kusari kama

[JtathaA]

Does anyone know where to purchase a kusari kama (sickle and chain). I have been searching and have not had much luck. I wll be greatful for any information.

Jakku Miyamoto

[Brian Dunham]

Tozando carries one that looks pretty good. It is item # GM10, and is priced at 35000 yen ( I think about $285 US).

Brian Dunham

[JtathaA]

I dont see it on their website, is it on there?

[Uranium235]

Bugei trading company has one available. It is made from sword steel and is reputed to be very good, from what I have heard.

Their address is as follows: http://www.bugei.com/

However theirs does not come with a chain for legal reasons. Unfortunatly they do not offer a chain as a seperate item.

I hope this helps.

U-235

[Brian Dunham]

This picture is from thier last big sale flyer from last year, so it has a different item #. It is currently in thier printed Iaido catalog as item #GM10. If you go to the Kendo FAQ on thier site, there is a place that you can order catalog items that are not on thier site.
I think this is probably better than the kama from Bugei although I'm sure that it is not made of sword steel. I think Bugei's has a funny shape and is a bit too ornate.
I have the jutte and tessen that Tozando sells, and I can say that they are constructed very well, and I imagine thier kusarigama is, as well. It is a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for.

[Uranium235]

Mr. Dunham:

That is some interesting information. I will have to try and obtain a hard copy catalog from Tozando.

I am curious if anyone has a Kusari-Gama from Tozando and what their experiance is.


U-235

[Mark Brecht]

We can provide this Kusarigama right here at Japanese Treasures on E-budo.

At a local weapon store I had it in my hands before and really liked it. However as the price is quit high, I hesitate to offer it before. I will try to get a better pic of it up within the next few days.

[John Bowden]

I too might be interested in getting one or two of this kusarigama.

If you can make these available, please post as much information on them as possible.

I just noticed that in the picture above, it appears that the chain connects at the top of the blade. Is that the case?

Thanks much,
John Bowden

[Sgathak]

If your intrest in the Kusarigama is for training you might find the kusarigama sold by i beleive www.TigerClaw.com to be of some limited use. Its cost is minimal so dont expect awesome performance. but it may help you get used to useing both the kama and the kusari at the same time and you can then move on to the higher quality and more traditional weapon.

[John Bowden]

The kama carried by tigerclaw are not of
a quality that I would be comfortable training
with.

There really are ZERO kusarigama of the
old style available in the US. The Paul
Chen have a nice sword blade but the rest of
the design is ornamental.

For non kusari kama, Shureido is purported to
make a good farming style weapon, and there
is a non traditionally styled but very nice
kama made by weaponsconnection.com. The latter
has an interesting backhead impact point
(which interfere's with reverse grip waza.) This
point could be drilled and used as a connection
for chain and ball kusari. The kama itself is
of excellent workmanship, partially polished.

Interestingly, my local museum has a very fine
battlefield kusarigama in it's collection. It
would be fun to try to replicate it. The design
is somewhat like the tozando item except the
chain inserts into the back head of the blade
rather than at the top. (a better place IMO.)

If other e-budoka are aware of other weapon
quality kama/kusarigama makers that US customers
can buy from, please post the details. :)

John Bowden

[pboylan]

One of my suppliers just provided me with some information about a variety of chain weapons, including kusarigama. I can now get four different types from Japan, but I haven't had a chance order any for evaluation yet, so I can't speak to their quality, though I can say that the prices I have seen are ridiculously high. If anyone is really intersted in them, please email me privately.

Peter Boylan
peter@budogu.com
Mugendo Budogu LLC
Fine Martial Arts Books, Videos, Clothing and Equipment from Japan
http://www.budogu.com