I need advice please - Japanese Style Knives/Short Swords

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I was hoping Stacy or someone else with experience in this sort of thing could give me some guidance. Please do not consider this a solicitation for sales because this is not something I offer for sale nor will I in the near future.

I was considering going to the Blade Show and thought if I did, I might bring some stabilized wood that would be used by makers who make Japanese Style knives or short swords with matching wood scabbards.

Here is where I need help.
I don't have the foggiest idea what dimensions to cut the wood. I also do not know what sorts of wood would be desirable. My ideas so far are redwood burl, quilted and curly maple. I will have some limitations imposed by the stabilizers because of the size of their tanks. I was just curious if this idea was feasible or not.

Any input of dimensions and wood types is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Mark
 
Looks like nobody makes knives with wooden scabbards.
The lack of replies has helped to prevent me from messing up some good wood.
 
Hi - you might have a look at Scott Slobodian's site for some ideas on the kind of woods used for this. I think there is a fairly limited number of makers who use highly figured woods in saya or scabbards, thus the limited number of replies.
 
Here is the problem....
If you are going to make a high end Japanese blade, you are going to make a proper saya. That excludes all burl and stabilized wood.

That aside:
For handles, very active burl is popular, buckeye being what I think of most.

For hybrid tanto style pieces, with non-traditional materials, a saya and handle in burl would be acceptable to some. Redwood burl, buckeye,madrone, and maple will be good choices.

Handle blocks should be 7-9" for tanto;10-12" for wakizashi; and 10-15" for katana. I really doubt that many will do a katana in burl, as the risk of the end breaking is high.

Saya wood would only be reasonable for a tanto style with a one piece look.
 
Thank you for the replies so far. Maybe instead of stabilizing burl and soft woods figured maple might be a good idea? In the past people have asked for curly maple. I thought quilted maple would look good too.

I apologize for sounding impatient. Sometimes I get an idea and want immediate gratification. I think I should take some time and study who is making what these days and visit the sword forums instead of looking for a quick easy answer. I probably sounded like one of the new guys who make a post like, "I want to make knives, can someone tell me how?"

Here is what I am gathering so far.
For larger items like a katana scabbard dimensions over 2 feet long, around 4 inches wide to allow for the curve in the blade and around 1&1/2 to 2 inches thick for shaping. 8 to 18 inches for handle blocks.

My motivation for wanting to see some of my wood on nice swords is mostly ego. I get a thrill out of seeing the photos of what talented people can do with the wood I provide. It might sound weird, but it does give me a sense of accomplishment.
 
The problem with a "traditional" saya is that it's going to be lacquered and it won't matter what you put under it from a figure standpoint. You are out of the "completely traditional" market for saya, but that doesn't mean folks won't use figured wood for non-traditional pieces.

I had an interesting discussion with Scott several years ago on his choice of figured woods for his otherwise traditional looking pieces and his contention is that if they'd had the woods available and they were practical for use then they would have been used. Embellishment is nothing new to Japanese swords, after all.
 
I forgot to note that the stock piece of wood should be one piece, not two. A tanto block would be approx 16-20"X2-3"X1.25" ; wakizashi 20-36X3-4X1.5" ; katana 30-48X4-5X1.5-2"

The actual blade length plus about 4-6" for the tsuka and 2" for the saya is how I determine the length needed.
Saya wood needs to be well seasoned, as warping when splitting the wood on the saw is a problem. Many like the wood cut down the center by the supplier, to eliminate that problem.

I prefer to do the inletting as one channel, and then the wood is cut at the place where the tsuba will go. This assures a continued and matching wood grain and burl pattern.The inletting is done on one side only, and thus the blade sits on solid wood, not on a seam. If the wood is carefully split and re-glued, the seam may be nearly invisible.
Clear lacquer can be built up over many woods to get that classic look, or a super glue finish can be painstakingly applied and sanded down. This also stabilized the surface, and helps prevent warping.
 
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