Saya repair.
Does anyone know a good place I can send my Iaito to have the saya repaired? I was going to send it to Nihonzashi, but I spoke with them this morning, and they said they're not going to be doing any saya work of any kind anymore as it is too labor intensive. Anyone know any good alternatives?
"Sometimes you have to slap them in the face just to get their attention."
The Ghost of Christmas Present
What is wrong with it?
If it is in your capabilities, i would advise having a go yourself
Or asking a teacher or dojo mates. Part of iai is earning how to maintain and repair ones own equipment.
If not, i hope someone on your side of the water can recommend peoples
PROUD OKUDEN RYU MEMBER OF THE 7 SMUTTY WIMMIN SAMURAI!!
-iai-four nights a week. id like to do it every day, though i dont think my knees would agree
''If you study traditional iaido, Dan grades have no meaning'' - Iwata sensei
"i dont lie, i never contradict, i sometimes forget"- Disraeli
my favorite iai waza-ry thingy is that cutty heady, cutty necky, cutty waisty, changy timey cutty sidewardsy then slashy through the whole body-y...one
I know a guy who does excellent work, based on Long Island, NY.Originally Posted by Jung_Yul
But if this a saya for an iaito, you might be better off just buying a new one. A lot of iaito have standard sori and length, so you can buy a saya "off the shelf" and it will fit. And of course if the damage isn't too extensive, you can try to repair it yourself.
What's wrong with it?
Paul
It's starting to split/crack on the Ha side just a few cm down from the koiguchi. It's got an almost fist-width length crack formed, and before it gets any worse, I'd like to fix it/have it fixed.
Rottun, I'd love to fix it myself, and if my sensei hadn't departed for Okinawa thanks to being in the Marine Corps back in '04, I'd REALLY love to ask him! ^_^ As it stands, I'M the instructor for the group, but I have no knowledge, or experience in saya repair.
Paul, at this point, I could purchase a replacement, or have it fixed... really, as it's been my sword for just over 10 years, I'd like to keep the original saya and repair it, but in this economy, sentimental reasons only go so far.
"Sometimes you have to slap them in the face just to get their attention."
The Ghost of Christmas Present
Saya repairs are not cheap when done by someone who knows what they're doing. That's why it makes sense to get the saya repaired by a pro only if it's for a shinken because there's a lot of variation in length/sori/habaki dimensions between shinken. And also, there's something a bit topsey turvey about your saya costing as much as your sword -- which will be the case if you get your saya fixed by a pro. Old Korean saying for a situation like that: The bellybutton is bigger than the belly.
Yes, it sounds like you need a new saya. I'd say you had some issues with sayabanare over the years. Happened to one of my iaito saya also. In my case, it cracked pretty much like yours did while I was doing Omori-ryu nuki-uchi.
Give Rick Polland a call and see if you can bring your iaito over and buy a standard saya that fits. He's based in Maryland, so not too far from you. Here's his website.
http://swordstore.com/
Paul
Does it seem to just be the lacquer?
If it isn't too bad, and wouldn't go against uniform regulation, a strip of same or some rattan could get you a little more life out of the saya.
The gentleman I go to for koshirae is very reasonable. If it couldn't be repaired and you needed an entirely new one you'd be looking at the mid US $200's. I'm about a week away from receiving another project I asked him to do for me so I could show you a mini gallery if you wanted to see some examples of the work that he's done for me.
Let me know if I can help you get in touch with him, great guy.
Good luck with your saya.
I would recommend contacting Fred Lohman and describing exactly what is wrong with it. Pictures of the crack and the koiguchi would help. It sounds to me like it can be repaired by installing a same inlay around the koiguchi. I had a saya repaired this way about seven years ago, and it still works just fine. Much less expensive than having a new saya made or buying a new iaito, and it looks pretty cool as a bonus.
Paul Smith
... there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
That it does!
congratulations on your new found teachership
nobody else in the dojo good at this sort of thing (they don't have to be your senior to be able to help you)
Now you have a contact for someone at least
But also, a simple binding job with rattan strips should be DIY-able
PROUD OKUDEN RYU MEMBER OF THE 7 SMUTTY WIMMIN SAMURAI!!
-iai-four nights a week. id like to do it every day, though i dont think my knees would agree
''If you study traditional iaido, Dan grades have no meaning'' - Iwata sensei
"i dont lie, i never contradict, i sometimes forget"- Disraeli
my favorite iai waza-ry thingy is that cutty heady, cutty necky, cutty waisty, changy timey cutty sidewardsy then slashy through the whole body-y...one
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