tsukagawa

[herozs]

do I need to remove it to oil my shinai. I am oiling my shinai with a piece of fabric

[Kagerou]

I don't. Just remove everything else and you can oil the slats easily. If it's an older shinai it might need a little babying so then pull it all apart. I do that every couple months just to make sure everything is ok.

[herozs]

k thanks. also do I need to sand a new shinai.

[Kagerou]

Depends. I usually have a look at it after one practice and see if there are any fibres that split off because of friction. If there are I sand it a bit. I think there is a whole thread on sanding somewhere.

[dwez]

k thanks. also do I need to sand a new shinai.

About half-way down the Kodokan dojo page (http://www.pabudden.com/kodokan/thedojo.shtml) there's an excellent shinai care article, including how you should sand a new shinai.

[herozs]

thanks a lot.