lezics
14th December 2008, 11:35 PM
This subject appeared many times on the KW forums. There is also a lot of information, but I think it would be nice to give some more clear indication specially for beginners how to choose, since the market these days probably is giving some false directions. This post is more a synthesis, than fresh input, almost all the information appeared already on the different threads of this forum. This way put together I still hope it might help a bit.
Historically futon were stitched very widely, really it was similar to a small and thinner duvet. Some photos of a very old bogu you can see here: http://www.windows.gr.jp/kendougu/ebaseball.htm (end of the page). Later the stitching width started to get smaller and smaller, until it reached the order of magnitude of <10 millimeters, a typical stitching width was about 3 bu = 9 mm. When the machine stitched bogus appeared the first ones used similar wide stitching, 7-9 mm, this is something many of us saw in older bogu.
Since the more labor means higher cost, therefore it feels like higher grade, the trend for closer stitching appeared. It is really visible, that the futon got much more work on it, it has also smoother surface, looks definitely nicer. Slowly appeared the 1.5 bu, later the 1.2 in the tezashi bogu, 4-3 mm in the machine stitched ones. The last stage was the 1.0, or even 0.8 bu, respectively 2.0 mm. In the mean time all other stitching widths were used in Japan, there people could buy anything they wanted. For the rest of the world, buying through the internet a clear (not necessarily good) trend appeared: wider stitching was found on the lower end bogu, using weaker materials and poor craftsmanship. All the better bogu, having good materials used the closer stitching (usually 2-3 mm) and high level of decoration. This was probably a marketing strategy, however the result was some misunderstanding about judging bogu quality.
Before comparing the different stitching widths I would like to give some more or less known examples of good quality bogu using different stitching widths.
Narrow stitching:
- E-bogu high end 2 mm set (http://www.e-bogu.com/)
- Koei high end 3 mm sets (like S-22, G-22) (http://www.koei-budogu.co.jp/)
- E-mudo high end sets (http://www.e-mudo.com/)
Many people I met are using these sets, they are satisfied with the quality. Are nicely decorated, suitable for hard keiko, and with nice lifetime. The list can be continued with a lot of other companies, like Tozando, Eguchi, etc., but it is not the point now to make a link collection.
Wide stitching:
- Chiba bogu, 6 mm Mine set (http://www.chibabogu.com/)
- Kenbudo, 9 mm set (http://www.kenbu-do.co.jp/store/detail.cgi?code=A1002)
- Shobudo, 8 mm set (https://g106.secure.ne.jp/~g106426/shopcart/shohinpage/01_kendougu/04.html)
Saw couple of these sets used by more experienced kendoka. These sets are quite expensive, yet very simple design, but their real value lies in the usability and lifetime.
Stitching width has definitely a strong influence on bogu character. There are couple of parameters to be followed, when judging the overall quality of bogu, it is very nicely described on the Bogu Buying FAQ, here I would like to discuss only the ones which has some relation with stitching width, like: shock absorbing ability, comfort (softness and flexibility), durability and aesthetical aspect. The first three are determining the functionality, the fourth is more the artistic side of the bogu.
The shock absorbing ability depends how much the external surface of the futon can deform reversibly, without too much bending the inner surface. This effect can be obtained by using or thicker, or harder futon (=more closely stitched). There are four combination:
- thinner and soft - this is probably the worst, using wide stitching, does not give enough protection, it is used in some cheap sets, might be suitable only for children delivering relatively weak blows, never for adults having serious and demanding keiko.
- thinner and stiff - most of the better quality 2-3 mm sets are like this (the above mentioned once too), medium shock absorbing, nice molding to the body
- thicker and soft - wide stitching with adequate thickness gives excellent shock absorbance, while being very comfortable
- thicker and stiff - narrow stitching combined with thick material will result a pretty rigid futon, that is heavy, needs a long time to brake in, uncomfortable to wear and transmits quite big amount of the shock to the body - rarely seen and not recommendable to use.
It is used to be said as an advantage of closer stitching is a longer lifetime. Durability of bogu is mainly determined by the quality of the materials used and also the skill and experience of the craftsman who makes the stitching job. I have seen some 2 bu bogu, which is in constant use for more than 20, even 30 years, they show high grade of wear, but still completely functional, there are no broken stitches, or loss of stuffing material.
As of visual aspect of a bogu most people agree, that closer stitching looks nicer. This is again something to be asked: do I need a nicer or rather a more a simple but functional bogu for regular keiko. It is nice to have a good looking bogu for special occasions, but for everyday keiko the first priority is functionality.
On the machine stitched lines it is difficult to find good quality with wide stitch. The above mentioned three companies and probably many others in Japan, that are less known in the rest of the world, are selling bogu of this kind. It is not cheap, not fancy, but definitely de best comfort and protection I ever saw (this is also the final conclusion of the long thread about Mine bogu). Compared to some cheaper 2-3 mm machine stitched, or even a similarly priced hand stitched set these are probably superior in many points of view, only the design is behind. When purchasing relatively cheap sets, with close stitching and high level of decoration there is a risk of getting something less functional.
Effect of stitching width in hand stitched sets is similar. The closer is nicer, more expensive, but not necessarily more functional. Some kendo sensei and bogu craftsman say, that for everyday keiko the best is the 2.0-2.5 bu. The 1.5 bu is a nice compromise between aspect and functionality, even the 1.2 bu can be, but really at the edge. The 0.8-1.0 bu sets are considered to be too tightly sewn, many reputable suppliers does not even offer this option.
Shortly about machine stitching versus tezashi. Everybody knows machine stitched bogu, now days most of the bogu are like this. Good tezashi bogu is more expensive, therefore less people can afford it. Good machine sewn bogu can be almost as perfectly functional as the best hand stitched ones. The main advantage of a high grade tezashi bogu over these is the more traditional look and feeling. Must be suspicious with the relatively cheap tezashi bogu: these might be good looking, but most of the cases the price is reduced by making saving on less visible parts, finally getting a bogu, that is less functional (less comfort, less protection). When the price of a hand stitched bogu comes below a good machine stitched one, people should really question it’s quality. Better a fully functional poor looking machine sewn bogu, that serves you without any issue for 15+ years, than a fancy tezashi creating later problems from the very beginning.
Again, the basic mistake is caused by the fact, that for many years the better quality materials were associated with the closer stitching. This way the overall quality of the top 2-3 mm bogus was better, therefore people had to choose these ones. Good quality with wide stitching is existing, sets can be as good, or even slightly better in terms of functionality like the narrowly stitched ones. In Japan 6-9 mm / 2-3 bu are quite popular, lots of serious kendoka are using it.
Finally it is up to everyone’s preference what to choose. First bogu of a beginner should be something really cheap, but even here is a better choice the good padding instead of more decoration. At the point where people decide to go with kendo for a long time it is recommended to get a good bogu which is functional in every point of view, is safe to use and helps the most to improve ones kendo. Functionality is above design. The upper category: nicely decorated good bogu is really expensive, it is nice to have, but will not contribute too much of the quality of kendo practiced.
Some days ago there was posted here a link with the photos of the Team Japan – Team US joint keiko. The excellent quality of the photos allowed me to observe some details of the bogu used by the members of the Japanese team. More then half of them are using cheap looking (does not mean cheep!) machine sewn bogu – there must be a reason for this (in their case probably we should not think, that they can not afford a breath taking tezashi bogu). This made me to think about this subject and write this post.
Historically futon were stitched very widely, really it was similar to a small and thinner duvet. Some photos of a very old bogu you can see here: http://www.windows.gr.jp/kendougu/ebaseball.htm (end of the page). Later the stitching width started to get smaller and smaller, until it reached the order of magnitude of <10 millimeters, a typical stitching width was about 3 bu = 9 mm. When the machine stitched bogus appeared the first ones used similar wide stitching, 7-9 mm, this is something many of us saw in older bogu.
Since the more labor means higher cost, therefore it feels like higher grade, the trend for closer stitching appeared. It is really visible, that the futon got much more work on it, it has also smoother surface, looks definitely nicer. Slowly appeared the 1.5 bu, later the 1.2 in the tezashi bogu, 4-3 mm in the machine stitched ones. The last stage was the 1.0, or even 0.8 bu, respectively 2.0 mm. In the mean time all other stitching widths were used in Japan, there people could buy anything they wanted. For the rest of the world, buying through the internet a clear (not necessarily good) trend appeared: wider stitching was found on the lower end bogu, using weaker materials and poor craftsmanship. All the better bogu, having good materials used the closer stitching (usually 2-3 mm) and high level of decoration. This was probably a marketing strategy, however the result was some misunderstanding about judging bogu quality.
Before comparing the different stitching widths I would like to give some more or less known examples of good quality bogu using different stitching widths.
Narrow stitching:
- E-bogu high end 2 mm set (http://www.e-bogu.com/)
- Koei high end 3 mm sets (like S-22, G-22) (http://www.koei-budogu.co.jp/)
- E-mudo high end sets (http://www.e-mudo.com/)
Many people I met are using these sets, they are satisfied with the quality. Are nicely decorated, suitable for hard keiko, and with nice lifetime. The list can be continued with a lot of other companies, like Tozando, Eguchi, etc., but it is not the point now to make a link collection.
Wide stitching:
- Chiba bogu, 6 mm Mine set (http://www.chibabogu.com/)
- Kenbudo, 9 mm set (http://www.kenbu-do.co.jp/store/detail.cgi?code=A1002)
- Shobudo, 8 mm set (https://g106.secure.ne.jp/~g106426/shopcart/shohinpage/01_kendougu/04.html)
Saw couple of these sets used by more experienced kendoka. These sets are quite expensive, yet very simple design, but their real value lies in the usability and lifetime.
Stitching width has definitely a strong influence on bogu character. There are couple of parameters to be followed, when judging the overall quality of bogu, it is very nicely described on the Bogu Buying FAQ, here I would like to discuss only the ones which has some relation with stitching width, like: shock absorbing ability, comfort (softness and flexibility), durability and aesthetical aspect. The first three are determining the functionality, the fourth is more the artistic side of the bogu.
The shock absorbing ability depends how much the external surface of the futon can deform reversibly, without too much bending the inner surface. This effect can be obtained by using or thicker, or harder futon (=more closely stitched). There are four combination:
- thinner and soft - this is probably the worst, using wide stitching, does not give enough protection, it is used in some cheap sets, might be suitable only for children delivering relatively weak blows, never for adults having serious and demanding keiko.
- thinner and stiff - most of the better quality 2-3 mm sets are like this (the above mentioned once too), medium shock absorbing, nice molding to the body
- thicker and soft - wide stitching with adequate thickness gives excellent shock absorbance, while being very comfortable
- thicker and stiff - narrow stitching combined with thick material will result a pretty rigid futon, that is heavy, needs a long time to brake in, uncomfortable to wear and transmits quite big amount of the shock to the body - rarely seen and not recommendable to use.
It is used to be said as an advantage of closer stitching is a longer lifetime. Durability of bogu is mainly determined by the quality of the materials used and also the skill and experience of the craftsman who makes the stitching job. I have seen some 2 bu bogu, which is in constant use for more than 20, even 30 years, they show high grade of wear, but still completely functional, there are no broken stitches, or loss of stuffing material.
As of visual aspect of a bogu most people agree, that closer stitching looks nicer. This is again something to be asked: do I need a nicer or rather a more a simple but functional bogu for regular keiko. It is nice to have a good looking bogu for special occasions, but for everyday keiko the first priority is functionality.
On the machine stitched lines it is difficult to find good quality with wide stitch. The above mentioned three companies and probably many others in Japan, that are less known in the rest of the world, are selling bogu of this kind. It is not cheap, not fancy, but definitely de best comfort and protection I ever saw (this is also the final conclusion of the long thread about Mine bogu). Compared to some cheaper 2-3 mm machine stitched, or even a similarly priced hand stitched set these are probably superior in many points of view, only the design is behind. When purchasing relatively cheap sets, with close stitching and high level of decoration there is a risk of getting something less functional.
Effect of stitching width in hand stitched sets is similar. The closer is nicer, more expensive, but not necessarily more functional. Some kendo sensei and bogu craftsman say, that for everyday keiko the best is the 2.0-2.5 bu. The 1.5 bu is a nice compromise between aspect and functionality, even the 1.2 bu can be, but really at the edge. The 0.8-1.0 bu sets are considered to be too tightly sewn, many reputable suppliers does not even offer this option.
Shortly about machine stitching versus tezashi. Everybody knows machine stitched bogu, now days most of the bogu are like this. Good tezashi bogu is more expensive, therefore less people can afford it. Good machine sewn bogu can be almost as perfectly functional as the best hand stitched ones. The main advantage of a high grade tezashi bogu over these is the more traditional look and feeling. Must be suspicious with the relatively cheap tezashi bogu: these might be good looking, but most of the cases the price is reduced by making saving on less visible parts, finally getting a bogu, that is less functional (less comfort, less protection). When the price of a hand stitched bogu comes below a good machine stitched one, people should really question it’s quality. Better a fully functional poor looking machine sewn bogu, that serves you without any issue for 15+ years, than a fancy tezashi creating later problems from the very beginning.
Again, the basic mistake is caused by the fact, that for many years the better quality materials were associated with the closer stitching. This way the overall quality of the top 2-3 mm bogus was better, therefore people had to choose these ones. Good quality with wide stitching is existing, sets can be as good, or even slightly better in terms of functionality like the narrowly stitched ones. In Japan 6-9 mm / 2-3 bu are quite popular, lots of serious kendoka are using it.
Finally it is up to everyone’s preference what to choose. First bogu of a beginner should be something really cheap, but even here is a better choice the good padding instead of more decoration. At the point where people decide to go with kendo for a long time it is recommended to get a good bogu which is functional in every point of view, is safe to use and helps the most to improve ones kendo. Functionality is above design. The upper category: nicely decorated good bogu is really expensive, it is nice to have, but will not contribute too much of the quality of kendo practiced.
Some days ago there was posted here a link with the photos of the Team Japan – Team US joint keiko. The excellent quality of the photos allowed me to observe some details of the bogu used by the members of the Japanese team. More then half of them are using cheap looking (does not mean cheep!) machine sewn bogu – there must be a reason for this (in their case probably we should not think, that they can not afford a breath taking tezashi bogu). This made me to think about this subject and write this post.