tang movement

[jezah81]

Is any kind of movement in the tsuka bad or is there some kind of movements that are not dangerous? Which ones are allowed and which arent allowed?
Regards,
Jeremy Hagop

[chrismoses]

All bad. If anything is moving, the forces will work on the mekugi to wear it down and given time it will fail. Sometimes the tsuba can be a touch loose and it's movement can feel like it's coming from the tsuka, but that should be tightened down as much as possible as well. My nosyu 2002 developed what I can only describe as a wiggle in the tsuka after about 5 years. When Scott Irey took it apart, a shim had broken down and the tang was free to move a little bit. He re-shimmed it and it has been fine since.

I think Frankenstein's monster said it best when he said, "Movement... BAD!"