God that sounds posh doesn't it. 'Tsukamaki Services'. Very official and stuff.
But it's true. I'm now in a position where I can work, and work positively. It's bright, clean, I have privacy and surfaces and most importantly, it's a fresh start for me. I've sat back for enough time now, and it's now that I have to push forward with my skills.
I know a number of people have been in touch with me about this. From rewrapping, to reshaping and even a little polishing work and it's about timeI got back in the saddle.
All wraps are done to be tight, durable, good to look at and most of all, functional. No more worrying about it falling apart after sessions. A good wrap is not possible without hishigami and I would not consider doing one without them. They may be tedious to make, however they are as fundamental to a good maki as the habaki is to the mounting of a blade.
I do need to get a few things straight first though so bear with me;
- I'm UK based. I understand this immediately cuts me off with 90% of all the people who might wanna use me, but it is what it is and I thought I'd get that out of the way straight up.
- The people who got in touch with me first, out of respect for them, will be dealt with first. Now I know there are at least 3 people in the queue atm. If you've spoken to me about anything, message me again to make sure I don't miss anyone :) Once all that's out of the way, I cycle on a first come, first served basis.
- I'm expecting from time to time, a queue. Whether or not this will be a queue of 2 or of 20, I have no damned idea, but obviously, I'll let you know the state of play if you get in touch.
- When I have stuff I'm working on, I wont be taking in more swords or tsuka. Too many valuable items that I'm responsible for is stressy. That and getting things muddled or mixed up is as well. For this reason, I take in a project, finish it, send it back to the owner and then move onto the next job. it means that you get the best service with no distractions.
- The services I will provide are the wrap itself, as well as any reshaping that needs to be done. If reshaping needs to be done, then the blade as well as the tsuka needs to be sent to me or delivered by hand. I have no problem meeting up in my locale to pick up and grab a coffee to discuss further if you want. As mentioned, I also provide polishing services for damaged or rusted swords. For this, decent pictures need to be provided and a decent chat about what you want needs to be held so we can avoid any disappointments :) I can polish halfway well.. but I'm not a magician. check out some restorations I made from some very screwed up high end production swords here.
- Tsukamaki that I am happy providing are Hineri-maki, Hira-maki, Akechi-katate maki and Gangi-maki. If you're not sure what these are, google is your friend, but the most common that you see on pretty much all production swords is Hineri maki.
- Materials are to be provided by the client. That's you! :p If you want a new leather wrap, you need to buy the leather. If you want new menuki... well, you get the idea.
- Postage is paid for by the client. I will find out how much the return postage is if you havent already, and let you know. If you can find a cheaper deal for postage that you're happy with, by all means, let me know and we'll use that.
- Unless the tsuka in question is a million miles long, I charge the same regardless. so a 9" tsuka will cost the same as a 14". I never mind spending a little extra time on the wrap anyway. Once you get into a rhythm, its easy to just keep going.
- You can get in touch with me at Shadrik Easton on Facebook, or email me, shadleyhax and thats at gmail.com. I dont give out my number on the net, cos thats just asking for trouble, but once we have a discourse, I'll be more than happy to.
Charges:
This is where for the most part it gets simple. When you send me the tsuka, or in some cases, the whole sword, you will be sorting out the postage yourself if posting, the materials are also provided by you. how you come by these makes no difference to me. The only thing I will charge you for is the polishing, the wrap or reshaping itself. (or any number of these things together)
I'm always around in one way or another and if you get in touch, I'll try and respond as soon as possible. Although I check my email regularly, the inbox is like a jungle. Facebook will get you faster and more reliable communication. :)
- Reshaping of tsuka : £60
- Rewrap of tsuka : £70
- Polishing : requires photos and a chat to be fair.
Contact:
- Email : shadleyhax .. as mentioned before, thats at gmail.com (anti spam notation)
- Facebook : Shadrik Easton
- Mobile : Will give out once we've opened a discourse.
