PostAWeek 12: Craftspicable Me, the Afro Samurai Katanas Build By David “The Number 1 Headband” Dysart

PostAWeek 12: Craftspicable Me, the Afro Samurai Katanas Build

By David “The Number 1 Headband” Dysart

March 30^th, 2013

So this week has been my Spring Break. Which means I went to crazy parties and all that business. Yeah, that or I’ve been watching inordinate amounts of Netflix. I’m going to go ahead and let you guess which one fits me better.

Sooo. I’ve finished the 4^th season of Breaking Bad (an amazing season finale), watched the first season BBC’s Sherlock (very good as well, glad I finally started on it), am 5 episodes into Highschool of the Dead (a fun romp, though I’ve forgotten how much fan service anime has), and lastly Afro Samurai and Afro Samurai: Resurrection.

Now the last there is the inspiration for a recent bout of woodworking. Really, that’s just 1 of 3 reasons though.

My wood-working roots are in katanas. That’s pretty much how I got my start. I haven’t made one in a while (I already have a couple, and they’re somewhat work-intensive). But I’ve been wanting to make a new one. I (along with my tools) have evolved since these good ol’ days, so I wanted to try my hand at them again.

Lastly, I’ve got a collaboration coming up, so I needed to work the rust off of my abilities for that.

The pictures (with abbreviated work diary) can be found on Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3694127492015.115248.1840165438&type=1 or view them individually coming up on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8601835246/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 1 of 6

I free-handed the curve for the first sword, and the twisted abomination that I ended up with (Afro Droid’s version), so I decided to jerry rig a good curve and try again (though for some reason, I made the second sword crazy long)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8600735289/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 2 of 6

The sheathes are definitely the most... sensitive part of the build. Looks like this was the first (Afro Droid’s version)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8600735423/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 3 of 6

I made a stencil for the first Tsuba (hand guard), but I think the wind hid it on me for the second one, so I free-handed it. I really shouldn’t do that :/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8601835816/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 4 of 6

The red one (Afro’s) is definitely the deluxe version out of the two.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8600735827/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 5 of 6

The handle wraps took s bit (especially the red one since the first fabric I used was too short and had to go get new ito)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedaviddysart/8601836062/

Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 6 of 6

Yeah, they should have been the same size(ish). Whoops. I’m still pretty ecstatic about them

They’re definitely not perfect, but I’m happy with how they came out. I was originally only going to make one. Unfortunately though, my free-handing the curve led me to be unsure about it’s abilities to be sheathed, so I started on a new one, figuring I could use the first as Afro Droid’s sword.

Other than the curve and length, the two swords are identical: 1 solid ½” piece, with a handle piece glued to each side (1/4” each). Tsuba as also ½”

The sheath is where the difference really lies though. For the first, the ½” spacer was really sketchy, and too thin at the top (hard to keep the width at 2”, especially dealing with an eratic curve). The sides were ¼”. The sides limited the sculpting I could do with the sheath, so I decided to use ½” spacer and ½” sides for the second sheath. Really allowed me to round it out (I also made the metal rings more detailed on Afro’s sheath).

I will say one thing. Drafting and cutting is the creative aspect of katana-making while the sanding is the craftsmanship part of it. You really do have cleave huge amounts to shape and mold these things. I wish I would have snapped before and after pics to show the transformation. Next time I suppose 

Well, I’m running late, so, I guess all I have left to say is

There's a sad sort of clanging from the keyboard’s plastic
And the pixels the blinking line
And up in the corner Facebook notification
Is popping out to say "get going"
Cuckoo, cuckoo

Listening to

High School of the Dead

Twitter Tag

The Spring Break with the number 2 headband, only @ http://tiny.cc/PostAWeek12 #woodworking #AfroSamurai #katana

Going faster than a “Reply All” email, websites like mine will surely go your way

http://twitter.com/daviddysart All in all, it’s just another post in the feed

http://daviddysart.tumblr.com/ I’m gonna post some tumblrs

http://hangingonbelay.blogspot.com/ Got you stuck on my belay, on my belay like a figure 8

http://daviddysart.blogspot.com/ Posts become as vapid as a blogger out in Starbucks

http://tiny.cc/Facebook_DavidDysart This site has got to be the most pretentious thing

New to the Bloggaday? These are the essential posts to see

158 – Boxer V Brief – Short, concise joke machine and a DYNAMIC ENTRANCE! to my favorite Bloggadays of the Second Trigaday

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday158

159 – A Phthalates-filled Sbarro Breadstick – This was just a funny Bloggaday despite the essence being something no one will get unless the look up what a phthalate is

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday159

174 – FNtCCA,aToTbDD– While I think it’s clear I rarely EDIT the Bloggaday, this train-of-thought post shows how much I have to FILTER it…

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday174

183 – SotW 13 – This one had it all. Pretty much every bit that’s been a major player in the SotW made its way into this one, so it’s a good one to try.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday183

134 – SotW 5 – This particular Song of the Week featured the characters a bit truer to their original concept. After a while, I started liking Tom too much and changed him a bit which caused changes to Chuck.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday134

227 – PWND: TSHBRotCCPS pt16 was some solid fiction content. Plus, that was probably some of the finest Final Thought I’ve ever thought up.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday227

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

PostAWeek 10: The Davidian Blog – Behind the Beverage: The Life and Times of Bo Tle Pt 1 By David “The Agent” Dysart

PostAWeek 10: The Davidian Blog – Behind the Beverage: The Life and Times of Bo Tle Pt 1

By David “The Agent” Dysart

Cola: Growing up, we used to call her Schweppes. Not sure why, but it’s just one of those things that stuck. She never did seem fond of Bo...

That quote comes from life-long friend, Coke “Cola” Can, or Triple C as Bo would call him. While the pair had rocky times, especially when Bo moved to Hollywood, their relationship... was something better than the rest of her life had to offer.

In the next few posts here on the PostAWeek, we’re going to explore the life of one of beverage’s most brilliant and most tragic stories. Join me if you will, with the heartrending and inspirational story of Bo Tle.

Cola: Little Schweppes had a hard life. Both of her parents were ginger ales, but their lives and causes took them far from home and far from Schweppes. She just kind of had to fend for herself. She knew from an early age that life wasn’t going to give her anything. If she wanted it, she was going to have to go up and take it. It gave her spunk, but it also gave her a chip on her shoulder she couldn’t quite shake. Even when life loosened its grip for her.

Being the daughter of her father, Canada Dry, a respected public figure in the 2-liter world and the free-loving Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale already put Bo in quite the unusual spot. Both parents had live away from home, and they often spent more time arguing about those very different lives than creating a home for Bo.

Cola: Schweppes was never an unpopular kid. All of the other beverages liked her. But she was never part of the “it” crowd. She was short, round, and clear. That definitely didn’t help. Heck we were both the first two. Helped us connect I think. But she always hated the fact she was green-glassed. And people definitely didn’t let her live it down... People can be real basters sometimes...

Getting her green complexion from her father and glass body from her mother, Bo often resented more than just their failed parenting. She vowed that one day, she would make herself into something better, but that’s for a future post.

Despite Bo’s troubled family life, she developed a close-knit social support with a group of friends. They helped her in the early days... But they also set her down a certain path.

Cola: We had our usual gang. Sure we got into trouble here and there, but we were all good kids. After a while, Schweppes and Arrow started getting closer. But not just closer, started pulling Schweppes away from the rest of us... from me.

As Schweppes began moving onto a new chapter in her life, she was leaving behind her friends and the can she would later describe as the love of her life. For the time being though, she embraced this new chapter with Arrow, a female plastic bottle and close confident.

More than a new chapter, the venture she was starting was a whole new life, and she approached it with all of the doe-eyed vigor the stereotypical small-town girl would have, more than she had to have, and more than she should have.

Until next time, this has been Behind the Beverage, a PostAWEEK special. Join us for The Life and Times of Bo Tle Pt 2 where we learn about the first major turn of her life.

Listening to

The Ultimate Fighter

Twitter Tag

A bottle that had nothing growing up doesn’t know what to do when they had it all, only on the http://tiny.cc/PostAWeek10

Going faster than a “Reply All” email, websites like mine will surely go your way

http://twitter.com/daviddysart All in all, it’s just another post in the feed

http://daviddysart.tumblr.com/ I’m gonna post some tumblrs

http://hangingonbelay.blogspot.com/ Got you stuck on my belay, on my belay like a figure 8

http://daviddysart.blogspot.com/ Posts become as vapid as a blogger out in Starbucks

http://tiny.cc/Facebook_DavidDysart This site has got to be the most pretentious thing

New to the Bloggaday? These are the essential posts to see

158 – Boxer V Brief – Short, concise joke machine and a DYNAMIC ENTRANCE! to my favorite Bloggadays of the Second Trigaday

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday158

159 – A Phthalates-filled Sbarro Breadstick – This was just a funny Bloggaday despite the essence being something no one will get unless the look up what a phthalate is

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday159

174 – FNtCCA,aToTbDD– While I think it’s clear I rarely EDIT the Bloggaday, this train-of-thought post shows how much I have to FILTER it…

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday174

183 – SotW 13 – This one had it all. Pretty much every bit that’s been a major player in the SotW made its way into this one, so it’s a good one to try.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday183

134 – SotW 5 – This particular Song of the Week featured the characters a bit truer to their original concept. After a while, I started liking Tom too much and changed him a bit which caused changes to Chuck.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday134

227 – PWND: TSHBRotCCPS pt16 was some solid fiction content. Plus, that was probably some of the finest Final Thought I’ve ever thought up.

http://tiny.cc/Bloggaday227

Ginger float...