Storing Bogu

[nodachi]

Where do you store your bogu?

My sensei have given me kote to practice with at home, and even with just that and no other parts, it is kinda stinky. No, I don't have a reeking apartment, but it is small and so I am not sure where to put the stuff without making one area the dedicated bogu stink area. I would prefer to not have any area stinking like kote, but I have yet to find a practical solution.

Any suggestions are welcome, or any suggestions on air fresheners that work well, please send them my way

[alexpollijr]

I don't know exactly where you are in Japan, but you could walk up to the next kendogu store and ask for 'kenro spray'. It's a blue/white can with a guy in kendo gear drawn on it. This spray neutralizes most of the smell - but only until next practice,

Otherwise, you could hang it out the window to air

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by alexpollijr

Otherwise, you could hang it out the window to air
Exposing the kote to direct sunlight can damage the leather. Better dedicate one area for kote storage and live with it. Sprinkle baking soda inside the kote after each practice to help with the odour.

[KhawMengLee]

Yar...you could also put them inside a shoe box to isolate the odour. Get two hankerchiefs and put a handfull of baking soda in the center of each. tie them up so the baking soda doesn't seep out( leaving the hanky looking like teru teru bozu) then put one in each kote. That should absorb the smell like neil said.

[stinkyKote]

I put my bogu in the basement because if I don't my family complains about the smell, I bought a large square shaped plastic fan, and I lay it against a wall at about a 30 degree angle, and then I put my men and kote right on top of it to dry- works pretty well-

--that deodorizing spray stuff is really neat, it actually foams up like tire shine or something--

[amatsuda]

Originally posted by stinkyKote
I put my bogu in the basement because if I don't my family complains about the smell, I bought a large square shaped plastic fan, and I lay it against a wall at about a 30 degree angle, and then I put my men and kote right on top of it to dry- works pretty well-

--that deodorizing spray stuff is really neat, it actually foams up like tire shine or something--

I also use a fan to dry my bogu. I dry it using the low setting on the fan from about a half meter away. This keeps the kote palm leather from drying out in the clenched state.

If you're worried about the smell, you might also want to look into one of the Hamilton-Beach (Proctor Silex) air deodorizer/odor elinators... Before I bought this, my home office would smell like bogu all the time.

With the machine, it's hardly noticeable. My wife actually enters the room now...

You can find info here: http://www.trueair.com/index.html

amatsuda

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo

[scbang]

Go to your washing machine ( or neighbors ) get some Clorox ( whitner ) dilute it to 15-20 times with water and put it in a spray bottle ( finer mist works best ) and spray once. Don't over spray or make it stronger mix, it might discolor your bogu but use carefully it works great. ( no slimy build up in your Kote during summer time ) - No smell - I found baking soda cakes in Kote and didn't find it that pleasant to touch.

SC

[stevemcgee99]

Has anybody used dessicant packets from food packaging to accelerate drying?

Thursday I asked one of the sensei about "washable" kote- the Clarino kind. He hadn't tried one, but did say that he would like to be able to wash his, and figures most people there would. I also noticed the "stinky kote" username. Would it be worth it to get a washable pair, even if it meant no deerskin?

I don't have bogu, I just want to be prepared to dry it correctly from the first practice. It's pretty humid where I live.

Thanks everyone for the time you put into the comments here.

[Phorest]

My friend Daisuke keeps a small bar of soap in each of his Kote. Seems to do the trick.

[Steve]

You can make your own dessicant packages for your kote.

1) Go to a Canadian Tire store (or whatver your non-Canadian equivalent is) and buy a package of silica beads.

2) wrap some up in a pourus cloth, like a thin layer of medical gauze.

3) put them in your kote. voila!

After they absorb some moisture, you can put the beads in a microwave to expel the water from them, and then keep using them over and over.

[stevemcgee99]

So THAT"S why I can't eat them!