where to get a customized do

[ThePoetWarrior]

after my test in denver me and a friend were talking about kendo on the way back and we kind of came to the agreement that we both wanted a customized do; something that would represent ourselves and our respective culture. i know this sounds silly but i think it'd be really cool to wear a do that i designed and lets others know who i am personality wise. does anyone have any suggestions on where i could get one? or price ranges?

[Fuzzy]

As my Sensei always tells me " the nail that raises its head gets hammered"

but if thats what you want I saw some awesome Do's in Tozando in Kyoto

www.tozando.com
or
www.kendo-bogu.com

fill your boots

Fuzzy

[D'Artagnan]

Not trying to poach for business, but if you email me with your ideas I can give you an idea of price. To be honest there is not much that isn't possible, it is mainly a matter of cost and production time, but I have dealt with several custom do orders so far, some of which were pretty original in terms of design.

You can email me on andy@kendo-bogu.com or pm through the forum.

Cheers

Andy

[Big One]

Hi Andy,

Nothing looked better than your Do that you had on WKC. Is that Kiji Do or yellow color? Since the Kiji do wouldn't have any lacquer but your had some kind of clear lacquer.

[D'Artagnan]

Hi Mate

Actually I have 5 do... Which WKC do you mean? In Brazil I wore the GB team one which is dark grey, but in Taipei I wore a Gold coloured one...

However, I also have a kiji do, which was a gift from my father in law. It is the plain kiji type, so yellowish in colour though it has started turning blue from the dye of the keikogi... That is the one I used to wear most frequently in tournaments until I recently got my latest Black Roiro with Ginko leaves...

Kiji do are very easy to customise though as underneath the hide, there is a layer of canvas. If you put a design on the canvas it is clearly viisable through the hide, and many high school/university teams use this method for unique team do. Often they have a motto calligraphed on to it or something like that...

[Big One]

I believe that was Taipei when you and Khaw Meng showed up with golden Do, Damm looking good.

[D'Artagnan]

Ha ha ha, yeah that is called Gold Nashi-ji Nuri and it is actually just a basic Yamato Do. You can get them pretty cheap ;)

[Tort-Speed]

Andy, hello!, and what does 'kiji' mean (like 'material' or ...)? T-S

[LarsCW]

I got a really nice doh made by Chiba bogu. It's a 64 bambo with a higher side parts so I have some more protection from the high hitters. It's really worth the investment.

I'm sure that Andy can offer any of these things too.

[Thunder]

I got a fully customized Do from E-Kendo.com - its in Korea, but they were very fast and the craftsmanship was stellar. I worked with the DELUXE DO AND MUNE COMBI - you are able to select the Do plate and the Mune, great selection of styles.
All in all I think I spent about $210 for a custom made Do, shipped.

I can't stomach spending a thousand dollars for a Bamboo Do - Maybe after I get Nanadan....in 40 years!

[LarsCW]

I can't stomach spending a thousand dollars for a Bamboo Do - Maybe after I get Nanadan....in 40 years!

I agree a bamboo do isn't cheap, I do think you need to have gear which protects you well. I'm 6 3 (1.92m) so for me the best option was a bamboo do.

Personally I think that if you spend money on something you are commited on doing you should get good equipment in this case.

The bogu I got allows me to focus on my kendo instead of having an uncomfortable fitting bogu take focus from my kendo.

Yes it's alot of money and i understand that many wouldn't be prepaired to spend this kind of money. Life is all about choises.

[D'Artagnan]

Andy, hello!, and what does 'kiji' mean (like 'material' or ...)? T-S

Hi!

Actually it is a bit difficult to translate exactly and there are much better Japanese speakers on here than me... The Kanji used to describe it is usually 生地 which can, as you say, be used to describe material/fabric, but also it can be used to describe raw dough/batter or something that is in a kind of 'basic' state that has not had something added to it... the example the dictionary gives is unglazed pottery (but so far I have never heard it used in that way - though it is hardly a hot topic of conversation amongst my social group!)... I guess 'raw' or 'plain' is one way to think of it... I guess...

But basically it is called this because it is a regular Bamboo Do without/before the lacquer... Kiji Do are easily confused with 'Fuki-urushi' do, or clear-lacquered do, because they also have the appearance of plain leather. However, Fuki-urushi is generally a darker shade, being a dark caramel type brown, and they use much 'prettier' leather, whereas Kiji Do are usually yellowish (though darker ones are available) and the raw-hide is generally a lower-grade.

Fuki-urushi are intended to be 'nice' whereas kiji-do are more intended to be used as a cheaper 'practice' do, as they are much cheaper than a top-notch Roiro Urushi Do.

[Hai_hai]

after my test in denver me and a friend were talking about kendo on the way back and we kind of came to the agreement that we both wanted a customized do; something that would represent ourselves and our respective culture. i know this sounds silly but i think it'd be really cool to wear a do that i designed and lets others know who i am personality wise. does anyone have any suggestions on where i could get one? or price ranges?
You want to buy a custom do where you select a do pattern and/or color from a selection and custom mune from a selection of patterns and colors? Or you want to spray paint your own artwork on your existing do?