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J. A. Crippen
15th March 2002, 02:46
I'm curious to see what online stores people recommend for Japanese budo clothing and weapons. The obvious ones (eg, Bujin Design, Bugei Trading) can be omitted. There're *lots* of horrible stores out there selling clothing and especially weapons that are cheap garbage. But how about good places with reasonable prices and reliable service?

Chuck.Gordon
15th March 2002, 03:03
Originally posted by J. A. Crippen
I'm curious to see what online stores people recommend for Japanese budo clothing and weapons. The obvious ones (eg, Bujin Design, Bugei Trading) can be omitted. There're *lots* of horrible stores out there selling clothing and especially weapons that are cheap garbage. But how about good places with reasonable prices and reliable service?

www.budogu.com

Peter Boylan runs Mugendo Budogu and does a fine job of finding and offering some rare (some truly weird) items as well as the usual stuff.

The main focus is sword-oriented goods, but he also offers quite an array of uniforms, weapons, books an dvideos of other arts as well.

His prices are higher than, say Century, but you get high quality and personal service. In the end, you get what you pay for. He's a great fellow, loves budo and loves the business.

Tell him Chuck sent ya.

Chuck

JimmyCrow
15th March 2002, 16:54
Tozando has always supplied me with the best quality Budo gear. They make everything they sell and stand behind their products. Their catalogue of Budo Items grows everyday so check their web site often ( http://www.tozando.com/ ). They are located in Kyoto, Japan so unless you pay for express delivery you will have to wait several weeks for your item to ship, but it is worth the wait. They have always been helpful with translations and high quality embroidery on all my items. You should order from them at least once to see what I mean.

Good Luck:smilejapa

Blackthorne
16th March 2002, 01:33
You could try Sei Do Kai Supplies (http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com) , run by Kim Taylor. They have excellent quality wooden weapons, iaito, and uniforms, as well as other budo related material.

Best of wishes,

J. A. Crippen
17th March 2002, 09:20
Thanks for the great suggestions! I knew I could count on e-budo people knowing what the better stores were. It's so hard to wade through the millions of sites offering 'real ninja swords with fake blood!' and the like.

I had one disaster with a place I won't name selling me a rattan bo that was so crooked I could've done kyudo with it... It would have made a good shepherd's crook, come to think of it. They also sent me a pair of nitan bo (aka hanbo), one which was an inch wide and the other 3/4 inch. Quite a pair. After that experience I decided only to buy from places recommended by other respectable practitioners.

One surprise in my online shopping experience though -- I found a place that sells high quality kama (Japanese sickles). They're a gardening supply store...