![]() ![]() “It makes a great tactical blade it’s not so long you can’t use it in confined spaces.” Rick uses 1075, W1 and W2, modern carbon steels heat treated traditionally for a hamon. “I like the longer or oh wakizashi in the 23-to-25-inch blade range, so it’s almost a short katana,” he said. Rick Barrett, who also goes by the Japanese name of Toshi Hisa, said he prefers to make his wakis with semi-traditional-type blades. He carves and engraves them and embellishes them in gold and silver, depending on the price, which starts at $3,500. “I put in some of Alfred Pendray‘s carburized electrolytic iron that way I can get the brightness and tool up to between a thousand and 1600 layers,” Wally noted. “He’s got my wakis hanging in his kitchen.”Īn example of Wally’s higher-end waki would include one with 1600 layers of three different carbon steels-1050, W2 and 15N20. “And Axl loves my stuff-traditional and tactical,” he added. “I’m attracting higher-end collectors” from such places as Cypress, Germany, China and Australia, to name a few. “As I move up the food chain, so does the demand for my higher-end stuff, more engraving and gold,” etc., he said. While Hayes said his waki production is about half tactical/half traditional, which breaks things up and makes them more fun for him, he indicated he is learning more toward the more expensive models to “push his limits.” It has a 15-inch blade and an 8-inch handle of black ray skin and purple silk. He also offers the double-edge/double-temper-line Hayabusa that he lists for $1,800. Hayes indicated he has since switched to W2 tool steel for the blade because W2 produces “cooler temper lines and stays straight in the heat treat.” His list price: $1,200. We had to make something that was the biggest bang for the buck, something to take into battle and not cost an arm and a leg, so we came up with the tactical waki.” It has a 14-inch blade of 1084 carbon steel and an 8-inch handle with a Turk’s head knot and a ray-skin nylon wrap resin coated to waterproof it. “Brent Beshara tested one at the G2 Show. “I make tactical wakis for Larry Brahms of ,” Hayes said. The weatherproofed, glass-filled-resin scabbard is equipped with a drain hole so it will not hold water.ĪBS master smith Wally Hayes offers tactical, traditional and high-end wakis. “5160 will rust easily if left to its own devices and since these things will see a lot of work, we needed to do something for that”-thus the plasma coat, he reasoned. It is a very tough coating that forms a physical bond with the steel, one Ross said will not wear off. Sporting a checkered Kraton handle for a sure grip in slippery conditions, the CAS Tactical Wakizashi has a 20-inch blade of 5160 carbon steel plasma coated for corrosion resistance.įor the plasma coat, CAS Hanwei has a process that applies a thin layer of nickel to the blade. With a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $209, it is a lot less expensive than traditional wakis that have more expensive fittings and cost much more to build, Ross added. Those hiking in the backwoods carry one for cutting brush for paths and to make shelter, and use it as a defensive weapon.” “A lot of our customers use it as a brush-cutting sword. “The CAS Hanwei Tactical Wakizashi crosses over to the machete market to a large extent but still has the mystique of the traditional wakizashi, which a lot of people know about, so it’s a pretty good combination of a machete and an old-time weapon,” CAS Hanwei’s Barry Ross noted. And, for those into collecting/displaying Japanese swords, the waki offers all the traditional accouterments of high-end pieces, too. Between a katana and tanto in length, the “waki” is long enough for any number of heavy-duty jobs but also short enough to use in confined spaces. The wakizashi may be the most sensible and useful Japanese sword.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |