Strange iaito problem
I've trained in MJER for many years, & am now having a very weird problem with my iaito. Both this blade & my last one are aluminum-beryllium, & about 2.4-shaku. On one side of the mune - only - there are developing a string of what look like chips, but are actually small, evenly-spaced openings in the burnished metal. I had to retire my last blade because of the damage it did to my hand during noto, especially in Okuden waza, & now this fairly new blade, less than 3 years old, is developing exactly the same problem. Both Sensei & I have looked at it, & neither of us has a clue as to why it's happening.
Under magnification, it almost looks like gremlins have chipped away at the mune's surface on the one side, but the other side is perfectly smooth. I've eliminated things like a defect in the koiguchi or inside the saya, but other than that, I don't have a clue why my blades are essentially retiring themselves. Both are fairly customized, & although I could of course go to steel, I really don't want to put any more strain on my rebuilt shoulder.
Has anyone else experienced this, or have any idea what may be causing it?
Thanks!
Ken
Ken Goldstein
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Judo Kodansha/MJER Iaido Kodansha/Jodo Oku-iri
Fencing Master/NRA Instructor
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it'll annoy enough people to be worth the effort."