KITH WIP- kusarigama

[Zeb Camper]

Thanks guys. I think it's salvagable. It just needs some surgery.

[Zeb Camper]

Got started on the copper furrell and reshaped the blade. Next is to grind, file, and sand the blade.

[Jeremy Blohm]

Hell yeah looking good. I got a little start on my KITH today but ran out of charcoal. My last charcoal run didn't go as good as i had hoped. After digging it out of 2 foot of snow i found it was only half charcoal.

[Zeb Camper]

Thanks man. I saw your split barrel. Good luck with all that! 

 I'm going to bring the furrell further back before its all over with I think. Here's the design I may try to engrave. I would have rolled the top too, but I decided it should be open, or capped at the top because if it had 2 rolled beads it would lose some of it's ability to snag a pole arm.... In theory.

[Zeb Camper]

Hey guys, been thinking about this kusarigama... I don't wanna do it anymore. I have to either make 3 yards of chain (not gonna happen) or buy Lowes chain (can't bring myself to do it). 

I DO WANT TO DO KITH, so I am currently thinking of new Ideas. Did ninjas use ko-wakazashis? Or, maybe tantos? I can probably put some ninja themed carving or painting on the saya (maybe both).

I had thought of a dagger from skyrim, but I can't steel Wesley's thunder. I don't wanna do a tomahawk unless I get my welding forge built quick (not going back to coal). 

I can't think of anything else. I could make something up, but then It is more of a personal piece, and I want others to be able to relate. 

Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Joshua States]

1 hour ago, Zeb Camper said:

I can't think of anything else. I could make something up, but then It is more of a personal piece, and I want others to be able to relate. 

Personal is good. Probably the best choice IMNSHO. 

[Vern Wimmer]

What's wrong with a kama?  I'm sure it was still useful to the ninja. As a matter of fact since part of their concealment techniques were hiding in plain sight and blending in the kama without chain would be a farmer's tool. 

[Jeremy Blohm]

It would still be cool without the chain or if you made the chain you don't have to weld each link just make that part a decorative part bit the rest fully functional. And it doesn't have to be 3 yards either. But if you don't wanna do it another dagger would be cool also. They seem like they have been used In rituals and in all kinds of lore in games, movies, and historically. 

[Zeb Camper]

Yeah, I kinda fell out of love with the kama.... I gotta think of something else.

[Jeremy Blohm]

22 minutes ago, Zeb Camper said:

Yeah, I kinda fell out of love with the kama.... I gotta think of something else.

I might do something else myself I have been planni g on doing a dagger but I'm not 100% sure yet. I have a couple other things I was thinking about so you might not be the only one to change your mind.

[Zeb Camper]

There is a tale about an old sword maker by the name of "Yukihira" who was approached by a strange young man with an unusual hairstyle and crow feathers in his dress. 

The young man told Yukihira he and his family were exiled by his village and wanted a sword to take his revenge. Yukihira was also exiled once. He understood the strange boy's want for revenge. They arranged a date for the young man to return to get his sword. 

Yukihira was suffering from hip pain and had only gotten the first part of the polishing of the sword done when the stranger returned. The smith apologized many times, but the stranger just threw the blade over his shoulder and left. Old Yukihira yelled after him "the sword doesn't even have a hilt!".

The stranger returned smiling from ear to ear with fire in his eyes, gleaming in memoriam to the bloodlust staved on that day. Revenge seemed to drip from his teeth when he let out a blood curddling laugh (<--Ok I added that part). He happily told Yukihira that his sword performed perfectly and that he had killed all of them with no mercy. Seeing Yukihira in worse shape than before, he offered his services as an apprentice to repay Yukihira for his great service. 

The stranger forged an excellent sword with only oral directions from his new master. Meanwhile, his master grew weaker, and his pain grew sharper. The young apprentice approaced his master with a large sum of gold coins and told him to go and buy all the raw matierials he liked. 

One day when they met again, the apprentice saw his master's worsening condition. He told Yukihira he ought not be working at all, and offered his services once more. In three years time the young smith forged 66 swords and daggers which he then hid in a mountain cave for Yukihira to sell.

He told his master what he had accomplished. Yukihira thanked him in tears, but the stranger continued. He said that when he killed all those villagers the diety Brahma appeared and said he'd better hide three years for what he's done. And so, he thought it best to spend those three years with the one person who had welcomed him.

After that the young man dissapeared without ever being heard from again. Yukihira slowly regained what strength he had lost when the boy was in his service. He realized the boy was actually a demonic god, and noticed the swords he made were of superior quality and were sharp as hell (pun intended). 

So.... I'm gonna make a demonic wakizashi. 

 

Edited January 18, 2018 by Zeb Camper

[Zeb Camper]

Or, perhaps a magical blade made by Masamune who was a wise, patient, kind man who allegedly embued his traits into every blade. It is said the blades would only cut what it's user intended, and each blade was a work of art as much as an instrument of war.

 Unlike Marumasa who was a hateful man that put his anger and rage into every blade, making it dangerouse to everyone around it. 

I think I've got something to work with here anyway.

[Zeb Camper]

Here's the type of blade I'm thinking (just longer than I have it drawn).

[Jeremy Blohm]

I like that...a demonic wakizashi sounds bad a$$ to me!

Edited January 18, 2018 by Jeremy Blohm

[Zeb Camper]

Thanks! we shall see if it turns into an evil lookin knife or a more fair and beautiful knife once the blade is forged. Perhaps I could yell at while forging it to embue it with hate and anger. Maybe thats how Marumasa did it . Or, I could whisper sweet nothings... "It's ok, you get up to heat whenever you feel like it my beautiful little waky."

Edited January 18, 2018 by Zeb Camper
spelin N gramr

[JeffM]

On 1/2/2018 at 3:16 PM, Joshua States said:

I think there is a loophole here. The definition in the document is: (l) the weapon sometimes known as a “kusari gama”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle;

So don't attach the two parts and you do not have the weapon as defined.

ship them in 2 separate boxes a few weeks apart...

 

[JeffM]

Call it the sword of stunning...

 

Edited January 19, 2018 by JeffM

[Zeb Camper]

That aint worth a velvet painting of a dolphin and a whale gettin it on. It's just about the most rediculouse thing I've seen to date. 

[Vern Wimmer]

..and the winner in the category "most embarrassing thing to admit you own" is........

[Zeb Camper]

In an artsy fartsy state of mind... 

[Zeb Camper]

He heard drums of war beat like thunder, arrows fell like the rain, and the clammor of battle crashed like lightning. But still felt the breeze carrying the currents like the crane cascading down through the valley.

 He saw waves of men collide like the ocean onto the rocky shore. Still he knew the tides diligently came bearing their bounty. An honorable death.

The hard steel cut down fathers and sons like wheat at harvest, but he thought of the mountain standing tall, and the soil that gave it's nourishment to his new seed.

Fires burned like the hatred that filled the hearts of some, but had also given him warmth and refuge from the cold nights. He thought of his family; watching the flames at the same moment as he.

And so was the young soldier; swift as the wind, dillegent as the tide, steady as the mountain, and shielding as the fire. 

His swords were forged from the same black sands on the shore that his family would gather their food; in the same fire he watched with them in mind. He gave the swords life in the water from the same ocean that gave sustenance to his family. It was one year ago since he made the blades, they gave him hope and the courage to fight to live for another. 

He was tought by a man named Masamune. He was a great, honorable, patient, loving man, who had shown him how to embue swords with the likeness of their creator. Part of his soul lived within his blades. And so, he fought with an extention of himself. The blades like his senses never dulled; like his courage, they never broke; like his love, they persevered. 

Edited January 23, 2018 by Zeb Camper
sorry, inspiration struck late last night, no time to edit

[JeffM]

On 1/20/2018 at 12:04 AM, Vern Wimmer said:

..and the winner in the category "most embarrassing thing to admit you own" is........

LOL....I don't own it I found the video on youtube...but ya gotta admit if you could put a good quality blade together AND have it stun someone at the same time it cuts them...it would be highly amusing...

[Zeb Camper]

On 1/22/2018 at 12:53 AM, Zeb Camper said:

He heard drums of war beat like thunder, arrows fell like the rain, and the clammor of battle crashed like lightning. But still felt the breeze carrying the currents like the crane cascading down through the valley.

 He saw waves of men collide like the ocean onto the rocky shore. Still he knew the tides diligently came bearing their bounty. An honorable death.

The hard steel cut down fathers and sons like wheat at harvest, but he thought of the mountain standing tall, and the soil that gave it's nourishment to his new seed.

Fires burned like the hatred that filled the hearts of some, but had also given him warmth and refuge from the cold nights. He thought of his family; watching the flames at the same moment as he.

And so was the young soldier; swift as the wind, dillegent as the tide, steady as the mountain, and shielding as the fire. 

His swords were forged from the same black sands on the shore that his family would gather their food; in the same fire he watched with them in mind. He gave the swords life in the water from the same ocean that gave sustenance to his family. It was one year ago since he made the blades, they gave him hope and the courage to fight to live for another. 

He was tought by a man named Masamune. He was a great, honorable, patient, loving man, who had shown him how to embue swords with the likeness of their creator. Part of his soul lived within his blades. And so, he fought with an extention of himself. The blades like his senses never dulled; like his courage, they never broke; like his love, they persevered. 

Just wanted to add that the point of "swords" (plural) in this story was in reference to a samurai's dasho. The katana was used for fighting, and the wakizashi was more of a symbol of commitment, honor, and status. It was only taken off when they went to sleep. 

Just wanted to say this Is the story I'm going with. I was very proud of it when I wrote it. I aim to make the wakizashi with elements from the story in it's design (but not too much) it may loose some of it's magic if I take it too far. 

Thanks Josh! The more personal story looks better than the poorly translated and paraphrased one. 

If you guys have any kick@$$ design ideas I'd love to hear them! 

Edited January 24, 2018 by Zeb Camper
derned grammar.

[Zeb Camper]

I started with a 3/8"x1 1/2" piece of 1075. While I set out for a hira zukuri with a false edge; I decided instead to go with the flow.... if your woundering why the blade is taking on so many shapes in the picture; it's because I didn't bend the blade far enough in the wrong direction before I forged the bevels. So, I had to use me shwacker alot. 

The blade is near halfway done, I'll start draw filing ASAP. 

Thanks fer lookin'!

[Zeb Camper]

I wish I had taken more pictures of the nakago being forged after hot cutting the back off (a video would've been cool), but oh well. I'm short staffed (not staffed at all).