"battle Wrap"...whats the point of it?

I have no idea who came up with the name "battle" wrap, but the "katate" in katatemaki (the style's actual name), means "one-hand", so it's a one-handed wrap. This is just conjecture, as I've never held a katana with a katatemaki, but perhaps it's more comfortable to grip it with one hand and since you use a sword one-handed on horseback, perhaps "battle" wrap came about because of the connection?

The paper did not really tell me the point of the wrap?

Really? I could have sworn I remembered it mentioning that it was purported to be for convenience, but it's been a while since I read it. Sorry about that. It was mainly for simplicity of care and re-wrapping, if I recall correctly. During or between battle it was much easier to just wrap the ito around the tsuka if it became loose or was damaged. I have also read that it was popular on Guntos during WW2.

I believe that a couple of forum members here have a copy of the book The Art of Tsuka-Maki, by Thomas L. Buck. They may be able to look up a more thorough description.

I'm not entirely sure how you got "no point" out of it. As has been said, it was a quick, convenient way to wrap the tsuka in a time-constrained situation, or when you didn't have access to enough material to perform a full fledged wrap. Some also just liked the way it looked. So of course there is a point to it, silly!

a "point" would be that you got a noticeable difference and benefit in the basic function of what the wrap is designed to do.

an example would be that the grip is more sure in the hand...
or that vibration from the steel is more muffled before it hits the hand...

Clearly the battle wrap lack all that stuff,,,,

I think now that the term "Battle wrap" gets a lot of attention because it's a flashy name and of the common understanding that this is the better wrap to have on a sword handle going into combat as it provides more grip and a more sure strike than the normal wrappings....

except that this seems not to be true at all....

What two points is that?

Why do people still call fullers on swords "blood grooves" instead of the proper term? Even vendors who know better often still mention it as a "blood grove" in quotes along with the proper name.

Why do people call Katate-maki "battle wrap" because like "blood grove" it sounds cool and evokes a sense of this is a deadly weapon.

What is the point of katate-maki. Well like all the tsuka wrap it is to give grip, compress the tsuka, and all the other things that wrapping your tsuka is for. Is it better than other wraps? Depends on what your use is. As other's mentioned it is a design for single hand use. So Musashi probably did like it as he liked and advocated duel sword use, meaning each had to be single hand.

There is many different styles of tsuka wrap

This is not even all of them, just an example list of the ones offered at www.tsukamaki.net/

There are tons of ways to wrap a tsuka, some for artistic aesthetic reasons, others for practical reasons. Some just for tradition or historic replication of era.

You got an answer as to what the function, or point, of this wrap was, but then say

Yes there is a point, as others mentioned.


No a point is purpose for the wrap. Yes there is a purpose. It does not have to be better than other wraps for their to be a point, just a purpose. This it has, so it has a point. Yes it might not have extra benefit over other wraps that make it a superior wrap, it is just a different style meant for single hand use, though plenty are also done for duel handed use too with off set menuki. Far more these days this wrap is chosen for the aesthetics rather than the function. I plan to wrap my moroha zukuri tsuka in katate-maki when I rewrap it. Not for any other reason than I like the look of it.

I have noticed in your posts Kumdoalan that you tend to ask a question, then disagree with the answers you get and argue against the people who respond to you. You have done this in various threads now. You have also opened many threads on the same topic, once one thread gets too negative response you seem to decide to open another. You might want to think about how you are doing things Kumdoalan. As yet you haven't burned any bridges, but I would caution you to think about your pattern of ask a question then argue with the responses you get. You admit your new to katana, and not knowledgeable then argue with experienced katana collectors. Eventually this might make it hard to get responses to your questions as people might stop wanting to have to explain every detail to get you to understand they know what they are talking about.

Just some friendly advice Kumdoalan, try to be less confrontational when your asking for advice.

Please ineffableone , if you have other people to deal with before reading squat from my hand,..........

I asked about the battle wrap because I would like to know who came up with that name?

I think its a good question to ask...
I would like to know the history of not only the wrapping style, but also this term "Battle Wrap"

A friend of mine is planning of taking off his normal handle wrap from his Katana used in class for cutting and doing the battle wrap on it.
This means that this issue is going to be talked about by the guys, and i am seeking out facts that are true.....supportable (so I dont say something and a guy shoots back at me ("They made that part up").....as well as personal views by people who use that type of wrap on their own sword.

I said it sounded like its more a wrap for "post (after) battle" rather than "Pre-battle" based only on what I read in the answers I got about the normal wrap coming off in combat.
That seems like a very likely after-battle situation to me as one of the standard questions people ask about any type of sword is "How tight is the wrap?"

So I get the fact that a typical Japanese sword owner a few 100 years ago might have to wrap the handle on his own due to it unwrapping in combat, and just wrapping the straps around the handle would be what a guy would do who did not really have the time to twist and pull, flip twist and pull, etc.

as for the idea that the battle wrap is better for one hand?......Im not sure about that, as that would mean the battle wrap is a pre-battle wrap again as the hype suggests about it.

Would it really be a better grip for one hand?.....there might be some merit to that idea.
The look of the battle wrap to me looks a lot like the handle found on Western one-hand battle swords....

As for who came up with the term "battle wrap"?.........I have yet to learn.

Dude, I was only joking! You have a peculiar way of asking questions that's uniquely Kumdoalan! :lol:
When you asked for people's opinions, you'll get just that, and they are quite fixed, otherwise they wouldn't be their opinions! They can't think your opinions for you because they're not you, you just take it all in, weigh it up, and make what you think is the best decision for you, we're all friends here, and we take it easy on each other, so it's all cool!

Seriously I doubt that the battle wrap had anything to do with post-battle repair. Think about it folks, the ito is criss-crossed and it alternates, so it can't really unravel that much, even if it is cut, and if it was cut, you would be losing a few fingers in the process first because they would be covereing the ito and would get hit first! You'd be more worried about the fact that your fingers were gone and that you wouldn't ever be able to hold a sword in that hand ever again rather than worry about the ito wrap!

The name of the wrap means "one handed", the design looks "one handed", Miyamoto Musashi was said to favour this style of wrap because he used two swords at once, and they only way you can wield them is - yes, that's right, "one handed". I'm getting a funny feeling that the breadcrumb trail of feasible sounding clues lead us in the same direction, wouldn'y you say?

The best speculation I can give you is that katate-maki is termed "battle wrap" because it was imminently more suitable to horseback combat during the transition time (lets not forget the historical fact that samurai were primarily mounted archers!) from cavalry to infantry. It would be superior in single handed cavalry use due to the shape of the grip, will not soak blood onto the same underneath the ito making it more practical as a combat weapon, and can be used just as effectively in a two handed configuration on foot. Now, let me think what short descriptive name I could use for a wrap that was best adapted for battle, hmmm, let me think....