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Sword proportions.A stout one would be
34-35 mm high at the machi, 25-26 mm at the yokote. More in the tachi area
would reduce those by two to four mm each. I prefer 34/24 myself. The long
tip stuff has far less taper, only 5mm instead of 10.
The shinogi is classic at one third of the blade, tapering right along with
the shape as it narrows towards the tip. The hamon should also be one third
of the blade. All of these are subject to variation.
Thickness is just under 5/16 at the machi, measured at the shinogi, not
the spine. A classic blade tapers upward from the shinogi as well as down
to the cutting edge. I taper to a light 1/4 at the tip. on the shinogi line.
The spine is cut a little narrower. If you want the tip flare to come out
right, don't mess with it until after hardening.
I like a longer tang than you see on most antiques,
around 9 to 11 inches. You can always shorten one, but its hell to add some
when it comes up too short for the handle. The line of the top of the tang
should not project above the line of the blade spine, unless you're making
a tachi. The tang has to taper harmoniously, matching the blade. It's also
thinner at the butt than at the machi, but not as precisely defined. Tangs
on the sword are a little over 1/4 the blade length (cutting edge), but
not quite 1/3. Average would be 8 1/2 to 9 inches on a 27 inch blade.
Curvature can run from 3/8 inch to about 1 inch.
I like 5/8 to 3/4 myself, for a pure, classic form. Any curve over an inch
is going to be a little awkward to use. I usually try to get the main part
of the curve just a hair farther back towards the tang but the classic is
to have it centered and even.
Average length for an antique, is about 26 1/2
to 27 1/2, although there are a lot of exceptions. Most of the guys want
20 to 30 inches now, a few at 31. Ideally, when the sword is held in the
right hand and swung down, the tip should not drag on the ground. If the
users knuckles drag on the ground, ignore that rule.
The cutting edge is a Moran style, with the grind running up that flat about
half its width.A traditional wakazashi is about three quarters
of a sword.
Dimensions would be about as follows.
Height at the guard, 24 to 28 mm
Height at the tip break, 18 to 20 mm
Thickness at the guard, 1/4
Thickness at the tip, 3/16
Length, 19 to 22 inches
Length of the tip, 1 1/2 times height at the tip.
Length of tang, 1/3 the length of the blade
Curvature, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, measured on blade only
The grind line is at the 1/3 mark from the spine, and it tapers to match
the blade.
The grind line within the tip is a radius from the same point as the cutting
edge of the tip, and the same width as the lower part of the blade at the
tip break.
The area above the grind line tapers inward slightly to the spine, but not
as steep as the cut down to the cutting edge. This is reversed about two
inches behind the tip so that the tip flares a bit behind the point where
the tips grind line meets the spine.
The tang curves to match the blades curve and the extended line of the tangs
spine does not project above that of the blade spine.
Curvature should be even, or centered slightly behind the center of the
blade.
The width of the hard part of the edge should cover half of the lower grind,
and it gets a Moran style edge. The hammer and tongs fellows see the blade quite differently.
They have to figure in extra thickness and width to allow for cleaning up
all of the small hammer marks and other variations that you get in forging
a long, slender shape.Taken from a series of emails by
Bob Engnath in response to questions from Daithi.
Fri Mar 12 03:23:01 2010
Last modified on 13/11/2009
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