Best Place to Order Tournament Iaito from?

[shima]

I'm looking to get a new tournament iaito. One of my classmates got his custom made from http://www.tozando.com/ and so right now that's what I'm currently leaning towards doing for my new sword... but was just wondering if any of you have other suggestions as well?

Budget is somewhere around the 600-800 range give or take depending on pro's and con's of said vendor and the swords they offer. I'm ok if there's a X many months of production time to wait at the suggested vendor, I don't need it in a hurry.

 

[Ken Morgan]

http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/

 

[Sukerkin]

I would definitely recommend Tozando. Their higher echelon offerings are very good indeed and I've been using one for about six years with no complaints.

 

[pgsmith]

Tozando is a good choice. Other places that I've dealt with, and had good experiences with, are Nishijin sword (actually affiliated with Tozando, but different offerings), Yamato Budogu, and Swordstore.com
I don't know what SDKsupplies is carrying these days for iaito since our net nanny at work won't let me access the site, so I haven't been there in quite some time. However, I have purchased a lot of good quality stuff from there in the past.

P.S. You mention 'tournament iaito', so I'm going to throw this out there just in case. Don't keep an iaito just for tournament. When you order your new iaito, use it every day and enjoy it in your daily practice, as well as using it for competition. You'll do better in the competition for using your regular sword, and you'll get to enjoy your new iaito on a regular basis.

 

[shima]

Thanks all for the confirmations about Tozando, since my fellow iaido buddy in class Jim has a custom sword from there I figured it was a good choice as his sword is a very nice quality, but still wanted to research what my other options were. I did notice that Tozando has a handful of affiliate stores from this page: http://tozando.com/international/shopping.html

Right now I'm leaning towards getting a custom iaito. I really want the tsunami wrap that I have on my WW2 blade I got restored by Fred Lohman, but Tozando doesn't offer a tsunami wrap, so I'm thinking I may get the cheapest wrap from Tozando on my new sword if I order it from them and then ship the blade to Fred Lohman for a tsunami wrap (he only charges $195) which is cheaper than me paying for Tozando for a leather wrap and I just love the feel of the tsunami wrap in my hands.

 

[Sukerkin]

The standard cotton wrap on a high end Tozando iaito is very good quality. Mine hasn't moved a hair in the years I've been using it ... unlike the leather ito on my Paul Chen which I managed to twist in the course of about two weeks .

 

[shima]

I'm just not a fan of the feel of cotton or silk, I much prefer a leather or tsunami wrap grip myself personally. Tsunami wrap so far is my favorite.

 

[Sukerkin]

:chuckles: Whilst I cannot abide leather or silk ito. Just goes to show that there is a difference in taste for almost everything .

I really would recommend cotton if you are going to be working hard and sweating a fair bit but, if you don't care for the feel then it is more important to use what you are most comfortable with. As a last persuasive gasp, I'll just point out that the ito on my Paul Chen is suede leather and it is atrocious.

 

[shima]

:chuckles: Whilst I cannot abide leather or silk ito. Just goes to show that there is a difference in taste for almost everything .

I really would recommend cotton if you are going to be working hard and sweating a fair bit but, if you don't care for the feel then it is more important to use what you are most comfortable with. As a last persuasive gasp, I'll just point out that the ito on my Paul Chen is suede leather and it is atrocious.

I hate silk the most above all

But both silk and cotton tend to rub my hands raw. I don't have this problem with leather or tsunami. Leather I can tolerate, but I still find tsunami to be superior. I love the grip and look of the tsunami wraps the best of all that I've tried.
http://japanese-swords.com/pages/tsunami.htm

I had him do this wrap on the WW2 sword he restored for me and it's AWESOME. My favorite wrap so far. That's why I was thinking of getting the cheapest wrap from Tozando and then just shipping the sword to Fred Lohman (the man who owns the above site) and having him do a tsunami wrap on it

 

[pgsmith]

Just goes to show that there is a difference in taste for almost everything.

That's true! Myself, I much prefer silk. I don't like the feel of cotton, and both leather and tsunami are too 'sticky'. But, that's why there are different offerings!

As far as I'm aware, the tsunami ito is a Fred Lohman exclusive. I think you've got the better idea in getting an inexpensive wrap, and having Fred's guy re-wrap it in tsunami. While I don't doubt Tozando's craftsmen, leather is very difficult to wrap correctly and tends to loosen over time even if done well.

 

[Namii]

I love the tsunami too . I had the leather on one of my swords and I hated the slippery feel when my hands get sweaty. It now has tsunami and it feels great. Cotton will rub my hands raw also, but silk doesn't.