Bookie is at it again

Bookie

Bookie

Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
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Bawanna was complaining that my knives had no imagination and they were ho-hum at best. Why didn't I make something that was different and showed I could actually work longer than 10-15 minutes at a time without dropping off to sleep? How about something with regional influence, just to be "different"? Maybe a Washington "tooth pick"? Kinda like an Arkansas toothpick, but longer? Well, after he was done plying me with vast quantities of Steelhead brewskis, I was more than man enough to tackle his request.
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Now what we have here Ladies and gennulmen, is one Washington tooth pick (that's properly pronounced Worsh-ington in the world famous and much imitated Corn Patch dialect.) It actually resembles a Japanese Ko-katana blade or even an O-wakizashi blade. Ko meaning short and O meaning long in these two instances. A katana is the long Samurai sword and a wakizashi is the short Samurai sword which was always worn in house and out. The blade is not laminated, pattern welded, nor has a hamon. Merely 1045 steel, but with a bo-hi. The side of the blade you are looking at has just undergone hand polishing with 3000 grit. The 1000 grit only took 10 hours and the 4000 grit is yet to come. Only 8 more hours to go. Ever pay over $300 for just ONE 2 X 8 water stone for sharpening a dern knife before? Maybe 3 or 4? This blade will now cut toilet paper. Not tear. Not slice. Just cut with no pressure. None of my khuks will do this.
 
That is far beyond awesome Bookie. I also apologize for all my caterwalling and bellyaching about all your excessive naps when it's day light outside.

I'd shore be partial to coming down to corn patch and feasting thine eyes and very careful fingers on that beauty.

Can't comprehend cutting toilet paper or spending 300 bucks for a stone made of water from Japan.
 
Bac Si, I shall have to nominate you to the Nihontō Bunka Shinkō Kyōkai if you keep making such beautiful blades. The blade is a true shōtō, and looks to be about 1.5-2 shaku in length? I would classify it as similar to a 1100-1300's Kodachi. The kissaki is excellent and proportional in the style and age that I find most appealing. While from that picture it doesn't appear to have a hard yokote, I think that might make it more appealing, sort of an American sabre evolution to the kissaki. The sides appear to be shinogi-hikushi or flat sided. (The cross-section wouldn't be diamond shaped but flat to triangular) also in keeping with the tradition of the 1100-1300's schools. The nakago is pretty wide. Not sure how you plan to "dress" it with a tsuba but it really is a gorgeously proportional blade, I would think any Worsh-ingtonian would agree we would be well represented (probably OVER represented considering the number of progressive liberals who think those things should be banned.) by just such a toothpick. All in all... WOW Bookie, incredible seems about right to me.
 
Well, color me envious of the Toothpick, and the skill necessary to make it. One day I will have to buy a sword.
 
Dude that is sick!!! Your gonna hurt yourself with that thing. I got chicken skin just looking at it! Incredible work. Them Japanese waterstones aint cheap. I have King waterstones 4000 and 8000 and they really are hard to beat. The cut extremely well. Even at 4000 you ca quickly level out some steel. Get you a nagura stone if you dont have one. It accelerates the process greatly. Thats a Texas Toothpick if you axe me!:thumbup:

Great job on that fuller btw! Cat wait to see the rest!
 
The kissaki has not been counter-polished yet. Must make a wooden jig to define the yokote from the shinogi. Having issue with polishing the bo-hi. There were small pits in the metal and they're still in the groove (bo-hi). Am using Q-tips with the 1000 grit residue from polishing the blade to clean them out. The shoulders are killing me for pushing that blade down the stone some 10000 times. Might post another pic later to show it a little further down the road.
 
Yokote from Shinogi?

Is that kind of like Okie from Muskogee?

You people and your foreign language skills, sheeesh.
 
Bookie said:
The kissaki has not been counter-polished yet. Must make a wooden jig to define the yokote from the shinogi. Having issue with polishing the bo-hi. There were small pits in the metal and they're still in the groove (bo-hi). Am using Q-tips with the 1000 grit residue from polishing the blade to clean them out. The shoulders are killing me for pushing that blade down the stone some 10000 times. Might post another pic later to show it a little further down the road.
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Ah... you forged in the bo-hi instead of cutting them. Most Japanese blades the bo-hi are cut into the blade before it is hardened, actually removing material from the cut. Quite the range of tools for keeping the cutter in the same spot so you don't jump out of the cut exist. These days most bo-hi (very sadly) are cut into the blade by huge machine. The ones used when making mass or semi-mass production blades actually mirror polishes the flats while cutting the groove and sort of planes the entire flat smooth <shudder>

Forging the bo-hi into the blade... yeah, I can see that being VERY time consuming to clean up afterwards. I think that is more of a European type of process. I know that process is usually used for fullering broadswords and similar. I don't know if sabers also used forged fullers or if they were usually cut similar to the Japanese style. I am certain Bac-Si that you know much more about the variants than I ;) A certain Danish SwordsMaker Master probably taught you many ways to accomplish these things. Probably with pros and cons of each way. :D

Just think, after 1000X10000 more passes you may be qualified as a togishi :D
Can I start sending my nihonto to you for proper polishing? I will mess with my cheap blades myself but I always send the good blades to Japan to have them polished. It is the only way to retain the value of the blade to have a recognized certified professional sharpen/polish them. Hope you have a lot of liniment as I can't imagine how your back and shoulders are bearing up to the twisting they need to be in position to properly polish a sword, holding the blade even on the stone. True dedication to doing it right, is all I can say. Very impressive.

I really would love to see it once you are done, because I know it is going to be something special. You do good work sir!
 
Great picture and post, thank you for sharing
 
Here's a photograph taken clandestinely of Bawanna, Ndog, and other nefarious associates driving to Corn Patch to play in the fire with Bookie.
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I always drive, I'm the guddest driver. I wish I was a driving to Corn Patch, surely would like to look at that sword first hand.

Even though I don't know the parts or the names or how to pronounce them it's still pretty cool to me.

I took the aspirin as directed, brain pain is much less this AM.

With CAK in hand, I'm off to make little pieces of kindling out of big pieces of kindling prior to the arrival of my little princess granddaughter for the day. Not to be confused with Cul's little princess daughter and majority owner of Disneyland.
 
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