Tsukamaki

S

ShiGuan

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Jan 30, 2015
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5
So, probably not the absolute best place for this post, but I figure I'll get more answers and less hate here than a dedicated nihonto forum. But if anyone knows of a better place for answers to this please let me know :-)

I have started doing tsukamaki for some projects I am working on. And I decided to forgo traditional methods and materials for two reasons. One: it's not worth the time and cost. And two: my alternative has a better feel to it, in my opinion.

My alternative is to use paracord over the traditionally wider silk cord. I am also eschewing hishigami. The result, when done right, looks decent and provides what I feel is a much better grip. So it is essentially just 1/8 inch nylon cord twisted and then overlapped to create the diamond pattern. The problem is that despite my best efforts I can not get consistent results. Occasionally I get one, sometimes two crosses that come out just PERFECTLY. But no effort on my part can reproduce the effect. Many come out looking just stupid and even if I undo it and try again I cannot get better results. So the overall result looks more haphazard slap dash.

So I'm wondering if any of you out there have any experience in this and would be willing to share any advice for getting a higher quality result.
 
I have not trie tsukamaki but have experienced similar problems with paracord projects, the only advice i can offer is strict attention to detail and consistency to ensure uniformity and avoid mistakes as much as possible. Really the only thing that would help is to have someone looking over your shoulder or sitting next to you
 
I think with paracord you may have to forego both folding and hishigami. It would seem paracord would be too thin, even when pressed flat. You might get the twist but man it would be tough to cut and place hishigami that small.

I did a knife handle with paracord in the Japanese style over leather, but I removed the inner string material and did not attempt folding or hishigami. It came out ok, the diamonds look much better than they appear in the photo. Due to angle and light I guess.

Tantoish_1 (1 of 1).jpg
 
SouthernComfort said:
I think with paracord you may have to forego both folding and hishigami. It would seem paracord would be too thin, even when pressed flat. You might get the twist but man it would be tough to cut and place hishigami that small.

I did a knife handle with paracord in the Japanese style over leather, but I removed the inner string material and did not attempt folding or hishigami. It came out ok, the diamonds look much better than they appear in the photo. Due to angle and light I guess.
Click to expand...

Looks real good.....exactly what you need it to be and nothing more or less.

Did you use epoxy? I I have found that it really does make a difference in feel and holding....and do prefer it.

My latest project was an H&B Forge Spike Hawk with a maroon sheath(like you I pull the inner string) and a simple spiral wrap with a square knot to finish....with epoxy.

Did about 9" of the bottom of the handle, vastly improves feel as a held weapon and throwing for me.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks. No I did not use any epoxy on it (yet?). Keep thinking about trying it, but scared I might not like it. Also a little concerned with how it will adhere to the leather. Guess I need to do another just as a test piece to see. I have had several people say it really improves the feel of the grip.
 
I too like to wrap stuff in paracord, but I prefer it around rounder things. If you still want to go for modern material that is flatter, wider, and not terribly expensive, I have had lots of fun with webbing. Tubular webbing is rather bulky in 1" width, but dials down in the 1/2" range. I find that I have better results with flat webbing for wrapping flatter handles, but don't take it as fact since my skill level at wrapping is just high enough to keep from epoxying my fingers together too often. I go to the climbing section of my local Sports Chalet and get an employee to cut me off what I want with a heat knife. It costs more per foot than buying in bulk online, but my wife is already rolling her eyes at my stockpile of paracord and I don't need the grief from having a ton of the stuff on hand.
 
Have you checked out the traditional methods for using round cord/string for tsukamaki? The Japanese don't just use flat cord, ya know.

images

images
 
Southern Comfort - I do a lot paracord handle wraps on the knives I make. I really recommend the epoxy; otherwise, the cord tends to move around on you and the diamonds get messed up.

You want to use the thinnest epoxy possible. I use West System 105 resin and 207 resin. It gets brushed on to cover everything well. I spring clamp it by the blade, with the handle hanging over air. Every few minutes, I flip it over to keep the epoxy from pooling on one side. After it starts to set up, I use an old rag to wipe off anything that has not wicked down into the fibers. If you do it just right, the finished product looks like it doesn't have anything but paracord. If it ends up a bit shiny, you can hit it lightly with some ScotchBrite to take away the shine. It should be rock-solid and waterproof at this point.

I've also done it with the leather underlay showing through the paracord overlay. The epoxy doesn't soak into the leather like it does the cord, but you can brush the excess off the leather as it starts to set.
 
I know this is a common wrap for 550 cord, but if you strip out the core and epoxy or cyanoacrylate soak it it has a nice look to it without getting too fussy, and if it's tight it doesn't move much even unsoaked.
The core of this hilt is a nearly full width tang with panels of rubber belting on either side.
image.jpg
 
I don't know if it's me, or something to do with the weather, but I always had a hard time getting the cyanoacrylate to soak into the fibers and dry like it's supposed to. And the fumes really burned my sinuses and eyes! I used Minwax Wood Hardener for a while, and it was solid and very easy to apply, but it was not impervious to water. The marine epoxy is a little trickier to apply, but it's been by far the best as far as solidity and waterproofness of the various impregnating resins I've used.

It's kind of pricey to get set up, but it'll do a lot of handles before you have to re-stock.

Been thinking of trying rubber underneath the cord instead of the leather I've been using. Mind telling how thick the belting you're using is?
 
It was 1/4"-2" wide machine belting (I think) that I snagged to make a platen cover that had some give (which it doesn't, at least not enough even with graphite over it) and I just taped it to the the tang so it didn't flop around, and did one flat wrap all the way up with stripped cord as an underlayer to hide the construction. the tang is about 1-1/8" wide. It comes out close to an older buke-zukuri hilt in cross section. With the stripped cord you do have to stop and straighten it out occasionally, and I've never tried intentionally reversing the twists like a traditional hilt, because I get confused and hafta start over. I also did one with stair tread tape instead of Same, as an experiment-looks cool and the cord Does Not Move.
The marine epoxy is best for 550-this one was a test blade that refused to break so I mounted it up for a friend, and there was a time (more like patience) crunch on my part. Definitely an outdoor/keep it away from yer head activity :D
Cyanoacrylate really shines for stabilizing cotton or fine nylon cord wraps (though it does heat up).
This one is dyed cotton cord with cyanoacrylate and a beeswax rub over it, and it's een swung for about 600 cuts an night for the last 2 years...all it did was get shiny:image.jpg
 
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Hi guys,
Thanks for the input. Since I already have some of the West Systems epoxy, I think I will give it a try once it warms up again. I like the idea of the rubber underneath, seems that combined with the epoxy would be great on functional outdoors knives, like hunters, skinners etc. Cost effective as well.

Someone else told me that once treated with the epoxy that it would get a little tacky if your hands or the handle were wet. Can anyone confirm or deny that ?

Possum, If you think wrapping with traditional ito or paracord is a bitch, give string wrap a shot. Probably 10 times more frustrating than any other wrap. Check with any Tsukamakishi and price a string wrap compared to any other style, it will give you an indication of the difficulty.

It is a beautiful wrap, but generally only seen on higher class blades or the owner was very fond of the piece and or wealthy.
Here is a closer photo of one, look at the detail and imaging keeping all those threads in perfect order.

Yari_Kikuchi_Kosh_Tsuka2.jpg
 
Lately I've been using 1/4" thick rubber "scales" under a cord wrap for sword grips, it works great, and I get better results and feel than when using calcutta, leather, or wood.

However I've not been wrapping the rubber/cord structure with a tsukamaki-style wrap, but I guess it's inevitable. :[
 
SouthernComfort said:
...
Possum, If you think wrapping with traditional ito or paracord is a bitch, give string wrap a shot. Probably 10 times more frustrating than any other wrap. Check with any Tsukamakishi and price a string wrap compared to any other style, it will give you an indication of the difficulty.

It is a beautiful wrap, but generally only seen on higher class blades or the owner was very fond of the piece and or wealthy.
Here is a closer photo of one, look at the detail and imaging keeping all those threads in perfect order.

View attachment 514727
Click to expand...


I bought some jabara-ito to do such a wrap as it's truly the most elegant. It's got two strands that are in opposing twist. You are supposed to sew the two strands together. You have to make 4 of these pairs (3 pair in that tanto)...!!:eek: I got about 4 feet of sewing into the first pair and thought... geezz.. I can't afford to so this just for beauty and interest's sake and I'm sure no one would pay me enough to do this so I put the silk away..
It's incredibly ornate and I am more amazed at this style now that I can see the immense effort put into it...
 
Southern Comfort - Tacky as in sticky? Not with what I use. It's rock solid and waterproof, to the point of me being able to dip a whole knife into black oxide solution for five minutes and pull it out with the solution just rolling off the wrap.
 
I use the same West system as James and there's no tackiness. Once it's dry it's hard and impermeable... and like he said, it wicks into the fibres and looks as if it isn't there. Sometimes I use a hairdryer after I've applied it or even to warm the ito/paracord before application just to thin it a little to aidin the wicking but I'm up in Canada, not in Texas... ha.
 
SBranson said:
I use the same West system as James and there's no tackiness. Once it's dry it's hard and impermeable... and like he said, it wicks into the fibres and looks as if it isn't there. Sometimes I use a hairdryer after I've applied it or even to warm the ito/paracord before application just to thin it a little to aidin the wicking but I'm up in Canada, not in Texas... ha.
Click to expand...

Warming up the cord is a good idea-I'm in northern Vermont and it's 50f in my kitchen right now, so all adhesive based tasks require some fiddling. I usually end up brushing it on with an acid brush and then gently (so it doesn't foam) brushing the excess in/away.
 
Tacky as in sticky? Not with what I use.
Click to expand...
I use the same West system as James and there's no tackiness.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. The guy who told me that said, when he cleaned a deer and his hands got bloody the handle became sticky. Your replies confirm what I suspected, that it was the blood on his hands that became sticky, not the epoxy.

Stuart, I got a good laugh when I read your post about the string wrap. It is hard enough to imagine the skill of someone who is proficient at this style, much less the patience required. I think I would need valium with a whiskey chaser to keep from going on a random killing spree about midway through one of those. The wrap is bad enough, can you imagine trying to tie that damn knot.
Crazy_emoticon_1.jpeg
 
from a user/collector standpoint, I like the traditional wrap. silk, no epoxy. cotton is too rough and with epoxy it becomes too hard. With epoxy, it may be grippy, but it's also pokey, especially at the twist. that's just me though :grumpy::)
 
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