Shinai Maintenance

[Hingus]

As a new kendo student I get conflicting information on how often to oil a shinai. What is the general rule for how often a shinai should be oiled?

Thanks!

[JSchmidt]

Whenever it's dry! :D.
I give my shinais a workover once a month, some do it every week, some don't doit at all. It also depends a lot on the average humidity where you live.

Regards,

Jakob

[inner_cent]

I really think there is a general in "WHEN" do you oil them. AS a kendoka, it is your responsibility to maintain your own equipment as often as possible. I used to oil them once every 2 or 3 weeks, sometimes more frequent. If you only oil shinai when it is almost dry, it will be already too late. So at the end of the story, it is up to you, not because other says its 2 weeks, 3 weeks, ... etc

[Hongsermeier]

I must agree with inner_cent, as often as needed. Also, don't forget the extra shinai that you don't normaly use. I made that mistake. Last week ,when I took out a shinai I keep for tournaments to practice with it broke after about 10 min. So I got out another and the same thing happened. This weekend I go shinai shopping. Will also buy more oil.

Anyone have recomendation for oil?

[Ian Russell]

Can't go wrong with vegetable oil? I use what's in the pantry, which usually happens to be canola oil... (I'd rather eat the olive oil)

Cheers,

[mingshi]

I tend to oil mine everytime when I feel some splinters start coming out (Of course I'm sanding them down!!!). Regular shinai care includes: sanding, oiling, splinter-checking, string-retying, bamboo-strips-turning, etc. etc.

Hongsermeier, there's an old thread on Shinai oil. But anyway any vegetable oil will do (they don't stink).

BTW does everyone soak the entire shinai in with oil when you just buy a new one??

[stakenaka]

The link to the thread is:
http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176
(Yeah, I started it) :)
Just to emphasize a point, it would be a good idea to wax the edges of the shinai staves after oiling and shaving it. It minimizes the formation of splinters.
I usually do not soak my shinai in oil: it is a bit costly. I like to wrap the shinai in oiled paper towels for a few days, occasionally inpsecting the shinai and applying more oil where necessary.

[Will]

Just curious...how long does each of your shinais last after you take care of them?

[Dwayne P.]

I agree with what was already explained above. (Don’t want to be redundant)

With regular inspection/maintenance (shaving, sanding, oiling, waxing, etc..) I've had a bamboo shinai lasted several months and some that a couple weeks. There is several factors for shinai break down IMO: little to no maintenance (maintenance habits), defective bamboo, mileage on the shinai, your striking technique IE hard hitter or with finess, etc...

Most importantly you don’t want to injury a fellow kendoist with the lack of maintenance. You don't want a splinter breaking away and lodging into someone’s eye. Likewise you don't want that to happen to yourself either. Inspect your shinai before every class to insure there is no damage to it. I usually take three to four shinai to every class in case one is damaged during practice.

If your a creature of habit and have found a particular shinai (brand/model) that tend to use over and over (same specifications), then when a bamboo slat breaks you can mass parts to maintain your other shinai. I've never had more then two sides of a shinai break at one time. Recycling the parts is always a good idea.

I bought some linseed oil at the hardware store a while back for only $3.50 and it looks like its gonna last me at least a year. A little oil goes a long way.

Lately I've noticed that the accessories (leather) of my shinai are deteriorating more rapidly then the bamboo. The oils from my hands, over time, seem to be doing quite a number on the leather. Plus washing leather is always a pain, well for me anyways. I may have to break down and purchase an accessory kit or two to fix the problem.

-Dwayne

[alexpollijr]

Originally posted by Will
Just curious...how long does each of your shinais last after you take care of them?

Will

Before I switched to carbon, I had an average quality one last about 8 months with proper maintenance (once a month or so) which I started three or so months after the first use. Anyway, down here in southern Brazil it's very very humid, so that had some influence. I've had other shinais however that splintered and broke very quickly despite the maintenance efforts.

It's also very subjective

Cheers

Alex Polli

[KenD'OH]

I just joined my university kendo club last week and i bought my shinai only yesterday. So please forgive me for asking dumb questions.

Since i dont' really have a standard to compare to, how would i know if the the bamboo is "dry" and needs oiling? Also, is it true that i must oil the shinai when it is new?

-Thanks!

[KhawMengLee]

Get a senior aside to teach you how to disassemble and reassemble your shinai. If you just got it you should check for splinters and sand down the splinters.

I usually sand down the back of a new shinai(the inside of the slats) and then coat them with olive oil and leave it to soak for a day or so. Then I wipe the excess oil off and reassemble it. You should look at your shinai for splinters after each session and depending on where you are you should oil it at least once a month.

Just like one should dry and air out one's bogu and wipe the inside of the MEN for excess sweat.

gotta look after your equipment.

PEACE
MENG

[KenD'OH]

thanks for the prompt reply meng :)

i check the outside of the shinai for splinters and it seems to be in good condition. everything is nice and smooth.

i have a practice tomorrow night and a senior only told me to bring my shinai. do you think its possible for a newbie like me to disassemble and reassemble the shinai myself, so i can oil and prep the shinai in time for practice tomorrow?

[KhawMengLee]

if you know how to its cool but I think disassembling is the easy part. Most people have problems trying to tie the nakayuki(the leather strap near the center keeping the shinai in shape.

You can give it a go but do get your senior to inspect it before you start because if it is loose and a slat come out it could kill or maim someone.

but you should be fine just using it as it is, your senior will fill out the details.

GOOD LUCK and ENJOY!
MENG

[KenD'OH]

great

since it should be fine, im just going to bring my new shinai to class tomorrow then.

i wouldn't want to waste $40 by screwing it up or worse, poking an eye out with a bamboo

[Charlie]

Hmm!

I'm going to look this up, but can anyone tell me *how* you oil? I've never done this before. Do you just soak a rag real good and run it up and down the slats?

Shaving and waxing I do. Oil I never done.

[Ian Russell]

I just pour a little oil in a bowl, sit down, and hand rub the stuff over the staves with my fingers, I'll apply some, wipe off the excess, then apply another coat and wipe off.

It's messy but seems to work.

I've heard of people that fill up a PVC tube with oil and soak the take for a while. Never tried that myself...

[JSchmidt]

I bought one of those fancy spraycans of shinai-oil. (Just bamboo oil, I presume?). I spray on liberaly (over the bathtub), let it lie to soak overnight and wipe of excess next day.
That, combined with sanding/shaving almost makes the shinai feel new.

Jakob

[KenD'OH]

I just went to my practice today and asked a senior about shinai maintenance. He told me to use candle wax to lubricate between the 4 bamboo pieces. Does this sound right? Would i have to wax AND oil it?

[Kuri]

Originally posted by Ian Russell
I just pour a little oil in a bowl, sit down, and hand rub the stuff over the staves with my fingers...

Ever had any splinter? :rolleyes:
Bamboo splinters have to be the most painful and easiest wounds to become infected. Did someone give you this advice?

KenD'OH, oil the staves first (wipe off excess) and then (if you want to) wax the sides of the staves. Sounds right.

[Ian Russell]

Originally posted by Kuri
Ever had any splinter? :rolleyes:
Not yet. It's not like I whip my fingers down the staves when applying oil, I use my thumb and the tips of my fingers to apply the oil (which are callused from a decade or so of noodling on guitars). I also sand down the staves. Any splinters that ever develop get sanded down right away. The bamboo is pretty smooth when I apply oil.

So no splinters nor gangreenous fingers for me.

Since I've never been showed any shinai oiling waza, this is all I could come up with. What method do you suggest Kuri?

Cheers,

[Kendoboy]

I turn the staves so that the hollow/dip/groove in the back is up, then I fill it with oil and let it sit overnight. in the morning, I wipe the excess and a bit extra if neccessary over the entire stave. seems to work well. I also sand down marks in the shinai from where it's hit another. That way, I am treating the cause rather than the symptoms, and never get slinters in the first place.

[Hongsermeier]

I was at a taikai last weekend and asked a sensei about this. He said he takes his new shinai's and soaks them in water for one week. Just the striking part of the shinai. After that he waxs them. The wax is to seal in the water. Supposed to last a long time. You do need to partially take them apart for this. Kinda bad to stick leather in water for a week.

[Kuri]

Originally posted by Ian Russell
So no splinters nor gangreenous fingers for me. Since I've never been showed any shinai oiling waza, this is all I could come up with. What method do you suggest Kuri?
Cheers,
I've more than my share of splinters (especially cleaning university club shinai), so I always use a cloth to apply the oil. I usually shave, lightly sand and occasionally compress the fibres (by running glass or another timber over the edges) the staves. But, alas, when the splittering was "extensive", the odd one tends to lerk around, ready to pounce on unsuspecting flesh.

I've had lots of advice about keeping the shinai moist, especially in the dry Japanese winter. One is to leave the shinai (without leather parts) in the bathroom for days or even weeks, so that it can naturally suck in moisture from the humid surroundings. A quick fix is to soak the staves in a bath tub for an hour or so, but I found the fibres on the edge expand too much and will be prone to more splinterring (but it probably wont break). Totally soaking it in oil for days, weeks, month :D is something that I've also heard.

Which is the best method to moisturise shinai I think very much depends on the environment and how it is used. Experimention is probably the best as evreyone had a different situation.

[Charlie]

As long as we're on the subject, may I share that when I waxed my shinai for the first time I used what I thought was a plain white candle but what in fact turned out to be a vanilla-scented candle? When I got to practice I took it out of my bag and instantly the whole club noticed the pleasant smell. Sigh. They made fun of me, of course, accused me of cheating, and dubbed the weapon "Ol' Vanilla."

Ol' Vanilla lived a long time, and his descendents lived on in other shinai until the lineage eventually petered out.

[Ian Russell]

Nice story Charlie :)

Kuri ~ Thanks for the ideas, now that winter is coming back, making sure the shinai don't get dry is paramount.
Kendo Reference and How-to's: Selecting and Preparing Shinai (http://www.kendo-usa.org/reference/firststrike.htm)
...oil directly onto the back of the stave or on a cloth and rub it into the back and sides. The staves can also be soaked in a tube made from plastic pipe.

[heri0n]

about waxing shinai... do you just melt candles onto your shinai or something? and remove the globs of dried wax after? :P
and how do you "shave" a shinai? use a knife and scrape off any splinters??
and it's not necessary to sand a shinai when u first get it is it?

[Neil Gendzwill]

Just take some candle wax and rub it on the edges. As for sanding: yes, it's a good idea to sand it before use. Also before oiling, as sanding a freshly oiled shinai clogs the paper. Just use a medium-fine grit paper (a foam block works best) and lightly sand the edges where the staves rub together. You'll find there's usually a sharp edge there which you need to take down just a bit so the staves slip past each other smoothly. Don't over-do it, a couple of strokes with the paper is usually enough.

[heri0n]

oops too late.. got impatient :p
but i think the edges were fairly smooth new..
it is a pretty good shiniai .. its a dobari from koei and i paid 50$ for it plus 20 for the leather..

[mkomoto]

At least one (of 12 remaining) hand-made shinai makers in Japan, Mr. Yoshiaki Yamaguchi (Naomitsu and Hie shinai,) oils shinai at the final stage of manufactuer by emmersing the entire shinai, sans tsukagawa and fittings, in a tube just larger than the diameter of the shinai, filled with a combination of plant-oil and a very light petroleum base oil. The petro-oil serves as a medium for deep penetration and evaporates after the shinai is removed from the oil treatment. Yamaguchi-san has advised that for the normal user, it should be sufficient to soak one's shinai in a tube filled with 100 pct vegetable oil, since the shinai (should have been) treated at time of mfr.. The shinai will become lighter in weight following a few day's "drip-down" and surface wipe-down, and in case-by-case, may grow a little darker in color with time. The tsukagawa and fittings should not be re-assembled until excess oil has ceased to exude from the fibers. This can be checked by forcefully wipping a clean cloth or paper towel against the shinai.

[Steve]

Question. I ordered two new shiani a few weeks ago, anmd have been using them for about two weeks. Each one was REALLY dry when i got them, so i let them soak in oil for about three days. Well, each one has broken in about two weeks of use!! (luckily i have extra slats to repair 'em). When i took them apart again to replace the broken slat, they were still REALLY dry...the insides were white!

Here is my question. Since i live in fairly dry climate, would it help to soak them in a bit of water when i first get them (say 20minutes - 1 hour), let em sit for a day or so, and then oil them?

[Shelgeyr]

This may sound a litle wierd, but keep your shinai in your bath room, the steam from bathing/showering usually keeps the humidity in your bathroom higher then the rest of your house.

Now, you just need to make up an excuse for the wife/husband/spouse......

[Steve]

yeah, i've been doing that lately. keeping my shinai in the bathroom that is. But I'm wondering if letting it soak up a bit of moisture initially would help or not.

I'm ordering a few shiani soon. I'll try an experiment and see i guess.

[Karaken]

Steve, where are you ordering it from and what price point?
Have you taken the survey on Shinai purchace? I'm trying to get a feel for how much people pay for their shinais..

Center-Shinai-center

[kendomushi]

A 39 standard shinai here in Japan, fully kitted, ready to use, is 3500 Yen (at an exchange rate of US$1=115Yen that comes to about $30.50).

[Fraz]

Some one mentioned earlier that they only checked the outside of the shinai. It is important to dismantle to check for hidden internal cracks. But you all knew that... Right..? :)

Our club webpage has a Manual under the Misc section which include full instructions on shinai mantenance. You can find it Here (http://www.edinburghkendo.co.uk//)