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I don't often have enough footage to follow right on through, but this project gets close...there are a couple of exceptions, the main one being the blade forging which is actually footage of the sister blade, forged around the same time from the other half of the same spring, to a similar kata...others will be noted as i go...enjoy 100 some hours in 22 minutes ^__^ This style of koshirae is a first for me. Though there are examples of several variations right up through Edo and beyond, the lines on this one are inspired by a muromachi piece, the clean, austere "boldness with restraint" makes me think of a gentleman's tanto. Normally I would want to add a very slight bit of embellishment on the saya, but because of its next stop I left it unadorned for now. The blade is forged from a reclaimed horse-drawn carriage spring made from century-old shear steel. Materials for the koshirae include copper bus bar for the habaki, driftwood Nootka Cypress with natural urushi lacquer finish for the tsuka and saya, reclaimed Congolese silver jewelery for the mekugi pin, and local Oceanspray ironwood for the ki-fuchi, koiguchi, and kurikata accents. going from here: to here: Charcoal Making (may or may not be the actual charcoal used for this blade) Forging the Blade (the sister blade, forged just before this one, from the other half of the same shear steel leaf spring, full 28min. version is here: ) Yaki-ire (this is a montage of several blades, possibly including this one) Blade Overview (this is another montage, but starts with the sister blade--same spring, and shows more of the stages involved after forging) Koshirae (the real deal, starting from driftwood) Urushi (the real deal, with several repetitive stages omitted...apologies for the low lighting in some of the shots) The full photo essay with far more detail and info is here: islandblacksmith.ca/process/making-aikuchi-tanto-kuro-urushi-koshirae ...i don't have blade photos without reflection yet, "kimono fold" double mizukage, suguha hamon with small turnback, lots of blistery shear steel hada...(shown with tsunagi and ki-habaki)