13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.
14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.
15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.
16. Don't cut alone.
17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.
18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.
19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.
20. Do not cut above your shoulders.
21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.
22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.
23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!
24!! Quit When You Are Tired!
9 comments:
Not a war production blade. It is housed in a shirisaya (wood sheath) , intended for storage not use. Probably pre 1900, maybe much earlier.
DO NOT clean the tang for any reason. It will destroy the value.
And do not attempt to clean the blade either- that is a specialized job.
Some links. https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/japanese-sword-sites.html
Thank You! We will check out your link!
The fact that it is signed means that it is pre-war and probably predates 1876, when the samurai class was abolished by the Meiji government. Sword tang signatures are hard to read, are often false, and never give dates, just places and names. My wife's best guess is that it says, "Chikushuu juu no Sadakichi," which translates as "Sadakichi who lives in Chikushuu," which is modern day Fukuoka.
You could contact The Japanese Sword Society of the United States for more help.
Could you post a close-up photo of the temper pattern on the edge of the blade? That will give an indication of the quality.
I will take photos tomorrow and add them to this post. Thank You!
Photos are up!
Thanks for posting the detailed pictures of the blade. At 21 inches and being fairly straight, I would say it's a long wakizashi rather than a short katana. It's a nice-looking blade despite the pits and wear. I'm not really an expert, but I would guess the hamon (tempered edge) pattern is notare (irregular) style. This is a step up from the straight style and also indicates that it was probably made before 1876. The copper habaki is nicely textured to help hold the sword in its sheath.
The first poster correctly stated that it is housed in shirasaya (literally "white sheath"). This was used to store a blade when not in use. Grips (tsuka), guards (tsuba), and sheaths (saya) could be easily swapped out depending on if the user was wearing the sword for war, everyday use, or formal occasions. Since regular grips and sheaths were made of light wood and broke easily, a lot of swords are only found in shirasaya since that seems a little sturdier. Famously, the yakuza liked to fight with swords in shirasaya even though it was not meant for fighting.
Also, as the first poster said, don't try to clean or polish the blade. Polishing a Japanese blade is a special skill. I've seen several good blades ruined because the owners tried to clean them with steel wool.
Susan's father brought this home in 1945, along with the Arisaka model 99 and bayonet from the same Japanese soldier. I know that many fingerprints accumulated over the years. Susan took it to school for show-and-tell when she was in grade school! O.T. passed in November 2010, and now it is wiped with light oil and alcohol occasionally, to lift accumulated salts from handling over the years. The pits along the blade were there when O.T. captured it, so that is history to be preserved.
PS: O.T.'s Arisaka, being captured and not a battlefield cleanup, still has the chrysanthemum on the receiver. The bore is in good shape, so O.T. must have swabbed the bore after he got it. It is a good shooter.
Nice. A lot of Arisakas have the chrysanthemum filed off. The 99's are good shooters, even if not very pretty. The bores are chrome lined. It's cool that the sword, rifle, and bayonet were captured together.
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