Kogatana & Kozuka: Making a Utility Knife for the Wakizashi

In this episode of my wakizashi series, I tackle one of the last pieces: the kogatana and the kozuka handle. The kozuka is a decorative handle fitting for the kogatana, a small utility knife that fits into a pocket on the saya. Crafting the kogatana was quick and easy, using a scrap piece of raindrop damascus I had forged for another project. On the other hand, creating the kozuka proved to be a very long and tedious process. The kozuka is made of shibuichi, a silver alloy consisting of 20% silver and 80% copper. The feather inlay is crafted from 800 silver (80% silver, 20% copper), matching the feather design of the menuki for consistency throughout the fittings. I experimented with a nanako punch background, a traditional pattern of small dots thought to resemble fish roe. The process of folding the kozuka presented significant challenges, and in hindsight, I would have worked on the feather silver inlay after the fact to minimize the risk of it breaking off. Unfortunately inform