The Autumn Grove Kotanto (Price Drop)

[Saxman25]

This is the first installment in my series of themed tanto, The Autumn Grove Kotanto.

My inspiration for this blade came in the form of the natural beauty of the forest and the changing colors of the leaves during fall. Drawing on the form of the mighty oak, this blade features a walnut shirasaya with cocobolo spacers that brings to mind the strength and stature of a full grown tree. The copper habaki has a traditional patina created by simmering in a hot niage solution. The speckled, rusty plum patina that the habaki takes on is reminiscent of vivid orange and brown leaves floating down amid the brisk autumn air. The blade itself has a simple yet elegant hamon composed of many ko-gunome waves. The hamon and blade were polished with natural hazuya and jizuya stones giving the hamon a very subtle and natural appearance. The blade comes with a matching stand made from walnut and cocobolo.

OAL: 8.5" from the back of the tsuka to the tip of the blade
Shirasaya dimensions: 9.5"x1.8"x.85"
Blade width: 1.33" at its widest point
Blade Thickness: 1/4" at the munemachi with a distal taper to the end of the kissaki
Hamon: Ko-Gunome waves
Blade polish: Hybrid polish with hazuya and jizuya stones
Mountings: Habaki, Tsuka, Saya, Mekugi
Mounting Materials: Walnut, Cocobolo, Wenge, Copper
Blade Material: W2 with a differential quench in brine

The blade has a single wenge mekugi and can be completely dismounted for easy maintenance and sharpening. I wish I could do the hamon justice with my pictures, but I guess I am just a really lousy photographer haha... It didn't fully show up in all the pictures, but take my word for it, it's there.

I'm asking $950 $650 for it and it ships free in the US.
First to ask gets it, shoot me an email at YozakuraForge@gmail.com or PM

I'll be glad to answer any questions you have and would love to see your comments on the blade.

Thanks for looking
-Grant

 

[Saxman25]

This is the second installation in my series of themed tanto, The Yuugure Kotanto.

Here's the story:
Yuugure means dusk or twilight, and this is what I tried to model the blade after. The saya has a dark black, ishimeji (or "stone") finish with blackened and brushed copper cladding. It reminds me of the night sky when the last orangey hues of the sunset are just beginning to fade away. The copper can appear very dark black or a bright orange depending on the angle it is viewed at, this coupled with the rough texture of the ishimeji creates a really interesting aesthetic. The habaki, seppa, fuchi, and kashira are all blackened and brushed copper, giving them a dusky, aged feel. The tsuka has a white samegawa wrap and was lacquered over with natural urushi. After the lacquer cured, I lightly sanded the nodes of the samegawa so that it looks like little white stars are peeking out from the black background. I would like to add that the kings node is featured on this cut of same! The entire blade is secured within the tsuka with a single, dark katalox mekugi. The blade itself has a wispy hitatsura hamon with some excellent activity. The mounted blade can be displayed on the dark black, matching wenge stand. The stand is all made from the same cut of wenge, so the color and grain pattern match throughout the stand. Also included is a small wenge mallet and a tapered brass pin for knocking out the mekugi and dismounting the blade.

Some info on the blade:
OAL: 9" from the kashira to tip of the kissaki
Saya + Tsuka dimensions: 10"x7/8"x1.75"
Blade Width: 1.3" at widest point
Blade Thickness: 1/8" at the munemachi with a distal taper to the end of the kissaki
Hamon: Hitatsura with great activity
Blade Polish: Light etch mirror polished to 2000
Mountings: Habaki, Seppa, Fuchi, Kashira, Tsuka, Saya, Mekugi
Mounting Materials: Walnut, Katalox, Copper, Samegawa, Urushi, Iron Oxides
Blade Material: 1095 with a differential quench in brine

The blade has a single katalox mekugi and can be completely dismounted for easy maintenance and sharpening. The blade has been honed to 6000 grit on waterstones and is very sharp.

I'm asking $750 for it and it ships free in the contig. U.S.
First to ask gets it, shoot me an email at YozakuraForge@gmail.com or PM

I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you all have and would love to see your comments on the blade

Thanks for looking
-Grant