How were traditional sai and jutte weapons forged?

[hank_rearden]

no telling how modern makers make one-piece sais and juttes, but did traditional smiths make them one-piece? antique ones i saw are two-piece construction with the cross bar seemingly heat-shrunk onto the shaft.

some antique juttes have the spur driven into a hole in the shaft.

 

[GoldSkula]

The images aren't working mate

 

[Britt_Askew]

Hank you will need to use an image hosting site such as imgur

 

[jdm61]

or buy a premium membership....

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

These are two and three prong weapons, with the smaller prongs used for parrying. You will see them used in martial arts.

To make secondary prongs on these type weapons, there are many methods. One traditional way is to make cuts down the parent stock and forge/bend them outward, create the main blade and smaller points, and shape then to be parallel to the main blade. Other methods vary but are basically to forge weld the cross piece on the tang, forge and shape the main blade, and then form and shape the secondary blades.

 

[hank_rearden]

Yeah, those FIF contestants often did cuts on the stock and bent them out to 90 degrees or more. Looks iffy but it evidently works.

 

[Metalhead0483]

The cut and bend method, just like making a big fork. Because, you know, that's what it is... ;o)

 

[DanF]

Seems that I read somewhere that the sai was a farmer's tool before it was a martial arts weapon? Not saying, asking.
Maybe some history on this, someone?

 

[GoldSkula]

Seems that I read somewhere that the sai was a farmer's tool before it was a martial arts weapon? Not saying, asking.
Maybe some history on this, someone?

I've also heard this. If I remember correctly, there was a ban on weapons in Japan so people used their tools as weapons.

 

[A.McPherson]

Not sure about the sai, but the jute is definitely a samurai weapon. There are a couple versions that I am aware of, both are made of iron.

One version is a policing tool used mostly to arrest samurai, and othe sword wielding opponents. Also a symbol of the police force’s authority. It is a straight shaft with a fairly large “hook” to catch swords and all that.

The second version is a battlefield weapon, with a smaller “hook” and a slightly curved shaft, used primarily to smash helmets etc. at close range after losing the primary weapon (spear or bow) and the secondary weapon (katana or wakazashi). This one might have another name too, lots of arts like to use the same tolls and call them different things...