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Post by Kinoshita Takemitsu on Oct 1, 2004 0:30:50 GMT -5
i've got a couple of ideas for making SCA Katanas...
i'm thinking about 46" or so with the bend almost in the center about 1 2/3" from a flat surface...
still thinking about what to make the Tsubo...
not certain if i want it larger than my Gauntled hand or not... its probably going to get made out of HDPE plastic...
i don't think i'm going to plane down the blade because an unplaned blade generally lasts longer...
thinking about 4-5" or blade on the back
probably a 14" hilt
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Post by Draco Sezeski on Oct 1, 2004 10:07:59 GMT -5
Is that Rattan or Boffer?
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Post by Harutsune on Oct 1, 2004 10:49:00 GMT -5
Cheap and easy tsuba: layer and layer strapping tape till you get it to the diameter that you want. Then just duck tape over it to hold into place.
Usually, I do this step right after wrapping strapping tape down the blade. Then you ducktape the blade and start wrapping your handle.
I wouldn't try a plastic tsuba unless this is a boffer you're making. Even if its reinforced, I got the feeling that it may not stand up to heavy fighting.
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Post by Kinoshita Takemitsu on Oct 1, 2004 19:59:47 GMT -5
i'll be using HDPE and it can take one heck of a hit
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Post by Otagiri Tatsuzou on Oct 1, 2004 23:48:51 GMT -5
i'll be using HDPE and it can take one heck of a hit Plastic tsuba are darn near indestructable. Take your time to make the good tight fit against the rattan stick. Some marshalls frown on a single layer of HDPE and want a thicker edge to the tsuba. One way you can do this by rivetting together multiple layers of HDPE. I rhinohide.cx/tousando/img/katana.jpg |
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Post by Harutsune on Oct 2, 2004 11:04:11 GMT -5
Hmmmm *shrugs* possible....could ABS be used as a substitute.....I ask that b/c I have quite a bit of it that I was able to scrounge from work before I left.
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Post by Kinoshita Takemitsu on Oct 2, 2004 11:57:02 GMT -5
its also used in armors but i've heard that it an become brittle because of extreme weather changes... so i don't know
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Post by Ishikawa Uchimitsu on Oct 5, 2004 3:53:18 GMT -5
Mine worked out really well with layered hdpe plastic. I also shaved the blade and handle down to thelp lighten up the sword. OVerall, I thikn it'll last for a while. I haven't had any problems to dae. I also wrapped my handle with cord to give it a fancier look, and a better grip.
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Post by TachibanaOmi on Oct 14, 2004 23:01:26 GMT -5
I prefer using HDP for the tsuba, but I've never had to double the thickness, they've always passed inspection in Ansteorra and on average theyre about 6 inches in diameter and 1/4" thick. Cord wrapping the handle can be pretty and functional but for my very long "field battle" katana I used tennis grip, it feels and works great. Another nifty trick to "deck-out" a tsuba is to print up a circular mon or Japanese patern and Deco-podge it to your tsuba. If you use a butter knife instead of a brush you can get a nice smooth finish that's a little thicker than normal. After it dries apply as many more coats as you like, but be sure to allow each coat to dry completely before you apply again. A nifty trick that my friend Tarquin showed me was to drill a half inch hole about 3 or 4 inches into the bottom of the handle. Then take a coke can and cut a rectangle of aluminum long enough to wrap around the bottom of the handle and duck tape it to the end so that there's about 2 inches sticking past the end of the handle. Next you aquire some lead, melt it down with a plumbers torch or other really hot source and you pour the melted lead into the handle. Once it's cooled you remove the aluminum which kept the small bit of overflow from going anwhere and in the process created a nifty end cap and anchor a screw into the lead through the handle. This creates a wonderful way to counterweight your extra-long katana or even a regular sized one so that it's perfectly balanced.
Tachibana Omi
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Post by TachibanaOmi on Oct 14, 2004 23:12:32 GMT -5
Oh, and one more thing. To secure an HDPE or ABS tsuba tightly, cut a hole int the tsuba that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the handle. Then, using a heating torch, burn the center of the tsuba until it catches fire and is melting. Blow it out and quickly force the handle through the molten cut-out. Once it cools, several layers of thin strip duck tape should keep it from sliding down in the event that it loosens in combat.
Omi
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Post by yamamori corrius on Oct 17, 2004 11:08:38 GMT -5
Why do people always inflate weapons for SCA  ? When I fight in hoplite kit, I often have success with my tiny little side-arm sword after losing my spear. If you want to use a big tachi, well I guess you can, but it seems that yari, naginata and nagamaki were much more common as the main weapon - your katana would, in period, have been your side-arm. But people keep using 4' long sword. If you honoured gentles want to have more reach, why not use a more common period weapon? If you want a long sword, that would be, what, the horseman's tachi of the Kamakura period, right? If you want the romance and myth of "The Katana", well, make a realistically-sized katana & get up-close and personal with you opponent - like the Spartan matron told her son when he complained that his sword was too short: "Add a step forward to it." |
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Post by Yamamori on Oct 17, 2004 11:54:55 GMT -5
Not that I want to give people a hard time about this, but if we're interested in accuracy & authenticity, well, why not ask for it in our fighting as well as garb, armor, names, and so on?
Do people really think that the folks whose lives actually depended on their weapons left much room for improvement?
Do people expect that things would have worked better for the Romans legions, for example, if they had used great, long swords instead of the gladius? No, they very rationally decided that, in the conditions of battle, they needed a sword that was small enough to be wielded in the press of a battle.
Horsemen could use great, long swords because they had enough room.
But on the ground, the celts used big long swords that looked manly and studly, while the Romans used short sword that were just right for stabbing or hacking whatever was right in front of them. Guess which civilization conquered the Western world?
I think the bushi (& ashigaru, inasmuchas they were able) generally carried, when fighting on foot, 1) a long-range weapon, such as a spear or pike, 2) a mid-ranged weapon, the katana, and 3) assorted close-range weapons such as the wakizashi, kabutowari, tanto, to be used when in close or grappling conditions.
In duels, the usual weapon was the katana. Other weapon styles trained to fight against it, because it was the usual weapon. Musashi argues against using swords that are too long. Tsukahara Bokuden killed a feared naginata master using his katana. Muso Gonnosuke & his teacher used katana when they killed the head of the Tendo school of naginata.
It seems to me that katana, in the 3' range, were considered good enough for use as side-arms on the battlefield, and as primary weapons for duels.
Yamamori/ Corrius.
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Post by TachibanaOmi on Oct 17, 2004 15:41:43 GMT -5
Musashi argues against using swords that are too long. Musashi doesnt argue against using extra long swords, he argues against relying on a swords length as the only strategy for defeating the enemy. His belief to kill the enemy by any means necessary includes swords that are extra long. Omi |
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Post by Yamamori on Nov 11, 2004 12:26:04 GMT -5
Perhaps I've mis-remembered.  Never-the-less, the point remains, and the question remains unanswered: why do SCA fighters feel that they have to make swords so long, particularly when trying to recreate a nihonto? Yamamori. |
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Post by raito on Nov 12, 2004 10:52:18 GMT -5
How long is too long?
I'm 6 feet tall, not 5 and change. So my sword is as proportionate to my body as theirs were to theirs.
And I don't ever fight with a katana, because I'm in armour. I use a tachi (sometimes, I drag out my no-dachi).
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