Making your own Shinai?

[Flylkorean]

Has anyone tried making their own Shinai ? What were the outcomes? Does anyone know a website or anything that shows how they make shinais? Thanks

[Hai_hai]

Has anyone tried making their own Shinai ? What were the outcomes? Does anyone know a website or anything that shows how they make shinais? Thanks
Don't bother. That would be an unsafe shinai for you and others.

[Andou]

Don't bother. That would be an unsafe shinai for you and others.

That being said, there are lots of things that go into treating bamboo: shaping, carving, smoothing and such that I think only a shinai-smith (is that an okay term?) can do to the point where it's fully usable and long living. It's not like a bokuto in construction wise because I think there may be a lot more that you'd have to do.

[Pokie]

oh yeh that sounds scarey..someone making their own shinai...sounded like me when i had no job.

[Flylkorean]

Im not planning on using it. Isnt that just obvious? Im just curious and i'd like to try to make one in my free time. Just a little project I want going on :)

[Miravil]

Im not planning on using it. Isnt that just obvious? Im just curious and i'd like to try to make one in my free time. Just a little project I want going on :)

If you have spare time, why don't you make the bogu stand for me. I can pay you, but not much... lol

[Andou]

Im not planning on using it. Isnt that just obvious? Im just curious and i'd like to try to make one in my free time. Just a little project I want going on :)

Hmm. In that case I hope you have some nice bamboo around and a good amount of time. I found the website which detailed how shinai craftsmen make them, but apparently, it's not responding.

From what I gather, it's a pretty time consuming process in which the bamboo needs to dry out and get its colour. Good luck if you find a way though.

[Flylkorean]

If you have spare time, why don't you make the bogu stand for me. I can pay you, but not much... lol

hahahaha . You should try to make the stand yourself. Its pretty darn easy and pretty darn cheap to make also! :)

[mkomoto]

A few years ago, during the Kyoto Taikai, the All Japan Kendo Equipment Makers Association conducted a shinai making demonstration, with facility for interested parties to make shinai.

The lecturer was Mr. Yamaguchi of Shige Prefecture, one of the last hand-made shinai craftsmen, and maker of my favorite "Naomitsu" shinai.

I jumped at the chance to participated in it, and ended up making a gigantic shinai, maybe 750 grams (didn't have time to cut and plane all pieces down from the large blanks to the standard size we normally employ in finished shinai.)

It is an extensive process, requiring both specific bamboo suitable for shinai, and a variety of specialized tools (hand tools only in this case, but there are machine cut, shaped, and finished shinai-making approaches also.)

The shinai is useable with no worries about safety; however, in this case (at 750 gm,) I would certainly prefer to give, than to receive.

A great educational experience for me, I have some photos and will try to load them to a new "infopage" in the Chiba Budougu online store in the coming days. I'll post a notice when I do.

Michael
PS It took me over an hour to produce one, however, Yamaguchi-san could crank several out as a group, in the same amount of time.

[Miravil]

hahahaha . You should try to make the stand yourself. Its pretty darn easy and pretty darn cheap to make also! :)

I would have done it if I have the time and senses on how to put them together.... hahaha...

[mystic_kendoka]

make a bokuto instead, much easier, nicer, and safer, and you can use it too..

[Flylkorean]

A few years ago, during the Kyoto Taikai, the All Japan Kendo Equipment Makers Association conducted a shinai making demonstration, with facility for interested parties to make shinai.

The lecturer was Mr. Yamaguchi of Shige Prefecture, one of the last hand-made shinai craftsmen, and maker of my favorite "Naomitsu" shinai.

I jumped at the chance to participated in it, and ended up making a gigantic shinai, maybe 750 grams (didn't have time to cut and plane all pieces down from the large blanks to the standard size we normally employ in finished shinai.)

It is an extensive process, requiring both specific bamboo suitable for shinai, and a variety of specialized tools (hand tools only in this case, but there are machine cut, shaped, and finished shinai-making approaches also.)

The shinai is useable with no worries about safety; however, in this case (at 750 gm,) I would certainly prefer to give, than to receive.

A great educational experience for me, I have some photos and will try to load them to a new "infopage" in the Chiba Budougu online store in the coming days. I'll post a notice when I do.

Michael
PS It took me over an hour to produce one, however, Yamaguchi-san could crank several out as a group, in the same amount of time.

Please post a notice when you do please :).

What do you make bokkens out of ? Oak right? o.o

[mystic_kendoka]

What do you make bokkens out of ?

any wood that isn't too light

[Flylkorean]

oh ok. 고마어. 너 맨도러바서?

sorry for my sucky korean skills

[Paikea]

Please post a notice when you do please :).

What do you make bokkens out of ? Oak right? o.oIpe and/or Hickory.

[piggy]

If you have spare time, why don't you make the bogu stand for me. I can pay you, but not much... lol


i have nothing to do in woodshop again this year. i guess i can make a few extra bogu stands out of english walnut. no idea how i'd ship it to you though. but first, i have to see how mine turns out...

[Miravil]

i have nothing to do in woodshop again this year. i guess i can make a few extra bogu stands out of english walnut. no idea how i'd ship it to you though. but first, i have to see how mine turns out...

Please post the pic once you've done... hehe. :p

[piggy]

Please post the pic once you've done... hehe. :p

of course but it will be awhile before im done with it. i want the detail to be really intricate and very finely perfected. for all the money i spent on the wood, i want it to be the cadillac of bogu stands.

[Flylkorean]

Hmmmm anyways about making a shinai .... I heard obtaining bamboo tree seeds are pretty hard ... ???? What do you guys think. I've never had any experiance with bamboo growing whatso ever . And i've heard that they harvest seeds only in 50 -70 years so its hard to get the seeds . o.O

[piggy]

Hmmmm anyways about making a shinai .... I heard obtaining bamboo tree seeds are pretty hard ... ???? What do you guys think. I've never had any experiance with bamboo growing whatso ever . And i've heard that they harvest seeds only in 50 -70 years so its hard to get the seeds . o.O

i used to have bamboo growing near my yard and you might want to grow it in a pot or something controlled. the reason is because it grows and spreads extremely rapidly. i dont know about the seeds though. why not just buy or dig up the actual plant and grow it like that?

[Flylkorean]

My mom said that it wouldnt work .. cause the bamboo plants that are sold in pots are filled with like stones and what not... and transferring it to a soil and dirt base wouldnt work .. is this true?

[piggy]

My mom said that it wouldnt work .. cause the bamboo plants that are sold in pots are filled with like stones and what not... and transferring it to a soil and dirt base wouldnt work .. is this true?

i was talking about the ones that grow in the dirt and have been there as long as anyone could remember. wild bamboo you could call it. the ones that are sold in pots (usually) aren't the kind of bamboo you want to be using. (i'm refering to the ones that people put on thier desks in thier cubicle to make thier cells look a tad less bleak. you know, the ones with the spiral or the one leaf that never seem to grow and just sort of die after a while.)

[Flylkorean]

Yeah.. I know what your're talking about. I just have to know a way to obtain the seeds now somehow or even obtain a small tree so I can grow one in my backyard :) . This would be a good investment ... I think ...cause I could make other things such as bamboo chopsticks, bamboo spoons, bamboo desks, bamboo pipes , bamboo cups , the list goes on !

Piggy , Can you tell me the specific name of bamboo that you have in your yard if you know ?

[Miravil]

You might want to plan this as a long term plan cause in order to grow the bamboo into the right size to make up a shinai will take years.

[mkomoto]

Consider carefully: there are hundreds of varieties of bamboo. The type you need for shinai must be grown until the base portion is about 12 to 13 cm in diameter, or over. The height of that one stalk of such bamboo is equivalent to a two or 3 story building. You only get enough for 4 or 5 slats from one stalk (one shinai, plus an additional slat, maybe.)

Most people who plant bamboo as a decorative plant in their garden usually regret it as bamboo is a giant grass, like a weed, actually. And it can take over a garden and is a real tenacious plant, defying attempts to irradicate it. (It just keeps growing back, and taking over everything else.) Abandon houses are known to have bamboo grow through the floor and roof to give you an idea.

Read some books on bamboo in gardens and see what they say.

Remember, all bamboo is not suited for shinai. Even given the right strain of bamboo, the weather, soil, and seasons local to your area will have significant influence on the properties of the bamboo you end up with.

It might be nice if you could grow a carbon-graphite tree.

-M

[Flylkorean]

is there really such thing called carbon-graphite tree? and where can i get it?

[mystic_kendoka]

its a joke, it doesnt exist

[mkomoto]

I guess you're kidding me about my own joke about a "carbon-graphite tree." However, to dispell any misunderstanding new readers might make:

Carbon-graphite is an industrial product. Extruded from a brew of carbon-based graphite (CG), thin strands of CG are similar to glass in some properties, but have great tensile strenght and resilience. When bundles of these fibers are used together, either parallel or in criss-cross mesh, they produce a very light, rigid structure.

This is the material that has made the Hasegawa carbon-graphite shinai possible.

One factor about carbon fiber products, including the Hasegawa CG shinai, is that the material, and processes in which it is implemented, are expensive, resulting in a shinai that is USD 250 or 300. (Hence my joke about "growing it on trees.")

If you really do want to try to build shinai, it may be simpler to buy the bamboo from a shinai supplier, and start from there.

Hope this was of some interest (to anyone.)

- M

[Flylkorean]

I see that you have chigabogu.com in your signature. Do you work there? I have a few questions ...

[Paikea]

It might be nice if you could grow a carbon-graphite tree. Indeed, but I'm saving up for a beer tree first, then a shinai tree for next year.

[mystic_kendoka]

Indeed, but I'm saving up for a beer tree first, then a shinai tree for next year.

thats the dumbest thing i ever heard, save up for a really big money tree first, then you can buy beer and shinais.... sigh.. when will people learn... money is EVERYTHING ;)

[Miravil]

Ahhhh... I was about to say that till I click on the next page.

[Gregory]

thats the dumbest thing i ever heard, save up for a really big money tree first, then you can buy beer and shinais.... sigh.. when will people learn... money is EVERYTHING ;)

Money trees are very hard to manage. In fact, they need an exact humidity, an exact amount of light, and exact intensity. Also, it needs a certain dye mixed with its water. 3 to be exact. And It needs a certain dirt/soil.

You would need to buy a lighting system ( the money tree ones are about 4-7 thousand dollars), a humidity controller (also amazingly expensive). Then you would need the 3 inks, and those are expensive, and hard to get, and if you did, the fbi would be ALL over you. Then you need the dirt, which is on top of a mountain, the same one as the RBSO legend (ask Piggy) And you need to climb to the top. You cant use a helicopter or plane. I dont know why, dont ask.
Then you need the SEEDS. I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who thinks he knows where you can get some. Ill sell you the info.

However, remember the commercial about how if you smoke pot you are supporting terrorism?

This is Jen, she smokes pot, the dealer sold her the pot, who got it from the cartel, whos sister recently married, the sisters husband works at a tele-communications company, whos ceo is friends with a german, whose parents lived in germany. Germany was dictated by Adolf Hitler. Hitler and Stalin were allies for a while. Stalin was a communist. Communists hate america. Terrorists hate america.

If you smoke pot, you are a terrorist who hates america....

DO YOU HATE AMERICA????


(Big question mark with that metalic stamp sound)



yeah that one, if you make money trees, you are funding terrorists.

[mystic_kendoka]

you must have been very bored... :P

[Gregory]

very very very bored :)

[Flylkorean]

very very very bored :)

hahahah its funyn when people hav ea lot of time on their hands :D

[Flylkorean]

O yah , gregory how did your practice go? Where the group of people from Japan there?

[Gregory]

It was cool. :-D

I did my first warm up too, and I sucked at it, but everyone helped me, so its all good.

That was the first time I saw people go against each other (what is that called? sparring?)

There was this one dude with a shinai, and then a tiny shinai. Like 2, and he was using 1 hand for the Shinai!!!! Agh...

[Flylkorean]

It was cool. :-D

I did my first warm up too, and I sucked at it, but everyone helped me, so its all good.

That was the first time I saw people go against each other (what is that called? sparring?)

There was this one dude with a shinai, and then a tiny shinai. Like 2, and he was using 1 hand for the Shinai!!!! Agh...

Yeah its a 2 sword style. Was this guy from the special group that came from Japan? Tell me more about them :D

[Gregory]

I over heard that they were all senseis (thats the plural right?)except for one. I know I cant really talk about it, seeing as I dont know whats good or bad, but to me they were really good.

[Flylkorean]

Strange though . So one of them used 2 shinais?

[Gregory]

one was realllly tiney, like 3/4 of a fool long (the blade part)

[Flylkorean]

one was realllly tiney, like 3/4 of a fool long (the blade part)

coool . Did you get to fight him or do any exercises against him?

[Gregory]

no lol. I dont even have my hakama yet :)

I practiced my footwork with the help of T.Lee

[Inouye02]

Yeah its a 2 sword style. Was this guy from the special group that came from Japan? Tell me more about them :D that was Moocow you saw doing nitto,

[Flylkorean]

that was Moocow you saw doing nitto,

Inouye02 , can you tell me how the group from Japan went ?

[Inouye02]

Inouye02 , can you tell me how the group from Japan went ?well we had 4 Sensei's and 1 13yr old, The sensei's were from 8 dan to 6 dan, The kid was a 1 dan, All the Sensei's were very good, everyone had a good night of keiko, we also had a lot of visitors, 6 from JCI, 3 from Covina, 1 from Oxnard, 1 from Cypress, 1 from Chuo, 1 from Industry Sherrif Dojo, 1 from Palo Alto...

Also there were quite a few members from KWF present..

Teken ( Jodan )
Moocow ( Nito )
M.K.Kawai
Honda
Samurai999
Inouye02
T.Lee
Misterkurukuru
also ahahha Gregory

Tomorrow night they will be at Norwalk Dojo.

[Flylkorean]

well we had 4 Sensei's and 1 13yr old, The sensei's were from 8 dan to 6 dan, The kid was a 1 dan, All the Sensei's were very good, everyone had a good night of keiko, we also had a lot of visitors, 6 from JCI, 3 from Covina, 1 from Oxnard, 1 from Cypress, 1 from Chuo, 1 from Industry Sherrif Dojo, 1 from Palo Alto...

Also there were quite a few members from KWF present..

Teken ( Jodan )
Moocow ( Nito )
M.K.Kawai
Honda
Samurai999
Inouye02
T.Lee
Misterkurukuru
also ahahha Gregory

Tomorrow night they will be at Norwalk Dojo.

Im sorry to ask this but , Did you read who the person from Cypress was? Was it Park Sensei ?

and wow 13 years old and already shodan

[Inouye02]

Im sorry to ask this but , Did you read who the person from Cypress was? Was it Park Sensei ?

and wow 13 years old and already shodanno it wasnt Park sensei.. it Daniel Lee 1 dan.

yeah well 13 and shodan, i saw him get banged around by our little guys...not very impressive..but i guess thats the way it is in japan

[nothing]

I can never understand the "Self Taught" and "Make your own" mentality on this board sometimes. Do you people really think you can teach/create better than people who have been doing this for years... as a profession?? Seriously.. we must have like 1,000 15 yr olds who think they know everythign having once seen The Last Samauri.


I have an idea... Dental insurance is expensive here in the US, can anyone help me find instructions on giving yourself a root canal??

[Flylkorean]

I can never understand the "Self Taught" and "Make your own" mentality on this board sometimes. Do you people really think you can teach/create better than people who have been doing this for years... as a profession?? Seriously.. we must have like 1,000 15 yr olds who think they know everythign having once seen The Last Samauri.


I have an idea... Dental insurance is expensive here in the US, can anyone help me find instructions on giving yourself a root canal??

Dude its just called having some fun and an experiment. No way will I use this during practice at all. Nor will I play with it. I just want to do something in my free time and would like to see the outcome. And giving yourself a root canal will only hurt you. Trying to making a shinai for just a fun experiment will not hurt you.

[Paikea]

I can never understand the "Self Taught" and "Make your own" mentality on this board sometimes. Do you people really think you can teach/create better than people who have been doing this for years... as a profession?? Seriously.. we must have like 1,000 15 yr olds who think they know everythign having once seen The Last Samauri.


I have an idea... Dental insurance is expensive here in the US, can anyone help me find instructions on giving yourself a root canal??"Make your own" is admirable, it implies creativity and a desire to understand how things work. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you don't go around professing to be an expert because you can read a book.

[mystic_kendoka]

Do you people really think you can teach/create better than people who have been doing this for years...
if nobody thought that way, nothing would improve...

of course those "i have my own awesome-name ryu style of fighting" guys are morons... but this is different