Question about Oriental Swords

Bruce Evans

Bruce Evans

Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
4,486
I went to the Dentist last week and found out that it was going to cost me $3000.00 :eek: after my wifes insurance to get my teeth fixed,which I don't have as I am just a poor Knife maker.But there is a bright spot in this as the oral surgeon is a Tae Kwon Doo Freak and really liked my Damascus knives.He asked me if I had ever considered a Oriental sword which I said that I would try anything once or twice...
Now to my question:
What should the length-width-and thickness of the blade be????
And the length-width-and thickness of the handle ????
And the Guard as I don't know how to spell its proper name off the top of my head.
I figured while things were a little slow this would be a great challenge for me,Plus maybe I can do some trading with the Doctor and get my lousy teeth fixed.
Any HELP would be greatly appriceated.
Thanks,
Bruce
 
Bruce, That is a good way to get your teeth in good shape. Ive traded knives for crowns about 4 times, over $2000 worth. Just remember that your dentist has some disposable income and you dont so hold your prices high.
 
I'm not sure what kind of sword he wants. Tae Kwon Do is a Korean art, does he want a Korean sword? Swords from every Asian culture is different. You may want him to provide you with some pictures so that there would be no misunderstanding.

If he wants a Japanese style sword, the dimensions are fairly well understood in the West as many people make them. You might want to try swordforum.com bladesmith cafe section. There's several swordsmiths there.
 
Thanks everybody.I don't know what kind he wanted either but the way he sounded was more leaning towards the Japanese version.
I was just wanting to try one to see if I could get the curve in the blade after I clay tempered it,I was just basicaly looking for a general idea to start with.
Does 25-30 inches by 1 1/4 inches by 3/16 thick sound like a decent size to try ?
Heck I don't know if he will really even want one,you know how some people like to ask questions but never say well lets make it.It just sounded like a cool project to do after all the misfortunes around the shop and I figured that it would give me a good kick start to get my mind off everything else.
Bruce
 
Hello, Bruce

I have a better deal: I can give you a couple of my teeth against one of your large damascus bowies, and I don't even care to send you one in advance!
Are you interested?
 
25 to 30 inches is good for a sword size blade. Plus a tang of about 10 to 11 inches. A good steel to use is 1050 as it will show a good hamon. 1/4 inches is good for a sword but forge some distal taper. And the clay will produce the curve and you qhench in water. To try and explain how to forge a Japanese style blade with all the fittings will take a million times longer to explain than it would a regular knife or sword. If you think you will be making more Japanese style blades buy the book The Craft of the Japanese sword. Also go to www.swordforumbugei.com I am a member there and they have a forging section reserved for Japanese style forging. Lots of knowedgeable folks there. Not much help but these kind of swords are a lot different from anything else.
 
One type of sword Korean martial artists use is similiar to the katana, because Korean swords are hard to find, martial artists sometimes settle for the ubiquitious Japanese version. Your dentist may want more Korean flavor. I think the Korean version differs by having less curvature, bit longer handle, and do not have the tanto type tip.

My Japanese swords school was very particuliar concerning the length of my sword, for my stature it had to be no longer than 28.5". Some other styles may require a different length.

From a user's point of view, there are three important things about swords. One: A little short is okay, but too long is unusable. Two: Anything more than 2.5 lbs become very difficult to wield properly. Three: if it has to fail, it better bend than break.

Anyway I have a katana blade from Howard Clark, it is made of 1086M steel and here are the stats:

Thickness at base: 5/16"
Thickness two inches from tip: 3/16"

Width at base: 1.5"
Width two inches from tip: 1.25"

Blade length 28"
 
Thanks for thr info everybody.Boy is this turning into something more than I had expected.
I am going tomake this out of Damascus with a 1000-2000 layer count in a random pattern.
Thanks for the measurements.Now I have a idea of the size.

Now how high up the blade is the edge bevel,I go all the way to the spine on my flat ground Bowies but are these like that or just half way ground?
Bruce
 
Bruce,

Most Japanese swords have a ridge in the center, the bottom half is convex, the top half is either parallel or slightly beveled. The grind can also go all the way up for swords used for cutting lighter materials (straw bundle instead of bamboo).
 
The tip is going to be tricky to get right without having seen one in person or to have it right there to copy. You may have and that is good because otherwise you may be lost. You can look at swords to determine where the bevels should be. But get the the book Craft of the Japanese sword. It will teach you how to make the blade, the habaki(collar), and the scabbord and handle. I dont know of any books on fittings but go to swordforum and swordforumbugei, they will point you in the right place.
 
Feel free to email me or ask specific questions in the Sword Discussion Forum. I'd be happy to offer whatever aid I can.

Shinryû.
 
Thanks for all the help everybody.I will see if I can come up with a copy of the book you have suggested also.
Bruce
 
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