Something about the Indigo dye...

[Sup]

it stinks!!

Is there no alternative to this smelly phenomenon?
My forarm after a workout smells outrageous!!

Is it because I use a not-so-expensive Bogu and they have
some cheap chemical dye??

What are the smelly features of your Bogu's?
Are the more expensive ones better smelling in anyway?

[Ares2907]

Sup: Is it because I use a not-so-expensive Bogu and they have
some cheap chemical dye??



More than likely. Kendo is generally one of those areas where if you buy cheap, you get cheap. If real indigo dye is used, it actually smells pretty good (imho).
I have heard that some people use woodsmoke to alter the smell of their bogu. I'm sure that would work quite well if you're desperate to get rid of the smell.

[alexpollijr]

I don't know for sure. Usually, aizome dye doesn't really stinks. It has a distintictive aroma but it's not quite 'outrageous'. Maybe it's about something else. What do you mean 'not-so-expensive' bogu?

I've had a 4mm cheap one from e-bogu and it did not stink at all, except from my own sweat stink, which I prevented in the set I bought after that one by using a spray for bogu called 'kenro spray'. Try it.

[ben]

Yeah, I've heard some people complaining about the stink of cheaply dyed dogi. Never come across it meself. I concur with Aireys, new indigo dye is one the best smells in the world, kinda like a cross between woodsmoke and Lapsang Soochong Tea. Ah! Natsugashii!

b

[kendo_chick]

I don't think my bogu smells. However, my friend did recently buy new kote (rather expensive ones at that) and the smelled like bacon... hmmmm.

[KhawMengLee]

yup...new kote=smoked leather=bacon

....mmmmmm....bacon

[JSchmidt]

I'm not quite sure what my bogu smells of, but it sure aint bacon!!!!.
:D

Jakob

[KhawMengLee]

Now old kote...:eek:

Old kote=ohmygodithinkiamgonnapassout=corsican cheese

mmmmm...(with nose plugs)...cheese

[Jerry Wellbrock]

I have recently purchased some top of the line hand stitched bogu from Eguchi Kendo.....and have only worn it a couple of times.....I am extremely happy with the quality of the bogu but the kote do smell "smokey"...I am going to email Eguchi in just a minute here and question this....I will post whatever reply I get back from them....Jerry....and yes I am very blue after training....:confused:

[Ares2907]

You can rest safe in the knowledge that (aparently) the indigo dye also has anti-bacterial qualities, so while you may look like a smurf, any cuts or scrapes you might have aren't going to infect.
:-)

[kendo_chick]

Originally posted by Ares2907
You can rest safe in the knowledge that (aparently) the indigo dye also has anti-bacterial qualities, so while you may look like a smurf, any cuts or scrapes you might have aren't going to infect.
:-)


Ares2907 - I've heard this as well. I also supposedly speeds the healing of bruises as well.

[gill]

Originally posted by Jerry Wellbrock
I have recently purchased some top of the line hand stitched bogu from Eguchi Kendo.....and have only worn it a couple of times.....I am extremely happy with the quality of the bogu but the kote do smell "smokey"...

new kote is the best smell on the planet! The smokey smell is beacuse the palms are made from smoked deerskin. The only problem is if you sniff them for too long you end up with blue dye all over your nose!!!:D

Gill

[Confound]

Ares and kendo-Chick,

i may have mentionned before, but the indigo dye actually does do wonders on bruises. normally I don't ascribe to homeophathy or natural medicines of any sort, but the indigo dye is not an old wive's tale. anyway, i posted about it a long time ago, so i won't bother posting it again, but it suffices to say that it really does work quite nicely.

as for stinky bogu...
Some of my students use febreze to temporarily clean out the stench. if you have a big problem, i'm sure some of the bogu dealers online sell products for removing mildew. there was a thread a while back about the smell, sweat, humidity problem with bogu.

c

[Kendoka]

If it stinks, I am sorry to say this, but it most likely is not indigo.

It may be dark blue, but indigo is indigo. As mentioned above indigo has antibacterial qualities, so the smelly things are most unlkely to breed on (real) indigo dyed clothing.


Richard

uh huh eh ben ?

[MRaymond]

A new, indigo-dyed keiko-gi smells very nice (imo). For a long time I was able to do the traditional cold water soak-and-hang-in-the-shade every 2-3 months to freshen it up.

Lately, however, doing this doesn't seem to help as much as it used to. I tried Febreze, but I didn't like the smell of my gi after sweating it up again.

I hear that baking soda is great for killing bacteria, but would a cold-water-baking-soda combination leave residue on the gi?

[kendo_chick]

The greatest thing that I have found for washing my gi is to soak it in a water-vinegar solution and then after soaking overnight, put it in the washer, then hang to dry.

[stakenaka]

Salt water also works.
Of course, the old school method is to set the dye with your sweat (ie: by practicing in it, you set it). However, I really don't like looking like a smurf after practice for several months (as do most people).
Maybe you need to air out your kote more after practice. My kote does not smell like roses, but the odor is tolerable. Of course, it could be that kendo killed all of my olfactory nerves .... :)

[David J]

Originally posted by Confound
normally I don't ascribe to homeophathy or natural medicines of any sort...

Apparently something like 95% of all medicines are derived from naturally occuring substances in plants etc

<rei>

Dave

[Confound]

Dave,

I don't want to argue about medicine. I'm talking about silly new age cures and ridiculous 'homeopathic urine therapy' nonsense that gets more people killed than anything else.

c