Japanese Braille

Ebony Tanto Letter Opener w/ Braille Relief

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• published: 30 Dec 2015
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The blade of the tanto letter opener is made from a piece of thin (~1/8”) ebony. The blade collar is a piece of maple, the guard is a piece of ebony. The scabbard is made by sandwiching a piece of ebony between two pieces of leather. The handle of the tanto is made like the sheath with a piece of ebony between two layers of leather. Project 19. 95% of the project, The blade, the scabbard, the spacer, and all the leather pieces are cut by the X-Carve from Inventables (http://www.inventables.com). The tanto’s blade collar and guard were cut to fit. This project is also sponsored by Inventables. A written instruction can be found on the Inventables Projects page (URL coming soon). This is a second iteration of an ebony letter opener. The first one ( https://youtu.be/aemQN3kQ8WM) was a basic design that allowed me to learn the basics of the X-Carve. In this design I decided to increase the complexity of the design. The tanto (Japanese for a short sword) is the little sister of the katana (the Japanese word for sword). The tanto is in everyway the same as the katana except in size. I designed the tanto to be close to the traditional Japanese shape; but this is a letter opener it’s function is very far from the armor piercing design of many real tantos. In fact a tanto that opens a letter contradicts the violent and protective nature of the real tanto. The inlay of the white acrylic and epoxy into the ebony blade was a tribute to the many artisans who carve hollow designs into katanas and the old masters who etched and put jewels into many fine swords. Of course, everything in the modern world is easier, though it is a shame that so many people waste their lives by never striving to reach their potential. The X-Carve makes this project a breeze. I can imagine this done on a scroll saw, but to cut the cherry blossom inlay? Forget about it! The draw back is a lack of familiarity with the software, which makes this letter opener harder than it should be. I had gone through a number of designs to arrive at a tanto blade shape that I liked, this was the most difficult part of the project. Once the blade shape is set, the rest of the tanto parts fell into place quickly. The idea of using braille arose from my desire to put “Inventables” and “Zhu 2015” on to the tanto without it appearing gaudy. Because the tanto is such a small blade, any word is going to attract unwanted attention. (You may have noticed the “Zhu 2015” initially carved on to the surface of the tanto in the earlier footage. ) As I searched for a solution, I was inspired to use braille. I found braille to be both decorative and a little cryptic. I had a lot of fun and hair pulling with this project. It is the epitome of my 2 X-Carve projects. I hope you enjoy the build video and have a wonderful new year. John Z Zhu http://www.johnzzhu.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED