peterm1
Veteran
As it happens though photography is my first and main love, I do as a matter of fact also participate in at least one other hobby and past time. I undertake, make and repair fittings for Japanese swords. This started when I retired and took up the sport of iaido - Japanese swordsmanship. I kept at this for a several years, undergoing training and grading, attending the dojo 2-3 times each week and at some point in time I offered to help repair the training swords of some other trainees as well as the loan swords owned by the dojo to lend to new members who as yet had not bought one. These training swords and scabbards, handles etc. tend to take a beating - especially the ones being used by newcomers. I knew I already had some of the skills needed - some metalwork, fine woodworking etc. as well quite a few tools required and most importantly, a good eye for an artistic approach to such things and the determination to learn the finer points of doing it. Japanese crafts are all about artistry!
A few years ago, an unrelated back injury forced me to give up the sport of iaido but I still continued helping people with their training swords, and eventually I also was asked to work on original Japanese "nihonto" - traditionally made Japanese collectable swords owned by various people with whom I came into contact. Much of the work involves making or repairing the lacquered scabbards (called "saya" in Japanese) and ditto with the traditionally wrapped handles of these sword (called "tsuka"). A craftsman who makes saya is a "sayashi" and one who makes and wraps their handles is a "tsukamakishi". And this is my hobby other than photography. I have had the privilege of working on a few nihonto swords - some dating back to earlier than the 1570's when Japan was in its "Sengoku Jidai" or "Warring States Period" - a period which ultimately became 150 years of almost constant struggle and war between feuding Daimyo (warlords) as depicted in the recent TV mini-series "Shogun" which was set in 1600 when this period was finally brought to an end by a warlord named Tokugawa Ieyasu (depicted in the Shogun mini-series as Lord Toranaga).
This hobby keeps me off the streets, which is kind of ironic given photography keeps me on them. 😀
So - what about other folk here - anyone else have weird hobbies - or even everyday ones?
Some photos of some of my projects. The first is a scratch build project for myself . (That is to say, I made the scabbard, handle and some of the fittings for a high-quality modern reproduction blade that I purchased). The others are restoration projects for original nihonto swords for friends (I suppose I could be justified in referring to them as clients though I am not doing this as a business, but rather as a hobby for people whom I know.)
![20250222_150308[1]_REDUCED.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/135/135413-b844987602dfd3e51cf1133957d09f05.jpg?hash=cEZqqDxFw2 "20250222_150308[1]_REDUCED.jpg")
![20250909_093614[1]REDUCED.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/135/135414-0f94115b32bbf01b05a1d97371a7e425.jpg?hash=_NM6bsJwfM "20250909_093614[1]REDUCED.jpg")
A few years ago, an unrelated back injury forced me to give up the sport of iaido but I still continued helping people with their training swords, and eventually I also was asked to work on original Japanese "nihonto" - traditionally made Japanese collectable swords owned by various people with whom I came into contact. Much of the work involves making or repairing the lacquered scabbards (called "saya" in Japanese) and ditto with the traditionally wrapped handles of these sword (called "tsuka"). A craftsman who makes saya is a "sayashi" and one who makes and wraps their handles is a "tsukamakishi". And this is my hobby other than photography. I have had the privilege of working on a few nihonto swords - some dating back to earlier than the 1570's when Japan was in its "Sengoku Jidai" or "Warring States Period" - a period which ultimately became 150 years of almost constant struggle and war between feuding Daimyo (warlords) as depicted in the recent TV mini-series "Shogun" which was set in 1600 when this period was finally brought to an end by a warlord named Tokugawa Ieyasu (depicted in the Shogun mini-series as Lord Toranaga).
This hobby keeps me off the streets, which is kind of ironic given photography keeps me on them. 😀
So - what about other folk here - anyone else have weird hobbies - or even everyday ones?
Some photos of some of my projects. The first is a scratch build project for myself . (That is to say, I made the scabbard, handle and some of the fittings for a high-quality modern reproduction blade that I purchased). The others are restoration projects for original nihonto swords for friends (I suppose I could be justified in referring to them as clients though I am not doing this as a business, but rather as a hobby for people whom I know.)
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