Fixing a cheapo katana

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hawaiibalisong2

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I had gotten a cheapo katana set (3 swords) a while back and i need some info on fixing it. The sword is one peice of metal, but the blade ends at where the top of the handle is and its welded onto a screw in the inside. The handle is hollow, made of plastic, and has a bolt at the end of it to secure the flimsy screw on bottom of the handle. The cap goes over it, covering said screw and the excess wrap that is at the top. The blade has play to it and constantly comes off of its brass post that rests on the base of the blade connecting to the handle. I have tried loc-tite on the bolt and maximun strength steel epoxy on the post, the other brass cap under the guard, and the top of the post, filling in gaps inbetween the the blade and the post. Is there anything else that I can do to fix it because i dont want to waste a good scalloped-sharpened blade (not to mention a sword). Thanks for the replies in advanced.
 
hawaiibalisong2 said:
I had gotten a cheapo katana set (3 swords) a while back and i need some info on fixing it. The sword is one peice of metal, but the blade ends at where the top of the handle is and its welded onto a screw in the inside. The handle is hollow, made of plastic, and has a bolt at the end of it to secure the flimsy screw on bottom of the handle. The cap goes over it, covering said screw and the excess wrap that is at the top. The blade has play to it and constantly comes off of its brass post that rests on the base of the blade connecting to the handle. I have tried loc-tite on the bolt and maximun strength steel epoxy on the post, the other brass cap under the guard, and the top of the post, filling in gaps inbetween the the blade and the post. Is there anything else that I can do to fix it because i dont want to waste a good scalloped-sharpened blade (not to mention a sword). Thanks for the replies in advanced.
Click to expand...

I think I would pursue the following steps:

1) Replace the "cap" at the end of the handle.
2) Replace the handle
3) Replace the cheap tsuba probably cast from pot metal.
4) Replace the rat tail tang blade
5) Replace the saya

Bingo the sword is fixed... :D

Sorry I couldn't resist.

Seriously, I'm not clear on what your motivation is behind "fixing" the sword. What do you intend to do with it? It's certainly not constructed for use the way you describe it but instead for looking pretty sitting on a sword stand. Looking pretty sitting on a sword stand would require no fix at all. If it really bothers you that the handle is loose even when sittng on the sword stand rather then spending a lot of time effort and money trying to fix it why not just get a new one? www.budk.com has a plethora of such things for under 50 dollars. If wanting to fix it is just a desire to tinker I suppose one might try to add some threading to the rat tail tang so that the handle can be tightened down more. Of course this may cause the other components to crack... :(
 
Sounds like the unit is not worth fixing. If the tang is really a welded on bolt it sounds like a real cheap sword. I wouldn't put a decent handle on it because if anyone used it I would expect it to fail, causing bodily injury.

google home shopping network and sword accident and you will see what I'm talking about.

Look in the home improvements section of sword forum international to get a feel for what goes on with these projects and what a working swrod tang should look like.


greg
 
take 2 large magnets, tie them to the "sword" and toss them in the ocean...all better!
 
I would worry about injury. I have had my share of these types of swords, including one that snapped and flew across the yard while doing a form(not coming into contact with anything). Usually stainless, a poor choice for sword blades, I would do a quick repair and hang it on the wall.
 
Stick it in the ground, and let the ivy grow up it, with what you would spend, just get a new one...G
 
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