Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

How to restore antique arms & repair practice swords.

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Seth Davis
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Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Seth Davis » Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:06 am

Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander? Can it be done properly, or bad idea...?
I have some questions about modifying a sanmai Royal Peony into a hand-and-halfer or two-hander. Is there a professional, reasonably priced way to have this done? I have one of the Sanmai with brass fittings that Scott Laoshi had special ordered for us. I would like to lengthen the tang and have a hardwood handle made. My primary concern is that I don't harm the quality of the weapon at all.
Thanks in advance.
Seth
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Re: Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Nik » Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:17 pm

If you make sure that the handle is securely fixed to the existing tang, and the tang is not poorely made, you don't have to lengthen the tang. Just make a tightly fitting wooden handle out of a hardwood, and bolt it to the tang. If necessary with 2 bolts. The pommel can be fixed to the handle with other means than a nut.

Seth Davis
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Re: Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Seth Davis » Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:35 pm

Happy New Year.
Thank you for this suggestion. Wouldn't that effect the play of the sword, since it would no longer functionally be full tang? Isn't it better to have an extension welded on to the tang?

Philip Tom, any thoughts on this? If you have time to speak directly, that would be great. I tried to send a direct message to you, but it did not work.
My # is (732)801-9918 and email: sdavis@ztaichi.com
Thanks.
Seth
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Re: Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:38 am

It is hard to say for certain how changing the grip will effect the balance & play of your jian, so I think that is a good reason to give Nik suggestion a try. If it turns out that it balances poorly, after elongating the grip, you can always unbolt it & go back to the original. If it does play well with the longer grip, you can see about having a tang extension tack welded on, Huanuo's tang are more than good enough to do that.

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Re: Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Seth Davis » Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:24 am

Thank you.
I will try that in the summer.
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Re: Lengthening a Tang on a Sanmai into a Two-hander?

Post by Nik » Thu Jan 26, 2012 1:42 pm

Something on welding, from Michael Pearce on http://www.sword-manufacturers-guide.co ... sword.html:
Welded tangs are another issue- often the screw-thread of any kind of tang is welded on. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself if the welds are of good quality and the weld is 'normalized' afterwards. But far too often production companies either do a poor job of the welding or fail to relive the stresses and hardening that can accompany a weld, making a join that will break under stress.
Make sure you really know what you do when welding something to the end of your tang.

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