Fixing a loose Kyu-Gunto handle- A how to guide

[BradG]

First off, I'd like to say thank you to the guys who helped me out with this sword. I don't know Japanese stuff well, but I fell in love with this sword and had to buy it.
When I got it, the grip was very loose. It would rattle up and down a bit and it rotated a lot. The whole thing felt like it was barley holding together.

It took a few tries, but I fixed her up. It's 95% tight now so I wanted to show what I did in order help others.

The first thing I did was try to peen the pommel down. This is how the sword was made originally so that was my first choice to fix it.

I clamped the blade in a vice, using a wood block and piece of leather to protect it.
I then took a hammer and punch and went to work on the pommel rivet.

This didn't work, I started off light, but ended up hitting it pretty hard. Harder then I thought I'd have to. If this was a rare or expensive I item I would have given up on this method earlier.

Pictures of the vice set up and pommel:

More to follow.

[BradG]

So, after that didn't work, I got under the petticoats and tried shimming it up.
First thing I did was very carefully remove the leather washer. If this would have been stuck I couldn't have done this.

With the washer off, I could see the gap in between the blade shoulder and guard. I tried different thicknesses of paper card stock until I found a tight fit. (brass shim stock would have been better but I forgot to bring some home.)

After getting the card stock in place (I used a business card) I wanted to fix the rotational play in the handle. To do this, I shaved down tooth picks into wedges and tapped them in between the guard and the side of the tang.

Sorry, I don't know how to put server attached pictures in a specific place so my photos are at the end of each post.

[BradG]

After putting in 3 small wedges (Only 2 are shown in the picture) the handle was very solid. The back strap and wood grip will wobble a little bit, but only if you play with it. Good enough for something that will only be handled on occasion.

The last thing to do was to carefully trim everything down and replace the leather.
After that It was a gentle cleaning, coat of Renwax and a cold beer

I hope this can help someone else in the future.

[BradG]

It's also worth noting, that the fella who sold me the sword said, when I was talking about the loose handle: "my collector buddy can just fill 'er up with epoxy and it'll never come loose again" So I also saved this sword from a awful fate.

[gunto]

Great work.

[BruceP]

Nice job Brad! Thanks for sharing your experience. Never know when that kind of idea may come in handy!

[BradG]

Thanks guys.
I was searching all over the net and couldn't find this information. So hopefully this thread helps someone else in the future.

[muddyboots]

I got one with the same issue and it’s great to see this thread !!!! Great job and thanks.🍺

[BradG]

I'm glad I could help!!
If you have any questions feel free to PM me.