Does zinc/aluminum alloy blade get easily scratch ?

Akira23 · 3rd March 2004, 03:40 AM

Hi, I am absoluty new in the world of the Iaido, but I want to start practices, and I am looking for a good Iaito to strat whit, I've been looking and I found a good one (I least I thinks is a good one), in a good prices (afordable for me), but it is made of zinc/aluminum alloy, and some body told me that this bales gets chip and sratch very easily, so here's the link to strore that I found bogubag (Tokujyo Koshirae. Jidai style mogitoh, basic or J004-1), I will apriciate any help to newbie. thanks.

**R A Sosnowski** · 3rd March 2004, 05:15 AM

Originally Posted by Akira23

Hi, I am absoluty new in the world of the Iaido, but I want to start practices, and I am looking for a good Iaito to strat whit, I've been looking and I found a good one (I least I thinks is a good one), in a good prices (afordable for me), but it is made of zinc/aluminum alloy, and some body told me that this bales gets chip and sratch very easily, so here's the link to strore that I found bogubag (Tokujyo Koshirae. Jidai style mogitoh, basic or J004-1), I will apriciate any help to newbie. thanks.

Zn-Al getting chipped or scratched? Doing what other than the solo Kata it was made for?

I have had two cheap Zn-Al Iaito that my students now use, and a expensive custom one that I have used for the past seven years - chipping and scratching has not been an issue.

FWIW, find an instructor and check to see what s/he recommends before you buy anything.

HTH.

Charger · 3rd March 2004, 05:45 AM

It's hard to say anything about an alloy if you don't know the method of fabrication. Aluminium (and it's alloys) has low hardness and will scratch easily but generally Al/Zn/Mg alloys are the strongest aluminium alloys and I suppose you wont hit anything with the sword so then a aluminium/zinc alloy would be fine. If anything, low maintenance due to high corrosive resistance. But I don't practice Iaido so maybee you should listen more to the ones who do.

Hope it helps

Akira23 · 3rd March 2004, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by R A Sosnowski

Zn-Al getting chipped or scratched? Doing what other than the solo Kata it was made for?

I have had two cheap Zn-Al Iaito that my students now use, and a expensive custom one that I have used for the past seven years - chipping and scratching has not been an issue.

FWIW, find an instructor and check to see what s/he recommends before you buy anything.

HTH.

Thanks for your help, but what is you're opinion about the web site that I mentioned before (bugubag.com), are those Iaitos made of good material, are good enough, and the pices are resonable, thanks again.

Akira23 · 3rd March 2004, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Charger

It's hard to say anything about an alloy if you don't know the method of fabrication. Aluminium (and it's alloys) has low hardness and will scratch easily but generally Al/Zn/Mg alloys are the strongest aluminium alloys and I suppose you wont hit anything with the sword so then a aluminium/zinc alloy would be fine. If anything, low maintenance due to high corrosive resistance. But I don't practice Iaido so maybee you should listen more to the ones who do.

Hope it helps

Thanks for you're help, now I know something else about alloys, thanks agian.

**happogiri** · 3rd March 2004, 04:55 PM

Hello Akira23,
I don't know about those swords, but I do know that there are plenty of more choices. The best one (as said before) is use your future sensei/older students, so that you will get right size and so.

Akira23 · 4th March 2004, 03:48 AM

Originally Posted by happogiri

Hello Akira23,
I don't know about those swords, but I do know that there are plenty of more choices. The best one (as said before) is use your future sensei/older students, so that you will get right size and so.

Thanks for you're advice, but If I'm looking for an opinion is because I don`t have any one to advice me, I've been pracitice kendo for a about tow years, but I'm really interesting in strat to practice iaido. my sensei in kendo did some clinic about Iaido in japan but he's not really interesting in that matial art, so I'll apriciate any help or advice to choose an very good iaito, If nay body can make a coment about the one that I mentioned before (bogubag.com), Tokujyo Koshirae. Jidai style mogitoh, basic, I'll apriciate any help. thakns again.

**chidokan** · 6th March 2004, 06:27 AM

you can also buy a 'harder' sword to be used for kendo kata, but this is not advised for students below godan. Still gets scratched...ALL swords get scratched, even steel ones, if they come into contact with other swords. Best not to let that happen. If you are practising iaido and need to touch one sword on another to understand how a technique works, use bokken....

**Neil Gendzwill** · 6th March 2004, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by chidokan

you can also buy a 'harder' sword to be used for kendo kata, but this is not advised for students below godan.

Not sure I understand this advice. Do you mean, don't use a kendo-kata-yo for iaido kata under godan, or don't perform kendo kata with iaito before godan? If the former, the only consideration I can think of is weight. If the latter, I'd disagree - I've been doing demos with iaito since I was about nidan.

**chidokan** · 8th March 2004, 12:08 AM

I meant dont do kendo kata before godan with iaito. It was a comment I heard from some japanese sensei from ZNKR....apparently they were quite nervous watching us foreigners using blades for kata! I used to use a shingunto for kata but never worried about it as the guy I practised with was also using one and I'd trained with him for years.... and we were both shodan.(albeit having the grade for ten years...) I sort of see his point, accidents can happen no matter how good you are, anyone can slip/ forget the next move etc.