Shinai with little metal piece?

[ChowYunFat]

I just bought a new Shinai from e-bogu.com and it came with a little metal piece that connects the four staves together. I saw this because I took it apart to sand and oil it. Should I put it back in?

[JSchmidt]

Yes. It's there to prevent the staves from slipping.

Jakob

[Mikeyprime]

The only time to remove that is when you make a mutant shinai. IE: staves from different shinais thus making the little metal piece not fit anymore

[Halcyon]

The only time to remove that is when you make a mutant shinai. IE: staves from different shinais thus making the little metal piece not fit anymoreActually, even when you make a franken-shinai, you should keep that metal piece. You just have to create a new groove with a thin hack-saw or similar tool. Best way to figure out where to make the new groove is to press the "odd man out" piece against the metal piece while it is held in place by the other three staves. You'll likely see a little dent. That's your guide mark.

[Malekith]

Well this is a perfect thread for me to ask something. I dismantled my Shinai to sand and oil. It's my first time doing it and I've lost the little metal bit. Well...I've used copydex glue it which is just a simple glue thats not too strong for when I need to dismantle again and also a bit of tape to help. What do you guys think about this? Will it do or is it just a bad idea?

[Halcyon]

Well this is a perfect thread for me to ask something. I dismantled my Shinai to sand and oil. It's my first time doing it and I've lost the little metal bit. Well...I've used copydex glue it which is just a simple glue thats not too strong for when I need to dismantle again and also a bit of tape to help. What do you guys think about this? Will it do or is it just a bad idea?Sounds okay for now, but you probably want to get one of those metal things for a future repair. Ask your sempai. I'm sure one of them has some lying around at home. I certainly do.