"Tsuba" have been either nickel-silver, brass, or a mixture of Pure Iron (a
commercial product with wrought iron properties) and pure nickel that was hot blued
(lower right image above). Habachi are copper and 'sodered' with Phos-copper.
The handles are stabilized wood and the 'pins' are actually 8x32 Allen cap screws
inserted into a countersunk hole and screwed into tapped holes in the tangs.
The pommels are either nickel-silver or brass,
have an elongated 'spur' extending into the handle and are secured with a cross-pin
and epoxy.
After you have made the habachi (see instructions above), the tang will be tapered
such that the habachi location is the widest spot (otherwise, how do you get it
on and off?), and have a guard/tsuba that fits, you will need to somehow get a glove
fit between the tang and the cavity of the handle. The first step is to sand the
handle-to-guard interface on the handle to as close as a perfect match as you can.
A little extra time here is worth it. Once that is done, I place a thick coat of
vasoline or silicon O-ring lubricant on the habachi, guard
and tang. I then fill the cavity with epoxy (colored with Brownell's Epoxy colorant),
slide the handle firmly in place (a gentle whack with a wood mallet seems to help), and
wipe off the excess epoxy (acetone helps a lot).
I've adapted a chalking gun to act as a clamp. After the epoxy sets up, a gentle
whack with a wood punch on the guard will pop the handle off. You can usually peal
off the thin coat of epoxy that filled the guard-handle interface (especially if you
greased the wood before putting the epoxy on).
Once the pommel is installed and the handle rough finished, I trace the outline
of the tang on the handle and decide where I want the hole for the allen screw
to be. For an 8x32 screw, a #29 bit is required for the tap. The handle is placed
on the tang, firmly pressed to the guard, and locked in the vise on the drill press.
I've learned that gentle pressure, a couple of scrap thin pieces of wood to line
the vise jaws, and a scrap block underneath are GOOD ideas. Cracking a handle is a
real PITA (how do I know?? {grin}). Once I drilled through the tang with the #29 bit
(taking care not to punch all the way through the handle), the blade is slipped
out and a 5/16" bit is used to open the hole out to the diameter of the shaft of
the bolt. I fabricated a step-drill (5/16" on the narrow, 0.22" on the wide) from
an old 1/4" bit and I use that to create the countersunk cylinderical hole for the
head of the Allen screw. I usually also drill the pin hole that secures the
pommel at the same time. After the drilling is over, I'll reassemble the knife
and start the tap through the hole - that seems to insure alignment of the tang
hole and socket for the screw.
The last step is the insertion and epoxing of the pommel pin, the final sanding and
buffing of the handle, the cleanup of the fittings,
and a hot wax coat on all surfaces (including the tang).
The next step will be the creation of throat-rings for sheaths and the handle and
the adaptation of that technique to make a socket pommel. The rayskin and lacing
will come after that!
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lacing tsuka
