FRED LOHMAN is the first
choice for those seeking high quality
Sword Parts, Materials and Workmanship.
To have your Sword restored, upgraded or repaired: Select the parts you want, tell us how long you want your handle to be, the color of cord for the handle all other helpful details that you wish to add. Your sword will be custom restored to your specifications and sometimes, in as little as 3 weeks.
We are qualified to restore museum-quality Swords, WW2 Military Swords, Samurai Swords, modern-made domestic and modern-made Chinese copies of Japanese Swords and their Handles.
We are the only USA source offering a full line of traditional and high quality parts and materials. Because we do not use Herculoy, our parts don't break and will not make your hands smell bad. We alone offer both great pricing and high quality and as a result, Sword makers and their customers prefer to use our parts on their Swords.
Others have tried to compete with us in the past and found it impossible because they lack the ability to hire skilled workers. On the job training (OJT) is not sufficient when working with weapons which must provide an extremely high degree of reliability. Do not be fooled by parts that at first look like ours if they show casting bubbles and mold marks as others have tried making copies of our parts and have tried passing them off as genuine. Be aware of forgeries.
We are proud of our workers and more than satisfied with their high level of craftsmanship. They have over 50 years of experience among them and you can rest assured that your sword restoration project will be done correctly the first time.
Some folks are unaware that we are the manufacturer of all of the metal parts displayed on this web site and used on almost all Japanese Sword repairs and restoration jobs done in the United States.
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Twelve flasks (12" tall by 5" around) were used to produce these parts that were cast in our Portland shop during a nice day in Spring. The first 4 'trees' on the right are of Menuki, next is a 'tree' of Kogei, then three 'trees' of Shitodome (over 700 pairs), more Menuki and at the far left, Fuchi Kashira. |
We are also the exclusive supplier and manufacturing source of a very wide selection of handle wrapping materials. We offer Silk, Tsunami (Synthetic Suede) and genuine high-quality Leather. About 10 years ago, we imported specialized equipment that permits us to manufacture our Leather and Tsunami cord in Portland, thus saving you additional money.
All Horn parts and the Nakago-nuki are produced in our small shop in The Philippines. The Silk cord and Sageo's come from Japan.
We offer over 130 different styles of Menuki, 65 different styles of Fuchi-Kashira, Four different styles of Seppa, Nakago-nuki, over 200 Tsuba designs, 12 styles of Shitodome, Horn Kurikata, Horn Kojiri, Horn Koiguchi, Wood handles, Pole arm tips, Kogai, Naginata parts, Kozuka blades, GENUINE LEATHER, Silk cord and last but not least, our fantastic TSUNAMI cord.
What does all of this mean to you, our customer?
1. Again, having skilled workers means that the job will be done correctly the first time... no loose handle wrapping cord when received, no rattling noisy Saya before their time, no loose Tsuba or handles.
2. Restoration & repair projects time is greatly reduced as most parts & materials are in stock all of the time.
3. Our wide selection of parts and styles means that you CAN choose exactly what you want and not be told to pick another style.
4.Because Steel is the traditional metal of choice used by Japanese artisans in the manufacturing of their Swords, Tsuba and Fuchi-Kashira, we use Steel as the primary metal in the manufacture of all of our Tsuba and most of our F/K sets.
And; IF a problem with any of our parts or workmanship occurs within a reasonable amount of time, rest easy because we are here to repair anything short of what can be assumed to be normal wear & tear and/or abuse.
Fred has been actively involved with Japanese sword restoration for over 40 years and he is one of a small number who hold a life membership in the highly respected (JSS/US) JAPANESE SWORD SOCIETY of the UNITED STATES.
Fred himself is the 'hands on' manufacturer of the entire wide selection of metal parts. He was exposed to the beauty of museum quality swords from the beginning and was fortunate enough to have had the foresight to make molds of many fine Tsuba, Menuki and Fuchi Kashira sets and today, they are available to all.
As a result of his many years of experience and a strong desire to maintain 'tradition', Fred is aware of the correct and traditional way that a repair and/or a restoration project is to be done. Therefore, Fred stands behind his company's finished products 100% and guarantees that all completed projects are traditionally accurate.
You get the best bang for your buck at our company. You have our word on it!