paulb Posted February 16, 2011 Report Posted February 16, 2011 Dear All, Some time ago I mentioned that I had a long outstanding project to complete a koshirae which I had planned since buying a fuchi kashira in 1998. Well I finally got there! I had a Hizen Katana polished last year and decided it was an ideal candidate for the FK and tsuba I had been holding on to. I managed to pick up a reasonable set of menuki on Ebay which followed the same theme so was ready to go. Continued horror stories about shipping blades in and out of Japan made me look for local talent to make and lacquer a saya, make a tsuka and then bind it. Probably for the reason listed above the people I have used in the past are fully booked and unwillin to take on new commissions, so I had to try newer talent which has developed over recent years. The end result is illuistrated below. Overall I am very pleased with the result.Certainly the quality of finish to the lacquer compares very well to work I have had done in Japan. As it becomes increasuingly difficult to ship swords around the world it is good to see a number of young people taking up these skills and developing their talent alongside those who are already well established in this field. See what you think regards Paul Quote
John A Stuart Posted February 16, 2011 Report Posted February 16, 2011 Turned out well, Paul. John Quote
Jean Posted February 16, 2011 Report Posted February 16, 2011 Hi Paul, I like it very much but I must say (encouraging your young talent) that I have seen better binding, in your picture (unless it is volunteer) there is some lack of symetry. If I have a new koshirae done for one of my blades, I shall do like you and go for a Tensho koshirae. I have to find a F/K and Menuki, I have already a Tsuba(s) Quote
paulb Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Jean, Yes I totally agree with you. My favourite binder is a gentleman trained in Japan, unfortunately he is sinking under a major museum project and was unable to take this on. The person who did it has talent but has yet to achieve the consistency I see in fully trained work. Unfortunately his pricing is equal to or more than the more experienced person. I am hoping this doesnt result in him getting fewer commissions and failing to gain the further experience and reaching his full potential. Overall I think the koshirae works well and I think the binding will settle with a little handling. It is the last of my long outstanding projects so I now have to decide what to do next! thanks again for your comments Best Regards Paul Quote
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