My new 3mm kendoshop bogu

[Abramo]

Showing off a bit my amazing new bogu.
First new set and second set overall in 6 years of kendo. Kinda of a shame I took so long to get one, but I wouldn't be able to pay for it at any time in the past.

New one first:

Set
Kote
Do Mune
Men
Stich-finish detail


#303 set from Kendoshop, bought it in a sale combination with #10000 hakama and keikogi and a shinai bag. I'm hoping it will last for some 5 years of generous use, maybe with some minor patching. Is it any realistic?


Here's the old faithful, got it at my federation for real cheap just so I could keep on training, nigh on 5 years or so ago:

Set
Men & Dodai

Mostly 5mm and 6mm pieces, kote is a bit better with deerskin palms (borrowed from the local federation and will be returned). Old kote has gone AWOL and was already in its second palm (stiff cowhide) and many holes spitting off deer hair. Dodai was already that screwed up when I got it, and you can see the black smear where I tried to apply lacquer there myself (big dissapointment.)

[metabug]

Wow I am more impressed by your old set than the new one. Those are some serious rust on the men.

[ReKru]

I'm hoping it will last for some 5 years of generous use, maybe with some minor patching. Is it any realistic?

Have a Kendoshop 3mm - it's in it's 6th year now and still good - still protective.
Laquer the Men (the black stuff) is gone at the top -nothing serious- and I got a second pair of Kote for rotation - some patching on the old ones is required in the near future.
But apart from that it's good value for the money.
Should last another 5 to 10 years without serious issues, apart from the Kote that might fall apart sooner or later (but then - I sweat A LOT and my kote are soaking wet after every practice - I rotate between the two and dry them well, but it's a lot of stress I guess - like washing your favorite piece of clothing every 2-3 days ).

[Abramo]

Thanks for the input, Herr Krusse, I think that's pretty much what I expected for this set and the price was great too. I'm considering getting an extra set of kote for rotation in the near future (whenever I can afford it.)

Metabug, everyone's impressed by that, it really makes me stand out. I tried a lot of different ways to make it look better over the years, and all that worked was cleaning it the best I could every now and then (I couldn't find shops that would repair that at a reasonable price or without risking destroying it). I even applied a thin coating of oil to prevent the rust to eat it all up, so it also smelled of old machinery. The mengane doesn't have any cracks, but with that much rust I shouldn't push it much too further.

[Toecutter]

Here's the old faithful, got it at my federation for real cheap just so I could keep on training, nigh on 5 years or so ago:

I have to agree with the above, I'm seriously impressed with the usage on your old set. Did you ever get hit by a car with it on?

[Abramo]

I have to agree with the above, I'm seriously impressed with the usage on your old set. Did you ever get hit by a car with it on?

I was lost in the jungle with it. The humidity did a part of the work and the jaguars took care of the dodai (the little jag puppies did away with the rims, they were so cute, how could I blame them?) but what I couldn't fight off was the bugs. They don't teach you how to fight bugs in ninjer school.

[Abramo]

Found the pictures from the rescue team. The viciousness of the attack was unbelievable. Obviously those were mutated jag cubs (reason why they neede ninjers brought in)

Here you can see them stalking the area, preparing for the deadly assault on my life. The remains of their last meal sits ominously at the right.

Securing the perimeter; their rule is uncontested among the jungle dwellers.

Playing with their helpless prey; a cruel habit among these cute monstrosities.

The perfectly coordinated attack; nature's most eXtrEme.

Looking for a feast inside. Nothing escapes the gore of these cuddly-wuddly machines of destruction.

[JoonShik]

dude, that old bogu set is ready for the museum of Japanese History in Brazil. You could pass that as the first bogu set to arrive in Brazil.

[Toecutter]

You can't fool me that bogu was obivously attacked by Chupacabra.

[braxtonhicks]

dude, that old bogu set is ready for the museum of Japanese History in Brazil. You could pass that as the first bogu set to arrive in Brazil.

Either that or the the only set of bogu to survive a post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust.

Very Mad Max. So hard core! You probably didn't need to kiai to unbalance your opponents,...just one look at that men and they'd step out of bounds!

You never know, you may have a harder time at shiai from now on!

[braxtonhicks]

Btw, what is the mengane (old one) made out of? Is that steel to rust like that? Must be heavy...

[Abramo]

It's most likely steel, and it *is* pretty heavy. The new one, which looks quite larger, is much lighter. I'll weigh it one of these days.