Dan Keffeler Aikuchi(aka sword tip)

can i have it? :)
Aikuchi: Also called kusungobu (blade that is .95 of a shaku or 10.8".
 
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Nasty!
 
I don't know how I missed this piece for so long.

Very nice STeven. I wish I had visited Keffeler when he was in Ellensburg. Just a short jaunt.
 
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the borrowed names are always tricky and i am still sorting some of the overlaps out, but most often the confusion comes from the comparison of two unlinked categories...in the west we tend to label the entire knife whereas in Japan there are labels for both the blade and the mounting as they are not permanently joined..

tanto refers to a type of blade whereas aikuchi refers to a type of mounting, specifically the way a guard/ferrule is constructed:

-- tanto means "short (tan) sword (tou)" refers roughly to the concept of "dagger", and is generally any blade under 1 shaku/10 sun (about 30cm/12")
-- aikuchi means "close/contact (ai) mouth (guchi)" and refers to a mounting that has no guard between the fuchi and the koiguchi


as an imperfect example, tanto might be parallel to bowie in terms of describing a blade shape/style and aikuchi might be parallel to integral in terms of describing a handle/guard construction:

so as you would not always have to specify either a bowie or an integral but could have an integral bowie, you might have an aikuchi tanto but not a tanto or an aikuchi...ie, check boxes rather than radio buttons ^__^
______

adding to the confusion is that there are general blade size ranges and other peripheral characteristics that we typically find for some of the different mounting types, but they are not intrinsically related to the definition of the mounting...kaiken mounts are often on small tanto but need not be, aikuchi mounts are often on mid-sized tanto but need not be, chisagatana mounts are sometimes on larger tanto but need not be...

@lycosa, that term kusungobu is purely a measurement, like saying this blade is a "ten inch", "ku (9) sun go (5) bu" is indeed .95 shaku and means just that...your source would be in error in relating it to all aikuchi, though...

hope that helps the research along the journey!
_____

@kohai999 that is a lovely lacquer texture, is it hon-urushi?
 
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Thanks for clearing that up Dave. ;) I love the pattern(?) I have one from another maker I've carried for over 25 years, I consider it a utility blade good for nearly everything, great example you have there.
 
islandblacksmith said:
the borrowed names are always tricky and i am still sorting some of the overlaps out, but most often the confusion comes from the comparison of two unlinked categories...in the west we tend to label the entire knife whereas in Japan there are labels for both the blade and the mounting as they are not permanently joined..

tanto refers to a type of blade whereas aikuchi refers to a type of mounting, specifically the way a guard/ferrule is constructed:

-- tanto means "short (tan) sword (tou)" refers roughly to the concept of "dagger", and is generally any blade under 1 shaku/10 sun (about 30cm/12")
-- aikuchi means "close/contact (ai) mouth (guchi)" and refers to a mounting that has no guard between the fuchi and the koiguchi


as an imperfect example, tanto might be parallel to bowie in terms of describing a blade shape/style and aikuchi might be parallel to integral in terms of describing a handle/guard construction:

so as you would not always have to specify either a bowie or an integral but could have an integral bowie, you might have an aikuchi tanto but not a tanto or an aikuchi...ie, check boxes rather than radio buttons ^__^
______

adding to the confusion is that there are general blade size ranges and other peripheral characteristics that we typically find for some of the different mounting types, but they are not intrinsically related to the definition of the mounting...kaiken mounts are often on small tanto but need not be, aikuchi mounts are often on mid-sized tanto but need not be, chisagatana mounts are sometimes on larger tanto but need not be...

hope that helps the research along the journey!
_____

@kohai99 that is a lovely lacquer texture, is it hon-urushi?
Click to expand...

I love you Dave!

The lacquer, not sure of what the Japanese term for it is gloss with stone texture over it....hides a multitude of sins....automotive lacquer(I THINK!) done Randy Black style. Contact him, he is the HEAT!!!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thank you, Dave. You tick me off.
Does Aikuchi also mean; pleasant companion?
 
Kohai999 said:
It isn't a kwaiken or kwaito,

STeven Garsson
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"Kwaito" is a term I don't think I've encountered before. Is there a difference between kwaiken and kwaito? Looking up the etymology shows "kwaiken" to be "chest knife" or "bosom knife". I'm guessing the terms are interchangeable.

Looking a little more, I'm seeing different Japanese bladed implements with either -ken or -to as the base word with a modifier attached to describe it. So -ken and -to both translate to "blade", right? Is there a distinction between them?
 
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Storm Crow said:
"Kwaito" is a term I don't think I've encountered before. Is there a difference between kwaiken and kwaito? Looking up the etymology shows "kwaiken" to be "chest knife" or "bosom knife". I'm guessing the terms are interchangeable.

Looking a little more, I'm seeing different Japanese bladed implements with either -ken or -to as the base word with a modifier attached to describe it. So -ken and -to both translate to "blade", right? Is there a distinction between them?
Click to expand...

There is an awful lot of ambiguity with some of the words for Japanese swords:

Ken (剣?, "sword"): Usually a tanto or wakizashi length religious or ceremonial blade, with a gentle leaf shape and point, but some may be larger and can also refer to old pre-curve types of swords as above. Symmetrical and double edged, like a dagger....but the point of a classical ken is different...sorta like this, kind of squared off:
10q9iyf.jpg

To means "blade"....but there are other words for it as well....in the sense of "Tanto"....that means "short blade".

It's confusing....even Japanese people get confused by some of it.....

Kwaiken, means pocket knife, while kwaito means pocket blade...

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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good times! aren't languages and human categorizations interesting! ^___^
back to hammering.

@kohai999 ishimeji of some type...yes, i will look him up...
 
Lycosa said:
Kwaito means, under clothing?
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No.

It was worn under clothing.

Kwaito in Japanese currently means "cool, hip"....also more commonly in world lingo, it is a South African music style

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks, STeven.
fwiw, I was getting my information from the book, Tanto, by Russell Maynard.
 
Lycosa said:
Thanks, STeven.
fwiw, I was getting my information from the book, Tanto, by Russell Maynard.
Click to expand...

The flowery names that can be given to an item may not be common parlance......the translations that I have provided are literal....and that can also be tricky with Japanese.

I order Gyu Harami at one of the izakayas that I go to and if not said perfectly with inflection, the waitress looks at me like I just spoke martian.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
The flowery names that can be given to an item may not be common parlance......the translations that I have provided are literal....and that can also be tricky with Japanese.

I order Gyu Harami at one of the izakayas that I go to and if not said perfectly with inflection, the waitress looks at me like I just spoke martian.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Our you sure that's not the massage parlor :)
 
@lycosa, one theory on why kusungobu (9 sun 5 bu, 0.95 shaku, ~28.8cm, ~11.25") stuck as a common measurement for tanto...

this measurement was the upper end of the "safe zone" as 1 shaku was the legal cut off line between tanto and wakizashi (which were not legal-carry for non-samurai)...

it is thought kusungobu came to be used as a (slang-ish) noun for this standard-length type of legal carry tanto for a time because it is a good poetic or lyrical term...there is a kabuki story using the term and a tanto for a prop...

again, this is a tanto blade descriptor only (and they tended to be straight spined) so could be yoroidoshi, could be mounted as aikuchi, kaiken, or something else...

^___^
 
Dan Keffeler said:
Bugfattyt
I still in Ellensburg
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I thougt you had moved for school.

Sorry, the autocorrect butchered your name.

Last time I was up in Eburg, I burnt an entire long day doing nothing. I used to go up and take a group of kids to a church thing, and I would sit for 10+ hours at the college (Central) whike they did their clases, and had a dance at the end. During business hours I would putter around and go to the guns stores.
 
Very interesting. Sort of like folks shortening a shotgun barrel to 18.5" to keep it legal length and give a little wiggle room in case it gets measured by law enforcement.

islandblacksmith said:
@lycosa, one theory on why kusungobu (9 sun 5 bu, 0.95 shaku, ~28.8cm, ~11.25") stuck as a common measurement for tanto...

this measurement was the upper end of the "safe zone" as 1 shaku was the legal cut off line between tanto and wakizashi (which were not legal-carry for non-samurai)...

it is thought kusungobu came to be used as a (slang-ish) noun for this standard-length type of legal carry tanto for a time because it is a good poetic or lyrical term...there is a kabuki story using the term and a tanto for a prop...

again, this is a tanto blade descriptor only (and they tended to be straight spined) so could be yoroidoshi, could be mounted as aikuchi, kaiken, or something else...

^___^
Click to expand...
 
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