One less thing in my shop
Michael the Tinker's kabuto (helmet) is finished. It's a damed pretty one. There are things I would like to change about it, of course, but that's the nature of life. I have to say that, for a change, I'm pleased and a little proud of it. The sixteen-plate bowl turned out very nicely, but the real showpieces of the kabuto are the tehen (the little flower shaped thing that covers the hole on top) and the maedate (the crest in front).
The tehen was made out of bronze, and it's the first time I ever worked with it. Michael carved, with a little help from me, a sixteen-petal flower. It's just beautiful, and bronze is a real joy to work.
The maedate was fun. I had a old brass desktop letter holder that had been repaired several times. The brass was nice and thick, probably 16 gauge. I took it apart and made a long oval, replicating the shape of an oban, a Japanese gold coin. Then I took my trusty (imitation) Dremmel tool and carved in the kanji for (significant, important, big) and (iron hammer, but intimating punishment). So now Michaels' helmet says "Big Punishing Iron Hammer", which fits with his Yama Kaminari title of 'Big Tool'. Since I neither read nor speak Japanese, the research on this is, I'm certain, spotty at best. Thank God I'll always have Solvieg around to tell me that the translation's WRONG, that the script I used is WRONG, and that no Samurai would EVER have such a phrase displayed on their heads. (God, I love that woman!)
After I make another four or five of these things, I think I'll start building something else. The cost of building one isn't too bad. The materials total less than $50. I just wish it took me less than ten days to make one. Npw the problem is that building a kabuto has become a Job. Strangers want me to make them. That means that I have had to set a Price. I thought about it for a long time, and I took a tour of European helmets at this last Pennsic. Great jumping Jesus on a pogo stick! $450 for a commercially produced bascinet, unpolished?! With the right tools, I could crank out three or four of those a day! Well, at that point it was just a question of being fair. I'm not a professional, and I make these things in my garage. I figured $650 for an eight-plate and $725 for a sixteen-plate. It's enough money to keep me motivated, and too much to create a stampede.
The tehen was made out of bronze, and it's the first time I ever worked with it. Michael carved, with a little help from me, a sixteen-petal flower. It's just beautiful, and bronze is a real joy to work.
The maedate was fun. I had a old brass desktop letter holder that had been repaired several times. The brass was nice and thick, probably 16 gauge. I took it apart and made a long oval, replicating the shape of an oban, a Japanese gold coin. Then I took my trusty (imitation) Dremmel tool and carved in the kanji for (significant, important, big) and (iron hammer, but intimating punishment). So now Michaels' helmet says "Big Punishing Iron Hammer", which fits with his Yama Kaminari title of 'Big Tool'. Since I neither read nor speak Japanese, the research on this is, I'm certain, spotty at best. Thank God I'll always have Solvieg around to tell me that the translation's WRONG, that the script I used is WRONG, and that no Samurai would EVER have such a phrase displayed on their heads. (God, I love that woman!)
After I make another four or five of these things, I think I'll start building something else. The cost of building one isn't too bad. The materials total less than $50. I just wish it took me less than ten days to make one. Npw the problem is that building a kabuto has become a Job. Strangers want me to make them. That means that I have had to set a Price. I thought about it for a long time, and I took a tour of European helmets at this last Pennsic. Great jumping Jesus on a pogo stick! $450 for a commercially produced bascinet, unpolished?! With the right tools, I could crank out three or four of those a day! Well, at that point it was just a question of being fair. I'm not a professional, and I make these things in my garage. I figured $650 for an eight-plate and $725 for a sixteen-plate. It's enough money to keep me motivated, and too much to create a stampede.