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Post by KatanaCustoms on Feb 3, 2024 18:52:11 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.
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Post by KatanaCustoms on Feb 3, 2024 18:54:02 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.
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Post by KatanaCustoms on Feb 3, 2024 19:07:27 GMT
No need for apology I understand what you ment, and is correct. But what I'm trying to get all of you to understand that tsukamaki work between 200-300 is budget, of course I'm talking of correct made tsukamaki not something that's just done and is worse than the original. I really highly recommend everyone to try out doing tsukamaki, no need for fancy stuff. Exempel take shoelaces and try out on a wood core, get it right, hard and repeat repeat and repeat. When you fell that you have it tyr doing it on a tsuka. If you are using good materials from Japan for a normal lenght tsuka you will manage cost between 100-150usd. I'm sad that a lot of good craftsman in the US aren't taking tsukamaki work for the moment, it leaves a lot of the sword community with out a chance for customization.
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Post by nickthegreek26 on Feb 7, 2024 12:44:08 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 $400 (USD). This is the average price for higher end custom work - outside of Japan. The great thing about Re-wrap, is currently he is VERY cheap considering he wants to learn. So in my mind that is a win-win. Otherwise, pay the higher price? People seem to want a lot for nothing nowadays? The thing is, some of the craftsmen mentioned do EXCELLENT and almost flawless work, and rightfully they could/should be charging way more than even the current prices. However, there is a shortage of people doing "acceptable" but also dependable work, for lower prices. Like, me for example have a couple of mid-end iaitos lying around that wouldn't mind having rewrapped. I don't want a masterpiece, just something that looks nice and is functional/dependable again since these are tools that ll be heavily used, not just admired in a display case. It doesn't make sense to do a 400$+ work on them, with a couple hundreds more, you might as well buy a new one, but neither does throwing them away altogether.
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Post by Shinken Studio on Apr 28, 2024 20:27:15 GMT
Hey there, A quite common topic apparently, however it seems information regarding active tsukamakishi is either outdated (For example the most recent topics I could find here were from 2022), focused mainly in the U.S. or just all over the place. I thought it might be a good idea to have an actively maintained list, maybe stickied too, with the artists, their location and means to contact them, maybe some feedback too from those who have first hand experience. Starting with those I have managed to dig up: - cottontailcustoms.com/ US. Appears to longer accepting commissions, but still great source of information for students/diyers. - www.schwert-couture.de/ EU, Couple from Germany, prices starting at around 250E. (For a typical ~26cm tsuka hineri maki for reference) - KatanaCustoms EU, 2 guys from Sweden, also around 250-300E. - rewrapstudio.com/ US, I think I found that one from the sbg here, appears very affordable. - www.shadrik.co.uk/2018/04/shadleyhax-tsukamaki-services.html UK guy, not sure if still active, has not responded to my mail for some time now. - shiningmoon13.com/ Also US, starting from $145.00 - Josiah Boomershine US- VietNam- Tsukamaki Vietnam - Maybe inactive? Has not responded to any of the social media handles. - (Randy Black - US, Could not dig up much info) Feel free to expand the list, provide feedback/personal experiences, corrections and stuff! EU: kenjutsu.hr/studio/
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Post by wildv on Apr 29, 2024 2:53:37 GMT
Hey there, A quite common topic apparently, however it seems information regarding active tsukamakishi is either outdated (For example the most recent topics I could find here were from 2022), focused mainly in the U.S. or just all over the place. I thought it might be a good idea to have an actively maintained list, maybe stickied too, with the artists, their location and means to contact them, maybe some feedback too from those who have first hand experience. Starting with those I have managed to dig up: - cottontailcustoms.com/ US. Appears to longer accepting commissions, but still great source of information for students/diyers. - www.schwert-couture.de/ EU, Couple from Germany, prices starting at around 250E. (For a typical ~26cm tsuka hineri maki for reference) - KatanaCustoms EU, 2 guys from Sweden, also around 250-300E. - rewrapstudio.com/ US, I think I found that one from the sbg here, appears very affordable. - www.shadrik.co.uk/2018/04/shadleyhax-tsukamaki-services.html UK guy, not sure if still active, has not responded to my mail for some time now. - shiningmoon13.com/ Also US, starting from $145.00 - Josiah Boomershine US- VietNam- Tsukamaki Vietnam - Maybe inactive? Has not responded to any of the social media handles. - (Randy Black - US, Could not dig up much info) Feel free to expand the list, provide feedback/personal experiences, corrections and stuff! EU: kenjutsu.hr/studio/Any idea what the prices are like for standard tsukamaki?
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Post by Shinken Studio on Apr 29, 2024 18:28:09 GMT
The prices are project specific, but ballpark; - 200€ for tsukamaki (silk ito included)
- 400€ for a new tsuka with tsukamaki (standard samegawa included)
Of course, other services such as custom seppa and saya are available as well.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 29, 2024 19:23:22 GMT
Hey there, A quite common topic apparently, however it seems information regarding active tsukamakishi is either outdated (For example the most recent topics I could find here were from 2022), focused mainly in the U.S. or just all over the place. I thought it might be a good idea to have an actively maintained list, maybe stickied too, with the artists, their location and means to contact them, maybe some feedback too from those who have first hand experience. Starting with those I have managed to dig up: - cottontailcustoms.com/ US. Appears to longer accepting commissions, but still great source of information for students/diyers. - www.schwert-couture.de/ EU, Couple from Germany, prices starting at around 250E. (For a typical ~26cm tsuka hineri maki for reference) - KatanaCustoms EU, 2 guys from Sweden, also around 250-300E. - rewrapstudio.com/ US, I think I found that one from the sbg here, appears very affordable. - www.shadrik.co.uk/2018/04/shadleyhax-tsukamaki-services.html UK guy, not sure if still active, has not responded to my mail for some time now. - shiningmoon13.com/ Also US, starting from $145.00 - Josiah Boomershine US- VietNam- Tsukamaki Vietnam - Maybe inactive? Has not responded to any of the social media handles. - (Randy Black - US, Could not dig up much info) Feel free to expand the list, provide feedback/personal experiences, corrections and stuff! I am still doing tsukamaki but some things have changed. in an effort not to let a monster queue build up again and have people waiting too long, I am taking commissions only on a one at a time basis, no queue, no lists, when I have a spot open I'll post it on my fb page and it will be first come, first served, although I will be giving my past clients first dibs to repay their loyalty and patience. I'll also only be accepting higher end production brands and some nihonto/gunto here and there. This is to try and keep the work time shorter by not having to spend extra time on all kinds of major repairs and adjustments but mainly because I feel my clients deserve the best work I can offer and in my experience, better quality swords allow for better quality final results. The commissions will also be limited to tsukamaki work, new samegawa and the occasional fittings swap, no new tsuka cores(except for rare instances), saya work or elaborate customizations. I'm not snobbing out, I'm only trying to give people their money's worth and I just feel that poor quality swords limit my potential. I will also be producing custom one-off, fully finished swords for sale, when I can get them done. thanks
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tera
Moderator
Posts: 1,657
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Post by tera on Apr 29, 2024 22:30:22 GMT
That is HUGE news, Cottontail Customs. Glad to hear you are still into the work. I know you'll only ever have happy clients.
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Post by wildv on Apr 30, 2024 4:42:38 GMT
Hey there, A quite common topic apparently, however it seems information regarding active tsukamakishi is either outdated (For example the most recent topics I could find here were from 2022), focused mainly in the U.S. or just all over the place. I thought it might be a good idea to have an actively maintained list, maybe stickied too, with the artists, their location and means to contact them, maybe some feedback too from those who have first hand experience. Starting with those I have managed to dig up: - cottontailcustoms.com/ US. Appears to longer accepting commissions, but still great source of information for students/diyers. - www.schwert-couture.de/ EU, Couple from Germany, prices starting at around 250E. (For a typical ~26cm tsuka hineri maki for reference) - KatanaCustoms EU, 2 guys from Sweden, also around 250-300E. - rewrapstudio.com/ US, I think I found that one from the sbg here, appears very affordable. - www.shadrik.co.uk/2018/04/shadleyhax-tsukamaki-services.html UK guy, not sure if still active, has not responded to my mail for some time now. - shiningmoon13.com/ Also US, starting from $145.00 - Josiah Boomershine US- VietNam- Tsukamaki Vietnam - Maybe inactive? Has not responded to any of the social media handles. - (Randy Black - US, Could not dig up much info) Feel free to expand the list, provide feedback/personal experiences, corrections and stuff! I am still doing tsukamaki but some things have changed. in an effort not to let a monster queue build up again and have people waiting too long, I am taking commissions only on a one at a time basis, no queue, no lists, when I have a spot open I'll post it on my fb page and it will be first come, first served, although I will be giving my past clients first dibs to repay their loyalty and patience. I'll also only be accepting higher end production brands and some nihonto/gunto here and there. This is to try and keep the work time shorter by not having to spend extra time on all kinds of major repairs and adjustments but mainly because I feel my clients deserve the best work I can offer and in my experience, better quality swords allow for better quality final results. The commissions will also be limited to tsukamaki work, new samegawa and the occasional fittings swap, no new tsuka cores(except for rare instances), saya work or elaborate customizations. I'm not snobbing out, I'm only trying to give people their money's worth and I just feel that poor quality swords limit my potential. I will also be producing custom one-off, fully finished swords for sale, when I can get them done. thanks Thanks for sharing this. As a customer it feels like a "lotto" now as I'd bet there are heaps of people wanting to work with you, rather than a "who waits the longest?" Honestly, you should just charge double your current price, really weed out those people who just want good tsukamaki work V's those of us that specifically wish for you to do the work... If that makes sense? I've had good tsukamaki done from many people in that above list, 3 of them (including yourself) I'd easily go back to.
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