Jump to content

source of gun parts


Recommended Posts

It appears that the world is NOT beating a path to my door to acquire the teppo this fine community has allowed me to muse about for the past week. I really and truly learned a lot from this "project teppo." Just in case that it will remain a project for me - as opposed to someone lurking on the buy and sell section - I have been scouting for replacement parts. It looks like my revered sources at Dixie Gun Works no longer offer Hibasami etc. :-?

Can anyone here point me to another source. Does Fred Lohman provide such things? Or, is there a contactable shop or individual in Japan that could be contacted.

Thank you and I will go back to waiting for someone to read the "for sale" column  and feel like dickering :).

I await the expert advice of the community!

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a bundle of old Hinawaju parts, stocks, serpentines etc., and handed the lot to my friendly repair shop, expecting deep gratitude. :dunno:

 

Months later he mentioned in conversation that he finds it takes longer to adapt old parts to fit differently sized mechanisms. It’s easier just to create new parts, he said. He likes the stocks though, for sections of old wood which he can use for splicing. When I give him a project, I try to first source a section of genuine old Shinchū for him to use.

 

Oh and I think he much prefers to work with the job in hand, rather than photos and measurements from a distance. Fingertip finish, and all that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Piers. And I think you are right in telling us that Japanese specialists don't share knowledge freely. And the sort of hands-on do-it-yourself mentality that has evolved in gai-koku just doen't operate in Japan. Still, I just bet you that there are sources of "raw" fittings that come in a variety sizes. How in the world did Turner Kirkland - of Dixie Gun Works (OMG) come up with the parts he used to sell? Do you suppose they were all made in Liege? Could be, I suppose.

This situation recalls for me a conversation I had in a very rural Tohoku store that sold tourist trinkets and had some old stuff. There, in the rack of long narrow stuff, were a couple of tanegashima stock tips. When I asked why he had cut them off and he smoothly replied, "They were too long."

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 A friend of mine is currently repairing/restoring one of his Teppo. He says that one of the problems is getting the right quality of brass/bronze. Most of the modern stuff is casting brass which does not work up well. I tell him to go for "gilding metal" which is made for working cold, but he doesn't like the colour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, I sacrificed a small tea ceremony ash rake for example, which was made of old Shinchū 真鍮 brass. It is now transformed into a decorative repair plate on my old pistol, the cherry blossom designs engraved and signed by an up-and-coming talented Nihonto (Tōshinbori) Hori-Shi blade carver. (The signature is in faint grass script where no one would notice it. My secret!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, here is one ‘rake’ that I have not (yet) sacrificed. I think you will agree that it is old, made of Shinchū, and offers some decent surface to work with.

The second photo shows brass bits which I gathered from around the house, including parts of Buddhist temple lanterns. (The second rake is silver though.)

 

 

 

 


 

574E7F1C-9268-4E6E-B78B-B5836BA6632A.jpeg

32F642F6-E450-4BDA-AF7D-0151484D3060.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could say it is sacrilege, but to me the pistol had higher priority, i.e. was more worth saving. One of the weaknesses of any Hinawaju is the top of the butt, right behind the barrel. Cracks develop from the constant kick and hammer backwards and eventually a triangular chunk can fly off, so you will often see a brass cover there. Rather than straight plain, some added decoration seems to balance things out nicely. Is it a repair, or is it an original feature? In most cases we will never know.

 

AB4CD6FA-2EFD-4ABB-8E75-054315F0B244.jpeg

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Recycling old brass items is done over here as well, for some reason the modern stuff just does not match in on old items, and a nice engraving is a bonus. A little brass tumbler I have is about to go that rout and become a ferrule on a nice pamor bladed Pedang that currently has a dealers bodge job on it.

 

 At risk of causing an uproar, what do you think about the hada on this one....

P17-02-20_13.38.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one, unless your post is really relevant and adds to the topic..

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...