Katana Quest

[Shadowseeker]

*From: Castin (ID:44497)

My home village had a blacksmith that made anything from horseshoes to the guard weapons and as children we was allowed to watch the process to see who could become the blacksmiths apprentice so I can advise you from what I remember

Melt the iron into a thinner length of metal the length of a yard and the width of a childs hand

Mark out the outline for the blade and hammer and file into shape

(our black smith put in crushed egg shell to certain items to make the item glitter and shine, perhaps an angien shell would imbue magical properties??)

Keep filing the blade edge to sharpen

Once the blade has been made and the shape and edge are to your liking the allow to cool leave to one side

Make a metal plate with the rest of the metal to put between the blade and the handle

Puncture the middle of the plate to allow the blade base to fit through

<if you used the eggshell then perhaps melt afew silver coins instead of using iron for the plate>

The finished produce will have a better look and gleam

The handle should be made from the same material as the sheath of the blade so once closed it looks a complete unit

In this regard the ebony plank would be used.

Cut a length of wood long enough for the handle length you wish and cut centre of it to be able to insert the end of the blade into the handle.

The remainder of the wood you can split to be able to cut down and glue together to form a case for the blade itself

Put the metal end of the blade (not the blade edge) through the metal plate and into the handle and tighten with leather straps and glue to lock into place.

Polish the blade to a shine and fit into the sheath to have your katana

I am sorry I couldn’t go into further detail…I didn’t get the apprentiship but was an interesting summer learning and I can make a fine horseshoe <chuckles>



*From: Reverie (ID:176602)
*sent 10 hours and 3 minutes ago
Untitled
Hey there, it's me again. Let me take a shot at guessing the sword you want to make.

*Reverie hands over a piece of blank paper*

Suddenly, the shows the picture of a sword.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lgl/2790401028/in/photostream/

You see a katana, which is quite beautiful. It was long, not as long as a greatsword, but long enough such that only those with great stregnth and skill could wield it properly with one hand.

Then you see the sheath. This sheath was shaped from the ebody wood, with its open tip having a circlet of ornate silver around it.

You then examine the parts of the sword more carefully.

You check for the characteristics that are the trademark of the katana.

It seems as though this sword was perfectly crafted. The blade reveals a distict metallurgical gradient between the edge and its spine. The sword spine seemed softer and more malleable, but tougher,providing structure and sturdiness to the katana. On the other hand, the edge was more crystaline in nature,it was much harder, but also more brittle.The blade was polished in such a way that the edge was waving into the spine.

Although hard to determine, you feel as though the sword steel was composed of pure iron that was smelted with silver as an alloy.

The hilt guard was was also made from the iron-silver alloy, but the alloy was more silver than iron, thus providing the brilliant luster.

The grip area of the katana is made from ebony wood that was coated by silver.This part was wrapped by very fine stips of black ebony plank that were then strung together, creating a fine mesh that feels like tanned leather--a perfect sword grip.

However, more than that, you sense power, this sword was not made through ordinary physical means--there was magic involved.You sense a conflict within the sword. It is not necessarily the conflict between good and evil, but that of wanting and being unable to obtain. You sense that darkness dominates the sword,but this sword also seeks the light.

The image vanishes from the piece of paper.

Is that what you thought? I wanted the paper to reveal your thoughts on the katana, but it seems to have projected some of mine too. Well, I guess that was expected, I'm not really powerful anyways (MP3).

*Reverie gets the blank paper back*

Better return this to the paper cabin. Haha.

*Reverie walks away and looks back*

You know...I think smithing isn't one-dimensional. Smiths impart their wants, their needs, their weaknesses (unfortuantely), their strengths, and what they feelto their creations. In other words, their spirit is imparted to the sword. Some spirits.....may be more magical than others.

*Reverie continues to walk away*


Ailith:
On considering what your katana would look like, I imagined a strong blade with simple an tasteful designs on the scabbard and workings of the grip. A breakdown of the individual parts is as follows:

Kashiri (Pommel)
A piece of iron with a circular surface, this would have etched into it the knight's cross, with the cross prominent.

Tsuka (grip)
Made from a section of the ebony plank, this would be polished and have a criss cross pattern etched into it to improve grip (ideally with strips of red silk tied tightly around the criss cross pattern to improve grip further). Length 10 inches, width 37mm

Fuchi (collar)
Made of a plain strip of very thin, strengthend iron

Tsuba (guard)
If you imagine the Tsuba as a separate item and held it flat in your hand, you would see a knight's cross made of iron, with a gap in the centre to house the blade and a thin circular band of iron that connects itself to the outer points of the cross.

Habaki (collar for blade below grip)
Another strip of plain iron, wider than that of the Fuchi which which fits tightly at the top of the blade under the Tsuba. (Optional: I imagine a motto inscribed tastefully in small writing onto it.. my choice of words to represent you are 'Ventas, Scientia et Gladius' meaning 'truth, knowledge and sword' )

Nagasa (Blade)
A blade of 30 inches which is made of a thin but very strong strip of treated iron, the blade itself is curved slightly, a little more at the tip. The underside edge of which is sharpened to a dangerously lethal degree. Width between 25 and 33mm, Thickness 0.26mm

Saya (scabbard)
Made of ebony, the blade is housed tightly into it. It is the same cirumferential width as the Tsuka. The surface of the Saya is carefully polished (ideally with clear varnish to protect it and make its appearance slightly glossier. The decoration is an elongated depiction of a drachorn carved into both sides. The length of which is approximately a fifth of the length of the Saya with the head at the top, so that when the blade is sheathed the head lies under the Fuchi


A sophisticated looking weapon lying at the side of your armor, and when you unsheath your sword for battle, the thin blade will sing in the air as you wield it. The decorations represent you, whilst not being overbearing, their meanings are clear.

Capital

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It's been hard to determine who wins, and since I'm in a good mood today, each of them gets a WP. Congrats.