Ford's Sekigana video / photo essay?

[CurtisR]

Greetings all,

I've heard a reliable rumor that Ford H. had a video of how to fit/install sekigana into a tsuba. I've looked everywhere but can't find it (even in Following the Iron Brush) ~~ would anyone know where I might find the video and/or photo essay?

 

I'm planning a project on a gendai tsuba (although nicely made in iron) in the next few months and would like to know the right way to go about it.

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Curtis R.

[Lee Bray]

Ford's sekigane tutorial no longer seems to be up.

Unless you're supremely confident of hitting a very small piece of copper with a very small hammer with 100% accuracy many times, I wouldn't try this technique on antique tsuba.

[Lee Bray]

I thought I might add this as a way of making a 'safer' sekigane.

It relies on a friction fit inside the tsuba ana therefore does not need peening into place so avoiding errant hammer blows on your antique patina.

It's just a piece of copper sheet, though you could use brass, which is the same thickness or slightly thinner than the tsuba.

You'll need a piercing(jeweler's) saw, some small files and some patience to get it right but it's safer than hammering the normal sekigane into place.

 

 

Of course, this is the amateur way of doing it.

You really want to send it to the pros to fit proper sekigane.

That way, they know how to fix the patina when they hit it with a hammer...

[CurtisR]

Thank you Lee - I appreciate the ideas for sure....the Tsuba won't be antique, but I DO want it to look nicely done when fitted so your tips will come in useful!!

And I think I actually have the tools, which is a huge start (glad you confirmed my suspicions though ).

 

Curtis R.