorations in place menuki.
Handle wrap options tsuka and the wrapping technique resulting in the pattern shown at top center
Attaching the cord tsuka-ito on the cashier
There were many exceptions to this usual tsuka-maki(handle winding method). For example, on swords worn daimyō with formal attire called kamishimo, at the court of the shogun during the Edo period, black silk windings crossed over cashier, instead of going inside; cashier in this case it was of plain black horn. This style is known as maki-kake-no-kashira, and a sword with such a winding was called kamishimo-zashi.
Certain court swords, as well as most short swords and daggers, had their stingray skin hilts left unwrapped. In such cases cashier and both menuki had to be fastened with glue, hidden pins, decorative buttons, or other suitable method. This style is called hanashi menuki(free menuki). There are also many forms of unwound hilts, mostly on daggers whose hilts are covered with polished or carved wood, lacquer, rattan, or metal. Usually, if there was no stingray skin on the handle, the side joints between the halves of the handle were closed with strips of metal called kenuki-kanamono.
The shape of the handle consists of a narrow elliptical section and usually thins quite a bit from both ends towards the middle. Daggers with an unwound hilt have a side omote may have an oblique cut at a distance of 2.5 cm from cashier. In the case when the dagger is worn on the chest in clothes ( kwaiken), this feature gives a person the opportunity to immediately feel which side the blade is on.
Garda (tsuba) usually in the form of a disk. The only exceptions are the guards of ancient swords, which have the shape of a small cross and are called sieve-gi(shaped like a Shinto sacrificial rice cake, hence the name). Such guards are also found on some parade types. tati. Cup-shaped guards come across, but quite rarely.
Guards are almost always made of metal, although on dress swords they may be patent leather, leather stretched over wood, or papier-mâché. Up until the 16th century. tsuba guards were usually made of iron. Simple in design, they served the purely utilitarian purpose of protecting the hand. Later, with the development of metallurgy, the tsuba also became a work of art. Guard decorations reached their peak during the peaceful Edo period. For their decoration, metals such as gold, silver, copper with various reddish patinas, as well as copper alloys began to be used: shakudo, shibuichi, sambo gin, rogin, karakane, nigurome, sentoku and pure brass shinchu. The use of various chemical compounds made it possible to give them a variety of colors. To these must be added interesting contrasting combinations of two or more alloys of different colors.
Hira("flat body") - part of the guard between mimi and seppadai.
Mimi - bezel.
seppadai("position for pucks") - a place for pucks seppa. The oval part of the guard around the hole for the shank. There are two washers adjacent to this place ( seppa) between the guard and the blade and the guard and the hilt. When the guard is on the sword, seppadai completely hidden from view. Usually completely unremarkable, except for the signature, it is often a slightly convex regular oval.
Nakago-ana - shank hole. A hole in the center of the guard through which the tang of the sword band passes.
Udenuki-ana - lanyard holes. Some guards have two holes of different sizes. A lanyard was attached to them.
Sekigane - aggregate. A metal filler used to fit the hole for the shank to a specific strip of the sword and keep it in place. These holes are found on iron guards and indicate that this is an early guard. The placeholder is also used in ryo-hitsu.
Kogai hitsu-ana - hole for kogai. This opening is often in the shape of half a four-petalled flower.
Kozuka hitsu-ana - hole for kozu-ki. This hole is opposite kogai hitsu-ana, designed for handle co-gatana. The hole is often shaped like half a moon. Together kogai hitsu-ana and kozuka hitsu-ana called ryo-hitsu.
Function footy(handle couplings) and cashier(handle head) consists in strengthening the handle at both ends. Term "cashira"(lit. "head") is short for the original name "tsuka gasira"(handle head), and footy is a general term for a boundary. Both things together are usually called futi-kashira.
Futi, as a rule, consists of a flat metal ring band up to 1.3 cm wide, which wraps around the handle next to the guard and is easy to remove. at the base footy there is an oval plate called tenjo-gane("ceiling metal"), usually copper, with a hole for the shank of the sword.
Kasira is a small cup usually with a flattened bottom, although it is also common cashier with a perfectly round bottom. On the footy the main part of the pattern is located on the side omote. On the cashier the pattern is located on the end of the handle so that it is visible when wearing the sword.
From each side cashier there is an oval slot - shitodome-ana, equipped with a retractable eyelet - shitodome("oatmeal eye") of gilded copper, just large enough to fit the cord of the hilt. On a hilt with a winding handle cashier no longer sticks. However, on an unwrapped handle, it is usually secured not only with glue, but also with two leaf-headed pins large enough to conceal shitodome-ana(the loop from which is removed).
Futi signed on the side omote outer surface tenjo-gane and sometimes on the visible part. On the cashier the signature, on the rare occasions when there is one, is on a small metal plate soldered on the inside or outside. It is also located at menuki.
menuki- This is a pair of small ornaments made of decorated metal, located on both sides of the handle. They serve not only as a decoration, but also for a tighter grip on the handle. They probably trace their origins to the decorated pin caps on ancient swords. Together with kogai and co-gatana (kozuka) they can form a single set, called mitokoro-mono("three places things"). A single style can extend to a complete set of metal parts for a sword - soroimono("uniform thing") or pairs of swords - daisho soroimono. Mitokoro-mono or soroimono the work of a famous metalworker - preferably one from Goto - was a favorite gift for daimyō and other dignitaries on solemn occasions.
Mekugi- this is a mounting pin that goes through the hilt and tang of the sword and prevents the strip of the sword from falling out of the hilt. It is usually made from bamboo, but often from dark horn (very rarely from ivory). Slightly tapered when wrapped around the handle mekugi enters on the side Hooray in the center of one of the open diamonds same so that's on the side omote its narrower end is hidden by winding. But there are exceptions to this rule. In unwrapped dagger hilts mekugi can pass through an eye made of metal or ivory or through a metal band - do-gane("metal of the body"), covering the handle.
Metal mekugi is a striking feature of most unwrapped hilts. It consists of a thick copper tube with a decorative cap, often silver, into which a copper pin with the same cap is threaded or screwed on the other side. The threads on the screws are often left-handed, and one must be extremely careful when dismantling such weapons.
Washers (seppa)- This is a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard. They are almost always made of copper, plain, gilded, silver plated, or plated with gold or silver foil. Visible surfaces may be polished or covered with light strokes. Their edges are usually milled or decorated with holes. Some swords have two or three pairs, and tati in addition to these usual seppa often there is a much larger pair, called o-seppa(large washers). They cover a large part of the guard and are decorated with engraving, and the basis of the pattern is often an elegant Maltese cross. They say that seppa began to be used in the 12th century. Their purpose is to protect footy and guard from damage and give everything a finished look.
Coupling (habaki). Despite the fact that from the artistic side habaki least significant, it is absolutely essential, and it is found on all Japanese swords, daggers and spears. This thick metal sleeve, the inner side of which fits snugly to the last two to three centimeters of the blade and the first two to three centimeters of the shank ( nakago) (approximate figures for a medium-sized weapon), has several functions. Firstly, it tightly holds the sword in the scabbard, eliminating the friction of the blade and especially the hardened part of the blade on the inner surface of the scabbard. Secondly, it to some extent protects the blade from rust in this dangerous place, so part of the sword strip under habaki should be lightly oiled. But its most important function is that it transfers the recoil of the blow through the guard to the entire hilt, and not to a relatively weak restraining peg. mekugi bamboo or horn.
Khabaki usually made of copper, silver-plated or gold-plated, or plated with gold, silver, or alloy foil shakudo. The surface is either polished or covered with oblique strokes, which are called neko gaki("cat scratching"). If a thin foil coating is present, it may be incorporated into these neko gaki or decorated with a stamped pattern. Occasionally also found habaki of iron, precious metals, or even of ivory or wood, but only on swords mounted not for serious use. If the stripe of the sword is thinner than the average and thus requires habaki additional thickness, then can be used ni-zu-habaki- double habaki. It's just a regular sized habaki, reinforced with a separate but neatly fitted piece that adds two "cheeks" to reinforce the lower part (adjacent to the guard). By habaki you can often judge the quality of a blade. Niju-haba-ki and especially habaki adorned with family crest mon, usually belong to good swords.
Sword strip terminology
The strip of a sword, dagger, or any other bladed weapon consists of a blade and a tang.
Point (kisaki)- This is the most difficult part of the sword to forge and polish. The value of a sword is largely determined by the condition kisaki. Hardening line at the point ( bossy) may not be the same on different sides of the blade.
There are a great many types of hardening line on the point (as well as on the blade itself).
1. according to the shape of the blade:
- fukura-kareru- direct;
- fukura tsuku- curved;2. by size:
-ko-kisaki- a small point. Characteristic of the tachi of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period;
- chu-kisaki- the average. Widespread type for all swords from around 1232;
- o-kisaki- long;
- ikari-o-kisaki- long and curved;3. along the hardening line (boshi):
- ko-maru- weak rounding;
- o-maru- strong rounding. The width of the hardened part is narrower than in ko-maru;
- jizo- in the form of the head of the deity Jizo;
- yaki-zume- non-returnable. As a rule, the quench line reaches the point and turns back to the shank. In this case, the return kaeri) missing;
- midare-komi- wavy;
- kaen- fiery;
- ichi-mai- complete. The whole point is hardened;
- kaeri-tsuyoshi- straight return line;
- kaeri fukashi- long return;
- kaeri-ashashi- short return.
Sword band
Komi, or mi,- blade.
Nakago- shank.
Tosin- stripe of the sword.
Sword strip terminology
Bosi - hardening line on the tip.
Yokote - the line separating the point and the blade.
Ji (ilihira-ji) - plane between blade and sinogi(its width is called niku).
Jihad - surface pattern hada.
Ji-tsuya - darker (compared to ha-tsuya) part of the blade (the rest of the blade, except for the hardened part).
Kasane - blade thickness, measured along the butt; happens moto kasaie and saki-kasane.
Kisaki - tip (sometimes this term means the entire area from yokote to the tip of the blade).
Ko-shinogi - edge of the blade on the tip.
Mizukage - fuzzy line on the plane dzi, usually occurring when re-hardening the blade.
Mihaba - blade width; happens moto hub and saki-haba.
Mitsu-kado - point where they meet yokote, sinogi and ko-shinogi.
monouti - the part of the blade that most strikes is the part of the blade about 15 cm long, located about 10 cm below yokote(data for a long sword, for short swords and daggers it is proportionally reduced).
Moto kasane - blade thickness mune-machi.
Moto hub - blade width between ha-mati and mune-machi.
Mune - butt of the blade.
Mune-machi - a small cut separating the shank from the blade on the side of the butt, the edge mune.
Mune-saki - the name of the butt near the tip;
May - inscriptions (on nakago and etc.).
Mekugi-ana - holes in nakago for menuki.
Nagasa - blade length (measured between mune-machi and point).
Nakago-jiri - extremity nakago.
Sabigiva - border between habaki moto and yasuri-me.
Saki-kasane - blade thickness yokote.
Saki-haba - blade width yokote.
Shinogi - blade edge.
shinogi-ji - blade plane between sinogi and mune.
Sori - blade curvature.
Sugata - blade shape.
Fukura - blade shape kisaki.
Ha(or ha-saki) - blade.
habaki moto - part of the sword strip that is under the clutch habaki.
Hada - lamination of steel; the result of the folding of steel during the forging process.
Ha-mati - a small cut separating the tang from the blade on the side of the blade, the edge Ha.
Jamon - line yakiba.
Hataraki - "activities", workings on the metal surface ( nioi, nii and etc.).
ha-tsuya - the lighter part of the blade compared to ji-tsuya; practically the same as yakiba.
Hee - USD
Horimono - blade engraving.
Yakiba - hardened part of the blade.
Yakihaba - width yakiba.
Yasuri-me - notches on the shank.
Edge of the blade (shinogi) absent on blades hira-zukuri. There are two types:
speaking (shinogi-takashi). The thickness of the blade between the stiffeners is much greater than that of the butt;
- smooth (shinogi-hikushi).
The plane between the edge and butt of the blade (shinogi-ji) is wide and narrow.
Dol (hee) originally made to increase the strength of the blade and to reduce its weight. Later it began to be considered as an ornament. Sometimes the fuller was made in order to restore the balance of a shortened sword or to hide the flaws in the blade (such fullers added later are called ato bi). There are 8 types of valleys, of which koshi-hi, tomabashi, shobu-hi, kuichigai-hi and naginata-hi- on short swords.
In addition, there are 4 forms of the fuller at the shank, of which kaki-toshi and kaki-nagashi commonly found on strips of swords made by smiths from the Old Sword Period ( koto).
Dol can cross yokote(a type hee-saki-agari) and stop a little before reaching yokote(a type hisaki-sagari).
Plane shinogi-ji, not cut out full, is called tiri. Dol may have tiri on both sides (type ryo-chiri) or only on one side (type kata-chiri).
Types of fullers on the sword strip
Bo-hee- wide dol.
Bo-hi-ni-tsure-hi- wide and narrow dol.
gomabashi- two short dashes.
Kaki-nagashi- going up to half of the shank.
Kaki-toshi- passing along the entire shank.
Kaku-dome- rectangular end.
Kosi-hee- short dollar
Kuitigai-hee- double irregular dol, connecting at the end.
Naginata-hi- short wide dol; characteristic of naginata, but also found on swords.
Shobu-hee- double dol, connecting at the end.
Futasuji-hi- two narrow valleys.
Maru-dome- rounded end.Engraving (horimono). There are various types of engraving on the blades of Japanese swords. The most frequent plots: chopsticks ( goma-hashi), ritual sword ken, the Dragon ( kurikara) and inscriptions in Chinese or Japanese characters ( bonji).
Hataraki
Ji-nie- spots noe v dzi.
Kinsuji, inazuma and sunagashi- stripes below and above the line jamon.
Ko-nie- small dots noe above jamon.
utinoke- "Activity" in the form of a crescent.
We present our achievements in video fencing on katana, machete knife. After watching our films, you may discover some new aspects of history, weapons, culture. This section presents the techniques of fencing, the technique of their implementation, the technique of movement during execution. Knife fight videos of developments in techniques and techniques - will please anyone who is seriously involved in knife fighting. We pay a lot of attention to technique, all our lessons are designed so that you can see not just a quick execution of techniques, but understand how this technique is performed. Therefore, the display is often performed in a slightly slowed down format, which does not negate, of course, its fast execution during running time. Separately, there are sparrings - a video of a knife fight. Here you can see the real application of the techniques shown earlier in other videos.
Small feature films related to weapons, the history of samurai, the manufacture of samurai swords, traditions, old photographs and much more stand apart. We sincerely hope you enjoy these films.
Another aspect of our knife fighting videos is the testing of punches and weapons on real flesh - on pieces of meat - on pork knuckles, pork bokeh. This is necessary in order to understand HOW a particular weapon strikes, what passes and what does not, and often common myths are dispelled during such testing. We do not want to become like Discovery or Cold Steel, not at all, but we like their format and we have adopted it for ourselves.
We sincerely hope that our videos of knife fighting, katana and machete tricks will not disappoint you and you will find something useful for yourself in them.
DIY katana sharpening
Sharpening a katana with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem.
In ancient times in Japan, there were special craftsmen who sharpened water stones for weeks. There were always very few such masters, and the services were insanely expensive. Not only the cutting edge itself was processed, but the blade itself was polished - all this was part of the understanding of sharpening a katana. Today, sharpening is understood as processing only the cutting edge of the blade and bringing it to a razor-sharp state.
Contrary to popular belief, this is quite easy to do today and at home with your own hands. The standard cost of a single blade sharpening is from 1500 rubles. But what can you do yourself at home - how to sharpen the blade so as not to spoil it? Well, firstly, you need to understand why you are sharpening your katana. For chopping makiwara from rice straws - this is one thing, for chopping let's put not too thick tree trunks - this is another, for chopping all sorts of meat items such as sausages - this is somewhat third.
We will carry out a real sharpening of a katana at home with our own hands.
A Chinese katana was taken as a weapon, hardness up to 52 - 54 units, monosteel, spring, nothing unusual, a fairly cheap sample.
For sharpening, a musat, a fiscars-type grinding device with rotating stones, and a bottle of oil were taken.
First, from the blade - a completely working one, which has just been chopped in a variety of plastic bottles with the help of musat, all small roughness and burrs are removed.
Later grinding device fiscars type, the knurling of the cutting edge of the katana is sharpened.
The result is checked on a sheet of paper. As a rule, one pass is not enough for normal paper cutting and razor sharpness, and therefore the blade is lubricated with oil and again rolled into sharpeners.
Slowly, a katana blade can be sharpened in three to five steps.
As you can see from the video, a sharpened katana cuts paper like a razor.
The production of a katana is divided into a large number of stages and can take several months. First, steel pieces of the tamahagane grade are placed next to each other, covered with a clay solution and covered with ash. This allows you to remove slag from the steel, which during melting will be removed from the metal and will be absorbed by the clay and
ash. Next, the metal pieces are heated to combine them. After that, hammer forging takes place: the created rod is flattened and folded, then again flattened and folded again - thus, the number of layers is doubled (with 10 folding, 1024 layers are obtained, with 20 - 1048576) As a result, carbon is evenly located in the rod, which allows make sure that the strength of the blade is the same over the entire surface.
Katana manufacturing technology
Then, softer steel must be placed in the workpiece so that the blade does not break under severe dynamic loads. During forging, which takes several days, the workpiece lengthens and by joining strips with different hardness, the structure of the blade and its original shape are formed. Next, a series of liquid clay is applied - to prevent oxidation and overheating. A pattern is formed on the cutting edge - the jamon hardening line.
This line becomes visible during the polishing of the sword. Jamon is a hallmark of a master; it is possible to find out from it who created the katana. Then the sword is hardened: it is heated to a temperature of approximately 840-850 ° C and immediately cooled, as a result of which the katana takes on extraordinary hardness. In addition, during the hardening process, the blade bends on its own, while the magnitude and shape of the deflection are specific and depend on the cooling method. Then the blade is given a finished look, sharpened and polished using stones of different grain sizes. Moreover, the master strives to achieve completely flat surfaces and clear angles of the faces between the planes. Sometimes on parts of the katana that have not been hardened, a decorative engraving is created, usually on the theme of Buddhism. After polishing and decorating the handle, the katana can be used.
