The Autumn Grove Kotanto [Repost]

[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 OBO 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

 

[Lycosa]

An outstanding knife. Great job!
rolf

 

[Saxman25]

Thanks for the kind words!
-Grant

 

[AR-Trvlr]

Looks fantastic. It's a shame about the tear-out at the peg.

 

[Saxman25]

Thanks man!
The "tear out" near the peg isn't actually a tear out, I just couldn't quite get the mekugi ano perfectly circular to match the mekugi, so it left a slight perimeter around the mouth of the mekugi ano. It still functions 100% perfectly and is almost unnoticeable outside of pictures!

-Grant

 

[CrufflerJJ]

... It still functions 100% perfectly and is almost unnoticeable outside of pictures!

Sorry, but it looks pretty noticeable.

 

[Saxman25]

Not sure what to tell you, but it really isn't. The perimeter is extremely small and only at the lip of the mekugi ana. On top of this, the mekugi are designed to be replaced often, so even if I reworked the mekugi ana, the next mekugi to be made for it would likely have a slight perimeter as well, simply due to the fact that the mekugi are hand chiseled to shape not made on some machine. If you've ever held/seen a traditional blade with this style mounting before, it's not uncommon at all for this to occur on the tsuka.

If anyone would like to see additional close up pictures of the tsuka/mekugi ana, I'd happy to post them, just ask!

-Grant