Replacing the kojiri

[sprelligosi]

Hi guys...

 

Here is the plan i have a nice katana koshirae see picture below.. And i am currently thinking of buying a wakizasi koshirae to create a "sort of" daisho that i can put on my sword stand.

 

So my question is... Drum roll please.......

 

Is it hard to replace the kojiri to make them match, for example if i buy two from Fred Lohman.

 

 

Best wishes.

 

Heiðar Högni

[ROKUJURO]

Heiðar,

 

do you really mean the KOJIRI or did you think of replacing the KASHIRA?

 

KOJIRI is easy as you can make them yourself from water buffalo horn. It is perhaps not so easy to make it fit as perfectly as a Japanese craftsman could do it.

 

Replacing KASHIRA means new TSUKA-ITO and a TSUKA with the right dimensions.

[J Reid]

Don't mod either of those koshirae.. They look good as is.. IMHO

[sprelligosi]

The kojiri, the tip of the saya, replacing them to match,.

Im wondering if they are normally glued on or simply pressed, so they could come loose with a little force.

 

The katana koshirae is owned by me, and im thinking of buying the wakisahsi koshirae.

And have them match with parts like these.

 

 

http://www.Japanese-swords.com/pages/kojiri.htm

[Alex A]

They look too good to me too, I wouldn't change them.

 

Alex.

[cabowen]

Many are held on with kusune, or pitch....

[Lance]

I'd go along with everybody else and wouldn't change/replace anything. It seems you have 2 complete period original koshirae, removing original parts from either and replacing them with reproduction pieces would do a great disservice to both swords' history, not to mention greatly devaluing them.

Maybe a better option would be to have a new saya made for the wakizashi with horn to match the katana.

 

Regards,

Lance

[Grey Doffin]

Please don't do this for all the reasons given already; it would be a terrible mistake. The koshirae are fine the way they are and giving them matching kojiri won't make them a daisho. It will, however, seriously devalue both sets (might just as well set your money on fire).

This is a very, very, bad idea.

Grey

[Lorenzo]

You can't. Even if you are qualified to make a good work, the new kojiri profile and shape won't match the saya profile. The saya end have to be worked to match the kojiri, so it can't be done after the lacquering.

[Kai-Gunto]

Dont change anything.

[Geraint]

Hello Heidar.

 

Well, it's pretty unanimous and I'm in agreement. I can't quite see the quality of the mountings on your katana though the whole mounting looks rather nice, but the fittings on the wakizashi are of a low, almost mass produced type that is often seen. However it is an original koshirae and in no need of restoration so don't. If the fittings on both koshirae are a match apart from the kojiri then they should display quite well together as they are.

 

Muck about with either and you will always have just that, a koshirae that has been mucked about with.

 

If you are overwhelmed by the need to have a daisho then why not commission a set of ksohirae for both swords, keep the original with tsunagi and then when the time comes you can reunite the swords with their original koshirae. Alternatively buy a set of daisho koshirae to display and leave both swords alone.

 

By the way it is extremely rare to get unanimous agreement on the message board, that is quite an achievement!

[Brian]

Well....I'm afraid I have to disagree with everyone...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nah! Just kidding. :lol:

I would never contemplate doing this. Just the thought of replacing perfectly good original fittings with modern repros makes me cringe.

 

Leave it as is. It's a nice package currently.

 

Brian

[b.hennick]

I suggest that you just get a replacement saya made for each blade and have that saya have matching kojiri. Horn is fine, flat for the katana and rounded for the wakizashi. You can have matching horn work, sageo, kodjuka, kogai as you wish. That would still keep the originals as is.

[sprelligosi]

Thanks for the heads up. It's back to the drawingboard i think:)

[sprelligosi]

A quick question.

I know koshirae have different styles. Higo etc.

What style is the katana showed here?

 

-Heiðar

[Jean]

Higo, Tensho, Owari koshirae were some typical kind of koshirae produced either in a period or at the beginning in a province using said province kodogu/tosogu. I encourage you to buy the excellent book of Markus Sesko about Koshirae. Yours seems to be an Edo Koshirae, that's all.

[Tcat]

What style is the katana showed here?

 

Cant see enough details from the pics to know. Whichever school made the fittings would be the answer to your question.