Oiling shinai

[nodachi]

So, I just bought a shinai today. My last one broke at practice this last sunday. Sniff sniff, but it was past it's time... :)

Anyway...

I tried to sort through when I needed to oil it or not with the store person, but my japanese is not so strong. It sounded like she was saying that it was ready to go for practice. She even put the sakigawa and tsukagawa and all the parts and pieces and stuff on. Should I take that as an okay that it is ready to go? I thought that most shinai had to be oiled before their first use?

All suggestions are appreciated. I am hoping not to goof up and have this one break too soon. I accept that it will break, but I would like to get some mileage out of it and am afraid that not oiling in the beginning will drastically shorten its lifespan.

Help the ignorant, thank you :)

[aru-ma]

take the shina home take the leather bits of and soak the shinai with oil, your shinai may have already been oil but just as a precation. if it was me I'll soak it regardless I like my shinai shiny :).
actually what I do with my new shinais that I let it soak in hot/boiling water or a few minutes, let it dry, then soak it with oil, let it dry and coat it with oil again.

[Paburo]

they assembled your shinai at the moment of the sale?

you should know if it's oiled or not by looking at it and touching it.

you can always disassemble it and oil it again anyway. shinais don't die for excessive lubrication :D

it might be a bit heavier at the end, but that's ok. you'll grow strong arms from suburi.

jaa ne.

[nodachi]

Pick out the bamboo size and balance you like, then they went right to it and put it all together, 3 minutes later, I had me a new shinai.

They have quite a bit of practice, they were quick!

[Steve]

oil-bathing is necessary depending on how your shinai was constructed. If the bamboo was dried in a kiln, then you MUST give it an oil bath. If it was dried naturally (ie air dry) then you don't. it won't hurt it if do it anyway though.

Either way though, you still need to apply maintenance oil to your shinai regulary to keep it lubricated and to help protect the bamboo.

[iwatekenshi]

Don't worry you live in Japan where the humidity is high. It's not necessary to do all that. An occasional spray of shinai oil from the bogu shop will just do. What the best thing you can do is shave down the edges of the bamboo slats which will allow more flexible movement between them when striking. After shaving, apply oil and this should be enough to help the longevity of the shinai.

[stinkyKote]

hmm.. how do you know if your shinai was air dried, or kiln dried??

[Steve]

Not exactly sure, but i think the cost of the shinai would be a good assumption.

REad the "construction of a shinai" and FAQ on the akatsuki website. Thats where i got that little jewel of info.

[mark]

Why does Aru-ma soak his shinai's in hot water before putting it in oil?
While we are on the topic ...
In addition to oiling shinai's, in one of the threads someone mentioned that they coated their shinai with beeswax after oiling while someone else stated that all they did was burnish the edges. Does anyone know if this works, and if so how it is done?

[Phorest]

What a coincidence...I'm going to oil my Shinai today! I sanded down the endges last night, and the oil happens today.

Heres my question: should I soak the staves completely in oil ir just wipe them down with oil?

[Gorget-the-Frog]

should I soak the staves completely in oil ir just wipe them down with oil?

I usually lay the staves on a table or somesuch, with newspaper under, and fill the grooves with oil. Then just leave them for a few days, adding oil as nessisary. The day before I reassemble I wipe off the excess oil and leave them overnight to dry.

[scbang]

should I soak the staves completely in oil ir just wipe them down with oil?

I used to dip them in three inch drain pipe filled with oil for a month. Then I bought a Carbon Shinai..

SC

[Phorest]

I'm bitter with jealousy. I can see now why having a carbon shinai would be a huge advantage.

[KhawMengLee]

get a carbon shinai later. Maintainance of your bamboo shinai builds character. Its also part of the learning process in Kendo.

After a few goes you will be fine...like those armyheads who can disassemble and reassemble their rifle in 30seconds.

[Dwayne P.]

Nodachi, I would consider doing maintenance on your shinai if it is question. Like KhawMengLee says it builds character.

Here in Florida the humidity is off the charts, usually a good sanding + wipe down with some lind seed oil usually does the trick. Every now and then I’ll lightly coat the bottom stave with some wax. Just from the tip to the nakayuki to give a bit of added protection.

Dwayne

[scbang]

KhawMengLee - Hey I used to disassemble and reassemble M-1 rifle in 17 seconds blindfolded. Yes it was fun for a while to spend a night in the basement disassembling and assembling with various size staves to create a new shinai. After while, you run out of parts and the you get tired of the smell of oil, smell of bamboo dust then you tell youself - enough sanding and taping and fixing - time to take advantage of modern technology.
Let's face it, after whole day's work and spending some time with your family and if I have 30 minutes left till bed time, I'd rather read Kendo magazine than sanding and oiling my shinai.

( But I'm not wearing velcro hakama ! )

SC

[KhawMengLee]

Yar, since I started work my carbon shinai has been a godsend. I really don't have much time to maintain my bamboo shinais...but still I try to fix 'em after each training if I use 'em

[heri0n]

when u first get your shinai
do you have to sand it all before u oil it?
dang sanding....