|
Post by JH Lee on Feb 1, 2024 15:46:50 GMT
I pulled the trigger on Rewrap and have some less than flattering thoughts about the quality and communication. Waiting for a partial refund.
|
|
|
Post by Roscoe57 on Feb 1, 2024 17:31:32 GMT
|
|
tera
Moderator
Posts: 1,657
|
Post by tera on Feb 1, 2024 19:16:24 GMT
I have had a few done by studentofwarcustoms.com/. Are those before and after pics? That first one is rough...
|
|
|
Post by jdc on Feb 1, 2024 20:12:49 GMT
It can't be a before and after shot - the mekugi location is different.
|
|
|
Post by Roscoe57 on Feb 1, 2024 21:59:45 GMT
For all you haters here, I would suggest Cottontail customs. His work is beyond perfect. Here are a few more from Student of War Customs.
|
|
|
Post by Arlequin on Feb 1, 2024 22:07:21 GMT
For all you haters here, I would suggest Cottontail customs. His work is beyond perfect. Here are a few more from Student of War Customs. Cotton tail isn't really active anymore, he takes on a few jobs like once every other year. think we need to just make a sticky on the front page saying this cause I don't know how many times it can be repeated lol. Katanacustoms is probably the most professional I've seen, but they're euro based so it's a little more complicated to work with them.
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Feb 2, 2024 4:16:13 GMT
For all you haters here, I would suggest Cottontail customs. His work is beyond perfect. Here are a few more from Student of War Customs. Cotton tail isn't really active anymore, he takes on a few jobs like once every other year. think we need to just make a sticky on the front page saying this cause I don't know how many times it can be repeated lol. Katanacustoms is probably the most professional I've seen, but they're euro based so it's a little more complicated to work with them. Katana Customs also tripled their prices in the last year. I got a quote 12 months ago for like 120 euro, asked again a few months ago (for the same job) and was quoted 300 euro. Now they're in the custom realm which is fine for higher end stuff, but not so much for your average buyer.
|
|
RE:Wrap Studio
Manufacturer/Vendor
A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others.
Posts: 89
|
Post by RE:Wrap Studio on Feb 2, 2024 5:01:03 GMT
Well, this thread degraded into quite a crap show didn't it? I was feeling apologetic until I saw some of y'all just straight trashing some of the folks with nothing but hateful words.
We can talk about me so no one feels the need to be slick with a comeback, I'll lay it out.
Let's start with the year 2023, it was very challenging for me on a personal level. I dont use this as an excuse but as an explanation.
Did that negatively impact the work I tried to do in regards to time frame and communication? Absolutely, I don't deny it.
Do I feel terrible about it regardless of the circumstances? You betcha, all I can say is that I can strive to be better in the future, what's done is done.
Is my work perfection? One day maybe, but not yet.
Everyone seems to hold all craftsmen to the "Cotton Tail Standard" and there is no denying that his work is stellar and nearly (and quite possibly) flawless.
We aren't him, we don't have 10 plus years of skin in the game. I have always been upfront about my skill level as have the other up and comers on here like SoW etc.
I have a fully functioning website and a gallery so anyone that graciously chooses to work with me knows what I'm capable of more or less.
Same with the others on here.
People complain "man why isn't there hardly anyone out there that does this work?" Maybe it's because they're scared to death to put themselves on the chopping block to internet strangers that this place seems to be at times.
I wish I could say that my work is consistent. Sometimes, other handles turn out a bit better than others. Sometimes, there can be unique challenges that are presented working on certain pieces and it can be difficult to overcome them. It's a learning experience. I'm sure the top quality guys and gals didn't start like that from day 1.It's not from a lack of trying but you all seem to forget that aspect.
Myself and the other up and comers will always be striving to improve and I genuinely hope to work with some of you one day on a future project. Keep an open mind is all that I ask, regardless of who you choose to work with.
This forum always promotes "polite and positive feedback" but I don't see much of that.
I'm not saying that people should not air their issues, I'm not asking that the unhappy folk stay quiet. I'm saying think before you speak. Offer feedback. We don't improve without it. Thank you for the long read. I mean absolutely no offense but I felt this needed to be said, thank you for your understanding.
|
|
|
Post by JH Lee on Feb 2, 2024 6:16:21 GMT
Well, this thread degraded into quite a crap show didn't it? I was feeling apologetic until I saw some of y'all just straight trashing some of the folks with nothing but hateful words. We can talk about me so no one feels the need to be slick with a comeback, I'll lay it out. Let's start with the year 2023, it was very challenging for me on a personal level. I dont use this as an excuse but as an explanation. Did that negatively impact the work I tried to do in regards to time frame and communication? Absolutely, I don't deny it. Do I feel terrible about it regardless of the circumstances? You betcha, all I can say is that I can strive to be better in the future, what's done is done. Is my work perfection? One day maybe, but not yet. Everyone seems to hold all craftsmen to the "Cotton Tail Standard" and there is no denying that his work is stellar and nearly (and quite possibly) flawless. We aren't him, we don't have 10 plus years of skin in the game. I have always been upfront about my skill level as have the other up and comers on here like SoW etc. I have a fully functioning website and a gallery so anyone that graciously chooses to work with me knows what I'm capable of more or less. Same with the others on here. People complain "man why isn't there hardly anyone out there that does this work?" Maybe it's because they're scared to death to put themselves on the chopping block to internet strangers that this place seems to be at times. I wish I could say that my work is consistent. Sometimes, other handles turn out a bit better than others. Sometimes, there can be unique challenges that are presented working on certain pieces and it can be difficult to overcome them. It's a learning experience. I'm sure the top quality guys and gals didn't start like that from day 1.It's not from a lack of trying but you all seem to forget that aspect. Myself and the other up and comers will always be striving to improve and I genuinely hope to work with some of you one day on a future project. Keep an open mind is all that I ask, regardless of who you choose to work with. This forum always promotes "polite and positive feedback" but I don't see much of that. I'm not saying that people should not air their issues, I'm not asking that the unhappy folk stay quiet. I'm saying think before you speak. Offer feedback. We don't improve without it. Thank you for the long read. I mean absolutely no offense but I felt this needed to be said, thank you for your understanding. At this time, I have no intention of spending time detailing the all of the reasons for my disappointment. You insisted on a partial refund because of the extraordinary length of time you took and for the poor communication. I appreciated this but said we should hold off until I could see the finished result. I am a patient man, and this is far from my first time working with a person in this craft. If the work was adequate, then I would decline the offered partial refund despite the timeframe and communication issues. You agreed with this. Unfortunately, the work is far less than adequate, even considering your relative inexperience. I do not wish to be unkind and do not need the drama of a back and forth. So, I am choosing not to point out all of the issues in a public forum. If it is really your wish to receive detailed feedback in private for your own personal improvement, I can do so if or when I can find the time. For now, as per our conversation and agreement, I await the partial refund. That is all.
|
|
|
Post by KatanaCustoms on Feb 2, 2024 7:43:19 GMT
Hello to everyone, I been reading this and have some comments. As one of the guy's of Katana Customs doing sword works I can assure everyone that "everything" has got more expensive, that's why we have bumped up the price. Shipping for us has tripled or more, there was times we needed to use proxy and pay money to lots of middle man to get material from Japan (ito, honoki etc). The is the question of taxes and at customs in Europe were they charge at least in Sweden 25% of the sum inc Shipping, so for 100$ you nedd to add + 25% + handling feeds + bla bla bla...you are lucky if in total that is less than 150$ at the end. When it come to prices there are levels to it! You can't price regular hineri-maki the same as a Jabara-maki, samegawa panels same as full wrap, etc etc. There is no on outside Japan that I know about doing this craft as a full-time job, we have regular day jobs and do this we time allows it. With that said that's why things can take time! One year for a full koshirae mount is not crazy time frame for exempel, tsukamaki one- two months is normal. As one of the representativ of Katana Customs I can tell you folks that we are active, Sergio Martins is my partner in Katana Customs and he is based in Netherlands, I Gustavo Mastalli are based in Sweden. Shipping stuff around Europe is no problems, shipping between the US and Europe is harder when it comes to price because of our customs and taxes. Sergio and me share the work and of course there is up to customer preference ho they want to use of us. For exempel I'm more in to the practical side of tsukamaki, for me this is a passion and hobby. You will never see me doing Jabara-maki or other Edo-period tsukamaki as I don't like it. Do if we get that kind of job I send it to Sergio:-). Sergio is super talented as he has the patience that is needed for this craft. We always try to answer as fast as possible and I don't think no one can complain about communication with us. Folks, after reading this you are more than welcome to contact us, but please have in mind what I have written here. Very good post and thank you for letting me share my thoughts.
/Gustavo Katana Customs
|
|
|
Post by Arlequin on Feb 2, 2024 9:59:57 GMT
Also, just to put a button on this, to everyone gripping about prices, yeah it's not 2010 any more. Everything has gone up, from materials to shipping to keeping food on our damn tables. If you want something nice you gotta wait and save. And if you truly don't feel as tho the current line up of craftsman are up to snuff, the golden boy everyone brings up Everytime this topic comes up 3-4 times a year, literally has his process listed out on his website. Nothing stopping you from buying some cotton ito and stock tsuka and practicing your self until you've perfected it to dress up your own sword.
|
|
|
Post by nickthegreek26 on Feb 2, 2024 15:43:28 GMT
So basically out of all these people only a couple are active and accepting commissions? damn... Yup,right now I think Rewrap, Student of war and katanacustoms(euro based) are the only viable options for regular folk, everyone else is either semi retired or only does high end pieces. Unfortunately it's a gig that doesn't pay well, most of these dudes are doing this as a hobby to begin with,managing random strangers expensive personal property on top of having a day job is a special kind of stress that doesn't attract allot of new people to the art. As you can see in this thread things get heated very fast when time gets away from you lol. Doesn't it? (Not implying anything, I really don't know!) I mean, some I have contacted were booked for 6-12 months, and considering, unless something major/special is needed, we are talking about a few hours/job, it does SEEM pretty lucrative. I m more curious how there are no (known at least) folk from the Balkans (Most countries also have healthy iaido populations) or Asian countries where the 250-300$/job usually required, is quite a lot of cash. For the US and most EU countries, yeah, these are great prices considering the stuff already said.
|
|
|
Post by zsg1313 on Feb 2, 2024 17:47:07 GMT
|
|
steveboy
Member
Measure twice, cut once.
Posts: 367
|
Post by steveboy on Feb 2, 2024 19:50:47 GMT
As someone who spent a decent amount of time learning to do his own, fairly basic tsuka wrapping (and not, I hasten to add, as someone marketing his services), I totally agree with this. It's not hard to learn to do an acceptable job; it just takes time, research, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes.
It's very hard to do a great job (by which I mean super precise or complex, with an attention to detail and an esthetic that edges craft into art) and clearly takes years of focused dedication -- if you've got the chops for it at all. I'm pretty sure I'll never get past "acceptable," and I'm perfectly okay with that.
And FWIW, almost every time I've completed a wrap I've thought to myself, There's no way someone would pay what I'd want to charge for the amount of work this took.
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Feb 3, 2024 1:01:36 GMT
And FWIW, almost every time I've completed a wrap I've thought to myself, There's no way someone would pay what I'd want to charge for the amount of work this took.
How much were you thinking? I've been in contact (recently) with lots of people who do this work and it's ballpark around $400 (USD). This is the average price for higher end custom work - outside of Japan. The great thing about Re-wrap, is currently he is VERY cheap considering he wants to learn. So in my mind that is a win-win. Otherwise, pay the higher price? People seem to want a lot for nothing nowadays?
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Feb 3, 2024 1:04:38 GMT
Hello to everyone, I been reading this and have some comments. As one of the guy's of Katana Customs doing sword works I can assure everyone that "everything" has got more expensive, that's why we have bumped up the price. Shipping for us has tripled or more, there was times we needed to use proxy and pay money to lots of middle man to get material from Japan (ito, honoki etc). The is the question of taxes and at customs in Europe were they charge at least in Sweden 25% of the sum inc Shipping, so for 100$ you nedd to add + 25% + handling feeds + bla bla bla...you are lucky if in total that is less than 150$ at the end. When it come to prices there are levels to it! You can't price regular hineri-maki the same as a Jabara-maki, samegawa panels same as full wrap, etc etc. There is no on outside Japan that I know about doing this craft as a full-time job, we have regular day jobs and do this we time allows it. With that said that's why things can take time! One year for a full koshirae mount is not crazy time frame for exempel, tsukamaki one- two months is normal. As one of the representativ of Katana Customs I can tell you folks that we are active, Sergio Martins is my partner in Katana Customs and he is based in Netherlands, I Gustavo Mastalli are based in Sweden. Shipping stuff around Europe is no problems, shipping between the US and Europe is harder when it comes to price because of our customs and taxes. Sergio and me share the work and of course there is up to customer preference ho they want to use of us. For exempel I'm more in to the practical side of tsukamaki, for me this is a passion and hobby. You will never see me doing Jabara-maki or other Edo-period tsukamaki as I don't like it. Do if we get that kind of job I send it to Sergio:-). Sergio is super talented as he has the patience that is needed for this craft. We always try to answer as fast as possible and I don't think no one can complain about communication with us. Folks, after reading this you are more than welcome to contact us, but please have in mind what I have written here. Very good post and thank you for letting me share my thoughts. /Gustavo Katana Customs I think this is great and please, I meant no disrespect. Sorry if it sounded like that I just wanted to point out that you guys are no longer a "budget" option and have move more into the realm of higher end custom prices for this work. Which is totally fair and the work seems to match. The theme I'm seeing here is people who own cheaper swords want options for lower end work and there are a few great options on this page.
|
|
|
Post by Roscoe57 on Feb 3, 2024 4:14:19 GMT
My thoughts on a cheaper katana, the cheapest route for a new core "that may or may not be so good and a so so wrap" is Amazon. It will still have to be fitted. Guess I really depends on how deep are your pockets.
I have had wraps done by: CottonTail customs, by far the best. Nihonzashi made a couple of cores and wraps, excellent work. Randy Black, far from perfect though the ito was tight. He did 3 for me and the last one well. just say I never went back. The past year Student of War Customs has done several wraps for me and each time his work has improved. His prices are fair and he is making cores now.
I have followed Gustavo Katana Customs work and it looks excellent. But I'd rather keep my stuff in the USA.
|
|
|
Post by joe_meadmaker on Feb 3, 2024 4:50:58 GMT
Roscoe57 - Ha! I think some of the images you posted from Student of War Customs are of my sword. For a while I've been meaning to put some pictures up as well as some other thoughts on the job, but have just been procrastinating. Attached are some more images. Here are some things about my experience. The sword is an older Huawei I picked up in the classified. It was posted as a Huawei Water Katana. The sword was with Student of War Customs for about 3.5 months, from mid April to the end of July 2023. It got a new full samegawa wrap and tsukamaki. The ito is silk, which I purchased and sent with the sword. Communication was great. We went back and forth for a while via email to confirm exactly what I wanted. I also received updates during the process, and replies when I reached out. Some things I'm not a huge fan of, the diamonds vary in shape and size. The ito also bunches up a little bit along the edges of the tsuka. I tried to show this in one of the images. That said, the wrap is pretty tight. There is a little movement in the ito in some places, but not much. I'm absolutely not an expert (maybe not even a novice :) ) but I would call the wrap serviceable. While not perfect, I do like the overall look of the sword better now.
|
|
|
Post by wildv on Feb 3, 2024 9:46:12 GMT
Roscoe57 - Ha! I think some of the images you posted from Student of War Customs are of my sword. For a while I've been meaning to put some pictures up as well as some other thoughts on the job, but have just been procrastinating. Attached are some more images. Here are some things about my experience. The sword is an older Huawei I picked up in the classified. It was posted as a Huawei Water Katana. The sword was with Student of War Customs for about 3.5 months, from mid April to the end of July 2023. It got a new full samegawa wrap and tsukamaki. The ito is silk, which I purchased and sent with the sword. Communication was great. We went back and forth for a while via email to confirm exactly what I wanted. I also received updates during the process, and replies when I reached out. Some things I'm not a huge fan of, the diamonds vary in shape and size. The ito also bunches up a little bit along the edges of the tsuka. I tried to show this in one of the images. That said, the wrap is pretty tight. There is a little movement in the ito in some places, but not much. I'm absolutely not an expert (maybe not even a novice ) but I would call the wrap serviceable. While not perfect, I do like the overall look of the sword better now. To be fair, for the price this looks really good.
|
|
steveboy
Member
Measure twice, cut once.
Posts: 367
|
Post by steveboy on Feb 3, 2024 17:50:20 GMT
And FWIW, almost every time I've completed a wrap I've thought to myself, There's no way someone would pay what I'd want to charge for the amount of work this took.
How much were you thinking? I've been in contact (recently) with lots of people who do this work and it's ballpark around $400 (USD). This is the average price for higher end custom work - outside of Japan. The great thing about Re-wrap, is currently he is VERY cheap considering he wants to learn. So in my mind that is a win-win. Otherwise, pay the higher price? People seem to want a lot for nothing nowadays? As I said, my work is acceptable, certainly not high-end, so I couldn't imagine charging $400 for it -- but that's around what I'd want for the time & effort involved, and that's more than someone would want to pay for the level I'm currently capable of (as far as tsukamaki is concerned, anyway; I'm very happy with where my customization work is).
|
|