kote research

**jd111** · 8th January 2010, 05:33 AM

has anyone tried these kote from e bogu, they look nice, and are on sale atm

http://www.e-bogu.com/ProductDetails...OG-3MMKOTE-PFR

thanks alot!

**nikozamo** · 8th January 2010, 07:01 AM

just i know that perforation in the palms it's great and awful: great because the air circutation and everything. bad because it can tear easy sometimes and if someting happen it's difficult to do home repairs.

**jd111** · 8th January 2010, 08:17 AM

i see, has anyone else had trouble with the perforated palms?

**JSchmidt** · 8th January 2010, 08:19 AM

No. I wore through them as quickly as regular palms

**hyuna** · 8th January 2010, 08:31 AM

Similar to JSchmidt, I've found little difference in durability.

**Benjimaru** · 8th January 2010, 06:15 PM

Only 6 months old, but no issue with perforated palms so far.

Ben

**Pork Floss** · 15th January 2010, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by jd111

i see, has anyone else had trouble with the perforated palms?

Yes, I bought a pair of rather expensive kotes made by a boguya in Kyushu. The kotes were made by a famous sensei so the quality wouldn't have been all that bad, but the palms wore out within 2 months of reasonable use (approximately 2-3 practices per week). I heard that it is unusual for such palms to wear out so soon as they have a reputation of being tough. But as I haven't changed anything else such as my grip etc., I am baffled as to why the palms wore out so quickly.

I do, however, have another pair of kotes also with perforated palm and made by another famous sensei in Tokyo which I have used for 5 months and the palms are still going strong. I suspect that even perforated palms vary in quality so I would examine my next purchase very carefully. Of course, that would not be possible for internet orders but that's the risk we take.

**kanyil** · 26th February 2010, 01:39 PM

I have multiple sets of kotes and I rotate between them. Had the kote with perforated palms for around 4 years now. They wear out just about the same as my deer skin kote.

**DCPan** · 27th February 2010, 02:10 AM

Yeah, I have have two pairs of kote with perforated palms. One came like that...the other one was "re-palmed" with the perforated material.

Ironically, the pair that was repalmed with the perforated leather is enduring longer than the pair that came like that. Since it was done by the same boguya, the quality of the perforated leather should be the same. But, they are wearing differently.

I would say, in my experience, the perforated palm wears about the same or slightly faster than high-end deerskin palm, but doesn't get slippery or shiny the way deerskin palm does over time. That said, it also stretches a little more over time due to the perforation.

**verissimus** · 27th February 2010, 02:27 AM

I have used this set for about 2 years now; practise 2 times a week. I haven't noticed any particular acceleration in degradation compared to my older set.

**KenshiNewbie** · 28th February 2010, 05:35 AM

Hello everyone,
I am very new to Kendo and don't have any experience in these matters, but I am trying to learn as much as possible. I recently bought Bogu from Jeff at Maruyama and he told me something that not only stuck with me be made me trust he really new what he was doing! He designs Bogu and pays close attention to Kote!
He told me "I not only buy back my kote from my customers when they wear out but I will buy other brands of worn out Kote so I can cut them all open, study how they are made and use the knowledge to design a superior Kote! Very smart in my opinion. He was also (as I said in another post) "He was one of the most pleasant people I have done business with which provided a great experience in the education of bogu."
I would urge anyone to give him a call!

**ShinKenshi** · 1st March 2010, 10:59 PM

I've got a pair of Mine kote from Chibabogu and with a little over a year of use, I've got a couple of small holes on both thumbs, just above the joint on the inward side. The rest of the palm is wearing nicely and no other problems to date. The material stays dry much longer than my previous kote (5mm machine stitch set from Koei) and are much more comfortable. Personally I'd go with perforated palms for regular practice, work-horse kote any day.

**KenshiNewbie** · 3rd March 2010, 05:19 AM

My kote stink BIGTIME like smoke.... I know they smoke the deer skin palms but how long will they smell so strong of smoke? I have my bogu on a stand in my house and when I walk in it smells like a beef jurkey house!

**Lloromannic** · 4th March 2010, 03:56 AM

...Delicious!

I also have a pair of Mine kote with perforated palms which I believe I got in November 2008. They are only my second set but so fat they are holding up great. No holes on the palm have formed and the grip quality is still great. My only other pair were a Tozando 3mm with deerskin palms, after 4 years one of them got a smallish hole on the right thumb. I retired them for the Mine but I recently dig them out as i'll be taking them to japan. The main difference I can see between them is that the deerskin takes a bit longer to loosen up and the grip feels slightly slippery.