JPH Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Hello: Well I just got busy and finished up my "Mongo Humongous Naginata"...Here it is in all its gold leafed glory. The blade is 28" long, with two short bo-hi (Naginata-Hi) on each side that I hand scraped in..Boy hand scraping can be a very boring thing to do but it does work..why they weren't forged in is beyond me but....oh well...The blade is San Mai construction with the sides laminated from 1050 and L-6 and shows the center plate of 1060 on the Ha and the Mune in the blade's Hada. Still need to do the final polish after I get the siya done. The habaki is solid copper (I had to forge the copper down cause all I had was some 3/8" thick bar..but it worked out OK in the end) as are the hand hammered finished mounts. I used the "age old copper pipe technique" for the copper sheet source. You can get some decent sized pieces using copper pipe and the thickness is just about perfect for fittings like these...I tell ya hand peining all that copper sheet took a while...all those little tappity tap taps with a 32 oz ball pein hammer really gets old real quick. You have to anneal repeatedly cause it work hardens like crazy and then it starts to crack..NOT a good thing Now the shaft is covered by white samegawa for the first 15" or so and wrapped in my favourite chevron pattern black/gold silk ito in what I call a "modified battle wrap". There are three mekugi holding the blade into the shafting. There are two gold guilded swan menuki under the tsuka maki, one on each end of the grip on opposite sides. The shafting is laminated from some 3/16"ish thick oak door skins that I glommed onto from a friend of mine who owns a furniture/cabinet making business. These were his "rejects" due to grain problems that I sliced into strips and then laminated up using that "Gorilla Glue"..Boy that was a mess..gets all foamy and gooey but is worked great. (even though if you get it on your skin it really turns your skin black and well, you have to let it wear off...) The shafting cross section is a "tear drop" shape so I can tell which way the edge is oriented in my hand (wider at the back..narrower on the front) so you know which "side" to cut with. Comes in handy whan you use it... The butt spike on the opposite end is not all that "correct" as far as "tradition" goes but what the heck..I am not exactly all that "traditional" myself....I hammered that out of some 1060 and left it "forge finished"..no sense in polishing a butt spike that is going to be the "down side end" on a pole weapon...it is held in place by one mekugi. All the copper fittings except for the fuchi are pinned in place with german silver studs. The overall length is just a smidge over 93".. Now I have to figure out how to make the siya for this hot little puppy...Will be finished the same as the shafting so it all matches. All in all I think it came out pretty good for a bald, educated barbarian like myself...THe wood work was more of a pain to do than the blade! Hope the pics work... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Makes me think I need to re label all of my work miniatures......sweet JIm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Beautiful work as always. Jim Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Whose head are you going to take with that thing? Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 That will definitely part someone in twain...gorgeous as always - how many hours did you spend all told? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 HW: I dunno...about threee day's worth of forge time on the steel for the blade and forging that out and heat treating it..polishing?? well I am still in that process as I still need to do the sheath..no sense in botching up a full polish making that so...I figure the blade took me about 5 or 6 good days to this point...The rest..the copper mounts took about 4 hours with the habaki being the real PITA... The shafting took a while cause I had to strip out the door skins and laminate them up..then shape the shaft by hand, scrape, fit and seal then finish...figure a good 10 days worth of work all in all...the wood took longer than that blade did...waiting for everything to dry and all...then the gold leaf was exciting but it worked...I get real nervous when I do that... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I was just curious how long it takes someone who knows what he's doing to make something like that - gives me an added appreciation for the effort the Japanese put into them. Benkei would have loved to carry it during the Gempei War (We'll see how many historians we have here)...;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 HW: Ummmmmm I never said I knew what I was doing...believe me I made my share (probably more so) of mistakes..especially learning how to get the gold leaf right...boy that was an expensive lesson to learn too!! It did turn out ok though now that I know what to do... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I think it's exquisite and ample proof that you are a master...definitely museum quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Do you know something about an upcoming zombie attack that we don't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I need one of those to chop the weeds down in my ditchline by the house.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckster2.0 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 For some reason, when ever I see your work, the image of 1960's female Beatles fans screaming flashes inside my head. I then take note of the various qualities apparent in the work, consult your book, and then recalculate the length of time it will take for me to become as a accomplished as you. This estimate continues to lengthen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecart Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Sword-on-a-stick! Sorry, the NC state fair ended last weekend and I worked at the ABANA booth both Saturdays that it was in town, so all sorts of foods attached to sticks came into my line of sight. On a serious side, that is a beautiful piece of work. I don't often comment on oriental work because it simply isn't my thing. But a masterpiece is a masterpiece no matter its inspiration. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) Ecart: Basically that is what a naginata is..a sword on a stick...the Japanese version of a Bullova or a Glaive.. Really a nasty bugger to face one on one if the person using it knows how to use it. I do know for a fact that these things can inflict devastating amounts of damage from doing cutting tests on goza and ballistic gel targets and there are a few moves that you can do that really gets the tip speed up there and that is what makes these so effective..Now this one is on the "large side" as far as blade lengths go....usually these are a bit shorter but what the heck? Why not go the large route and really make a statement?? What statement that would be I have no idea.. All in all the hardest part of doing this thing was the finish work..I just used some automotive clear coat (top coat) I had left over from doing some body work on the Misses' van today (some square nut backed into her bumper and mucked up the paint so....) and that is currently drying overnight. If it dries like it looks now the depth of finish will be quite nice indeed... It always seems that the "little stuff" really isn't all that "little" when you come down to it.. JPH Edited November 1, 2009 by JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecart Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 "What atetment that would be I have no idea.." Try, "I'm one big bad Naginata. Don't mess with me!" Thanks for the explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Dang Nice Jim, after looking at your accomplishments, i have a hard time posting any pics of mine! And all of the sudden feel in adequate. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Chad: Geeze guy...remember everyone starts out the same and knowing nothing. It's what YOU decide to do with what you learn, how you learn it and what the final outcome will be. We all have "been there" where you are now. Post pics..get advise...pick other maker's brains (although mine lately seemed to be a bit scrambled thanks to that stroke I had last year)...and try out new stuff, technqiues and materials. I have picked up so much "useless tidbits" of "knowledge" that at the time seemed totally meaningless yet a few months, years or decades later they came in real handy....use the tools you have and learn all you can... Everyone starts out the same..there is no shame or embarassment in asking questions..even the simplest of ones cause if you don't know...you don't know... JPH Oh..back to the nagi..the clear coat cured on the nagi and the finish looks a foot deep..now I will do the same to the siya before the pot life expires on the clear coat... (Also...boy the wife is happy with the van with the way it looks now...and that means I can be happy too...All those years making armour paid off finally!!)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Hummm Why does this thread say it has been moved?? moved from where?? JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.