Thread: Kagi-ba-Sword forging shop

i think the world would be a better place if we went back to carrying swords and open carry of handguns.........


it would damn sure be more polite.....

I don't know... people used to carry swords a couple of hundreds years ago, and the general life was downright brutal.

In any case, if a sword is used for practicing genuine traditional JMA, I could get satisfaction from that. But sadly, many people who buy swords have no clue what to do with them or worse: how to treat them properly. If I hear what some people do with a genuine shinken, it grates on my soul like nails on a board.

I guess that is also why I have no respect for people who buy a x000$ custom knife, only to put it in a shadowbox. And this is something I really appreciate about straight razors and the people who buy them. If one of us buys a 2000$ custom, you can be sure it gets used and treated properly. Imo, using and properly caring for a tool is the biggest compliment for the craftsman who made it.

I am for everyone carrying, but it's the "punks" who would ruin it for all...but they may not last long either.

I'm with ya Bruno on folks not knowing how to properly care for or treat a proper sword, I think the cheap market caused a lot of that. Collecting is great, but if it's not worthy of putting an edge on it and using it for ____ then it's not worth having in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I don't know... people used to carry swords a couple of hundreds years ago, and the general life was downright brutal.

But is that a chicken or the egg situation ? Just some rhetoric. Don't want to hijack this informative thread

Yep - i have firearms and enjoy them, but also have swords, bows and arrows, etc. i would love a world without guns and just have everyone with blades, but it just ain't gonna happen.
As a maker i also understand the satisfaction of people using what i make. i had good feedback from a recent knife sale "great balance, design, well put together, etc." but then he added "collectable" as in putting in a case. sigh.... That's probably why i mostly stick to kitchen knives and razors.
And Yeah - i really shouldn't complain as it is still money in my pocket.
All that said, i still feel somehow naked when i am not wearing a sword.....
Regards to All.
Adam

I admire your ingenuity an initiative. Something special about mapping a plan and executing it. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to see your forging shop come to fruition.

Best Regards
Kenny

Originally Posted by Bruno

I don't know... people used to carry swords a couple of hundreds years ago, and the general life was downright brutal.

In any case, if a sword is used for practicing genuine traditional JMA, I could get satisfaction from that. But sadly, many people who buy swords have no clue what to do with them or worse: how to treat them properly. If I hear what some people do with a genuine shinken, it grates on my soul like nails on a board.

I guess that is also why I have no respect for people who buy a x000$ custom knife, only to put it in a shadowbox. And this is something I really appreciate about straight razors and the people who buy them. If one of us buys a 2000$ custom, you can be sure it gets used and treated properly. Imo, using and properly caring for a tool is the biggest compliment for the craftsman who made it.

Yep

That's my point exactly. The compliment to a craftsman part.

As a long time practitioner of Kendo and Iaido I can relate to the idea of proper care and respect for a sword. And I can agree with Bruno that I would not want to return to the days yore when a sword was a constant companion.In any confrontation the chance of coming away unbloodied was almost zero.The Japanese as we all know are quite meticulous and kept careful records of official duels.

The result? Only in 25% to 30% of the fights did anybody survive. In the rest of the 70% to 75% one or both combatants died. That does not count the lost limbs, horrifically disfiguring or crippling wounds and death from infection later.

No thanks-I will stick with my bamboo shinai. Smarts a little bit somethings but we all live to fight another day.

I do practice Iaido with a real blade though (shinken). I find that the possibility of blood (mine) adds a special focus to the practice.

It has bit my twice over the years but nothing serious.
It is a paradox that mindful practice with an instrument of death can bring peace and creativity to life.

So here's an overview of the shop and grounds. Ripped house wrap and all.



Here is the alignment of it all. The wooden forms are for the power hammer foundation.
The pit is finished except for a coat of stucco.

The base for the forge is place.



Another view. Yuki doing her usual excellent job of supervising



Base for the forge. More about that next post


Ya'll come back now Ya'hear.

The legendary performance of a Japanese blade has been hyped throughout history. I won't bore anyone with a recitation of those since they don't compete well against what damage Hollywood special effects have done. There was an interesting study done by the Japanese during their Chinese incursion that is a part of their written tradition. That they kept track of sword performance cannot repair the injury to those who lost their lives.

A small group was sent to China to review the failures of so many legendary blades. This included a polisher, a smith and an expert swordsman among others. The average number of bodies cut before the blood and fat and hair and skin left the blade unusable = three. The number of blades ruined by bad cuts from inexpert operators = large enough to be embarassing.

I like the way the shop is coming along. It will be most interesting as the years pass and the place acquires more of your own ki.

Only 3? That is surprising. Of course it depends on what 'unusable' means. I once read that one of the reasons Musashi used a bokken, was that he did not want to get his sword filthy and damaged. That swords get damaged by inexpert users is no surprise. Japanese swords are more fragile than western swords when it comes to being misused.

Ok to get back to the swords: how is it that a skilled user can make a thousand successive tameshigiri cuts with the same blade? If a blade gets unusable after 3 cuts, what is then the significant difference with tameshigiri?