A sturdy shira-saya with a strong peg is good for shipping if you have one. If not, a very safe board mounting can be easily made. A shira-saya or board mounted blade is very difficult to damage in shipping. It is also much less attractive to a potential thief. Special steps must be taken when shipping an unmounted blade, but it can be done very safely and reliably.
A bare blade will also give you a smaller and lighter package that will cost much less to ship. To ship just the blade, take the blade out of the mounting and wrap it in paper such as newspaper to prevent it from being scuffed or finger printed. Wrap it tightly to prevent it from moving around. The next step is to mount the blade onto a wooden board that is longer then the overall length of the blade.
A common 1"x2" to 1"x4" works very well. Drill a hole in the board and put a heavy wire at least 12 gauge solid or nylon rope or similar through the hole in the board and the hole in the tang. Further strap the blade onto the board with LOTS of heavy strapping tape. You need a package that can withstand being dropped on its end from a height of 2 or 3 feet.
Being dropped on its end by postal workers will send the blade crashing forward with the force of a hammer blow. If you ship a bare blade without strapping it down the tip may crash into the end of the package and be damaged and possibly cause injury!!!
Strapping the blade down like this protects it from the worst forms of shipping damage. It will keep the blade from poking through the end of the packing. It will also prevent the blade from being bent if the package is crushed. A bare blade strapped to a board in this manner can actually be much safer overall then a blade shipped in shira-saya or other mounting. It prevents the blade from vibrating or rattling in its saya during shipping and scuffing up the new polish.
You also don't have to worry about the peg breaking or saya splitting. It is absolutely NOT attractive to a potential thief, especially if they don't know anything about Japanese swords. Bottom line, a board mounting is the safest and most secure method of shipping a Japanese blade, with a strong shira-saya coming in second, and a full traditional koshirae not being recommended at all.
Once you have a sturdy shira-saya or board mounting you need a shipping carton. FedEx and the Post Office both have 38" triangular shipping tubes that are very good for unmounted blades katana length and under.
FedEx also has much larger shipping tubes available for sale. The heavy cardboard core from a carpet roll or some light weight 4" pvc "sewer" pipe can also make a good shipping tube. Joined: 09 Mar Posts: Maurizio D'Angelo. Log in. Forum index. Spotlight Topics. This is a standard topic. Posted: Mon 01 Feb, am Post subject: Shipping a sword.
I've noted we have quite a bit of action on our "Marketplace" board, and that got me thinking. When shipping a sword, are there any preferred methods of packaging, carriers, insurance, etc.? Posted: Mon 01 Feb, am Post subject:. I sold a sword a few years ago to someone through or in Canada I don't remember which.
I packaged it inside rolled-up newsprint, wrapped the pommel and hilt in foam, put the wrapped blade in a tube, and put the whole thing in a box. I sent it through the USPS, labeled as "handmade decorative metalwork" for customs. This has been my only experience shipping a sword though; I'm sure others can give you a more detailed answer.
I have seen purpose made cardboard boxes with hard foam with cut outs for blade and handle, and a foam piece at each end. My example of gun cases are like flimsy suitcases of irregular shape with soft foam inside, The sword can slide around inside unless tip and handle is wrapped in something to bring the diameter up to being pressed hard between the foam layers.
I imagine America as close to hip deep in gun cases and other firearms supplies. I always write content as "Antique Japanese NihonTo" In that way you write its a possible Japanese sword in package It have worked everytime. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Paste as plain text instead. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. Share More sharing options Followers 0.
Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. Posted January 28, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options Brian Posted January 28, Peter, How did you list the sword on your customs declaration? Grey Doffin Posted January 28, The US Postal Service has no problem shipping and insuring swords;. Posted January 29, Kind regards, Jeremy Hagop.
Ed Posted January 29, I see this as legitimate terminolgy, and along with the tariff code, have never had a problem.
Posted January 30, Ed Posted January 30, Peter, Do you have the Tariff codes? Brian Posted January 30, A reminder to all that at the top of the For Sale section, there is a great post by Darcy and others, with all the info, advise, customs tarrifs etc: viewtopic. Jean Posted January 30, Hi, I've send a sword a few weeks ago from Europe to the Usa.
I've used UPS cause others fedex ems,..
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