The Habaki is referred to as the 'heart' of a Japanese sword and the alignment and tightness of all other parts depend on it being professionally made and installed. A Habaki must fit the blade with an high degree of accuracy in order to function properly. It is the cornerstone that all other parts push up against in their combined effort to join the handle and the blade together.
Before modern casting methods existed, Habaki were made by simply bending a flat piece of copper around the blade and soldering the bottom where the two ends met. The below Habaki images (when inspected more closely) display the result of normal use... which of course is the way the sword is meant to be used. Hand made Habaki are still being offered by others at prices that appear to start at $300 and jump up to as high at $750 or $1,500 for more highly decorated models.
The Fred Lohman Company stands alone in its effort to reduce high prices and shorten the time associated with sword repair. Those who produce Habaki the old way are still forced to deal with it's 'Achilles heel' (the failed soldered joint )..... as displayed in the below images.
The Habaki (below) previously belonged to swords who's owners choose to upgrade to solid cast Silver Habaki. The scary part is that many owners are unaware of the dangers associated with poorly made Habaki.
Prior to WW-2, in their effort to modernize their 'war machine', the Japanese military recognized the inherent weakness of the soldered Habaki and the problems associated with it. They wisely set aside tradition and decided to equip all newly made swords with seamless cast Habaki Japanese WW-2 Habaki found on most swords today have stood the test of time and in many cases, the test of combat and in all cases, an additional 60 plus years of neglect and abuse (by us) . . .and they still have not split or failed.
To be fair, a soldered joint Habaki is safe as long as it has not started to split at the solder joint. Habaki made by hand can easily be decorated which adds to the beauty and value when mounted on an antique sword.
In my opinion, those who offer soldered Habaki (in spite of the obvious superiority of cast Habaki) do so because its 'down & dirty' technology and works for them and their customers best interests are of secondary concern. As in most industries, one must either adapt to new technologies or be forced to look for other means of employment. Many of the Airline Industries highly fragile components (Jet engine blades, etc) used in military and civilian aircraft throughout the world are produced through the use of high tech casting. The process is old but remains the way of the present and of the future.
__________________________________________
NOTE: Prior to sending your sword to our shop for any upgrades or parts replacement, please inspect its Habaki and if damaged, consider the possibility that you may be needing a new one. Please read the instructions relating to safe packaging and shipping of your sword. When preparing your sword, please do not use 'peanuts' and please do not send its sword bag.