Opinions on a Takouba

Emanuel · 4th June 2006, 04:30 PM

Tim, Katana, thanks for the suggestions. It looks like the guard is one piece of metal, whitish in colour, then covered in brass. Oddly enough it looks melted, as if it was squeezed by hot tongs or something. The disk makes no sense to me, and looks like a later addition, perhaps the "repair" mentioned by the seller. I imagine that an owner at some point tried to repair or change the guard in some way and, after removing it tried to glue it back on -explaining all the ugly gunk. Do any of you have info on how takoubas were traditionally constructed? How is the guard made and attached?
The disk is indeed britle and I think it will snap if I try to bend it too much. Would heating it a bit help?
The scabbard is made of thin planks of wood, covered in leather and two decorative brass pieces at the mouth and foot. The lower part is broken or is just leather, as it's limp and looks like it could get ripped off...

katana · 4th June 2006, 04:42 PM

Heating would make the metal more pliable. In fact heating most metals to a dull red heat and the quenching in water, makes the metal softer and more maulable ( annealing ). Obviously, if the disc is not removable, I would not recommend this at all, the heat , by conduction would surely cause problems with any soldered joints nearby.

Emanuel · 4th June 2006, 06:20 PM

Could you recommend some sort of solvent that would disolve the excessive glue/epoxy? I'm thinking about removing the guard -if possible- cleaning everything and putting it back together.

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4th June 2006, 04:30 PM	#1
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Tim, Katana, thanks for the suggestions. It looks like the guard is one piece of metal, whitish in colour, then covered in brass. Oddly enough it looks melted, as if it was squeezed by hot tongs or something. The disk makes no sense to me, and looks like a later addition, perhaps the "repair" mentioned by the seller. I imagine that an owner at some point tried to repair or change the guard in some way and, after removing it tried to glue it back on -explaining all the ugly gunk. Do any of you have info on how takoubas were traditionally constructed? How is the guard made and attached? The disk is indeed britle and I think it will snap if I try to bend it too much. Would heating it a bit help? The scabbard is made of thin planks of wood, covered in leather and two decorative brass pieces at the mouth and foot. The lower part is broken or is just leather, as it's limp and looks like it could get ripped off...

4th June 2006, 04:42 PM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Heating would make the metal more pliable. In fact heating most metals to a dull red heat and the quenching in water, makes the metal softer and more maulable ( annealing ). Obviously, if the disc is not removable, I would not recommend this at all, the heat , by conduction would surely cause problems with any soldered joints nearby.

4th June 2006, 06:20 PM	#3
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Could you recommend some sort of solvent that would disolve the excessive glue/epoxy? I'm thinking about removing the guard -if possible- cleaning everything and putting it back together.