Saya coming unglued, suggestions?

[c2tcardin]

I have a shirasaya that has popped the seam from the koiguchi and continues down about 1/3 to half the length. I'm debating my options as I've never done Norizuke, though it looks pretty straight forward preparing the Sokui. Is it possible to prepare a little of the Sokui and just work some into the opened portion of the seam or is it best to split the saya halves completely and apply Sokui along the whole saya and re-glue the whole saya? I'm a little nervous that splitting the saya may result in an uneven break/split of the two halves and I don't have any planes to resurface it.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

[Brian]

Is there a bend, and natural inclination for the 2 halves to separate? Or do they go together cleanly and naturally?

If the latter, I would be inclined to only glue the part that has separated.

 

Brian

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Jeff,

If you completely separate the 2 halves and plane the surfaces the blade may not fit back in after glue up. 2 other problems you might have are making sure the 2 go back together exactly as they're supposed to and the saya will be smaller than the tsuka. If complete separation is necessary I think you need to send this to someone with experience.

If complete separation isn't necessary and if you're reasonably skillful and willing to take care you can probably do the glue up yourself. Use rice glue, be careful not to get too much in the crack, and wrap the saya tightly to clamp. The plastic from bubble packaging (as would be used to package a toothbrush for example) works well to get the glue where you want it. If you make a paper band covered with masking tape that you slide up to where it fits tight at the beginning of the crack, it will serve to keep the saya from splitting further if you wedge the koiguchi open to allow for glue placement. These paper and tape bands work well also to keep the 2 sides of the saya properly aligned during gluing.

After you finish, let the saya dry for a few days before replacing the sword.

Grey

[c2tcardin]

Is there a bend, and natural inclination for the 2 halves to separate? Or do they go together cleanly and naturally?

If the latter, I would be inclined to only glue the part that has separated.

 

Brian

 

Thanks for the reply Brian. It is the latter thankfully, I don't see any bend and the two halves go together when squeezed tightly to the point where the seam disappears.

[c2tcardin]

Hi Jeff,

If you completely separate the 2 halves and plane the surfaces the blade may not fit back in after glue up. 2 other problems you might have are making sure the 2 go back together exactly as they're supposed to and the saya will be smaller than the tsuka. If complete separation is necessary I think you need to send this to someone with experience.

If complete separation isn't necessary and if you're reasonably skillful and willing to take care you can probably do the glue up yourself. Use rice glue, be careful not to get too much in the crack, and wrap the saya tightly to clamp. The plastic from bubble packaging (as would be used to package a toothbrush for example) works well to get the glue where you want it. If you make a paper band covered with masking tape that you slide up to where it fits tight at the beginning of the crack, it will serve to keep the saya from splitting further if you wedge the koiguchi open to allow for glue placement. These paper and tape bands work well also to keep the 2 sides of the saya properly aligned during gluing.

After you finish, let the saya dry for a few days before replacing the sword.

Grey

 

Thanks Grey, your points were exactly what I was worried about. Thankfully the bottom half of the saya is tight and I took your advice and wrapped some reinforcing bands around near the bottom then slid them up to take advantage of the taper. It is well stabilized now and as I'm very meticulous and detail oriented I'll likely give it a go and glue it myself with the rice glue. The other possibility is leave it stabilized for now and perhaps early next year send the whole thing to someone who can repair it as well as carve me a saya for lacquering and a tsuka for it.

[c2tcardin]

Just an update. Here is a shot of the split saya, I'll have a go at repairing it in the next week or so and do a follow up once it's done.