Iaito Buying Guide/FAQ

[jakku-san]

great thread, answers quite a few random questions i had

[Peter West]

Getting the length of the Tsuka right is important. For Seitei, Muso Jikiden and Shinden (possibly others, I don't know) the ideal length is as follows:
Hold the Tsuka (correctly!)
The small finger of your left hand should be on the knot of the Tsuka maki or the first diamond immediately in front of it (Not on the kashira, though for some styles this is the correct position).
The space between the closest parts of your hands should be 2 finger widths
The knuckle of your right forefinger (which should be the closest place to the tsuba) should be one finger width from the tsuba.

These measurements are the width of your own finger, so bigger hands also need more space.

Standard Japanese iaito come with tsuka as small as 0.6 shaku and rarely bigger than 0.75 shaku. My tsuka was a special order at 0.9. One of my students had a tsuka made for his shinken also 0.9 (the one that came with it was 0.8) and the standard of his iaido improved immediately.

[Ron Macy]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, and would like to offer my services as a maker of custom japanese swords to this community. Is this the proper way to go about this? Here are a few introductory facts about me; I am the senior student of Micheal Bell and have been making japanese swords for about eight years now. I work largely in cable steel, 1050 and 1095 monosteel and do both bare blades and fully mounted blades. The swords I produce are excellent cutters, strong and beautiful. I can custom make blades to fit just about any specs a practitioner might want. My blades are well balanced and I want them in the hands of those who would use them, rather than on a mantle gathering dust. I have two examples of katanas for sale on the ISF right now, and another of my recent commissions is being featured on Brandon Thells website Togishistudios.com because of it's distinct hamon. I can provide excellent references from satisfied customers and will be at the Oregon Knife Show in April with several swords for hands on viewing. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate channel to go through to make my work available here.
Thank you,
sincerely,
Ron Macy
YAKIBAFORGE@mac.com

[neko kenshi]

Another recently posted link by Aloe: Yamato Budogu

[overcomebyfumes]

Is there a thread like this on how to care for and maintain an iaito once you've purchaced one? If someone could post a basic care and maintance FAQ that would be very helpful.

I don't have any specific questions (yet), but I'm paranoid I'll accidently do something expensively wrong.

Peace.

[kam1ya]

are there any sites that review iaitos?
im looking to buy one from either tozando or aoibudogu (because their websites are nicer and shows weight and options of customized fittings)
unfortunately, budget is an issue (going for ~$300) and so is weight, i need a really light one.

[Anime12478]

For one thing, I suggest you don't buy from Aoi Budogu for the time being because they have been having issues with filling orders for at least the past year. I ordered my iaito in April of last year and I'm still waiting for mine to come in. I have been doing all I can to keep in contact with them and it seems like they are close to finding an alternative method of filling orders, but this is one of those "wait and see" kind of things.

Besides, you can't really order things from places just because they look nice. The only indicators of how good a place is are reviews and their order/return policies. If you look at the Aoi website, it shows it hasn't even been updated in almost a year. You may want to ask people in your dojo where they got theirs from and what kind of Iaito they have. They might allow you to use it for a little bit to get an idea of the weight as well.

[Ken Morgan]

are there any sites that review iaitos?
im looking to buy one from either tozando or aoibudogu (because their websites are nicer and shows weight and options of customized fittings)
unfortunately, budget is an issue (going for ~$300) and so is weight, i need a really light one.

Hey I don't know where you are, but if you're near Guelph, pop over and talk to Kim Taylor. I think he has some nice iaito in stock.
http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/

[Wookiesmurf]

are there any sites that review iaitos?
im looking to buy one from either tozando or aoibudogu (because their websites are nicer and shows weight and options of customized fittings)
unfortunately, budget is an issue (going for ~$300) and so is weight, i need a really light one.

We've mostly ordered from Tozando for the past few years, very pleased with both quality and customer service.

[kam1ya]

wow, i'm glad i've been warned about aoibudogu. thanks for the reply, guys!

[Kris]

Hi, if you need some comprehensive answers about iaito you could try on sword forum international and sword buyers guide, they have a classified sction there also (both sites) where you can buy from people who have been part of the community for some time.... Sorry if this seems I'm shamelessly plugging other forums but I found these 2 site pretty invaluable in my search for katana and iaito and I'm pretty pleased with both given my limited budget.....

Cheer
Kris

[iaito sword]

Well, it's been a while I didn't update my website about iaito and katana, I now have more spare time and will try to update at least twice a week with reviews and other things. If any of you want to submit a review article and pictures, you're welcome, I will post on my website with your name under the article review, so don't hesitate to send me your rewiew by filling the contact form on my site. Arigato gozaimasu

[Havamal]

Where may i purchase shinken to use safely and reliably, for a long time, but do not care about preserving, collecting, or cosmetics (other than functional beauty). Is there any differences in a "shinken" vs. a "katana"?

[ShinKenshi]

Where may i purchase shinken to use safely and reliably, for a long time, but do not care about preserving, collecting, or cosmetics (other than functional beauty). Is there any differences in a "shinken" vs. a "katana"?

While I'm not able to speak with much authority on the subject of shinken, unless you're learning a legitimate JSA by a legitimate instructor, there's no reason to buy a shinken that you will not properly maintain. For that matter, why shell out a large sum of money for something that you decide you won't maintain and thus, shorten the lifespan of that particular item? Your previous posts seem to indicate that you're very much a new beginner in kendo and by you asking this question, it leads me to wonder if you are learning a JSA at all. If you aren't, then consult your kendo sensei and spend it on bogu instead. If you are learning a JSA from a legitimate instructor, speak with your sensei about what to look for and what to get that is specific to your ryuha.

On a side note, shinken simply means "real sword" and a katana is exactly that, a katana. A katana can be a shinken while a shinken may not necessarily be a katana. Others with more knowledge please feel free to correct me.

[Havamal]

While I'm not able to speak with much authority on the subject of shinken, unless you're learning a legitimate JSA by a legitimate instructor, there's no reason to buy a shinken that you will not properly maintain. For that matter, why shell out a large sum of money for something that you decide you won't maintain and thus, shorten the lifespan of that particular item? Your previous posts seem to indicate that you're very much a new beginner in kendo and by you asking this question, it leads me to wonder if you are learning a JSA at all. If you aren't, then consult your kendo sensei and spend it on bogu instead. If you are learning a JSA from a legitimate instructor, speak with your sensei about what to look for and what to get that is specific to your ryuha.

On a side note, shinken simply means "real sword" and a katana is exactly that, a katana. A katana can be a shinken while a shinken may not necessarily be a katana. Others with more knowledge please feel free to correct me.

What is "JSA"? Japanese Sword Art?

Yes, I will buy the best bogu that I can, within reason and guidance of my sensei.

When I feel that I have a very basic understanding of Kendo, I would like add Iaido practice, but that maybe a while, as I plan now to always cross-train in karate.

Today, I am just very curious about Iaido, but eventually would like to buy a shinken at the appropriate time.

Mind does wander, but my body will focus on traditional MMA and then Kendo.