Bookie is at it again

Shavru · Feb 1, 2016

LoL one of my favorite comics XXXXX xXXXXX TFFFBs Just make sure you stay grounded in that mobile... I seem to remember it taking leave of the roads and flying high during at least one episode.

err... not that a law abiding little old lady like myself would know anything about such... Just something I read somewhere.

ndoghouse · Feb 1, 2016

Bookie said:
Here's a photograph taken clandestinely of Bawanna, Ndog, and other nefarious associates driving to Corn Patch to play in the fire with Bookie.

[/URL][/IMG]

Ha! Ha! How did i miss that. Thats definitely Bawanna driving. Fun trip for sure! Everything wouldda been fine and we would have made it if Book would have left them truck springs in tact! I dont remember bringing all them shifty eyed characters with us? Freeloaders i suppose? Oh oh

We forgot fat freddy's cat!

philllll · Feb 1, 2016

That's him alright! I managed to find this other pic of him from his younger days. That poor cat...

Bookie · Mar 20, 2016

It has been total over loaded mayhem at Toad Hall! There's so many shop projects & irons in the fire that even Kamidog could help, bare footin' it all the way, with Bawanna supervising and we still couldn't keep up. I've taken a couple of days to work on my own projects and the sword is included in that long list. The blade has been polished with 8000 grit now and it's still not shiny. It's absolutely amazing just how many scratches 8000 grit puts on steel! Over 60,000 strokes on the blade polishing it so far! The tsuka is being shaped. More wood must be removed so the same (sting ray skin for handle covering) and brown ito (brown silk handle wrapping cord) can be applied. All layers covering the wood must can't stand higher than the fuchi & kashira (the end caps on the handle) are thick. The sword is a replica Japanese O-Wazikashi, the small sword. The blade is 2 feet long. Here's a pic to show progress to date.

[/URL][/IMG]

ndoghouse · Mar 20, 2016

Whoooooh!!!

Beautiful job Book! How bout a close up of that Tsuba. Thats gorgeous already!

Its almost stingray season! Let me know if ya need some skins!

Bookie · Mar 20, 2016

Thanks for the kind words and what a great pic. You got SAME!!!! Yes, I'll take one! Keep those emperor's bumps intact for me! They are positioned to be visible between the diamonds of the handle wrapping.
P.S. Hope you dry it before mailing it. Don't want the mailman getting sick from the smell.........

Scara · Mar 20, 2016

Bookie said:
Thanks for the kind words and what a great pic. You got SAME!!!! Yes, I'll take one! Keep those emperor's bumps intact for me! They are positioned to be visible between the diamonds of the handle wrapping.
P.S. Hope you dry it before mailing it. Don't want the mailman getting sick from the smell.........

Which side do you plan to put them on? I'm told that historically the side the bumps go on depends on the era. I'm told that they used to put them on the right side so they would fit in the palm and provide a tactile sensation for indexing the blade, but after a while people began putting it on the left side because that was the side that faced out when the sword was worn. Or is that the Menuki? Or is it both?

Bookie · Mar 21, 2016

The nodes are normally worn on the omote side (outside when worn.) There are traditionally specific areas where they are positioned on the grip. Often showing on a katana in the opening diamond in the ito after the knot at the kashira. The menuki are mounted so the fingers wrap around them. In the very old days, they were worn as a matter of preference. Things became pretty refined as time wore on, particularly so during the Edo period.

I am making a non-traditional appearing tsuka and am placing the emperors nodes on the ura side (inside as it is worn) and located in the center of the grip. The same is black with an elongated white diamond and the nodes are sanded down and located in the center of the diamond. One menuki will be used and it is very non-traditional, too. My sterling silver Master Army Aviators wings will serve as my menuki, on the omote side, thus making the wakizashi personal to me. A specific style of ito wrap will be used to allow the center (and most of) the menuki to show.

Bawanna · Mar 21, 2016

I read all that 4 times and I have no idea what you just said.. I did get the Master Army Aviators Wings but other than that, no comprehension.

ndoghouse · Mar 21, 2016

Bawanna said:
I read all that 4 times and I have no idea what you just said.. I did get the Master Army Aviators Wings but other than that, no comprehension.

HE HE!!! Dont feel bad Mr. B. I dont speak Japanese either? Hes starting to sound like Shavru eh? Maybe we should take one of them rosetta stone Katana classes?

I dont have any of that skin left Doc. After I skinned it I threw the meat in the ice chest then knowing the coyotes would take it I tied an 8 pound sledge hammer to the carcass while I went out for a midnight swim. When I came back they not only stole the skin but they stole my dang hammer as well. The next day I followed the drag marks hoping id at least get my hammer back but lost the trail after about a few miles through the dunes and across the road.
I usually go hunting at night when the water warms up and is calm during low tide. You can swim between the sand bars where the water is shallow and clear and spear them. They can spear you too so ya gotta be very careful. They a very hard to see because they dig down in the sand. The only thing you can see is their eyes and sometimes their tail. The further their eyes are apart the bigger they are. I just aim between the eyes. Sharks love them too! Might be too late before you finish that wakizashi but Ill try to get you some this summer.

Scara · Mar 21, 2016

Bookie said:
The nodes are normally worn on the omote side (outside when worn.) There are traditionally specific areas where they are positioned on the grip. Often showing on a katana in the opening diamond in the ito after the knot at the kashira. The menuki are mounted so the fingers wrap around them. In the very old days, they were worn as a matter of preference. Things became pretty refined as time wore on, particularly so during the Edo period.

I am making a non-traditional appearing tsuka and am placing the emperors nodes on the ura side (inside as it is worn) and located in the center of the grip. The same is black with an elongated white diamond and the nodes are sanded down and located in the center of the diamond. One menuki will be used and it is very non-traditional, too. My sterling silver Master Army Aviators wings will serve as my menuki, on the omote side, thus making the wakizashi personal to me. A specific style of ito wrap will be used to allow the center (and most of) the menuki to show.

Non-traditional depends on whose tradition you're using. I know of one school that had nodes and menuki on the inside and not the outside, using them as an indexing mark for the palm instead of putting them on display. As for using your Aviator wings, that's just plain cool.

Jaymo · Mar 21, 2016

Very nice. Judging by the time spent polishing and honing it, I can't afford it.

I've bought a few Japanese water stones for honing my straight razors.
Darn things aren't cheap. My finest one is 12,000 grit. Yes, twelve-thousand grit.
Keeps the blade from roughing up your face when you shave with it.

Shavru · Mar 21, 2016

If a single sheet of same kawa is used, the seam is placed down the center of the ura side or overlapped along the top edge. The Emperor nodules appear on the omote side. When a tsuka is made with panels then well, you place them where you want them LOL.

Scara, you are talking about Yagyu "gyaku-oki" when you talk about menuki on the ura side instead of the omote. This is typical only in Yagyu Owari koshirae, as designed specifically by Yagyu Renya. Supposedly the thought was in this position the menuki does not push the fingers away and interfere with the grip. There are of course a bunch of other differences that Yagyu dictated to students of his school including the saya and the fact the tsuka isn't typically narrow waisted but stays the same thickness until it starts to taper at the end and uses a smaller sized tsuba. I will say that the versions of "gyaku-oki" I have seen have their Emperor node on the omote side the same as the standard Edo period and the menuki on the ura.

Bac Si, I have tried a few times to say how much I LOVE that blade. I think the Aviator Wing Menuki is a perfect symbol for that blade. The way it is turning out is something special and I can't think of a better way to bring it full circle to represent yourself than the way you have chosen. I look forward to seeing the final result of what is going to be an incredible combination of historical technical excellence with a bit of your unique viewpoint.

Scara · Mar 21, 2016

Shavru said:
Scara, you are talking about Yagyu "gyaku-oki" when you talk about menuki on the ura side instead of the omote. This is typical only in Yagyu Owari koshirae, as designed specifically by Yagyu Renya. Supposedly the thought was in this position the menuki does not push the fingers away and interfere with the grip. There are of course a bunch of other differences that Yagyu dictated to students of his school including the saya and the fact the tsuka isn't typically narrow waisted but stays the same thickness until it starts to taper at the end and uses a smaller sized tsuba. I will say that the versions of "gyaku-oki" I have seen have their Emperor node on the omote side the same as the standard Edo period and the menuki on the ura.

It was described to me by an adherent of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. At a guess these are schools in the same lineage, since if memory serves Yagyu is the family name.

Bookie · Mar 22, 2016

I can't tell you a dern thing about ito wrapping styles, the 4 basic tsuka shapes, or most any stuff related to those thingies except what I've gleaned from Buck's book The Art Tsukamaki. My goal is not to just put this O-wakizashi together, but to imbue some of my soul into it. No nonsense, dependable to a fault, and symbolically personal of me, an extension of me if you will. Ever seen that rather famous family Christmas photo taken in Hawai'i? The Father had bought this old Japanese katana and hung it over a door way in the house. At Christmas time, the family did group photo in front of that door. In the photo you can see a very faint samurai frowning at you. The soul of that katana?

Scara · Mar 22, 2016

Bookie said:
I can't tell you a dern thing about ito wrapping styles, the 4 basic tsuka shapes, or most any stuff related to those thingies except what I've gleaned from Buck's book The Art Tsukamaki. My goal is not to just put this O-wakizashi together, but to imbue some of my soul into it. No nonsense, dependable to a fault, and symbolically personal of me, an extension of me if you will. Ever seen that rather famous family Christmas photo taken in Hawai'i? The Father had bought this old Japanese katana and hung it over a door way in the house. At Christmas time, the family did group photo in front of that door. In the photo you can see a very faint samurai frowning at you. The soul of that katana?

Sounds like quite a project. It's a beautiful blade already, and I can't wait to see it finished. And I'll say it again, using your wings as a Menuki is just one great idea.

Shavru · Mar 22, 2016

Scara said:
It was described to me by an adherent of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. At a guess these are schools in the same lineage, since if memory serves Yagyu is the family name.

Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi, studied Yagyu Shinkage Ryu under his grandfather the second head master Yagyu Sekishusai Munetoshi who became the disciple of the founder of Shinkage Ryu, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna(who at the time was named Kamiizumi Isenokami Fujiwara Hidetsuna). Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi became the third head master. He served the Owari Tokugawa family and founded the Owari Yagyu family line. His son, Renya, (the same one I referenced earlier) redirected the application of Shinkage Ryus principles for the new Era and became the 5th headmaster. From that time on, the line of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu has been under the direction of the Owari branch of the Yagyu family. The branch that still provide the headmaster and the only school that makes use of the Yagyu Owari koshirae I was talking about Yagyu "gyaku-oki". So yep, we are on the same page

Great school, the current (22nd) headmaster, Yagyu Koichi has been starting to revitalize that branch. Last I heard there is no Owari school in the US as the only person authorized by the pevious headmaster to teach others in the US has actually moved to China to teach but I understand the new headmaster is training another American with the purpose of him returning to teach here. The Edo school does have classes in the US in a couple places Philadelphia and NY I believe.

Scara · Mar 23, 2016

Shavru said:
Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi, studied Yagyu Shinkage Ryu under his grandfather the second head master Yagyu Sekishusai Munetoshi who became the disciple of the founder of Shinkage Ryu, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna(who at the time was named Kamiizumi Isenokami Fujiwara Hidetsuna). Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi became the third head master. He served the Owari Tokugawa family and founded the Owari Yagyu family line. His son, Renya, (the same one I referenced earlier) redirected the application of Shinkage Ryus principles for the new Era and became the 5th headmaster. From that time on, the line of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu has been under the direction of the Owari branch of the Yagyu family. The branch that still provide the headmaster and the only school that makes use of the Yagyu Owari koshirae I was talking about Yagyu "gyaku-oki". So yep, we are on the same page Great school, the current (22nd) headmaster, Yagyu Koichi has been starting to revitalize that branch. Last I heard there is no Owari school in the US as the only person authorized by the pevious headmaster to teach others in the US has actually moved to China to teach but I understand the new headmaster is training another American with the purpose of him returning to teach here. The Edo school does have classes in the US in a couple places Philadelphia and NY I believe.

The man I talk with trained under Yagyu Koichi, and went and trained with his uncle Yagyu Nobuhara twice. For a time I thought he was one of the people allowed to teach YSR in the US, but he has not mentioned it at all. He did write a book on knife defense which he showed to Yagyu Koichi who spoke favorably of it and his knowledge of the system. I've corresponded with him for nearly two years now, from when I first started seriously getting into knives. He gave me lots of advice back then. Now he comes to me when he wants to know more about the kukri. I even got him into kukris. He liked them somewhat before, but I talked enough about them and what I was learning from them that he bought some old production ones that he liked a lot. He's a fan of kukris that are a bit lighter than is now normal.

Bookie · Mar 23, 2016

My Daisho.

[/URL][/IMG]
The Wakizashi or small sword of the set. As for the Katana, just imagine the Wak on steroids.

[/URL][/IMG]

Bawanna · Mar 23, 2016

Ought to be able to do some clearing with those puppies. Human or brush, no matter.

Wish I could add something intelligent but I got nothing to work with.....did I just slam myself, it happens sometimes.