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View Full Version : Where to order tsuka-ito



Rasmus
8th September 2008, 10:56
Where can I order tsuka-ito online and have it shipped to Europe for a reasonable price?

Silk or cotton doesn't matter. I imagine cotton is both cheaper and easier to work with for an aspiring wrapper like myself.

When it comes to color my first choice would be a deep red but since it seems to be hard to find I'll go for purple as my second choice if it's easier to find.

pgsmith
8th September 2008, 17:43
Hey Andreas!
Did you ever find out who had that video of your cutting in Costa Mesa? If you find it, let me know!

Here's the places that I know of that sell ito ...
In the U.S. ...
Fred Lohman ... http://www.japanese-swords.com/
Shadow of Leaves ... http://shadowofleaves.com/
In Japan ...
Namikawa Heibei ... http://www.namikawa-ltd.co.jp/english/index.html
Samurai Sword Shop ... http://www.samurai-sword-shop.com/
In the U.K. ...
Nine Circles ... http://www.ninecircles.co.uk/items.asp?CatID=68

If you're just looking for practice lengths, you can often find it cheaper on SwordForum's classifieds section ... http://forums.swordforum.com/

Good luck, and hope to see you next time! :)

Rasmus
9th September 2008, 01:23
I don't think anyone got it on video but there's at least some pictures of it. I got a pretty good one from the Chicago gang.

The Samurai Sword Shop seems to be located in Belgium which is right here in Europe. It means no customs and no import fees. Unfortunatelly the shipping is almost as much as the ito. So I think Fred Lohman is my best alternative. They even have two different kinds of red.

For practice I'll just use whatever I can find here that is somewhat similar. It doesn't have to be genuine ito. I guess it'll require a bit of practice and more than a little patience but hopefully I will be able to make decent tsuka-maki eventually.

It sure was a great trip. Really nice to meet you and all other people at the dojo. Can't wait to get back, but first I have to visit Japan! ;)