Restoring/replacing advice

[Jwizz]

Hey guys, this is my 1st nihonto piece I picked up last year.

Its a bit of an eyesore but sentimental.

I have recently got the itch to look for a new tanto or wakazashi.

 

But I decided it would be better to instead upgrade / improve the current state of my 1st tanto.

 

The Saya definitely isn't made for the blade, the Tsuka fits surprisingly well but the ito is frayed.

 

Should I replace the koshirae completely?

Buy new fuchi/koshira and learn to re wrap ito? 

 

What do you think? Any help, tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

[ROKUJURO]

Justin,

buy books first, and read them. Read a lot here on NMB and look at pictures of good swords. Learn the terminology (It is WAKIZASHI, not Wakazashi, and it is FUCHI-GASHIRA, not Fuchi-Koshira).

Take your time and enjoy the journey!

Coming back to your question: When you have more knowledge, you could decide whether to repair your KOSHIRAE or have one made. Quite expensive!  But you won't probably find a fitting KOSHIRAE on the market.

On the other hand, you could learn to repair the SAYA, and even TSUKA-MAKI can be learned (if you are motivated and have enough patience). 

[Alex A]

If you think your tanto is worth it, then do it.

 

Even though you likely wont recoup costs involved, ive enjoyed bringing a tanto koshirae back to life.

 

Though would not use the set above, the kashira has certainly seen better days. You could keep costs down by using one made from horn, though that wouldnt match your fuchi with the decoration, in my humble opinion. If it were a more simple plain iron fitting, then yes.

 

You would need new fittings and saya plus ito.  You can search around to keep costs down, keep things simple, look for fittings something that fits right. Saya should be original to a blade.

 

Luckily in the UK, we have good guys that do good work that have reasonable prices when it comes to jobs on koshirae.

 

Always something on the back burner that needs sorting out.

 

Though only if you think its worth it, if its sentimental to you then that's as good a reason as any.

[Spartancrest]

Your Koshirae looks to be missing a metal koiguchi, a tsuba, a kurigata and tsuka is missing the menuki from under the wrap - a big list of replacements. I think you will have some trouble finding enough pieces to fit correctly.

I think the tsuka can be rewrapped fairly easily and finding some appropriately sized menuki should be easy enough to find. The Koiguchi is a big problem to get the fit correct, you could make one from horn or even bone if you have the time.

 

 

Edited March 25 by Spartancrest
typo

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Justin,

By whom and when was the tanto made? If the tanto is special it deserves better koshirae. If it is mediocre or worse, you would be smart to move on and find something better to throw your money at.

Grey

[Jwizz]

Thanks for your replies!

 

9 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

Take your time and enjoy the journey!

I appreciate this advice, thankyou Jean. I do have a few books i should definitely give the time to read. 

 

6 hours ago, Alex A said:

Though only if you think its worth it, if its sentimental to you then that's as good a reason as any.

Definitely worth it to me, it isn't the most impressive blade but being so important to me, I get a bit upset seeing it dressed so poorly haha.

I think I will slowly hunt for new bits and learn to wrap the ito.

 

4 hours ago, Spartancrest said:

a big list of replacements. I think you will have some trouble finding enough pieces to fit correctly.

Definitely a decent sized shopping list haha. Not in any hurry and thoroughly enjoy browsing the web for bits and bobs anyway, I may very well give making some bone or horn pieces a go!

54 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

By whom and when was the tanto made?

The blade is mumei and i belive it to be edo period, but am unsure.

Being sentimental to me i still think it deserves better koshirae

[Jake6500]

Honestly, I think most on the board would agree we'd have to see clear photos of the blade and such to determine whether we think the expense of having new fittings made would be financially worth the money and time invested into such a project.

 

If you want decent quality fittings made, this is not a cheap project as some have already pointed out. I have a Dewa Gassan school katana that I am considering getting fittings made for, however the fittings would cost more than half the value of the sword itself. Personally, it would have to be one very nice, high quality tanto for me to want to proceed...

 

Sentimentality plays a role in such decisions of course, but spending (potentially) twice as much on the fittings as the blade itself might not be worth the investment.

Edited Saturday at 10:51 AM by Jake6500