Brand New Shinai
Your Brand New Shinai
There she is! You've taken it out of the bag, and cut off the red bits of cotton (or shiny gold ones if its a GOOD shinai) that cover it, and have absolutely bugger all clue what to do next. There are two things you should think of doing before you wield your weapon with malice:
1: Oiling your shinai
Shinai are generally better of in humid environments (ie Japan) so sticking it in your mums airing cupboard will see it dry and splintered in weeks. To help keep it useable, you should try and oil it regularly, maybe once every 2 -3 months if needed.
To oil it up like a muscle beach regular, get yourself some Linseed Oil (used on furniture, and canbe found at a DIY shop near you from Boxing Day) and a roll of kitchen paper. Use the kitchen paper to apply the oil to the bamboo (take in japanese), one or two wipes of oiled up paper is usually enough I find.
When oiling yourself up, be careful not to overload the shinai with oil, as firstly, this can change the balance of your shinai, and secondly, it will take bloody ages to soak in. If its still oily or wet after 2 days, its too much. You don't need to load the paper up, just dab it a couple of times in the oil and wipe it a couple of times on each section of the shinai (between the knots).
Once done, stand the take up on some newspaper. Make sure you use a few sheets because any excess from the shinai can soak through onto whatever is underneath.
2: Sanding your shinai
Another point you might like to consider is sanding down the straight edges on the sides of each take a little so that they are rounded of and can move easier against each other.
Using a suitable coarse grade of sandpaper, simply rub up and down the side of the take a few tiome to gently round off the edge, and that is all it needs. Be careful not to take off too much, as this can weaken the bamboo by not leaving enough of it there, and you can ruin the shape of it as well if you take too much off. Remember, all you are trying to do is round off an edge, not sand down your door frame. As a general rule, I only sand the top two sections of each take, as these are the two that see the movement. Normally....
When you have finished sanding each take, take a wet cloth and wipe it down the area that you have sanded to remove any excess bamboo dust, and try not to breathe it in!
Once each piece is ready, slap it back together (look here) and your ready to break some face.
Return to the basic maintenance page.
