Properly Dismantling A Katana.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I take my martial arts very seriously.

Then get your butt into a dojo and stop screwing around in your backyard.

[neko kenshi]

[quote=Alan Molstad]I worry that the handle might have been glued on to keep you from seeing the tang...
[quote]

Based on pictures I've seen, I think that particular Paul Chen blade does have a decent nakago. I'm not sure why it's glued in, probably just for added security. *shrugs* I don't know that much about those kind of swords...

[D.Benton]

Common theme here? Visit a dojo, find a sensei! Plenty of online resources available to find a JSA that suits your interest.

I've had similar questions involving dismantling iaito that turned into learning experiences not only for myself but for others in class as well. Thankfully I had an instructor available.

Seem like people here are a little put off by the do-it-yourself attitude? I've only practiced Iai for a meager 4 years, which is a drop in the bucket compared to many of the folks that post quality information concerning a hobby/passion that most of us are fortunate to pursue in our free time. 4 years of training with a sensei has shown me a brief glimpse of a path or michi that many have travelled. It is all at once; compelling, difficult, rewarding, frustrating, humbling, and not at all what I expected it to be. Without my instructors I would be in a much different place, but I never would have thought to take up Kendo or Iaido without instruction.

Pay a little visit to The Iaido Journal Read the article Iaido wa hitotsu:kokoro

Originally posted by onrayvenswings
I'm sure the farmers that fought against the shogunate's samurai and won didn't consider themselves inferior - and yes, without sensei.

I'd like to know what specific historical instance you are referring to and how does your situation resemble theirs?

[Fred27]

I'd like to know what specific historical instance you are referring to and how does your situation resemble theirs?

I'm willing to bet money that he is referring to the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-38. It started out as a farmer/peasant-uprising due to mistreatment among other things.

But i agree, find a dojo, train, get better. Veterans of Iaido and Tameshigiri never use a shinken lightly. Doing it on your own is a good way of getting yourself or someone else closeby killed.

[Alan Molstad]

Based on pictures I've seen, I think that particular Paul Chen blade does have a decent nakago.
I'm not sure why it's glued in, probably just for added security. ..

I seem to remember reading on this forum about some brand of swords that had the maker adding glue as a means to not have to get phone calls from sword owners about a handle that rattles.
I think someone said that what some makers do is fill up the space around the tang with glue.,,,

However I dont know what brand it was...

If it's true that the tang is a type thats correct in the lines, then the handle might just be stuck. Im not really sure how to tap a really stuck handle off. But I bet this happens all the time to swords.

I guess off hand I would do a GOOGLE search for the same type of sword and try to find another person with that sword to email.
Or I would attempt to contact the maker : find their website or phone number.

if i found out that there is a 50-50 chance that the handle is bonded to the tang, I might just say "Forget it"....
It's too much work to grind off a handle just to have to cut out a new one .

99.9999 % of the people that look at the sword would never ask about the handle anyway....

[Mr. T.]

Woohooo... new ninjer to harass

Mr, onrayvenswings,

OK kid here is the best advise anyone on this forum can give you (and has been given many times before):

FIND YOURSELF A DOJO stupid

Dedicated or not, you're a accident waiting to happen. You have no formal training at all, non. This means no-one has told you the do's and don't of the JSAs. I'm a nice guy so I'' give you a few pointers. Don't use a live blade until you're ready AND YOU ARE NOT READY! It takes several years in a legit dojo before you're capable of handling a sharp blade, if you don't train at a dojo, you will never be capable of handling a blade without being a danger to yourself and those around you. It really doesn't matter how dedicated you are. I won't be allowed to use a live blade until I reach sandan (3rd dan). This means I still have to train with dedication for several years before I'm ready. I've heard about the accidents, trust me, not pretty. A sword is a devise used to kill and mutilate and you won't be the first idiot that kill himself or gets seriously injured because you don't know how to use it (even though you think you do).

Now about your sword problem, if you had a sensei in a proper JSA he could have helped you out So be a good little boy and give up this backyard BS before you hurt yourself and make a complete @$$ of yourself and join a dojo. Put that piece of ... (I'm not a PC fan) away and leave the dangerous stuff to the experts.

Oh and about the untrained farmers used in combat, the only reason they went into battle without proper training was because they where more afraid of their own commander than the enemy. They didn't volunteer to go into battle without proper armament and untrained, (maybe you wouldn't mind) they where forced.

[rottunpunk]

indeedy mr ray
whether or not you are a backyard ninjer is a subjective point i guess
what previous experience have you had if you dont mind me asking
only theres nothing in your profile

people are not trying to be rude to you here
it is in your own interests to get yourself to a dojo, and learn how to use a sword safely etc

good luck

[Alan Molstad]

I have been thinking about what if it's just a real stuck handle?

If I were 100% sure that the tang is not bonded to the handle, and that it was made to come off but has become stuck due to the swelling of the wood, and will NOT come off no matter how much I tried with just my hands, then I would do:

I might try to stick the blade of the sword in a leather wrapped vice of some kind. I would not want to scratch the blade so the leather would need to be clean and very thick, holding onto the sword just above the handle.

Then I would wrap the handle also in leather and hold down on it with a vicegrips. and then tap the grips down .
after a couple of hits the handle should start to come off. It it was not starting to come off, then I would not know what else to try.

A really stuck handle is going to have to be a handle you replace anyway, therefore as you no longer care to save it, you could just unwrap it and grind it off and make a all new handle.

[kar]

you guys are snob losers

[chidokan]

Note number one for self taught people. Do not cut from right to left with the left leg forward. WW2 officers found out the hard way that you usually cut the left knee cap off.
Do not swing it like an axe.... do not use the arm muscles etc etc etc
This and other gems on how to use a sword is best learnt from someone who has practised for a long time and has found out stuff like this.

The more you practise at home without instruction, the more embedded the bad habits get. Having a low level teacher is almost as bad, but at least you all make the same mistakes and can be correted together if a high grade turns up.

[Bennosuke]

you guys are snob losers

dare???

[Alan Molstad]

N Do not cut from right to left with the left leg forward..

Thats good advice,
but as far as the handle goes, I still think that if it's bonded on and will not pop off no matter what you might try, then unless the guy wants to leave good enough alone , (not a bad idea) the only thing left to do is grind off the handle and start over with making a new one.

I made a few handles for kats, and it's not that hard.
would be nice to use the old handle as a pattern however...

[Mr. T.]

you guys are snob losers

Yeah, so what? What's your excuse?

[Julian D]

you guys are snob losers

Ouch man, that hurts

[tilt]

Happy trails to you all, and best of luck with your swordsmanship.

Not all Kendoka are obsessed with swords in the way that teenagers think we are. I practise Kendo - which, if you haven't noticed, does not involve swords. The fact we use sword 'substitutes' does NOT mean that we are all working on our sword skills for the next opportunity when we can wave around a live blade, or enter into combat in the service of the Emperor.

I am committed to and engrossed by Kendo, as are the other members of my dojo, but most of us are not sword owners - there are others who do other "real sword" disciplines, but it seems to me that Kendo is a good starting place for an interest in swords. To approach Kendo demonstrating an amateur knowledge of "Samurai Swords" would be embarrassing. Just look at the teeny metallers who turn up for one session and are disappointedly perplexed by the tedious grind of footwork and the minutiae of Kata.

The phrase "There's more to fishing than catching fish" applies to Kendo. Although I am an advocate of Sport Kendo, I am exploring the spiritual and metaphorical aspects more and more, and it is these concepts that at the moment give me the "Kendo grin".

I think films like "Kill Bill" are a great social filter for our Art - the reality appears too much like hard work.