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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 20:20:46 GMT
I will be having a katana mounted soon and would like people to weigh in you opinion on the best material for Ito.
I would also like to know if anyone has used the tsunami wrap and what their impression is.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 20:47:12 GMT
my favs would be doeskin (not just leather), tsunami, then silk. Have had two blades done in tsunami, like the feel a lot. Just a bit 'cushy', real nice.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 20:57:29 GMT
Although really high-quality cottong feels great, gives a great grip, and is durable, i'm still voting for silk. A bit less durable, but it just feels different.
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Post by wiwingti on Jun 5, 2009 21:04:03 GMT
personally , i better like the grip of cotton.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 21:07:36 GMT
Antelope suede. Unborn reverse antelope suede to be precise. They're not an endangered species, yet! Seriously, silk ito is the gold standard.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 21:18:24 GMT
Silk is very durable, and after handling high quality silk and high quality cotton and leather, go for the silk.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 21:40:58 GMT
I plan on going silk with my first 900$+ katana, but I presume leather and tsunami to be more hand friendly? The tsunami just doesn't look good though. I hope silk feels better than DF Musha cotton...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 21:53:09 GMT
Silk is slipery, cotton is good, just doesn't look as nice. If doeskin is anything like the hanwei grippy stuff I think I'd like it. Then again I took all the ito and same off my Kaze and relined the whole tsuka with a black suede print.
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ecovolo
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Post by ecovolo on Jun 5, 2009 22:19:56 GMT
I've never had Fred Lohmann do a 'tsunami wrap'. However, if it's as good as the regular silk ito wrap he did for me, then you won't be disappointed.
--Edward
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2009 22:02:02 GMT
I would go with suede. Lohman suede is synthetic so it is one solid material. The one thing I do not like about doeskin and leather is that it is bonded to another material so it has a seem along the back of the ito. Also you have to realize that needing 15ft of ito (depending on the tsuka) and doe are not that long, so there is a split in your ito length at least 2-3 times depending on your length. It is on that fact that I do not much enjoy it. Not even to say that that ito is even more expensive than Lohman suede by $3.50 per foot. Somthing you also have to remember is that you need a bit more ito (fred sells his in 18ft lengths) because unlike Cotton or silk the Suede or doeskin does not stretch. So for the same size length of doeskin you would pay $67 more. Why I prefer suede over cotton or silk is that when a tsuka is wrapped propper with hishigame and the wood for them to sit against, it makes the wrap rock solid and it "almost" hurts your hands. Silk also gets kinda slippery when your hands start to sweat. With suede the material is like baby skin and like Drawdy sensei put it "cushy" feel. The last reason I prefer it... when material like silk or cotton is wrapped somtimes from all the pulling and stretching and then use you get the small strands that break away and stick up. When this happens enough the wrap will look frayed when the ito is still tight and rock solid. This is not a HUGE concern, but it is one of those things that bothers be about braided material. Overall suede will not be quite as strong as silk, but is softer and will make a clean wrap. Not having to be stretched the tsukashi will not have to keep a death grip on the ito to make a rock solid wrap. Plus when silk is stretched and pulled it just leaves the ito looking a bit more worn out. I consider it the #1 material when you consider overall use confort, vs. being durable and the cheap cost of suede ito Just my 2 cents
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Post by tengu76 on Jun 9, 2009 13:33:41 GMT
I for one like "GOOD" cotton,I have a sword with silk and wile it looks nice and feels nice I found over time it became a little slick in my hand. So it's cotton for me
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 20:38:10 GMT
Silk all the way! I have 2 Roninswords that are wrapped in silk and they feel way better than cotton imo. Silk is very durable too.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 22:54:51 GMT
imo from my experience
shoelace cotton - cheap & nasty, looks bad, wears bad.
good cotton - looks good, feels good, still wears pretty quick.
silk - looks good, much better for wear, but personally i prefer the softer feel of good cotton...
leather - just got my first sword with leather ito, at fist i didnt like how it felt, but its growing on me by the day... looks REALLY good! very durable.
doeskin/tsunami - no experience yet, but ive got one coming... ive got high hopes....
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