Do you have to take apart your shinai?

[Jerott]

I was reading forums and I didn't know you could take apart your shinai to sand it and oil it. But I am asking if you have to.

[LNGUYEN]

The reason shinai sanded and oiled are:

1 Sanding the rough edge of shinai so the four staves have a freer movement, which will prevent sprinter that is dangerous to your opponent.

2 Oiling is to prevent the shinai getting dry and become brittle and break easily which will be dangerous for others around you.

However, if you use shinai for just to swing, you don't need all that.

[Kumdo-Star]

The reason shinai sanded and oiled are:

1 Sanding the rough edge of shinai so the four staves have a freer movement, which will prevent sprinter that is dangerous to your opponent.

2 Oiling is to prevent the shinai getting dry and become brittle and break easily which will be dangerous for others around you.

However, if you use shinai for just to swing, you don't need all that.

what kind of oil and sand paper do you use? And where do you find it? Thanks for the help!

[LNGUYEN]

1. Just fine sand paper
2. Cooking oil

[Jerott]

Thanks LN!

[Sôjirô]

i used fine sand paper, or if you dont have any, a sharp blade or a peice of glass will do fine. i used baby oil and it was perfect, since it was light,and it had a little "spaggette" opening that was perfect to put oil on the inside of the shinai. you let it sit for two three days, wipe and polish, put your shinai back together, and it will last you like a year more.

[Jerott]

i used fine sand paper, or if you dont have any, a sharp blade or a peice of glass will do fine. i used baby oil and it was perfect, since it was light,and it had a little "spaggette" opening that was perfect to put oil on the inside of the shinai. you let it sit for two three days, wipe and polish, put your shinai back together, and it will last you like a year more.

Wow! I got to get my shinai in form! But one more question. How do you tie the knots back up?

[Yzakj]

Putting back the leather and retying it on is like learning how to tie your shoes. But you have to learn first, try searching online for articles on shinai care. Here is a good website with nice diagrams on how to tie back the leather parts on your shinai.

http://www.kendo-usa.org/reference/firststrike.htm

Oh by the way cooking oil tends to be really thick and smelly, I use Lemon oil. But it all depends on your preference, just make sure you do take care of your shinai.

[Yzakj]

Oh yeah here is my first kendo manual, I really found it useful when I was starting out. http://www6.big.or.jp/~budogu/book.html just look around for DOWNLOAD and english version is here, and from there you can download it. I hope it helps you in your kendo. Have fun and practice hard.

[Jerott]

thanks Yzakj! I'll have to look on those sites after i'm done with KWF.

[Hai_hai]

I was reading forums and I didn't know you could take apart your shinai to sand it and oil it. But I am asking if you have to.

You do not have to.

[Gregory]

Well, I guess if your bored, and dont know how to do other stuff, you could do what I did after the first practice and take it apart. I only untied the string (I forgot the name, can someone tell me) and tied it up again, but after a while I mustered up the courage to take of the sakigawa (is that what its called?) and the tsuka. I dont think you are supposed to untie anything else. Be my guest if you want to

[Jerott]

You do not have to.

If I don't have to then I can still bring my shinai to practice, right?

[Hai_hai]

If I don't have to then I can still bring my shinai to practice, right?

You cannot participate in practice without a shinai. Figure it out.

[Yzakj]

You do not have to take apart everything to sand and oil it but it is alot easier to do when all the staves are seperated. Initially you need to sand all the edges and round them off a little bit and oil it for a while. It's all just part of making sure your shinai is safe for practice and won't break as easily.
As for future maintenence you do not have to take off all the leathers and strings to sand down small splinters unless you find it necessary. Sometimes there will be large cracks, then you need to take everything off to survey how big it is. And yes you do indeed need a shinai for practice.