AVAILABLE

1086 Unokubi Zukuri katana by Howard Clark

Seaside fittings by Patrick Hastings

In Full Polish with Custom Koshirae

 

This piece is on consignment. This is a custom 1086 sword made by Howard Clark in the more unusual Unokubi Zukuri sword shape. Unokubi zukuri literally means "Cormorant's Neck", a reference to a type of waterfowl with a long neck. So it is appropriate that this swords also has a full set of custom made "sea" themed fittings to match. The tsuba depicts a seaside scene with the water, sand and seaside creatures. The fuchi has seashells in the same style. Unokubi zukuri is distinguished by having a "regular" shinogi zukuri shape on the bottom half of the blade but the upper half has a diagonal shinogi ji cut in instead. The idea is to create a faster balance to the blade. This blade in particular is a robust design but with the unokubi shaping the blade still feels relatively fast in the hands. It should make an excellent fast cutter while still being relatively robust. In the following photo (taken outside on this day because I was having trouble with my good photo lights) you can really see how the geometry changes on the shinogi ji about midblade. This creates a cutting area that is virtually a diamond cross section. It is a very interesting shape. The kissaki is a relatively long kissaki with a very nice hamon. The tsuka is 11.75" long and follows the shaping and sori of the blade. The tsuka is wrapped in silk tsukaito and the final wrapping was done by Jesse Pelayo. He did a fantastic job. On this tsuka I used a very high grade samekawa (rayskin). I spent extra time polishing the nodes and "antiquing" the skin to give it a more "pearlescent" glow. With the seashells and ocean theme I thought it would be nice to make the nodes of the skin glow more like pearls. Unfortunately I have not been able to accurately photograph the look, color and texture of this effect. This is the best I've been able to do. It looks a whole lot better in person. I think I need to take some photography classes as this one has me stumped... The saya is alder carved to the blade. The saya starts off with a deep blue at the koiguchi and fades to black by the kojiri (also a shell themed piece). The deep blue contains bits of gold foil truly randomly placed to represent the "flecks" and reflections of life in the water. And as you go deeper the water gets dark to black. This photo really shows the blue of the saya and how it looks in strong light. The photo above is more subdued. It is interesting how the perception of color and lightness can vary so much depending on viewing angle and light. The copper habaki was wonderfully textured by Patrick Hastings. I made the seppa for the blade originally out of solid silver but we decided to move to gold highlights so the seppa and the habaki were all given a deep, rich 24k solid gold plating Anyway, here's a few more photos... Shell and sealife menuki by Patrick Hastings yet again. Shell themed kashira. the kojiri and bottom of the saya... Blade Specifications. Tsuka: 11-5/8" Nagasa: 27.5" Motohaba 33mm tapering to 26.5mm sakihaba Motokasane: 8mm tapering to 4.75mm at the yokote O-kissaki length: 62mm Sori: 1/2" Torii ON HOLD $7995.00 USD Includes shipping in the US   Contact me if you have any additional questions.

I accept check, money orders or paypal. Please e-mail
me at keith@summerchild.com to arrange payment if
you are interested in purchasing this blade.