Precious wood jian hilt

Here a few pictures of the previous jian hilt. This hilt was made later than the blade, and is of a fairly rustic manufacture. It is difficult to the age of the blade, but given the amount of polishing it has had, I would estimate it to be mid-Qing or earlier. This is a well forged blade that has obviously been treasured, and has been re-hilted with precious wood, probably in the late Qing. The wood is very dense and very hard, and is most likely to be a Huali, but if anyone can positively identify it, I would be most grateful.

Huang huali wood?

The brass guard is ellipsoid in shape, and has been made from two pieces: a flat piece forming the body of the guard, and a strip bent around to form the rim. The picture below shows the join where the two pieces were brazed together, and also shows the diagonal scarf joint in the rim. The ferrule was formed from one strip of brass. The strip was bent to shape leaving an overlap and then the overlap was brazed.

The wooden pommel was made from one piece and the wooden grip was made in two halves. The grip sections may originally have been glued together. There is now a visible gap between the sections of the grip. This has been caused by corrosion of the tang forcing the sections apart.

The brass ferrules help to bind the two sections of the grip together and the decorative end cap serves to keep the pommel securely in place.

Carved decoration on the pommel cap

Not only is the hilt beautifully designed and very nicely made, it is also extremely comfortable to use.

Chinese wooden axe head

This antique wooden axe head is a substantial item, it weighs 1.4 kg and measures 560mm [22'] across.

Originally, this would have been fitted to a short haft, or given the large size of it, it may well have been fitted to a long shaft to make a pole arm. A decorative piece, possibly used for feng shui in a building, possibly used as a prop in Chinese opera. Made of carved hardwood with a thick red-brown lacquer finish:

The motif is Yazi, the seventh son of the Dragon. He is always described as being bloodthirsty and ferocious and so has long been associated with Chinese weaponry.

Yazi, the seventh Son of the Dragon

This particular Yazi is slightly unusual because it has a a fish-like body and tail.....similar to Chiwen, the second son of the Dragon, who has a fishes body and tail but no horns. Also interesting is the snout of this Yazi, which appears to be a long thin proboscis curled in a tight downward-pointing spiral.

Breaking point

thin hickory rippings

Hickory woods are often regarded as some of the toughest and most resistant to breaking. Consequently,  hickory has long been the material of choice for hammer shafts and pick handles.  The one that I use for wooden swords is a pignut hickory. It is so resistant to breaking, that thin laths can be rolled up into tight curls.

In fact, it is so tough that it's almost impossible to snap or tear the thin rippings that come from the circular saw. When waste wood is this thin, I usually snap it into short lengths by hand.......but I can't do that with the hickory. I have to cut it all up with a saw!!!!!!