Dr. Jim Hrisoulas Shobu Zukuri SAN MAI

TOMBSTONE said:
I see what your saying.I also suspect he may be deeply involved in his work and his research in his new book which is one reason these Japanese inspired blades were made.He has also had to deal with a variety of problems and tragic events which over the years took his focus and attentions.I guess I shouldn't complain about how popular he is on the forums.Because he is so low key, I was able to be lucky enough to purchase his work without a long wait or at a high cost. Dr. Hrisoulas also is a heck of a great guy to speak and correspond with.
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Yeah, he's had a tough road the last few years, it seems like it started with the eye accident and went downhill from there steadily. I'm glad to hear that he's back at it. As you say if others aren't all over his work... more for me! :)
 
Jim's is a site I watch pretty regularly and I had posted up a notice back in June on SFI
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?109632-Hrisoulas-Atar-Swords-Getting-Posted-Up

The example you chose was one of the nicer ones posted up, as the fittings and tsuka maki on some of them were not really up to snuff. He may have been utilizing some premade tsuka and definitely generic fittings on a lot of them. He may also have been farming out some of the work which would explain the concerns expressed elsewhere. At least that one other new owner was not impressed with the tsuka and saya overall. MY feeling though was that the selling prices probably reflect some of those exceptions.

The spatha looking thingie is quite nice looking (to me) as are a few of the daggers.


Thanks for sharing

GC
 
Not all of us ignore his work. He has one of the best price points around for a real sword. Here's a few of mine.

DSC00463.jpg
 
Wow! Nice sword collection. I agree about his work being at a good price point. Its nice to see someone here with a lot of his work
 
Thanks, sorry the pics don't do them justice; they handle real nice. The wait for custom work is a bit long, but that's the case with almost all makers. His in stock pages are pretty good though depending on what time of year it is. He is a bit cyclic, when the ren fest hits his in stock page is empty.
 
Although there are a few bladesmiths that can make equal claims, this is the guy that literally wrote the books on advanced bladesmithing and pattern welding. Multiple patterns were invented or figured out by his experimentation, and most all modern weld patterns are built off of his work. Youth and talent can count for a lot, fittings are fittings. But the steel in his blades is pretty much the best of the best in hand forged blades. A lot of blacksmiths do not adhere to his theories on edge packing or aus-forging but so what? Last time I checked his site he still had vaso-clean steel, for the right price he can pattern weld it as well. A true master swordsmith, worthy of respect in every way.
 
Matt River said:
Although there are a few bladesmiths that can make equal claims, this is the guy that literally wrote the books on advanced bladesmithing and pattern welding. Multiple patterns were invented or figured out by his experimentation, and most all modern weld patterns are built off of his work. Youth and talent can count for a lot, fittings are fittings. But the steel in his blades is pretty much the best of the best in hand forged blades. A lot of blacksmiths do not adhere to his theories on edge packing or aus-forging but so what? Last time I checked his site he still had vaso-clean steel, for the right price he can pattern weld it as well. A true master swordsmith, worthy of respect in every way.
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Well said!
 
Matt River said:
Although there are a few bladesmiths that can make equal claims, this is the guy that literally wrote the books on advanced bladesmithing and pattern welding. Multiple patterns were invented or figured out by his experimentation, and most all modern weld patterns are built off of his work. Youth and talent can count for a lot, fittings are fittings. But the steel in his blades is pretty much the best of the best in hand forged blades. A lot of blacksmiths do not adhere to his theories on edge packing or aus-forging but so what? Last time I checked his site he still had vaso-clean steel, for the right price he can pattern weld it as well. A true master swordsmith, worthy of respect in every way.
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I would agree that Dr. Hrisoulas has made some significant contributions to the blade community in terms of metallurgy and technique. I also agree that the theory of edge packing is a much debated one. What I was referring to is not merely "fittings" however. I was instead suggesting that in terms of blade geometry and historical research (and yes in fittings as well) Dr. Hrisoulas's work no longer passes historical muster nor do the pieces of his that I have handled handle like originals. (It should be noted that I am talking about his "western" swords here I've never seen one of his katana.)

I suppose it could be pointed out that it is not his intent to create swords that are historically accurate but rather to create a product that appeals to a different customer base at the various ren faires he attends. If that is the point, then it is one that I cannot argue with. He definitely still has a loyal following, but I believe over the last decade he has lost out in the historical reenactor / western martial artist marketplace, a market in which at one point he was a competitor.
 
Very interesting

I have a question. When you say he has deviated in his western blades away from a historical prospective do you mean he is making more fantasy type pieces ?

In a performance aspect..... physical feel and balance is his Western blades superior in design and merit to the historical pieces ?

My experience lies in Japenese Swords so I am at a disadvantage when it comes to Western styles

I have done some light reading on Western blades etc.
 
His work on western stlyes has never been on the same wave length as historical models in terms of basic profiles. I have never seen either a dagger or sword of the western genre that does not look like his work. Well, I liked the spatha he had up but even that largely spoke as spatha by Jim and could be nit picked apart in anachronism.

One could view some other makers in the same way in that they make swords their way and with their flavors but the swords are most often a good bit distant to historical counterparts. I could list half a dozen and piss them off but we are looking at Jim's work in this thread.

Another and named example of time and product gone by would be the Oscar Kolombatovich swords of the 1980s. In demand then and well regarded by some, with some real gems but by the standards set in the market now, most would be rejected as just not what the market expects.

Jim does neat stuff his way and like many other sources, he has sold a lot of blades and knowledge.

Cheers

GC
 
JParanee said:
Very interesting

I have a question. When you say he has deviated in his western blades away from a historical prospective do you mean he is making more fantasy type pieces ?
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I should clarify, I don't think he "deviated away" I don't think his stuff was ever of a historical perspective it's just that the sword community was less aware of that a decade ago. However a lot of research has been done in the last 10 to 15 years and people are better informed about what makes a historical sword. Makers that want to be historically accurate have made adjustments to take into account the latest discoveries. Dr. Hrisoulas has not.

JParanee said:
In a performance aspect..... physical feel and balance is his Western blades superior in design and merit to the historical pieces ?
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That's a subjective metric for the most part.

Of course his steel is often superior to what you might find in a museum piece, steel in general is better now then it was then. However, his steel is not significantly better then any other modern makers and some of those makers are making swords that also conform to historical norms. As for "physical feel" I don't think they feel better, but you may disagree. However, what we do know is that his designs were not battle field tested and historical designs were. With that as an understood I find it hard to say that any "modern" design is superior to a historical one in terms of doing the job that a sword was historically designed to do.
 
I would have to most certainly concede any point related to perfect historical accuracy, I love historical blades but have never handled one. My experience with live blades is limited to intramural fencing during my two years of college, so my input on balance and conformation of blades would be equally limited. My intention was to try and put into perspective his lifetime contributions, especially as it relates to pattern-welding technique and educational input into the bladesmith community. Maybe it is natural for a lowly blacksmith to idealize, even idolize, those who are Master Bladesmiths. Unrelated point, I think his degree is not metallurgy but metalography (sp), the study of the microscopic features of metals. Something along the lines of scanning electron microscopy of grain patterns and analysis of crystalline structures.

I am certainly not experienced enough to possess an opinion that would hold any weight among the scholars and artists on this website. Reading these posts means a lot to someone like me and I would never want to be divisive in any way. Gratitude would be a good word for what I feel. Thanks.
 
Matt River said:
My intention was to try and put into perspective his lifetime contributions, especially as it relates to pattern-welding technique and educational input into the bladesmith community. Maybe it is natural for a lowly blacksmith to idealize, even idolize, those who are Master Bladesmiths. Unrelated point, I think his degree is not metallurgy but metalography (sp), the study of the microscopic features of metals. Something along the lines of scanning electron microscopy of grain patterns and analysis of crystalline structures.

I am certainly not experienced enough to possess an opinion that would hold any weight among the scholars and artists on this website. Reading these posts means a lot to someone like me and I would never want to be divisive in any way. Gratitude would be a good word for what I feel. Thanks.
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I think Jim is a great maker.

He has pretty much always done it his way, so frikkin what?

I say he gets a lot closer with many of his nihonto patterns than MANY, MANY makers working in the style....Barry Dawson, Phill Hartsfield, Rob Criswell...just to name a few, and that is not even counting the multitudes who are making stuff that bears minimal at best, any comparison to the good work coming out of Japan.

I have no particular axe to grind with the folks making nihonto-esque pieces....but if it doesn't have a functional habaki, it ain't a japanese-style sword...and that is for starters.

Matt River, you worship who you want to worship, but keep an open mind, and learn everything you can.

I know two American sword makers who don't particularly like each other or their methods, but they both make rocking good swords, and I own work from both of them.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Matt River said:
I would have to most certainly concede any point related to perfect historical accuracy, I love historical blades but have never handled one. My experience with live blades is limited to intramural fencing during my two years of college, so my input on balance and conformation of blades would be equally limited. My intention was to try and put into perspective his lifetime contributions, especially as it relates to pattern-welding technique and educational input into the bladesmith community. Maybe it is natural for a lowly blacksmith to idealize, even idolize, those who are Master Bladesmiths. Unrelated point, I think his degree is not metallurgy but metalography (sp), the study of the microscopic features of metals. Something along the lines of scanning electron microscopy of grain patterns and analysis of crystalline structures.

I am certainly not experienced enough to possess an opinion that would hold any weight among the scholars and artists on this website. Reading these posts means a lot to someone like me and I would never want to be divisive in any way. Gratitude would be a good word for what I feel. Thanks.
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No worries guy, I just felt the need to expand upon the point, based upon what you had posted. I should clarify further that my intent was not to denigrate Dr. Hrisoulas I don't know him, although I hear he is a heck of a guy. His contributions to the field should be obvious to all.

A lot of master bladesmiths started out as blacksmiths so you never know... :)
 
No worship here, but a great respect for any master - even if they do not agree with anyone else. Maybe idolize was a bit extreme. Different methods, same end results, respect for all. And maybe I should clarify a bit, I am not a highly skilled smith, I would be considered an apprentice at best in the old trade systems. In carpentry and masonry materials I would put my work against the best in the world. I would loose of course, but still I would compete without any fear. In blacksmithing, I have knowledge but only limited time at the anvil. Best feeling in the world though, and even my very first blades were easy due to many years swinging many different hammers. Heat treating is an obsession so I believe that soon my blades will be at an acceptable minimal quality. I have worked on toys and tools and done modeling, sculpting, carving, and woodworking my entire life. I ground out my first knife (shank) at nine years old on grandpa's grinder from some kind of ag steel bracket. Still have it.

Funny first story on wanting to forge. My grandma took me to play over to town with two sons of a preacher. Soon, I had excited their minds with the idea of a sword. We found a sledge, rebar, and some gas. Gas and rebar onto a concrete patio, convince the younger to steal a lighter. I lit it up and starting dancing around the spreading flames, whacking away with the sledge as best I could. One boy ran for mom, the other started crying. I seem to recall laughing like a maniac and enjoying the process greatly. No remorse at all at any time afterwards - needless to say, no more playdates. I spent the rest of my summers playing on the scrap steel pile where I belonged. Later on I beat a civet cat (fast skunk) to death with a steel pipe with a little help from an ancient snake dog, Bullet, right next to my pile of scrap. Good times.
 
If someone was looking for a more historical reproduction, I'm sure Dr.Hrisoulas would be willing to discuss such a project.
 
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