Blade mounting experience?

[Kolekt-To]

Has anyone here had the experience of acquiring a blade (blade only - no Koshirae) and then successfully mounting it - either doing the job themselves, or having it professionally mounted? I am not currently looking to do this, but with seeing some un-mounted Gunto blades floating around on the market, it's sparked my curiosity. Have you had this experience? If so, how did you decide on the blade, and what process did you go through to have it mounted correctly?

[ROKUJURO]

Geoff,

it went through this some 40 years ago, when I had almost no knowledge about Japanese swords but thought about myself to be a good craftsman.
I would never (in this life and the next) do it again - there is so much you can do the wrong way! And there is a lot you simply cannot do at all, compared with the well trained Japanese craftmen. 

[Kolekt-To]

27 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Geoff,

it went through this some 40 years ago, when I had almost no knowledge about Japanese swords but thought about myself to be a good craftsman.
I would never (in this life and the next) do it again - there is so much you can do the wrong way! And there is a lot you simply cannot do at all, compared with the well trained Japanese craftmen. 

Great advice! I would definitely not attempt to mount a blade myself. Knowing what you now know, would you have considered having the blade professionally mounted by someone with the experience and a good reputation (even outside of Japan)? 

[Bruno]

The most difficult is to find the perfect matching Gunto scabbard.

 

Once it is done, you can find all the missing Gunto fittings here on the NMB or elsewhere, and have the whole koshirae mounted by a craftman like David McDonald or others of the same level.

 

http://www.montanairon.com/swords.html

 

 

As said the most important is to do nothing by yourself.

[ROKUJURO]

2 hours ago, Kolekt-To said:

......would you have considered having the blade professionally mounted by someone with the experience and a good reputation (even outside of Japan)? 

Geoff,

specialized Japanese craftsmen are at home in this field, but they are no witchers. I see no reason why somebody in the West could not do the same if he (or she) has had a traditional education. There are many examples, see Ford Hallam, David Thatcher, and many more in the U.S. and elsewhere.