jeremy

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if the bohi on mine would be considered shallow or deep ? If its got 1.1mm between the valleys of the bohi, would that be standard or deeply carved? How long is your shinsakuto and what's the sakikasane?

Yeah! It's been very informative and enlightening. Thanks again

Thank you for that in depth response! So many things to consider , another factor would be the length of the blade, the longer the blade (all things being equal) would be easier to bend than a shorter blade of the same geometry. My blade is pretty long compared to many blades being at 31.5 inch nagasa, making it easier to bend I guess than shorter blades. Anyway it's been a fun discussion so thank you to you both

Thanks for your reply. Sorry , what I meant by depth of bohi was on newly made and newly carved bohi, is there a standard depth or is it a case by case basis taking kasane into consideration? I'm guessing it would be the latter case but I'm not sure . It's just that when measured with a vernier the metal between valleys either side of the bohi it's only 1.1mm thick on my blade, and wanted to compared to other people's newly made bohi and see how mine compares.

Yeah, I think I'll be sticking to single mat rolls to cut , I didn't have any issues with those targets, and kata of course. The weight and balance is perfect for kata now

Hello again and thank you for replying . The blade in question is a shinsakuto which I had a bohi cut into it to lighten it . It was getting too heavy for me after many years of use so I sent it to Japan through an agent to get the bohi carved. It did lighten the blade by 170 grams, but on a slightly off cut it did kink the blade slightly. Something that never happened before I had the bohi carved into it. I did get it straightened and no visible shinae are seen, but I measured between the valleys of the bohi and it seemed fairly thin at 1.1mm. Which is why I wanted to compare it to other people's blades with bohi and see if this is the general thickness or if my bohi has been carved too deeply? The cut was only very very slightly off angle and It still bent. Anyway , thanks for your response .

Thanks for your feedback and reply. The thing I am concerned about is actually off-angled cuts, which is why 1.1mm seems kind of thin , and maybe that the bohi was cut too deeply ?

Hello This is something that I've been wondering about for a few weeks. I've seen different blades with different kasane , thinner about 4mm and thicker 6mm kasane with bohi, does the depth of bohi vary with the different kasane? On my shinsakuto I've measured there is only approx 1.1mm of metal between valleys either side when I checked with my vernier in the middle of the blade. This seems to be very thin , the sakikasane is about 5mm. Can anyone else give me any other measurements of blades of the thickness of either side of the valleys on their blades just for comparison sake? Thanks!! Jeremy

I've seen some Japanese websites that sell iaido equipment etc, are only able to use UPS to ship to Australia and a handful of other countries also. From what I've seen it is a very expensive shipping method

Totally agree here. I would never dream about cutting a bohi into an antique blade !

That is super interesting . Even over polishing a blade can change the sori. And he wanted to do that just to lighten the blade, cutting a bohi would've been the better route I think .

Thank you for this explanation. Very educating. No antique here. Only a shinsakuto made for training purposes.

It's not the first time i have heard the sori changes when putting a bohi. I read it on another Japanese sword site. I will try to find the link and post it here

It's a shinsakuto made and signed by okamoto kazumune

To be honest i can't tell if it increased or decreased the sori. How I know the sori changed is because Chris told me, and that the blade is ever so slightly tighter to fit back into the saya. Logic however tells me that I'm more inclined to think that it decreased the sori. The original sori was 18mm before sending it off, I would say its between 16-17mm now.

I definitely agree about the aesthetics . It changed the sori by about 1mm-2mm but nothing drastic. All in all, very happy with it

Nothing much to see. It's in user polish but I bet this blade would be absolutely stunning if ever polished , nice itame hada and suguha hamon. But the bohi is very well done. The whole sword weighed 1345 grams with koshirae without saya , now it weighs 1174 grams. 2-6-5 length. Alot easier to use with my aging sore arms!

Sure. It's only a training blade , so it's not in an art polish. But I'll post some pics nonetheless

Hey guys Just received my shinsakuto back from Chris. Just wanted to say he's one of the best I've dealt with in the sword business. Quick service and good communication. I sent my sword to get a bohi carved into it, it came back beautiful and even better than I expected. It will be a joy go go back to training again ! If I've posted this in the wrong place please feel free to move this thread.

I got two pieces I'd be interested in submitting. One tanto and one wakisashi. I'm in Sydney

Neat package! Is that a shakudo habaki?

It's a bare blade shinsakuto I had a bohi carved into it. Package would be about 35 inches long I'm guessing. Labelled "nihonto" and shipped 2 days ago

I recently had my blade shipped from Wisconsin USA to Sydney Australia with EMS USPS EXPRESS . Costs extra though

Which one do you recommend? 1st 2nd or 3rd in the pic?

Hey guys I'm getting a bohi cut into my existing blade by a artisan in Japan, he has notified my agent that the sori could be affected by about 1-2mm which doesn't sound like much. Will this affect how the blade goes into the saya? Intuitively speaking, 1-2mm doesn't sound like it should cause much issue, but I would like to hear from you guys. Cheers Jeremy