Shinai selection

[litige]

After browsing the internet in search of a good store that has a LOT of shiniai selection, I didn't find any.
now anyone got a shop wich sells a lot of shinai types?

[Hotei]

Both e-bogu and e-mudo have well over a dozen choices, each, and they do not cross over. Both offer a wide range of prices and quality. And there's been an ad on the k-world site for a while now about a new shop opening up.

If you need more choices than that, start growing some bamboo.

[Neil Gendzwill]

bogubag has a good selection, but not all of the choices are listed on the website. I suspect many of the suppliers may be similar. email Stroud-sensei if you want a more complete list. I count 17 different flavours in the Koei catalog.

[Shazzanzzz]

E-guchi shinais are my personal favorites. Even the practice shinais are pretty good. Anyways, there's no way you can know what kind of shinai you would like until you try them all.

[itachi]

e-guchi is my favourite.

[Sithlord]

AKATSUKI handmade shinai from ebogu my fav

[ben]

You could also asks the seniors at your dojo if they have any Japanese contacts for shinai that you could order from. No reason why you should be limited to internet-based suppliers.

b

[Hotei]

I was a little disturbed (? More like perturbed) to find out that a good number of e-bogu's shinai are produced in Mexico, of all places. Now, I have no problem with Mexican workmanship (good enough for Mercedes, good enough for me), but the bamboo in hotter climes is simply not suitable for the type of workout that our shinai get.

I found this out from my Sensei after he called the company in regards to breaking 3 shinai in as many weeks. What a waste.

I'm going to have to go with the majority on this one. e-Guchi is the way to go.

[DCPan]

I was a little disturbed (? More like perturbed) to find out that a good number of e-bogu's shinai are produced in Mexico, of all places.

Which shinai line are you talking about?

Their "Madake" shinai should be of Japanese bamboo, right?

Thanks!

David

P.S. Please e-mail me at dcpan2000@yahoo.com if you want to respond privately.

[Hotei]

To be honest, I'm not sure. I'll find out tonight.

In answer to your second question, I can't imagine that a shinai company would find it that much more economical to export bamboo to another country simply to have it assembled there.

And, while it's possible that they are using a Japanese variety of bamboo, It would still need the cold, snowy climate to develop to the optimum level of flexibility and strength. I suppose they could be importing from China to Mexico, or maybe even further into South America. Hmm. . . That might be a possibility.

[kenshin13]

bogubag has a good selection, but not all of the choices are listed on the website. I suspect many of the suppliers may be similar. email Stroud-sensei if you want a more complete list. I count 17 different flavours in the Koei catalog.

Stroud-sensei? Are you serious? Where do you guys live? He teaches my Kendo classes!

[Deco]

I say you can't go wrong with bogubag shinais!!

And cheers to Stroud-sensei

deco

[Neil Gendzwill]

Stroud-sensei? Are you serious? Where do you guys live? He teaches my Kendo classes!

Robert's got a side business called bogubag where he supplies mostly Koei brand equipment. I live in Canada, but I've met Robert in person at the annual Steveston Taikai and had email/usenet/web contact with him for years.

Enjoy your classes at Obukan.

[Hotei]

I've not spoken with Abe Sensei since my last post, but I'll see him this evening to ask which shinai are Mexican masterpieces.

I suppose I'm a little partial to e-guchi just because they're the only ones (of those we've tried) that we can't break with any regularity. That, or I just like telling everyone that my Kendo gear is "guchi".

[slidercrank]

Can Mexican climate support bamboo?

I find it hard to believe that anyone would involve Mexican labor in shinai production. Vast majority of shinais in the market now use Chinese bamboo, regardless of the country or company. And Chinese labor is still cheaper than Mexican. Thus I can't imagine why anyone would ship bamboos to Mexico and do any work there.

I've bought an e-bogu practice shinai at a tournament for $20 ($25 on the website). The leather on all parts was thin, and the bamboo was not particulary durable. I've just ordered the $25 practice shinai from eguchi. I'll be interested to see the differences, if any, between the 2.