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

Hey all

David should be getting me more pics tomorrow but I do want to post this

Southern Comfort is not wrong

I should have posted that not all Tantos have guards

He takes the art of the Japanese sword very seriously and for that I have respect

Hell I've lived my whole life believing in Bushido and I too have a deep respect for traditional blades

I am sorry if I went off on Southern

I'm not that guy

I am respectful of all

Sorry Southern

Please stick around and watch David's piece come to life and than you can join STeven in making fun of my cutting :)

David's work deserves better of me
 
Wow Joe, respect there! That's bushido, as I understand it.

Regardless of bumps along the way, it's a great thread and all the while we're seeing a major work built by a great smith.

Thanks guys!
 
Joe I always look forward to you threads, they never disappoint. Looking forward to seeing the finished hybrid blade.
 
Though I said I wouldn't post in this thread again, I feel it is necessary to acknowledge and accept Joes apology and as well offer my own.

It is difficult to relate tone or inflection in the written word, and you can not perceive how one will react to any particular statement.
Though I meant no disrespect, that does not mean that Joe was not offended by my words.
Obviously, he was offended and for that I apologize.

We are both passionate about what we love, and that is a good thing.
We can disagree and still be friends, and that too is a good thing.

Ed
 
I was really enjoying the back and forth, and not because of drama. This forum is a great place to learn about all sorts of custom knives, but it's also a great place to learn about people. Joe, I'm really glad you changed direction on this and I have even more respect for you now after reading #141.
 
Lorien said:
I was really enjoying the back and forth, and not because of drama. This forum is a great place to learn about all sorts of custom knives, but it's also a great place to learn about people. Joe, I'm really glad you changed direction on this and I have even more respect for you now after reading #141.
Click to expand...

Oh stop :)

Thanks buddy
 
Another awesome post Joe. Reading and enjoying it all. Hope the road rash is better. As always thanks for sharing.
 
From David :

Started the saya today.
I almost always use Alaska yellow cedar for my tsuka and saya. But I am running low and need to reach out to my source. That will take time, so I am using NW Coast red cedar for this saya. It has been used by many of the NW Coastal Indian tribes for hundreds of years. I have some really nice clear red cedar for this project. It is a bit more work to carve the channel for the blade to sit in. But in the end, it will work just as well.






 
What a beautiful shot - that gorgeous blade sitting there, cozy in that raw wood. Mike
 
Lorien said:
I was really enjoying the back and forth, and not because of drama. This forum is a great place to learn about all sorts of custom knives, but it's also a great place to learn about people. Joe, I'm really glad you changed direction on this and I have even more respect for you now after reading #141.
Click to expand...

I'm always glad for threads like this, that explain about Japanese blades, and how the terminology describes their many nuances.

They say language shapes how you think, to a large degree. Understanding Japanese sword terminology better practically reveals more to the eye when you look at the blades. It's like learning all about fish, and then beginning to see all the differences and details between the different fish species that may have all looked about the same before, such as coho salmon vs Chinook salmon. Knowing the difference gives a better appreciation for what you're catching and eating. :)

This sword here looks like a hell of a catch.
 
Mecha said:
I'm always glad for threads like this, that explain about Japanese blades, and how the terminology describes their many nuances.

They say language shapes how you think, to a large degree. Understanding Japanese sword terminology better practically reveals more to the eye when you look at the blades. It's like learning all about fish, and then beginning to see all the differences and details between the different fish species that may have all looked about the same before, such as coho salmon vs Chinook salmon. Knowing the difference gives a better appreciation for what you're catching and eating. :)

This sword here looks like a hell of a catch.
Click to expand...

I do agree

The Japanese are a very detail oriented people

I have always admired them for that
 
One thing David does is really put a ton of time and effort into his sheaths (SAYA)

For a lot of makers the part that the blade spends the bulk of its life in is a last thought type item

Mind you that unless a sheath is serviceable and carries the chosen implement in a way that facilitates its proper use its kinda ..........useless :)

Now I'm not saying all makers....and thankfully many makers are putting a lot more effort into their sheaths. In western leather sheaths men like Paul Long have set the bar

Hancock's beautiful throat and tip and metal sheaths and now John Horrigans sheaths are perfection for the blades they so adeptly create

This piece being a Japanese inspired piece that the draw cut will be a primary function of means it needs a SAYA

The blade will be sash worn edge up on my weak side (left)

If you've never carried a blade this way or trained with one being carried this way you are missing out :)

The draw cut can be such a thing of beauty that it has fascinated me since child hood

As a kid the movie Yojimbo featuring Toshira Mifune mesmerized me with his lightening draw and devastating effect

Heck we all like Samurai Movies and those spawned the gun slinger movies in kind

Fastest sword in the east became fastest gun in the west so to speak

As a kid instead of playing cowboys my thoughts were on Samurai and their masterless counter parts Ronin

[video=youtube;DeoPFQq4_UU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeoPFQq4_UU[/video]

Enough of what inspired me as a kid and back to David's Saya

The Japanese style SAYA is usually made of a type of wood that I believe is not acidic in nature and therefore gives the blade a place to rest and function that is a piece of functional art

Ho Wood is a classic wood that is used among many other

As David mentions above he likes Yellow Cedar when available and for this one used clear red cedar

In a lot of cases the SAYA is than Lacquered

There are so many different types of finishes and effects that can be done with a SAYA that I can not mention them all here.

A wild Laquerer job done by Michael Bell on one of the swords he did for me decades ago





I have one that was fluted and than gold dust blown in the flutes and than Laquered over

Blade forged by Louis Mills and Rick Barret and than mounted by Rick







David has a very unique approach to his SAYA

He makes the SAYA out of cedar and than wraps it in Carbon fiber for strength and durability

What you get is the fit and feel of a traditional SAYA with the added strength and durability of carbon fiber

When I first saw David's wood cored carbon wrapped SAYA's I was blown away but it was not the first time I had seen cored SAYA's

Well over 20 years ago Michael Bell made a hardwood SAYA with a Ho wood lining for an antique Nihonto that I own

It was my first big sword project on a very nice blade I found in New York as a young aspiring sword collector

Here is the mouth of the SAYA



The rest of the sword








I really wish I had access to Coop for a week to take real pics of my sword collection :)

So I've seen some great SAYA work and I can tell you with confidence David's Carbon cedar lined SAYA's are works of functional art

More to come
 
On to David's SAYA





From David:

I'll take a lot of this excess material of of here and refine the shape. I like to use a small plane for this as it's way too easy to remove too much material with the grinder and ruin what you've got started.



 
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