David Mirabile RONIN Battle Tanto WIP (PAGE 25 NEW CUTTING VIDEO)

Joe, an amazing thread hope it goes on for a long time, I look forward to see updates through out the day.
 
Joe P - I think I have told you somewhere else how much I like Michael Bell (and his son, whose name I can't remember right now).
I respect the Way he makes things as much as I admire THE PRODUCTS of his work. Thanks for showing!

Michael Bell... ooooooohhhh, aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh,



[/QUOTE]


Steven - thank you for showing those two swords to us. JD is my good friend, although I only know Dan M. from Ashokan. He seems to be a good fellow.

This is turning into an outstanding thread. Thanks to everyone for contributing.
 
GrenfellsBrutalForge said:
Joe,
I've been following this thread from the start, great WIP. David's work is beautiful on so many levels, I can only imagine how it feels in hand and performs.
David is one of the makers who's work helps inspire me to continue to improve my own smithing skills, it's a privlage to have been able to see this all come together here.
Thanks for this Joe, I'm excited to see the final images and to see you using this piece!

-Colin
Click to expand...

Thank you Colin

Davis and I appreciate the kind words

Feel free to post up some of your work and thank you for commenting
 
Thank you all


kevin

thank you for commenting and I appreciate Michaels work today as much or more than I did 25 years ago :)
please keep commenting and post some of your incredible work up

Thank you
 
Here is a great video from James Williams on Samurai dress etc

He touches on some interesting points and if you have the time it is a worthy watch

[video=youtube;Iba7yVt8fDg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iba7yVt8fDg[/video]
 
David still has a few things to do before it goes to Coop

From David:

Cleaning up the mouth. I want the tsuba to sit flush on the saya. A little fine tuning is necessary.



From me :) :

Now after the fine tuning he still has to chisel in the RONIN kanji

So he could blow it all :)
 
Here is another video by Walter Sorrells

It is is very impressive and shows what a mono steel blade from a simple steel heat treated correctly can do

[video=youtube;e4dOLaGZWHM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4dOLaGZWHM&index=2&list=FLdSkYAZRsifbuZ_Ju5kbHSQ[/video]
 
woodster said:
joe, where do you buy the cutting mats ? looks like fun :)
Click to expand...

Hey buddy

When I first started I would go to places that imported Asian furniture and decor and they would order them in for me for cheap

These days eBay and even Amazon at times but prices have risen

STeven G had a good source don't know if he still does

I just got this batch for around 7 bucks a mat shipped

When you start getting more than 10 mats at a time the box is heavy and long and shipping gets expensive

There is also different quality which can be less abrasive etc (cleaner)

I will post a link hold on
 
Those are beach mats in the photo, Joseph. You can get them at many .99 cent stores for a couple bux....they are better than nothing, but they are not decent tatami mats for tameshigiri.

The ones that you mention in your link are much more difficult to cut, and average 5-7 dollars with shipping....and they are worth it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I know

Those are the ones that I used to get for very cheap

Do you remember where you were getting them from years ago when you sent me some
 
Here is a link to someone preparing targets

[video=youtube;J68DQ3lV-4o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J68DQ3lV-4o[/video]

I do not like to use rubber bands I like to use twine

I think when the targets swell when they absorb water the rubber just stretches

They stay tighter with the twine
 
JParanee said:
I know

Those are the ones that I used to get for very cheap

Do you remember where you were getting them from years ago when you sent me some
Click to expand...

My crew shares a container shipment with one of the distributors from time to time.....we buy cases of tatami omote and drive up to L.A. to pick them up at the Port of Los Angeles, our end is a minimum of 50 cases(20 rolls per case).....this option is not available to anyone else.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
JParanee said:
I knew it was something like that

I just couldn't remember
Click to expand...

If memory serves, it works out to $4.00/mat, and I buy 4 cases......storage becomes a bit of an issue, as a case is about 4' x 18" x 2'...it stacks close up to the roof of my garage.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
While I'm waiting on David to finish His final touches and get this out to Coop I thought I would bring up a subject that some on here will get and others will not

I am a bit of a Martialist

I have spent decades training with edged weapons , sidearms , shotguns , rifles and another huge passion single sorting archery

I have always been a bow hunter and I primarily use a recurve

So I have spent a huge part of my life practicing and training with weapons

I carry a sidearm and knife with me everyday

My vehicles have edged weapons and tools in every one of them

There are Gransfors Bruk small axes in both my f350 and H1

The H1 also has a big Hi Khukuri strapped to the roll bar also

It is not unusual to have a bill whip in my trunk :)

I do like to have a large blade with in reach

For awhile there was a Cheness SGC KoKatatana in a sword bag that I would transfer car to car as I would change vehicles

I have a few cars so I'm used to moving my briefcase and other kit as I switch cars

Now I know that seems strange and sounds crazy but I do believe that a big OTanto , Wakisashi might be for my background in training one of the most devastating relatively compact edged weapons I could have at my disposal

My background is Kendo and large blade sparring

For years I spent a lot of time trying to hit and not get hit by Shinai (the sparring tool used in the sport of Kendo)

What that taught me was distance and timing

It would always amaze me as my teacher who was right from Japan would take a WAKIZASHI sized Shinai and have two of us attack him with our full length Shinai

He would use distance and timing and always make us look bad :)

Here I am with him as a young amped up kid at my first Tournament in NY City



When he went back to Japan it was a sad day for me

Now what does this have to do with this piece

Like I said I am very confident with this type of weapon and this hybrid of sorts is what I have been looking for for a very long time

Longer handle , good sori and heat treat done by someone I trust

Im not a person to wish harm or bad will on anyone but in this crazy world we live in when people ask why are you do well armed all of the time my answer is simple ........ No matter what comes my way I'm going home

I will always when I'm with my family be able to protect them

I would never use a weapon on an unarmed individual but if I have to protect myself and my family against the evil things that exist in this world I want the best I can get and I stay very physically capable to do so

My martialist attitude has served me well traveling abroad from the border of Afghanistan to some interesting parts of Africa

Situational awareness and the knowledge that I so capable of taking care of myself is a mental outlook that is critical to my mindset and I am anxious to start focusing again on the blade arts

People comment on the way I handle edged weapons

To be honest of late I am a mere shadow of what I once was when I was training 9 hours a week

Now I just rely on muscle memory etc

One thing my bike wreck showed me was that I need to get back on my trying bus

I have young daughters to protect and I'm not getting younger plus lets face it the world is getting to be a bit more complicated and frightening

Just the other day as my cleaning lady came thru my gates and approached my house she said there was an odd man standing 60 yds up my driveway looking at a carriage house that my 83 year old mother lives in

I asked what he did when she saw him and she said he got nervous and walked down the driveway

Now my drive way is gated and its long over 110 yds long

There is no mistaking it as anything but a private residence and there are alarm signs etc stating it

Even with that I chalked it up as a nosey person just wanting to have a look around

I asked for a description and it really didn't make me to nervous

Well the very next day as I was leaving the house as I walked down to the carriage house which is next to another building I store trucks and boats in I saw nothing unusual in the woods or driveway

As I started up s big diesel truck and pulled down the drove all of a sudden the man that by the description of the cleaning girl hopped out of my woods and started quickly walking away

Obviously he thought he could hide when he saw me walking down the driveway but realized when I drove the truck down the drive way I would discover him

I jumped out of the truck and asked what he was doing here

He said and I will not mention race or creed (because I love all races creeds and religions) that he spoke no English

I told him that he has been seen on the property the prior day and I needed to know what he was doing here

He again said no English

I said he was lucky that I found him and not my dog Tuco and that I needed to know what he was looking at and what he wanted here

You see I have three daughters and an elderly mother living on this property and I'm not playing

He was around my age or a little older he had some type of crushed flowers or chalky paint on his forehead and I was getting a bit weirded out

Mind you I kept a distance that I was comfortable with and asked him again why he was here two days in a row and what was he doing in my woods watching my carriage house

I thought maybe he was a transient with a mental disorder and I said do you have a camp in my woods ?

If so let's get your stuff now and I would put it in my truck and give him a ride I wished him no harm but if I caught him here again it would get bad I had children etc and I could not tolerate this

I said if you have stuff in woods we need to get it because if you come back for it I would not be this hospitable the next time

He said no English and tried to walk away

I said no walk away

You stay and I proceeded to call someone that I thought could speak his language

I put the phone on speaker and told my friend to ask what he was doing here

He told the person on the phone just going for a walk

This made me mad

Going for a walk is one thing walking up a long private drive two days in a row with your face painted and hiding in my woods and watching my family is not going for a walk

I called my wife and said call the police

I detained him till two police officers arrived

I never pulled a weapon on him and at no time touched him

I kept a few feet distance and watched his hands and his body posture

I did have a large folder on my belt worn horizontally but like I said I would never use a weapon on an unarmed man even if he would of attacked me

The police came and took him away

They would not tell me his name or address

I said to him as they left to not come back here and I gestured with my hands a twisting motion and made a cracking sound

I asked the police where he was staying and they said they found a cell phone in his pocket and dialed where he was staying and that it was a few miles from my house he had a visa and would be leaving the country soon

I actually felt bad as they took him away and I said I did not wish to press charges but they needed to express to who ever he was staying with that he could not come back here

After he left the weirdness of a man with a painted face hiding in my woods watching my family really set me back

Maybe I should of let Tuco say Hi :)




Point is I'm kinda glad I'm a Martialist some days :)
 
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Kohai999 said:
If memory serves, it works out to $4.00/mat, and I buy 4 cases......storage becomes a bit of an issue, as a case is about 4' x 18" x 2'...it stacks close up to the roof of my garage.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

We should do a group buy :)
 
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