My iaito's habaki is loose to the point that the only thing keeping the thing in its scabbard is either gravity or my thumb. Seeing as how the entire point of a habaki is to have something besides the above two keeping your sword in its scabbard, this is bad. I've been advised to glue some paper inside the scabbard near the throat to tighten the fit, but I'm looking for second opinions before I start screwing around with glue in a very, very small space with zero error tolerance.

Does anyone have any sage advice?

Hi Tyler,

Shimming seems to be a pretty normal solution. When I read your topic line, I was thinking you meant habaki to blade (horrors).

You want to put any shims on the mune side of the opening. If you were to shim the sides, you could risk splitting the saya. I've read of some pretty novel applications but a sliver of wood will last longer than paper. I think the Hanwei sword kits actually come with little slivers of bamboo.

If there is a piece of horn, for the mouth of the saya, splitting might be less of a concern but i would stick with shimming only the mune (back) side.

I don't do a lot of drawing, so my solution has been a bit less complicated. I just use a small strip of duct tape that I replace every now and then.

Play around with thin slivers of wood before gluing in place. I would think super glue is just fine, to stick it together.

Cheers

GC

Soak the paper in wood glue, drain it; wet the habaki and lay the paper down in the throat. Smooth the paper down with a small rod or a brush.

This way there's no mess to worry about, and when the paper dries it will be just as hard as the wood behind it. :D

Been away a while -- too busy.

I get them in to repair fairly often. I prefer to show people how to do it themselves, however...

Go to the local hardward store and look for a roll of birch laminate trim. Speciality wood worker places have it to. Look for the heat activated glue type.

Trim off a piece about 1/2 inch long by the width of the opening on the ha (edge) side. Insert the piece in the koiguchi (mouth) so it is flush on the edge side, edge down. Heat a thin piece of metal (I use an old beat up small screwdriver that I use only for this) with a propane torch. You don't need it red hot, just too hot to touch. Carefully touch the trim and press down lightly. This will activate the glue. Let it cool for a few moments then *carefully* start to replace the sword in the saya running it along the mune until it just about feels tight. You're using the ha side of the habaki to "press" on the shim you just inserted. Allow it to cool completely. Remove the blade. File gently on the shim until the sword will slide in and seat how you like it.

If you push in the sword too soon the shim might travel. Just pull it out and try again with a new piece (fresh glue). Done correctly this is a good long term shimming technique.

Do not shim the ji sides. Habaki fit on the ha and mune with only incidental contact on the sides. If there is too much pressure on the sides you can crack the saya. And do not force anything. File until things fit correctly.

One roll of this stuff will last you multiple lifetimes with multiple swords. Good, cheap, and relatively easy to do.

Putting shims soaked in glue in a the saya mouth usually isn't a great idea. Not a problem with non-steel alloy blades like iaito, but not all steels react well to all glues. the good thing about the activate glue on the wood shims is that it stays where you put it and doesn't soak through. Excess glue also attracts dirt, dust and grime like a magnet. Which is also not good on blade finishes.

Thanks for all the help. I'll see about getting it tight and not falling out whenever gravity wants it to.