Making the Shirasaya

The shape of the blade is drawn out on 2 halves of honoki wood pieces. Then the pieces are cut into 2 parts, one for the handle and one for the sheath.

The cavities for the blade and the handle are carved out using a special saya-chisel. The shape of the cavity needs to be adjusted multiple times during this process.

The 2 halves of the wood pieces are glued together. The tightness of the opening of the sheath needs to be adjusted precisely before gluing together.

The outer shape of the shirasaya is done by using various planes. The surface is further smoothed out using a special sanding block made of dried tokusa - rough horsetail.

The last step is applying hard timber wax on the surface. It not only brings out the wood texture but also helps to make the shirasaya more air-tight.