Kawashima Snowfall

[knightkat1]

Decided that since the finish on my Kawashima Snowfall was getting dirty and banged up that I'd refinish it and reshape the kojiri because it looked too squared off for my taste. I plan on redoing it in white again b/c of the theme of it. Robby Doom re-wrapped the tsuka for me last year. I am also redoing the tsuba to file off the seam lines from the casting. In the album, there are pics of it before and after the rewrap, the tsuba and fittings before and after, and of the saya after sanding down to 220g, and with a wipe of mineral spirits to show the grain better., It's a really decent saya with only one little flaw that they had to fill. You can tell that this was made from one piece of wood that was split into two halves by the way the grain matches up at the seam.

Heres the saya before:
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5228/1001391xd.jpg (http://img202.imageshack.us/i/1001391xd.jpg/)
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http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2291/1001393z.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/1001393z.jpg/)
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And after sanding down to 220grit:
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6418/1001399c.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/1001399c.jpg/)
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Close-up of kojiri showing how I rounded n re-shaped it:
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6529/1001402v.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/1001402v.jpg/)
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After a quick wipe with mineral spirits to remove dust and highlight grain:
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1928/1001408a.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/1001408a.jpg/)
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Close-up of koiguchi:
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1185/1001406.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/1001406.jpg/)
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Here's the link for the whole album: http://img243.imageshack.us/g/kawashimasnowfallcustomq.jpg/

[the blade master]

nice so far lets see it finished hey:ohyeah:

[wolfhound]

Nicely done, but you might want to redo the Koijiri as it looks a little bit rude from where I'm sitting ;)

[the blade master]

well i wasnt going to say anything but now you mention it=))=))
i wonder how willy shaped saya is pronounced in japanese

mako dot any ideas

[wolfhound]

Mick, I think historically the Youbutsu style Koijiri was there to really bugger your enemy after you'd cut him down =))

[knightkat1]

Finally got it primed, painted, and polyurethaned. Let it cure for the past several days before reapplying the shitodome and re-wrapping the sageo. It's all basically the same as it was, just with a more durable finish.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/626/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg/)
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http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/626/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg/)
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http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2396/snowfallcustomizationafi.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/snowfallcustomizationafi.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/626/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg (http://img821.imageshack.us/i/snowfallcustomizationaf.jpg/)
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http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5305/1001585z.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/1001585z.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[the blade master]

Mick, I think historically the Youbutsu style Koijiri was there to really bugger your enemy after you'd cut him down =)) oooooer i bet that'll make his eye's water=))=))

[Torawashi]

Well done Mike, very nice looking....but white? You're gonna be washin' your hands a lot! ;)

[knightkat1]

Nicely done, but you might want to redo the Koijiri as it looks a little bit rude from where I'm sitting ;)

Wolfhound, all I can say is don't sit there then.

well i wasnt going to say anything but now you mention it=))=))
i wonder how willy shaped saya is pronounced in japanese

mako dot any ideas

Blade master, It wasn't my intent for it to look like that or to take on that perspective. I was kinda following the kissaki. It was my first attempt at majorly shaping the koijiri. I got tired of every saya looking the sme with the "squared off" koijiri. I don't mind the way it looks, and am rather pleased with it, all things considered. All I can say is, if you don't like the way it looks, then don't look at it.


Well done Mike, very nice looking....but white? You're gonna be washin' your hands a lot! ;)

Torawashi,
I went with white because it was the original color. All I did was reshape and refinish to give it a better, more durable finish. The old was starting to get scratched and dinged up from moving it around so much. Robby Doom rewrapped the ito for me some time back. The last pic shows it paired with my Musashi Akuma. It is paired with it for a reason. I paired them together as a show of the duality of man, yin n yang, good and evil. Here in the west, we look at white as light, purity, and goodness. Black as darkness and evil. We wear black to our funerals as a symbol of mourning. In the east, it is the opposite. They wear white to funerals and as a sign of mourning. Plus, with the dark theme of the Akuma (which means devil) I also wanted something to balance that out. I'm not worried about it getting any dirt or anything on it. I don't handle it very much, and I keep the plastic wrap on the tsuka (which Robby put on after completing the tsukamaki) to keep any dust and dirt off. Someday when I can afford it, I'm going to have the ito redone on the Akuma to match the Snowfall. There is method to my madness.

[the blade master]

hi nightkat
we all know what you were trying to achive so lighten up my friend we were just having a bit a of gentle
fun there was no slight or sarcasm intended by wolf or me ok
mick

[wolfhound]

wolfhound, all i can say is don't sit there then.


lol =))

Valiant attempt but I personally think that you got a much better shape to the Kojiri on your Musashi Gekkou Katana.

[Caliper]

woa! the maki has sure taken a beating!! all dirty

the reshaped saya at the end is so cool!! keep it up man!
there's something about white themed katanas :karate: