Practice Shinai is getting thinner ???

[rainmaker]

Recently, I have boought practice shinai from both e-bogu and e-mudo. I happen to notice that they both are getting thinner and it just annoys the heck out of me. They are really really poor quality and doesn't last long.... Very disappointed...

[ender84567]

thinner how? Thinner as you use them? Thinner than the last ones you bought? Where is it thinning?

[shred_lord]

My shinai are bald!

[ReKru]

Recently, I have boought practice shinai from both e-bogu and e-mudo. I happen to notice that they both are getting thinner and it just annoys the heck out of me. They are really really poor quality and doesn't last long.... Very disappointed...

Apart from the questions asked by ender: I don't really like 'practice' shinai.
They seem to be quite often of a much lower quality then the next step up (so you'd pay around 25$ for the practice shinai and about 35$ for the next one from same supplier .. to save money, you could go with the 'bamboo only' http://www.e-bogu.com/HYOEI_Bamboo_O...oeibamb-39.htm ).
Price (or small price difference) seems to be more due to the high shipping cost, which is pretty much the same for all 38/39 shinai, but in order to get to a 25$ retail price, they need to get really cheap supplier prices in asia. Leather is usually also not very good and does not last long without looking shabby or even tearing.

[b8amack]

Practice shinai ARE lower quality. Shit. It's like complaining that 30 dollar running shoes don't last as long as the good ones.

I thought rainmaker meant the practice shinai are getting worse in quality, as a general rule, however.

[ender84567]

well it makes sense if you think about it, bamboo is an agricultural product and so will differ from piece to piece, the more expensive shinai are going to be using the better bamboo, while whatever is leftover is used for the economy or 'practice' shinai. They tend to vary wildly in balance and weight, and this is made worse by the fact that you cant pick it out in person, but instead are ordering online. If you want a repeatable shinai either goto an event where you can pick them out yourself, or pay for the more expensive shinai which will have similar weight/balance/thickness. I have very good luck with e-bogu and the kai is my current favorite general practice shinai. Jeff Chen at maruyama makes some really great shinai, he puts alot of time and care into their design, balance and repeatability, but they are usually out of my price range unless there is a deal running. the tl:dr version: you get what you pay for.

[rfoxmich]

If you want to stretch the lifetime of shinai:
1. Strike with better te-no-uchi
2. Practice less (just kidding).

[rainmaker]

the newer practice shinai I bought from both e-mudo and e-bogu.. They are thinner than what I used to bought about a year ago..... My tsuka doens't even fit....

[shred_lord]

AH-HA! That makes sense. Answer is to change supplier. Strange though as I've noticed a trend toward thicker grips over to last five years even on shinai not marketed as thick gripped.