Started a New Katana...part deux w/photos

Bookie

Bookie

Joined
Mar 25, 2014
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In the original thread, two katana are shown. This post concerns the completion of the first katana. I have been working some very long hours to get it out of my hair and Bawanna has given me no respite by sending all sorts of hate mail my way demanding I get the lead out. Finally...my fanny perpendicular is unloaded and I hope you enjoy these last photos. I won't use Japanese terminology this time around. #1 shows the butt cap. #2 is the completed handle. #3 shows the fitting of the handle onto the tang. Most laborious process. #4 The blacking on the tang is carbon black (soot) mixed in oil. BEWARE! You get a drop of this stuff on you and it will smear itself ALL OVER the little ladies clean house!! #5 Drilling a pilot hole for the pegs to hold the handle onto the tang. I was drilling blindly, trying to hit the original holes in the tang so new holes didn't need to be drilled. Must have held my tongue in the right position as I nailed those suckers dead nuts on. #6 is the bamboo stock being fitted to the holes and later cut to proper length. Blurry pic. #7 is a close up. The cream colored bumpy stuff is genuine sting ray skin. The bumps aid in maintaining your grip if you are slicing & dicing in the rain. Very, very tuff stuff. The last one, #8 here she is in all of her radiant glory. I think she looks great [considering the fellow who just spent a couple three hundred hours on her is a freakin' idiot]. Hope you think so, too. The second katana underway is a special one and will take much longer. It is going to be an absolute nightmare to do since the hamon it's intended to have hasn't been created in many, many, many decades. In fact, Bawanna wasn't even borned yet! 7.JPG 8.JPG 9.JPG 10.JPG 11.JPG 12.JPG 13.JPG 14.JPG Thanks for looking. Cheers, Bookie
 
Bookie you deserve a half hour break. That thing is just delicious. That's some serious serious talent.

The handle alone is work of art and must have taken a boat load of time to put together.

I just gotta know what the potato in the backgrounds purpose is. Guess it might be a rock, but looks like a potato.

I could spend hours just checking out all the little hand tools and gadgets around your shop.

Oh heck, take an hour break, you plumb deserve it.
 
Ask and ye shall receive. Bawanna, what you are looking at is the pestle portion of a "mortar & pestle". The mortar is forged from a piece of wrought iron wooden wagon wheel rim. I use it to pulverize the clay, sand, and charcoal to be used when creating the hamon on the next sword blade. Thumbnails below: the mortar (spelling might be incorrect) & potato. Next is some silica sand. 3 is the pulverized sand and #4 is pulverized Iowa clay. Very finely powdered, eh?
M & P 1.JPG M & P 2 silica.JPG M & P 2.JPG M & P 3 Iowa clay.JPG
 
Very fine indeed. And it is a rock. I thought sure it was a potato.

I'm anxiously looking forward to this next one although I'm not the least be tired of looking at the last one yet neither.

Beautiful thing.
 
What you smokin', boy with the wonderful first name? I ain't no one special at all.
 
Thanks, Howard. Way back when I was a kid traipsing around NE Missouri, there were a lot of former Scots and many of them pronounced the name Howard as "Hawrd". Don't really know if it was how the name was pronounced in Scotland or regionalized in Missouri. Anyway, if you hear me call you Hawrd, don't take offense. Howard is a foreign language for me.
 
EMS on the Spam hiding on the back wall:D

Masterful work. Forget a Hanzo blade. I'm contracting Bookie if i find myself cast in a pulpy westernized Japanese-style flick.
 
Bookie said:
In the original thread, two katana are shown. This post concerns the completion of the first katana. I have been working some very long hours to get it out of my hair and Bawanna has given me no respite by sending all sorts of hate mail my way demanding I get the lead out. Finally...my fanny perpendicular is unloaded and I hope you enjoy these last photos. I won't use Japanese terminology this time around. #1 shows the butt cap. #2 is the completed handle. #3 shows the fitting of the handle onto the tang. Most laborious process. #4 The blacking on the tang is carbon black (soot) mixed in oil. BEWARE! You get a drop of this stuff on you and it will smear itself ALL OVER the little ladies clean house!! #5 Drilling a pilot hole for the pegs to hold the handle onto the tang. I was drilling blindly, trying to hit the original holes in the tang so new holes didn't need to be drilled. Must have held my tongue in the right position as I nailed those suckers dead nuts on. #6 is the bamboo stock being fitted to the holes and later cut to proper length. Blurry pic. #7 is a close up. The cream colored bumpy stuff is genuine sting ray skin. The bumps aid in maintaining your grip if you are slicing & dicing in the rain. Very, very tuff stuff. The last one, #8 here she is in all of her radiant glory. I think she looks great [considering the fellow who just spent a couple three hundred hours on her is a freakin' idiot]. Hope you think so, too. The second katana underway is a special one and will take much longer. It is going to be an absolute nightmare to do since the hamon it's intended to have hasn't been created in many, many, many decades. In fact, Bawanna wasn't even borned yet! View attachment 853586 View attachment 853587 View attachment 853588 View attachment 853589 View attachment 853590 View attachment 853591 View attachment 853592 View attachment 853593 Thanks for looking. Cheers, Bookie
Click to expand...
Mr Bookie, I absolutely love your art! It is very beautiful! Thanks for posting!
 
Dang nice work Doc! Theres no words good enuff for your talents! Just when I thought there aint no more rabbits in your hat you pull out another one!
 
Bookie said:
Thanks, Howard. Way back when I was a kid traipsing around NE Missouri, there were a lot of former Scots and many of them pronounced the name Howard as "Hawrd". Don't really know if it was how the name was pronounced in Scotland or regionalized in Missouri. Anyway, if you hear me call you Hawrd, don't take offense. Howard is a foreign language for me.
Click to expand...

Quite all right. My Ma is from SW Missouri. Jesse James country.
 
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