BoguBag/Koei Budogu iaitos

[Envar]

Hi,

I´ve practised iaido for a year and half now. I think everybody in my dojo have Tozando blades and I went for one. I used to have a basic Tozando Higo Koshirae, and I didn´t like the feel of it. Tip-heavy blade despite of light weight, quite short and thin tsuka, and the cotton tsuka cord got loose just after three months of training.

I got to test Tozando´s Hon Koshirae, Dotanuki and Jidai but before going for another Tozando blade I thought to search out other alternatives.
Thanks to this forum, I found my way to BoguBag.
Now I´m waiting for my customized BoguBag Rentasya Koshirae to arrive and I thought to ask opinions about BoguBag/Koei Budogu iaitos. Anybody have their blades?
How´s the balance, durability, quality of the fittings?
There´s been some posts about other manufacturers but I haven´t found reviews about this company´s products.

To my surprise it was cheaper for me to order the iaito from USA than from EuroBogu, must be because of the currency rates;)
With the price of Tozando Hon Koshirae I´ll get leather tsukamaki, chaishime saya and custom tsuba & habaki for the Rentasya Koshirae. Mr.Stroud has been very helpful with the process. I´ll get back to this when the sword arrives...

Cheers,

Toni

[webjunkie401]

I have a Ue Koshirae coming in from Bogubag sometime at the end of this month/ start of July. Mr. Stroud has been very helpful. I'll get back to you about the iaito itself once I've had a chance to use it.

[Dave Fowler]

Same here, mine should be here by the end of the month. I also ordered a couple of kata blades for kendo so I can let you know how those work out.

[Juice]

I got my Iaito from BoguBag on Wednesday this week. It's an upgraded Tokusen Koshirae with black silk tsuka maki and black same. It came as ordered with 2 nice brocade sword bags and a little bottle of choji oil. It's nicely finished and feels great! Nice not to use a bokken anymore!!!

I would recommend them for iaito. They're less expensive and quicker on delivery then swordstore, and Robert speaks english, so that eases customer service (tozando....) Due to the time I ordered, it took 11 weeks to get my custom iaito, but I guess that's pretty standard for a March/April order.

[Macbeth]

Hi Juice I have got some questions.
How much did the black same upgrade costs? How much the silk maki?
When do you have to pay? Do you pay the money when you order or when the iaito is ready to ship?

Best regards

Mac

[Dave Fowler]

Same here, just got my Iaito, and Kendo Kata blades. They were all very nice, and dealing with Robert was a pleasure. I also had mine custom made, and only took about 6 weeks to get.



The only thing I couldn't figure out was what the heck the really long strings with the tassles were for? Are they for tying up the bags?

[Juice]

<Quote>
Hi Juice I have got some questions.
How much did the black same upgrade costs? How much the silk maki?
When do you have to pay? Do you pay the money when you order or when the iaito is ready to ship? </Quote>

The black same is only $10 or so, but the silk tsuka maki was a $110 upgrade. I didn't have to pay for my sword til it shipped, which is a Huge bonus considering it took 12 weeks to get...

The tassled cords are for tying up the sword bag. I got a beautiful brocade bag thrown in with my purchase. Nice, compared to the typical black or blue bag.

[Macbeth]

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely go with bogubag. Their prices are just unbeatable.

[Envar]

Nice to hear you got your orders already and that you´re happy with them!
Makes my own waiting even harder...:confused2

Toni

[Charles Mahan]

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely go with bogubag. Their prices are just unbeatable.While their prices seem reasonable, I wouldn't consider them unbeatable. Same general price range as http://www.swordstore.com but not nearly as much flexibility and selection with your fittings as Swordstore.

[Envar]

I got my iaito yesterday. Everything was as I ordered, the package was well
packed.

The leather tsukamaki is very tight and well tied. Saya fits well, fittings
are tight, balance feels good. The sword came with a beautiful bag. The blade edge is actually pretty sharp compared to a Tozando blade, I guess I´ll just have to be more careful when doing nukitsuke and noto... :wink:

The only thing that bothers is the alignment of the blade. It seems that the
blade is slightly tilted inside the tsuka, making a couple of degrees angle
to the edge. It can be clearly seen in the habaki, the blade is tight on the
right side of habaki, leaving some space on the left. Also the mekugi peg
seems to be lower on the left side. I doubt this will have any effect on my
kata, but the habaki edge might eat out the koiguchi... No big deal, that´s probably something that can be fixed by a friend familiar with swords and fittings.

In general, I was very pleased with the sword and I think it´s good value for the money. It was a pleasure ordering through Bogubag. Time will tell how it performs at the dojo, but the first impression is good!

Cheers,
Toni

[Juice]

Charles,

I had actually placed an order with Rick at Sword Store and for $600 I had a fairly standard blade with very standard fittings. Cotton tsuka maki, standard sword bag, basic saya, etc.

For $405 at Bogu Bag I was able to get the blade I wanted, silk tsuka maki, and I got 2 beautiful brocade sword bags and a bottle of Choji oil.

Sword Store definitely has a better selection of fittings, but they are much more expensive then Bogu Bag.

[Envar]

Finally I got to test the new blade.
It performs really well, the balance is wonderful and it almost feels like I´m swinging a bokken instead of an iaito. The sound of a well executed swing is nice :) . Leather tsukamaki handles sweat very well, my hand didn´t slip once like it did with the previous sword with cotton ito.
Tilted habaki doesn´t cause any harm in any phase of the kata.
Sageo is a basic cotton one, but it hangs well. Not one of those very thick rope-like sageos like in some tozando blades. (Matter of personal preference I guess, i like a sageo that is easy to tie and doesn´t get twirled)

There are good and bad things about the light weight. I haven´t measured it accurately, but this sword is maybe 200g lighter than 2.50 Tozando hon koshirae. I swung these two swords just to feel the difference and both handle well, but for different reasons.
The tozando feels like a bulldozer, but when you get the swing right, it really feels great. It´s also more forgiving in case the swing goes a bit off. Requires a bit of power in the arm to stop the swing and it will definitely make your arms ache if you´re not used to the 1000g+ weight.
Bogubag blade is easy to swing even one-handedly, but a bad swing goes flying here and there. It´s very manouverable, works well with diagonal cuts and blocks. It just requires a near-perfect swing, definitely skill over power. And I lack both at the moment... :p

Cheers,
Toni

BTW, the final cost of the sword was 410 euros.

[Charles Mahan]

Charles,

I had actually placed an order with Rick at Sword Store and for $600 I had a fairly standard blade with very standard fittings. Cotton tsuka maki, standard sword bag, basic saya, etc.

For $405 at Bogu Bag I was able to get the blade I wanted, silk tsuka maki, and I got 2 beautiful brocade sword bags and a bottle of Choji oil.

Sword Store definitely has a better selection of fittings, but they are much more expensive then Bogu Bag.
Well I have no experience with the blades being offered at Bogu Bag. Hoepfully they will be as durable and well balanced as the ones available at SwordStore.

Which model at Swordstore came to $600 with all basic stuff? What you describe sounds like a 1A but the 1A is only like $350. The 2002 is around $600 and it comes with silk wrap, a huge selection of tsuba and menuki to chose from and several different options for the saya.

[Juice]

Charles,

The Sword I ordered was the 1001 2.5 shaku with black same and standard fittings. The shipped price was $605, after they threw in the black same upgrade for free. I felt that a silk tsuka maki was more important to me then the particular style of furniture so the BoguBag iaito ended up being a better deal for my particular situation.

:)

[MecnunK]

Hi

I would be looking to buy an Iaito sooner rather than later and was just wondering what size blade I should be aiming to get. I am looking at both Sword store and Bogu Bag and cannot make my mind up either way. I do appreciate the customisation available at sword store though. I am around 5' 10 tall.

rgrds

[Charles Mahan]

Ahhh I see. That's with shipping included. I was wondering. $605 sounded kinda high considering the listed price for a #1001 is only $499.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[chidokan]

Ask Mark to organise you one over from Japan in September...you'll get a better deal for your money...although you might be leaving it a little late. If not a gang of students are going in November. Be nice to one of them and you'll get an iaito brought back then! Lets face it, the only interesting time to go shopping is when you are either buying a sword for yourself or one for a friend.... :smiley:

[MecnunK]

Thanks Tim. I was intending to ask Mark to recommend a brand and the length that would be good for me, tomorrow. My first lesson tomorrow and very much looking forward to it although I failed to buy knee pads over the weekend and that floor looks hard ;( . Martial arts shop was hut by teh time I got there and noone else had anything decent that I could see in city centre..

[chidokan]

go NOW and buy some....you wll regret not having any after about ten minutes in my recent experience with new starters....get to the shops during lunch or after work. You have been warned, dont come hobbling and complaining here tomorrow!!! :smiley:

[MecnunK]

Well I managed to buy some at lunch time.. Regret? yes I should have bought two pairs or atleast some that were twice as thick. Should have got some wrist support too while I was there ;).

Really enjoyed the lesson though. Realised the amount of intricacy in simple looking movements. I intend to practice at home alot to catch up.

[ZealUK]

When practicing at home beware of low ceilings! I've dented mine about 10 times with a bokken so far....

The funny thing is that I know I can't practice standing up at home, but I end up doing it anyway.

What I really need is a garden.

Unfortunately couldn't make it down on Monday, I'm struggling with a nasty cold :(

[MecnunK]

Already done it twice :) dented the ceiling I mean with my bokken but I need to play around with it a bit so I get used to using it.. That is my priority at the moment ..to become intimately familiar with my bokken and get used to swinging it. I need an iaito fairly quickly so I can practice the draw....

It was a good lesson though as it wasnt too full thus I got the opportunity to spend time with Mark..

Hope you recover soon ;)

[chidokan]

I normally use the combination foot/shin protector, they are a bit more solid than the thin ones you normally get. At least you got through the first lesson! :wink: You will also appreciate the 'simple moves' a lot more with a saya... :confused2

[MecnunK]

Any idea where I can get these shin/knee pad combinations?

rgrds

[ZealUK]

The Leeds Martial Arts shop on North street used to sell them, but unfortunately the owner died recently. If its open again I'd try there.

[MecnunK]

It is open and that is where I got the knee pads. That was all he had.. One of my friend's also deals in martial arts supplies so I will try him except he is only holiday for about a month I think...

rgrds

[chidokan]

I got mine locally at McGurk's sportshop, not sure if this is a chain, but the padas are in the karate section...