Iaito came today….

Spinedoc

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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.
 

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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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…..:)
 
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.
 
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 o_O
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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