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Keith Larman
Industry Professional
Location: Sunny Southern California Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 237
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 Posted: Sat 13 Sep, 2003 10:04 pm Post subject: Photos of Bugei prototype katana and a shobu zukuri |
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I posted this originally over on SFI. I was asked to post a copy here as well. Here ya go...
I posted these on Bugei's forum and I thought people here might be interested in seeing them as well. Bugei has been trying to increase development of new swords in their production lines. Ted Tenold has been working very closely with them in developing new swords. And the last time I was down there doing inspections with them we all sat around and discussed sword designs in great detail. Also some of the finer points of mounting, details to make things nicer, nice touches that could be added (lacquering same', that kind of stuff). Anyway, the result of all of that is a piece geared towards those studying more kata-centric arts. Please keep in mind that this is a prototype and not the final version. I think it is quite representative of how the final sword will be. But it is still a prototype. I *believe* they are considering offering this blade with and without bo-hi as well but I'm not positive and they haven't finalized everything yet anyway. So for those of you who are familiar with the popular crane model, this one is going somewhat along the same lines in terms of the blade itself. The fittings however are a very (imho) classy dragonfly motif with a really cool (and unique) pierced tsuba design. And I liked the original fuchi kashira design so much I convinced Ted to make me a single set of the first prototypes of the fuchi kashira in solid silver for a sword I'm doing for a sensei of mine. Really nice detail work.
Anyway, here's the photos. Remember, prototype... More details later if I get a chance. I think they're targeting releasing a new catalog with this sword as the cool new addition. Normally they don't release shots of prototypes, but since word of a new sword had leaked a while back, James Williams gave me permission to share a few photos. Besides, he'll probably be cutting with it at the upcoming aiki-expo that a *lot* of forumites are attending.
Notice the tapers in the tsuka, the consistency of the wrap, the coherence of the fittings, and the overall "feel" of the blade. With each new sword Bugei tries to raise the bar. I think they did a really good job on this one. But since I was in on a few of the discussions I'm probably biased. But its nice to see some of the things done well that you usually don't see in production level pieces.
And while I"m at it, I was asked on another forum if I could post some photos of the Bugei Shobu Zukuri as well. Since I went to the trouble to put them on my site and link them for that guy, here they are.
Keith Larman
http://www.summerchild.com
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 9:25 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for posting that Keith.
I really like the Dragonfly motif as well. That looks like it will be a very classy sword. I really need to do a better job if keeping up with the non-euro stuff 
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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Thomas McDonald
myArmoury Alumni
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 11:46 am Post subject: |
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Hi Keith
Nice .... thanks for sharing this with us !
Question ..... What kind of boshi is on this prototype blade ? Hard to tell if it's turned back, or not ?
Mac
'Gott Bewahr Die Oprechte Schotten'
XX ANDRIA XX FARARA XX
Mac's PictureTrail
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Keith Larman
Industry Professional
Location: Sunny Southern California Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Nathan Robinson wrote: | | This is excellent. Do you have any idea when they may become available? How bout a general ballpark price point? |
The price is going to be $995 apparently. Adding bo-hi will be 150-200 more (to be determined). I would give it another 2 months or so before they're available. And even saying that remember that sometimes these things go smoothly, sometimes they don't. It all depends on how the final revisions go.
Keith Larman
http://www.summerchild.com
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Keith Larman
Industry Professional
Location: Sunny Southern California Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Thomas McDonald wrote: | Hi Keith
Nice .... thanks for sharing this with us !
Question ..... What kind of boshi is on this prototype blade ? Hard to tell if it's turned back, or not ?
Mac |
The boshi is really no different than most of them. Simple ko-maru (small circle) turnback. It really is intended to be a light, fast blade meant for soft target cutting and kata practice. I'm personally very glad to see some of the refinements into the mounting and construction of these things that some of us have been agitating for.  And for me I'm hoping it will do well. This is by far the most traditional looking Japanese mounting coming from Hanwei. Both Ted and I had been pushing for more traditional designs even though we know full well a large part of the market is more interested in more "flashy" or more "gaudy" looking stuff. Bugei is in a sense taking a chance on this design knowing it is more traditional than what the customers usually ask for. But we kept pushing hoping to convince them to take a chance on something more elegant.
Time will tell. If it bombs we know the market isn't ready for something more traditional. I'm hoping the market is ready for it.
Keith Larman
http://www.summerchild.com
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think that price is bad at all if the production versions are as nice as the prototype.
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Keith Larman
Industry Professional
Location: Sunny Southern California Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Patrick Kelly wrote: | | I don't think that price is bad at all if the production versions are as nice as the prototype. |
I must admit that I was *very* surprised with what I saw. I had seen all the stuff that had been done on this end in terms of design, fittings construction, etc. to send to Mr. Chen. Including ideas on the coloration, patina preferences, tapers and lines -- all that kind of stuff. IMHO he absolutely nailed the overall feel, quality and structure that Bugei was going for. Now to get through the refinements and we'll see if they can make the production version. Protoypes are always one thing. Doing them in production is quite another. But that's why Ted and I drive down there for hours every month or so to go over swords and inspect the production stuff. Boring and I don't get paid enough (grin), but usually I get a good sushi lunch out of it. And I get to handle more swords in one day than most people will handle in a lifetime. Can't argue with that.
Keith
Keith Larman
http://www.summerchild.com
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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Keith,
You mention that this sword is designed for "kata-centric arts". Is this sword intentionally made lighter for this use? How does this design fit into historical parameters? Is it lighter than what would have been used on the battlefield, or does it still fit within that scheme? I really love the traditional look of this sword so it's piqued my interest.
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Keith Larman
Industry Professional
Location: Sunny Southern California Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Patrick Kelly wrote: | Keith,
You mention that this sword is designed for "kata-centric arts". Is this sword intentionally made lighter for this use? How does this design fit into historical parameters? Is it lighter than what would have been used on the battlefield, or does it still fit within that scheme? I really love the traditional look of this sword so it's piqued my interest. |
It fits very well into traditional parameters. It's just on the lighter end of the scale. It might be a bit lighter than what someone might want on a chaotic battlefield where the bad guys are wearing hard armor, but if it was later times when the concern was more lightly armored of just clothed opponents, it would be fine.
Really the issue is two-fold nowadays. One is that many want the lighter swords (that have historic precendence) because some people do a lot of practice. And repetitive motion injuries is a problem. Heck, I have severe tendonitis in my right elbow which severely constrains my practice. I *love* my light iaito for that reason. The other issue is with *what* people tend to cut and their skill level. A lighter, thinner blade might have more trouble with harder targets like bamboo cutting or really thick, heavy targets (I"ve seen Tony Alvarez cut 10 mat thick rolls of tatami -- the roll was bigger than my 6 foot 200 pound norwegiean body). If the blade is too thin and the angle is off it is easier to bend a thin blade. And if the edge doesn't have a lot of support you're more likely to chip it on hard targets like bamboo. I'm used to dealing with people who cut *all the time*. So I tend to quality what I say about swords because I know what these guys will go out and do. Nasty, nasty stuff. So when a blade is a bit lighter and thinner, I cringe to think that an inexperience person is going to go out and try to cut something difficult. Darwin award waiting to happen. And an experienced person probably wouldn't use this sword for heavy cutting practice of huge rolls or bamboo-- its really geared to be a lighter, faster weapon for softer targets. But with proper form the blade will probably be just fine with everything. I'll know more in a week after James gets throught torturing the prototype. The man is hell on blades. He gets excited and starts cutting gigantic mats and bamboo just to see what it'll do. Then he's sticking oak dowels in the center of the rolls. So I'll know more soon when we see the blade after a week of James beating it to death then doing cutting demos at the AikiExpo next weekend.
So that was the long answer. The short answer is that its well within the range of historic precedence. It would be a great sword for a modern day student studying iaido who also does cutting. For the big boys doing the really serious competetive "tai kai" deals, it probably wouldn't be their first choice because they'd probably want something a bit beefier. It would also be a great sword for someone who simply wanted an example of that style. I think that it is by far the nicest design of any productions sword out there. Much more traditionally accurate. I"ve always felt the production stuff has its place but I've also been fairly ambivalent about them for myself. This is one I'd consider for myself. And I might since I can't afford a custom sword myself! Sad not being able to afford my own work, eh? Gotta buy pampers...
But his also gets into a small issue. Some will argue that you should have *one* sword and be good with it for everything. The notion of having a golf bag with 5 swords for different activities is a pretty modern idea. Luxury to be sure. For me, well, I have my iaito for my practice. I do occasionally cut stuff with new blades I get before I finish them. If anything to test out the shaping. But my practice is on myself not my sword. So in that sense I don't think it really matters much...
Keith Larman
http://www.summerchild.com
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Sun 14 Sep, 2003 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the response Keith.
I'm not really interested in doing a lot of cutting with swords of this style, I have "man swords" for that
What I would be interested in getting at some time in the future is a good representative example of a traditionally mounted katana. Hence my interest in this one. I've always been into understated elegance not ostentatious flash, so this one fits right in with my preferences.
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This is a standard topic