Thought I'd share some pics of my new Iaito Katana which I purchased from the guy organising the upcoming MJER Iaijutsu seminar. I figure even if I don't actually take up Iaijutsu it'll still make a lovely display piece on the shelf in my room... :hat:
are my eyes (or possibly my monitor) deceiving me or is that PURPLE? i am SO stealing that katana if i ever find out where you live
I misheard that quenching a sword in oil gives it a purple/black finish. Any truth to this and is this what it looks like? Looks very nice.
I seam to remember that purple binding donates a daimyo or Shogun. Looks good what is the balance like? regards koyo
No truth, You can get blackening and blue by heating the metal to a specific temperature but not possible with the way a katana is made because you would ruin the tempering. You can use some chemicals to colour a blade without damaging the tempering but after the first few impacts its going to start coming off. The Bear.
Progdan After you have drawn the sword and made a few cuts or even just to show it to someone...ALWAYS tap the empty saiya and you may see tiny pieces of wood fall out. The sword can cut up the saiya when it is relaced particularly if replaced quickly. This leaves tiny pieces of wood inside the scabbard and can mark the blade. regards koyo
Thanks everybody, I'm really happy with it! Fancy a trip to Australia? The tsuka (sp?) is actually more of a greyish colour, which when displayed on my shelf next to a red wall looks kind of brown, and when taken outside just before dusk which is when the photos were taken, yeah it looks a little more purple, really cool it is. Thanks. I haven't had enough experience with swords to really compare the balance with anything, but when I hold it it doesn't seem to significantly feel either blade or handle heavy, so that's probably a good sign... Thanks for the advice, I'll remember that. I got some oil yesterday arvo also, so I intend to take good care of it.
Nice looking. Out of curiosity who did you order it through? Was it from a particular blacksmith? Another question for you... any reason you didn't buy the sword in a set? With the wakazashi as well? I understand that it's for Iaito so it's not as though you'd be wielding both of them at the same time... but just curious how that all works. Not been keeping up on my finer points of Japanese sword buying lately. Does anyone that practices Iaito wear two swords when doing so? Surely wearing the double sword combo effects the dynamics of the draw to some extent?
Thanks. I actually purchased it 'secondhand' though the guy before me had hardly used it as he as using longer swords, so I just purchased the Katana itself. Also it's Iaijutsu (which also covers battle arts with elements of Kenjutsu etc.), not Iaido (which I believe is just the actual drawing of the sword) and afaik they usually only wear the 1 sword anyway... Don't quote me on that though, as I'm quite the novice in this area. The maker I'm not sure about, but it was originally purchased by the previous owner from a local store who I have dealings with (coincidentally), and they've been around a while and seem to know what they're on about, they're on about.
Congrats on the nice iaito! what's the specs (length, tsuka length,POB, ect) should serve you well, till you out grow it.
What system do you practice? The terms iaido and iaijutsu can be extremely interchangeable - and to be honest, when I hear someone (other than TSKSR people) referring to their art quite strongly as iaijutsu, a little red flag of ego goes up. I just use 'iai' for simplicity.
I don't actually practice it (yet?) however the people I'm in contact with, and the upcoming seminar is for Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu as it is referred to on the advertisement etc. and the seminar is with GM Sekiguchi...
This seminar was yesterday arvo, and I wrote a journal entry about it here: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=89#e1014 if anyone is interested...
