Critique my (nearly) finished tanto

J

JeffreyFogleboch

Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
193
Hey guys their tanto is nearly finished...the only thing I need to food run put the lacquer. If you guys could give me any pointers on how to make it better I would appreciate it! Steel is W2 the motohaba is a hair over an 1"the nagasa is about 8.5", saya is curly walnut with glooss lacquer and the mekugi is antler
a489dfe8e06f1b0af888c531ce39324f.jpg
330714357543ad0d3ab2a5c4cbbd88a0.jpg
c140abe281bd2c074007f7bb3e69c2b4.jpg
4076327c5ded94a884045a08caefa6c4.jpg
4ad85e714a09cb4b41f18fe150f74a69.jpg
df5d182fa291717245417040446edfad.jpg
a02b3a28b247dad018b71afced8c8b9d.jpg
07d9779589cc878f69310cf686f9b69a.jpg
https://vimeo.com/155142434
 
Very nice. I know how hard those are to put together!

How did you do the tsuka and saya comstruction? Did you split them then chisel out the middle?

The only thing different that I'd like to see is more distal taper.
 
Split the wood with a handsaw and hand planed it. I used a Saya nomi to carve the channels and then glued them back together. Hw much more taper? Thank you!
 
It looks good. I would leave it as it is

It may be the camera angle, but the tsuka looks a bit "fat" for the blade ( especially noticeable at the mune-machi).
 
Thanks guys! Stacy, how close to the habaki should I be planning the Tsuka? I agree I does look a little fat there...I didn't realize it when until I was done!
 
If possible, thin things down to about 1/8" proud of the habaki at the mune and ha. That isn't always easy because it means a thinner saya, but get as thin as you can. If you don't, a tanto can start to feel more like a billy club than a light and sleek knife.

You can hide a little fatness much easier in a tanto with koshirae, but in an aikuchi ( like yours) everything at the tsuka junction shows. One possible option for your knife is to fit in a very small black horn tsuba.




Another thing I noticed looking at the photos is that the machi slot on the habaki is pretty shallow. I take it back to about 1/2 the habaki length. Yours is close to 1/4. This is probably personal preference, as I can't say I have seen any literature on the subject.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top