Iaito came today….

[Spinedoc]

Ordered through Tozando, good quality.

Interestingly it was held up in it's transit to the US from Kyoto, Japan by US FIsh and Game. Now, I could see US Customs…I could see BATF as they deal with weapons…but Fish and Game? That was, I thought, perhaps a bit odd, but eh? it's here.

 

[tshadowchaser]

nice looking
fish and game dose sound strange

 

[Hyoho]

Did it come dismantled? Just wondering because when I used to send them stripping them down cut the shipping cost considerably. The shorter length parcel dropped into a cheaper postage rate.

 

[Spinedoc]

Did it come dismantled? Just wondering because when I used to send them stripping them down cut the shipping cost considerably. The shorter length parcel dropped into a cheaper postage rate.

No it came fully assembled. Even got the cleaning kit with it, although I will have to have one of the senior students show me how to do that.

 

[Hyoho]

No it came fully assembled. Even got the cleaning kit with it, although I will have to have one of the senior students show me how to do that.

A small piece of chammy leather (Car polishing cloth) kept in a plastic jewelry case (for earings) with few drop of oil on it will put on a nice thin sheen of oil.

 

[Tez3]

Shark skin? That would interest a department like Fish and Game. If the cleaning kit came with a 'chammy' leather that would too as it's deer skin.

 

[Spinedoc]

Shark skin? That would interest a department like Fish and Game. If the cleaning kit came with a 'chammy' leather that would too as it's deer skin.

Actually the sword has Japanese Stingray skin in it…..

 

[Tez3]

Actually the sword has Japanese Stingray skin in it…..

Ah, there you go that's why they were interested! Anything like that has to cleared by CITES.
Stronger protection for five shark species and all manta rays CITES

 

[Chris Parker]

Nice.

No it came fully assembled. Even got the cleaning kit with it, although I will have to have one of the senior students show me how to do that.

Word of warning… don't use the uchigo on it… unless you have a steel iaito (and the one from Tozando isn't), you'll ruin it. Just give it a wipe over with some oil, as Hyoho suggested… the cleaning kits aren't actually suited for iaito, just for shinken.

Shark skin? That would interest a department like Fish and Game. If the cleaning kit came with a 'chammy' leather that would too as it's deer skin.

No, the kits don't come with leather rags… they use a special thick paper instead. But yeah, the Dept of Fish and Wildlife would have probably just wanted to check that the same (ray-skin) wasn't from an endangered species… nothing to worry about, really.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Nice.... and a good buy!

Take good care of it and it will serve it's purpose for you for a long time.

 

[Namii]

Interesting about the Fish and game.....Maybe they were thinking you would be filleting fish with it! (just kidding) (When I showed my dad my swords he was looking at them like they were giant fish filet knives
anyway beautiful purple ito.
I have learned that some of those powder puff balls aren't even real uchiko, that some are just filled with low grade talc stuff.

 

[Gyakuto]

I wonder how that purple tsuka ito has held up after such a long time? I bought an iaito with blue cotton ito wrapping and regretted it within a few months!

 

[Gyakuto]

Many sword connoisseurs suggest not using uchiko powder on any swords at all. It is an abrasive after all but was a necessary evil when not-very-absorbent washi paper was used to try and remove every trace of choji. The polish alone on my nihonto cost $1,283.95 and is beautiful, so I use was recommended (by the polisher) to use microfibre cloths in place of abrasive uchiko.