Originally Posted by
jdostie
Thanks. I guess I'll just have to get over the white cover - which seems prevalent for this type of shinai.
I don't know how they're finished, but leather dye may be an option.
If I didn't already have an old-style Bujin one, I'd get one of these. Even in white, I prefer the smooth-grained leather of these to the suede of mine. This type of fukurojinai is also known as a hikihada shinai, hikihada meaning "toad skin" -- a reference to the smooth finish of the tradional covering used within the Shinkage Ryu.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---