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Tsukamaki first attempt: harder than it looks


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Chris,  Sadly it doesn't really get much easier. First you have to get a tsukamaki ito that is the right width so that it reaches the kashira exactly and that the two ends are pointing to the back of the tsuka at that point. You can do a bit to squeezing up to get this right but not too much. The width should also be such that the major nodule of the rayskin is revealed between the upper two twists. I've just spent weeks doing a hilt with 0.7mm jabara, using 10 strands (or really 5 pairs with an S and a Z twist in each strand). I thought I had it right, doing fancy plaiting to hold the menuki and everything, and feeling dead smug when it worked out right with the kashira only to find that the last twist is exactly over the main nodule!!!! Back to square one and try again. 

Ian Bottomley

 

 

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Jeff, Lines drawn on the tsuka work well for braid, but you cannot squeeze up jabara much. The other complication is that you have to sew all the strands together where they need to form a twist, making sure the sewing thread will be on the underside of course. All in all using jabara for binding a tsuka is a long tedious job but it looks really good when complete. 

Ian Bottomley

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