2010 School Year
Michael cuts the hinge for a fold of the oroshigane steel while Gabriel holds the billet during our August 2009 Sword-Steel Making Seminar.
Michael, Anna, and Gabriel Bell of Dragonfly Forge are happy to announce Tomboyana Nihontō Tanren Dōjō’s schedule of classes for the 2010 school year! We are looking forward to having much fun in the forge again! We will certainly enjoy seeing returning alumni and new students both.
Our Basic Forging Course is certainly the most popular class we offer, four sessions of which are currently scheduled for 2010. October is once again left open with the possibility of fifth Basic Forging Course being scheduled, if there is sufficient interest. We will also be offering two sessions each of our Habaki and Kajioshi Courses, with a special 5-day combination Kajioshi-Habaki Course new for 2010 in May. There is also a Koshirae Course, and following that aTsuka-maki Course scheduled in August.
All of our classes run from 9 AM to 5 PM on the dates of the session. Lunch is provided.
Space in our school is limited per class, and a deposit is required to secure a seat, which can be paid through our site which links to a secure PayPal site. The remaining tuition is due on the first day of the course.
For information on experience necessary, accommodations, travel directions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions Category.
This is a hands-on course designed to give the student a working familiarity with the tools and metals utilized in the forging of a sword blade. Each student will forge his own blade of at least wakizashi length from forge-welded steel cable. Skills learned will include forging, grinding, filing and heat-treating, with attendant emphasis on metallurgy and proper shaping and aesthetics. All tools, fuel, and material included.
The price of the course is $1250 and is limited to four students per session. A deposit of $250 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before the session begins.
April 26 – April 30, 2010
June 21-25, 2010
July 5-9, 2010
September 6-10, 2010
A two day hands-on weekend course where the student will make a copper habaki. Skills learned will include forging and annealing the metal, hard-soldering, filing, shaping, polishing and decoration. All tools and materials required are provided.
The student should provide his own blade, properly shaped on water-stones in preparation, to ensure a well-fitted habaki.
The price of the course is $500 and is limited to four students per session. A deposit of $100 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before the session begins.
June 26-27, 2010
September 11-12, 2010
– Carving and Shaping a Sword Mounting
Koshirae Course
Students will learn how to carve handles (tsuka) and scabbards (saya), as well as fitting tsuba, fitting seppa and fitting fuchigashira to the tsuka. Included in the course is the making of mortise and tenon kojiri and koiguchi, and kurigata made from buffalo horn. Tools used are traditional saws, chisels, knives, and planes and will be on hand. Alder wood will be provided, although students may bring their own.
Tools and materials will be provided, but students should have their own sword blades with a well-fitted habaki, plus tsuba and fuchigashira.
The price of the course is $1250 and is limited to four students. A deposit of $250 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before session begins.
– Handle wrapping
Tsuka-maki Course
A two day session covering the silk wrapping on a Japanese sword handle. The course will cover preparation of the handle before wrapping, folding the papers, measuring the tape, wrapping and tying the knot. Students should bring their own handles with ray skin already wrapped or inlaid. Silk for the wrap can be purchased from the school at $5 per foot. All tools are included.
The price of the course is $500 and is limited to four students. A deposit of $100 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before session begins.
Kajioshi means “smith shaped” and is the grinding of the blade prior to its being sent to a polisher. It has been observed that Western craftsmen, although comfortable with the technology, have a difficult time shaping the blade into a harmonious form. This course is designed to teach how to see and correct deficiencies in shape and geometry. Students should bring a sword blade where the shape is “just not right”. These will be studied and corrected, either by grinder or by water stone. Tools will be provided.
The price of the course is $500 and is limited to four students. A deposit of $100 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before session begins.
May 1-2, 2010
July 10-11, 2010
Kajioshi-Habaki Combo Course
NEW FOR 2010!
The Kajioshi-Habaki Combo Course is a new addition for the 2010 school year. The course, which is a combination of our two-day weekend Kajioshi and Habaki Courses, was created due to interest by alumni of Tomboyama Nihontō Tanren Dōjō in continuing their studies in the Japanese sword arts by beginning to mount, the blades they forged here during a Basic Forging Course. And the first piece in a completely mounted Japanese sword is a habaki.
However, to make a well-fitted habaki, the portion of the blade underneath and around where the habaki slips into place at the machi, known as the habakimoto, must be completely shaped . This meant that in order to take the Habaki Course, a student had to either provide a old blade in need of a new habaki or have already performed kajioshi, the initial shaping performed on water-stones by the smith, on their own blade. Given that our Kajioshi Course is a two-day weekend course as well, students, who are traveling from across the country, or internationally, were interested in coming for a longer stay to study the Art.
By combining our Kajioshi and Habaki Courses into a five-day week-long class, students can bring their unrefined grinder shaped blades to class and, using their blade as a first-hand lesson, help to develop the aesthetic eye, shaping the blade on traditional Japanese water-stones.
The extra day of classes will give students time to properly prepare and refine the habakimoto, where the habaki will fit, with water-stones, laying the good foundation needed to make a well-fitted and ascetically pleasing habaki.
Once the student has properly shaped the nakago and habakimoto area with the waterstones, the final two days of the class will be spent forging, soldering, and shaping habaki of copper fitted to the student’s blade.
The price of the course is $1250 and is limited to four students. A deposit of $250 is requested, refundable up to 60 days before session begins.
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