March 7, 201214 yr Hello: This is the longest sword I have finished. Done in my own "Jim-agane" steel made out back. 42 1/2" nagasa, Uno-Kobe Shobu Zukuri style with Nahinata Hi. If you look close you can see the fine pin point Hada in the blade. The first pic is of the sword next to my Yoroi I wear for my cutting demos. The Kanji reads "This is the armour of the swordsmith Hage Bokatsu". Blade is Kobuse with a wrough iron core. This is a Big sword. 5 feet OAL. Cuts tatami and goza like a scythe through wheat. You can't feel any drag due to blade length and the length of the tsuka. I will say I won't be doing anything this size ever again. The polish alone took almost three times as long as a regular sword... Tsuka is white samegawa under Nando silk Ito. Dragon theme kashirae. Turned out quite nice overall I think.. Hope the photos work.. JPH
March 7, 201214 yr Worthy of Miyamoto Musashi himself! An awesome weapon! Of course Musashi could easily have killed you with an oar even if you were an expert swordsman armed with a longsword like this! I am sure that he'd have killed you even easier with one like this though! Fact is he probably could've killed anyone with a penknife no matter what kind of blade they had. Well anyway I think he'd have been honored to own such a fine blade!
April 18, 201214 yr Wow. My dream is to someday make a nodachi. I think it's a rather under appreciated blade, though I can understand why. I mean, look at the size of that. To be able to wield one well would be a serious undertaking.
May 31, 201214 yr Very nice looking blade! Worthy of Miyamoto Musashi himself! An awesome weapon! Of course Musashi could easily have killed you with an oar even if you were an expert swordsman armed with a longsword like this! I am sure that he'd have killed you even easier with one like this though! Fact is he probably could've killed anyone with a penknife no matter what kind of blade they had. Well anyway I think he'd have been honored to own such a fine blade! Interesting thing to think about: The famous duel at Ganryu where Musashi defeated his opponent with a modified boat oar was against one Kojiro Sasaki. It's believed that Kojiro studied a style of swordsmanship that specialized in this very type of sword. As some of you probably already know, Musashi arrived late to the duel with a makeshift weapon, putting Kojiro into a compromised metal state. I've also heard the reason Musashi chose to whittle an oar into a weapon for the duel was because it was slightly longer than Kojiro's nodachi. Goes to show that a good weapon is preferable, but a good strategy is key.
June 3, 201214 yr Author Hello: Ok it's not that heavy..under 4 lbs, due to the shape of the cross section and the distal taper..it's just so gawshawful looong that if you aren't use to a blade of that length you get tangled up quickly. Not many of these surived thanks to the Supmptuary Laws that the Shogunate passed limiting the length of blades.. Most were either cut down to Katana or given as temple offerings..as religious offerings were excluded from the limits. It is a nasty sword, and the polish was a bear and I am still not done with it..I am going to re-wrap the grip with a deeper blue Ito....I think it would match better... JPH
June 16, 201214 yr Author <<TEACH ME MASTER!!!!>> Huh?? Seriously I wish I could find some youngster (<30) that was in my general area and was serious about learning and had that fire in the belly that is needed in this craft..Sigh... As the wizard said in "Willow": No apprentice this year... JPH... I just signed the contract with Paladin Press for book IV!!
June 16, 201214 yr I just signed the contract with Paladin Press for book IV!! Sigh... I still need to get books II and III. So, my reading list is about to grow again. Eastern swords aren't my thing, but the techniques used to make them are worth studying to improve my skills. They are truly beautiful and this one is no exception.
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