PostAWeek 12: Craftspicable Me, the Afro Samurai Katanas
Build
By David “The Number 1
Headband” Dysart
March 30th, 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 4th
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
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)
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)
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 :/
Afro Samurai Katana’s Build: 4 of 6
The red one (Afro’s) is definitely
the deluxe version out of the two.
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)
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
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
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
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…
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.
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.
227 – PWND: TSHBRotCCPS
pt16 was some solid fiction content. Plus, that was probably some of the finest
Final Thought I’ve ever thought up.
So long, farewell, auf
Wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
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