Looking for books about crafting japanese swords.

[Don Babcock]

Hello all

I apolagize if this has been asked before, but I have been searching around for awhile and haven't been able to find exactly what I have been looking for. I recently ordered 2 books on this subject (awaiting their arrival). The books are The Craft of the Japanese Sword and The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing.

What I was wondering is if there are any more reference type books like these two that go more in depth on making the saya, wrapping the ito, making the fittings (tsuba, seppa, habaki, menuki...)...

The other question I had was for anybody that has read The Craft of the Japanese Sword. I know this book is highly recomended on this site, but there doesn't appear to be a book review on it. What I was wondering is how in depth does this book get on the various aspects of the forging of the blade, the making of the fittings, the making of the saya, the making/wrapping of the handle... The answer to this second question might make my first question a moot point depending on if this book goes into great detail about the various other aspects of the manufacturing of the japanese sword.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime I will continue my search and impatiently await the arrival of my books. Thanks in advance for any help that might be forthcoming.

[GarethB]

The two books you've ordered are intended to show people what the smith and other craftsmen do to make Japanese swords and their fittings but those books are not intended to be instruction manuals to teach other people how to do the work involved. That doesn't mean the books are worthless to you, far from it. They would be an excellent starting point to give an overview of what is involved in making Japanese swords and their fittings, they're just not instruction manuals.

If you're serious about this, there are some other books that are more practical in terms of helping you to get started in sword/fitting making.

Jim Hrisloulas is a respected custom sword maker who has written several books specifically aimed at people who want to try their hand at making swords and knives. Jim has his own web site and forums at the site in the following link.

http://www.atar.com/old/index.php?mo...N_position=6:6

As for your other questions, I have the first book you mentioned, The Craft of the Japanese sword. It follows the entire process of forging the blade, polishing it, making the habaki and then a basic saya (scabbard) in a step by step fashion with lots of photos end explainations all the way through, but it doesn't spend a lot of space on the exact details of the techniques used in each step of the sword's progress. It also doesn't mention how to prepare and wrap a tsuka (grip) because the blade made in that book is given a shirasaya (a plain storage scabbard). Here's another link to a page that gives some details on ito wrapping, and while it's information can be useful if you want to try it yourself, it doesn't go into all the little "tips of the trade" and fine details that can make the difference between a poor wrap and a good one.

http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm

I can't comment on the polishing book personally, but I have briefly discussed it on another forum with a polisher in the US who saw a pre-release version of it and who said that it's similar in nature to the Craft book. It explains what is done during each stage of the polishing (in more detail than in the Craft book) but it does not try to be an instruction manual on how to do it yourself.

[Don Babcock]

Gareth thanks for the reply. I am familair with the books by Jim Hrisoulas as I also own The Complete Bladesmith. There is a small section in that book about japanese style swords and how they were forged, but it is a very small general overview. I haven't bought the other two books that he has written because it seems that he mostly does knives and euro blades (not what I am looking for). He does great work and he goes into great detail in his books, but what I was looking for more specifically was books on the crafting of Japanese style blades and the various parts to be able to mount it in the traditional fashion.

I have found many online tutorials, but I was looking to start a small reference library of books on this topic.

[Tommy Gilliam]

Give me another year and you can buy my book...lol

In all seriousness though I focus primarily from the tsuba back on a sword's mount and I know your meaning in the question. Is there an actual "here's how it's done" book out there with plenty of photos/text explaining and more to the point why its done this or that way. Actual photos of a few different tsukamaki types and how it's done and the tricks to doing it...etc.

If there is a book that does exist it is the best kept secret out there man.

I've searched through the USA and Japan to no avail.

I'm writing one but am only up to the chapters pertaining to same kawa. In the end it will be about 200 pages and include pretty much everything like I said from the tsuba back. The rest of the sword/saya isn't in my scope of interest so won't be covered mainly due to my lack of knowledge and lack of interest in them. It will be a beginner's book written to walk one through from carving the tsuka, shaping, fitting skin, fitting fittings, tsukamaki probably hineri,katate, hira & tsumami covered. There will even be a chapter on making kusune (traditional tsukamaki glue) as it takes about a week to get ready for use.

I'd also recommend purchasing "The tachio and sageo art" It's a book I bought from ebay (yes he has plenty) so do a search for japanese art books and you should find a few folks who carry it. It explains all the popular sageo tying methods as well as detailed instructions on tying a sageo for a tachi mount. Keep in mind though its entirely in Japanese though.

[Don Babcock]

Tommy, when will your book be finished!

Thanks for the reply, and it was what I was expecting for an answer. I have been doing a lot of searching on line and haven't found any books on the subject at all, although I have found a few really good pictoral tutorials (mainly found them through this site) on how to do a few things.

I am currently a blacksmith who is learning the art of bladesmithing (primarily knives). However, I am also looking into learning the art of forging and mounting the japanese style blade (mainly for my own use/collection). I am interested in all aspects of the blade and mounting. I like to have sole ownership on the creation of all of my work. The only thing that my wife does for my end product is to make the leather sheath for the knives because she feels left out if I don't let her do at least something to help.