Need a rant.
Cannot understand why all good quality hakama have to come smeared in Indigo. I get blue, towels also turn blue, the radiators were I dry them also go F****** blue and they are impossible to wash in the bath since (yes) your bath tub will also get dye stuck on it.
Hoped aizome fixative would help with the last purchase but now I have a nice camo hakama.
Does anyone know where to buy good quality ones without the aizome?
Mr Leahy is this you or the liquor talking?
Randy, I am the liquor.
Just buy a Tetron hakama from a Japanese manufacturer. It will be well-made and hard-wearing. It will be difficult to fold and swishier than cotton, but at least it will chemically dyed. You can leave all those crappy aizome hakama to those of us who know how to clean a bath. b
Get the Tozando alsace cotton/tetron mix one. I love mine. No leaks and it doesn't have that shiny tetron look. I bet you can order it from Miyako Kendogu though I don't see it on the page.
Or use a washing machine.Originally Posted by ben
Tried that once. Goodbye, pleats. I think if I tried that again, I'd probably buy a box of safety pins and fasten those pleats in place.
I also tried placing the folded hakama in a pillow case before putting it in the machine (to maintain the pleats), but I ended up with faded lines where the cloth was creased or folded.
Not recommended unless you want the machine to wear out the fabric on the corners of the koshiita, before turning your hakama into this. b
Full disclosure... I use the "lingerie" setting on mine (top loader) with wool shampoo. Wash my newest hakama at least twice a month, for three years, now, which is how long I've had it. It still looks new.
But what I meant was that if you have a top loader, you could simply fill it with cold water and hand wash your hakama, sparing your bathtub.
If you have a modern front loader, cotton hakama come out just fine using the gentle cycle, no need for pins or anything.
Neil Gendzwill
Saskatoon Kendo Club
Thanks very much guys
I actually own a tetron hakama that happens to be my first and is still going strong. The cotton hakama have always been for especial occasions such as competition, seminars and gradings.
About the bath tub, for some reason mine absorbed the dye the last time around, spent days scrubbing with bleach.
Neils advice about washing machines makes sense, I actually spun my hakama, using the gentle cyle on my washing machine after soaking it. There was no damage.
Still wondering if I could get a nice indigo-less cotton hakama.....
Mr Leahy is this you or the liquor talking?
Randy, I am the liquor.
Yes. In white.
jjcruiser did suggest one. I haven't seen artificially dyed hakama myself, but the keikogi I've seen didn't look right. But if Levi's can figure out how to dye jeans so it doesn't rub off on everything, surely hakama could be dyed that way. Personally I like the traditional look, so I'm not too fussed.
Neil Gendzwill
Saskatoon Kendo Club
Buy it leave it for a year or two for the dye to properly set... et viola... no dye but perfect hakama!
Kendo Na h-Eireann.
Irish Kendo Federation
Stop By, Say Hi
Cork Budokai-Martial Art cork
One day without keiko, your body knows.
Two days, your opponent knows.
Three days, the audience knows.
Reading this should set you straight on why that won't work.
Neil Gendzwill
Saskatoon Kendo Club
Good article Neil. When people at our dojo ask about setting their dogi or hakama I always tell them the methods they hear about don't really 'set' the dye because all of the indigo that is going to set is already set. The best you can do is to try and wash away the unset dye but you can do that with mutiple rinses of water with a mild detergent as well as with vinegar or anything else.
How often do you wash your hakama that this is an issue? The most I have ever had to do was twice a month during the japanese summer and I am a pretty sweaty person!
Emilio Porras
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