Difficult to remove and put back on the tsukagawa

[MrTuffPaws]

I joined one of the local kendo dojos and bought a shinai from them.

I took it home to sand and oil it and removing the tsukagawa gave me blisters. Getting it back on is a royal pain. Should it be this tight? Is there something I can do to make it slip on easier?

Thanks

[xvikingx]

There are several other threads about this. (still can't figure out how to place a link to another thread in my posts yet, sorry) Use the search function above. Oh yeah, don't worry nothing is wrong with your tsukagawa.

[Halcyon]

I took it home to sand and oil it and removing the tsukagawa gave me blisters. Getting it back on is a royal pain. Should it be this tight? Is there something I can do to make it slip on easier?
try putting some talcum powder (a.k.a. baby powder) on the handle or inside the tsukagaza. make sure to tap out the excess. that should help a bit.

also, putting on some rubber gloves gives you a LOT more traction. that should also prevent your blister problem.

[Kendo-Militia]

[QUOTE=MrTuffPaws]I joined one of the local kendo dojos and bought a shinai from them.

I took it home to sand and oil it and removing the tsukagawa gave me blisters. Getting it back on is a royal pain. Should it be this tight? Is there something I can do to make it slip on easier?

You don't want the Tsukagawa loose. This should be tight, very tight fit so during practice, it does not move.

[Yzakj]

I joined one of the local kendo dojos and bought a shinai from them.

I took it home to sand and oil it and removing the tsukagawa gave me blisters. Getting it back on is a royal pain. Should it be this tight? Is there something I can do to make it slip on easier?

Thanks

I had this problem with my new shinai too, it wouldn't come off like the older one, I thought I was doomed. But have you tried putting all your weight into it? Try putting the shinai on the floor, vertically, then push down with the weight of your entire body. It works for me, removing, and putting back on.

[Kendo-Militia]

I've seen Bogu dealers use a leather glove to help with grip also.

[slidercrank]

... Is there something I can do to make it slip on easier?

Thanks
See: http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?p=19855#post19855

[MrTuffPaws]

Thanks for all of the replies. After posting, I thought about searching. Anyway, I have finally gotten it back on with only two blisters and sore hands. ;-)

I thought I would list out what worked and what would not for the future searchers.

After finding the tsukagawa would not go back on, I tried soaking it in warm water. I could not get a grip on it, even with leather gloves, so I let it dry on the smaller end of shinia so that it would not shirk too much more.

After it was dry, I tried talcum powder. I was able to get it on excluding the last inch, so I soaked the last inch in hot water and tried again. No go, and the soaking even made the end smaller. arg! I started to stretch the tsukagawa with fingers and pliers then I finally found something that worked. My low whistle (a large penny whistle) was just the perfect size and slickness to stretch it wide enough to get it back on.

It is now tight and does not slip. I just hope the next time will go smoother.