more creativity

[sunnybob]

I wanted a change from making boxes, so i did something completely different;

 

[MikeG.]

That's a bit dull for you, Bob. Just a plain white shelf......









The sword thingies on the stand look nice, though.

 

[gregmcateer]

That's a bit dull for you, Bob. Just a plain white shelf......

Oh, I like that shelf, Mike. And Bob did include a small piece of mirror!!

I like the Samurai swords someone left on your nice shelf, SunnyB =D>

 

[sunnybob]

Huh, creativity is wasted on you lot. Thats an ikea chest of drawers. not a shelf! I bought it because I needed something to hold those damn swords because i kept tripping over them when they were in the hall.
You can see the drawers better in this pic, plus the unique reflection of the mirror.

 

[Jon.1976]

The ikea chest is ok, but the swords are excellent. I made one a while ago after watching a YouTube video. Not a patch on yours though.

 

[sunnybob]

Thanks Jon.
heres another shot of the drawers, its the least cluttered pic I have :wink:

 

[ColeyS1]

They look superb !! The grain on the handle makes it look almost like an estwing leather hammer handle- very smart

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Chris152]

Any chance of a summary of how you make these, Bob?

 

[sunnybob]

Chris, I make it up as I go along really.
I did look up the standard lengths of the handles and blades to get proportions roughly correct, but after that its just a case of drawing a shape on the wood, cutting on the bandsaw, and then sanding. LOTS and LOTS of sanding! :shock: :shock:

The blades are bubinga, the handles of the two smaller ones are heat treated rippled sycamore, very kindly supplied by custard's off cuts bin, and the long one is rippled sycamore (no, he doesnt have any more).

Reduce the width of the bubinga for the tang, make the handle in two halves, rout out the centres for the tang, and put back together again.
The guards are teak circles slotted to slip over the tang before the handle is fitted, and then teak supports in front of the guards.
The brass end caps are cut from 3 mm plate, and secured on with epoxy and then some large diameter heat shrink cable sheathing slipped over each end of the handle.
Not traditional or faithfully accurate in any way, but anyone who has the real thing would not be interested in wood anyway.
Its very difficult to take pics of long objects, I cant seem to manage to get enough detail in unless I take several pics.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks - I think we're going to have a go at one of these.

 

[sunnybob]

I made one in beech, for a man who actually does have the genuine article. He wanted it as a "bokken" or practice sword. That one was 15 mm width on the whole length to give it enough strength to swing around and occasionally hit something . The leading edge was fully rounded, and I wrapped the handle with cord for grip.

 

[gregmcateer]

They are really lovely specimens, Bob.
An aikido (I think?), club use the dojo where my kids do judo and the swords in their rack aren't a patch on those beauties you've made. Well done, sir.
(And apologies for the childish comments earlier)
Greg the Philistine

 

[Chris152]

I think the blunt version might be safer in our house.

Greg, if you're thinking of Kendo, apparently (I know nothing but googled it) 'Shinai is a bamboo practice sword used by Kendo practitioners for sparring training, whereas the Bokken, a wooden Japanese sword, is more often used to get the feel of a real sword, during kata practice for example.'

 

[sunnybob]

Greg, funny is good. I keep telling everybody that when they get mad at me for being funny. :lol:

Chris, from what I have been told (no personal experience of any martial art), kendo use big sticks, almost like little johns quarter staff.

The bokken is used to practice muscle memory without actually killing everybody in the room. the guy I made it for said he would stand with the sword above his head as though going to behead someone, and then swing the sword down hard and stop it a few inches above the floor. According to him, he would do this 1,000 times a DAY!
I'd rather practice lifting something (like a pint) 5 or 6 times a day 8)

 

[Tasky]

Not traditional or faithfully accurate in any way, but anyone who has the real thing would not be interested in wood anyway.

Wouldn't we?

I have a few bokken (Japanese red oak, if I recall), alongside a pair of katanas from back when I had an interest in things like Iaido. That interest gave way to European martial arts, though, which was much cheaper as almost any old stick would suffice and didn't need working to shape.

There is still a market for cruciform hilt wooden swords, Dussacks and the like, if you were interested.

 

[sunnybob]

Interesting, but a quick surf shows dussaks availabe for under $40.
Thats not going to cover the materials and postage, let alone my 50 cents per hour labour charges.

Luckily I make stuff that I want to make, at the speed I want to make it. If someone comes along later and buys it, thats a bonus. No way am I getting into making to order at my age. :roll:

I was forced into going to a craft fair last sunday, as I currently have more boxes than my missus wants on the sideboard. What a farce. Not one sale in 4 hours. The only person selling stuff was a guy who was making pretty good scroll saw xmas decorations from 3/16" pine. Way better than I can do. He was selling them for peanuts. I told him he was too cheap for the work he does. he said "yes, everybody tells me that, but if i put a fiver on, they dont sell.

I have much better ways to spend my weekends.

 

[memzey]

Lovely chest of drawers bob.

Swordy things aren’t bad either

 

[Tasky]

Interesting, but a quick surf shows dussaks availabe for under $40.

Yeah, so?
You can find decent bokken for £5-10, yet you still went and made these.

Price isn't everything. Quality, especially the beauty of hand-made quality, still matters to some people....

 

[sunnybob]

yebbut, I made these because I wanted to, without a thought of a market. On seeing the big katana the guy asked me to make the bokken. :shock:
I'm bored with them now, time to find another shape that makes my brain hurt. 8)

Anybody made a giant clam shape for the lid of a jewellery box? =D>

 

[Chris152]

Do you mean the shape of a clam, or its shell?