Jo talk

I have a two part question,

1, I bought my jo from a little knife shop about a year and a half ago and it was laquerd, i asked my sensei and he told me to take like a 200 grit to it sand off all the laquer and then he gave me a mixture to use to stain it, it was tung oil and beezwax, i used maybe a shot glass or two of oil, and maybe a 3/4ths of an inch square of wax, it seemed to of worked well i only applied one layer, but i was wondering what other people do? i htink i need to refinish mine again, also we usually practice jo after regular class and were all sweaty and my hand wont slide on it well at all at that point, and if anyone knows of a mixture that could counter act that, it would be great

2.im 6'4" tall and the jo i bought is a little big bigger than the average one, im not sure of the measurements, but standing up right, it fits into my armpit, but not real comfortably, but im considering shaving off about 5 inches off it, i think that would drop it down to about average size, and i only trained with this one before untill one class i forgot it and used one of the dojo ones that was average and it felt alot better, i was wondering if any other tall people had problems with this

I just sandpaper mine as soon as i get it. This makes it smooth , i dont even bother w/the laquer or stain. I just keep it simple.

If a weapon is finished (not just oiled), you must sand off all of the finish in order to re-oil the weapon. If the weapon is damaged, you should sand away the splintered area in order to prevent injury to yourself or your training partners. If a weapon does not have a finish, do not sand the weapon further, as that will close the vascular openings in the weapon which absorb the oil, and will limit the depth to which your oil penetrates the weapon. Do not re-finish weapons. If you use any type of finish containing polyurethane or other sealing agent, the weapon is effectively sealed and will never be able to absorb more oil unless you sand the entire layer of finish off. Beeswax similarly seals weapons but will eventually work its way out of the weapon, again allowing it to accept treatment. If you are willing to re-treat a weapon regularly, a plain oil treatment of tung, linseed (although I find linseed stinky and it will yellow your weapon), or mineral oil, cut with mineral spirits and/or citrus oils to increase absorption, will essentially keep your weapon a living thing, in some sense almost healing it's wounds. If you are not willing to regularly maintain a weapon, use beeswax to seal in your treatment, increasing the difficulty of retreating the weapon, but decreasing the interval at which re-treatment is necessary.
If a weapon has absorbed enough hand funk that it is getting sticky, or it has a waxy coating on it from the manufacturer, try using mineral spirits or even acetone (dye/perfume-free nail polish remover works well) to clean the weapon thoroughly without having to use sandpaper. I take no responsibility for damage to your weapons incurred by using acetone to remove their finish, but I will say that I have used acetone in this way for several years with no apparent drawbacks.

Hi Chris,

I read somewhere once that a jo should fit just under the armpit to be of perfect size, so maybe cutting a couple of inches off to make it comfortable would be a good thing.

If a weapon has absorbed enough hand funk that it is getting sticky

eeeewwww....I could have lived the rest of my life without reading that 'term'...

Nice post Benjamin...say, do you do a lot of woodworking, or is your experience just with aiki-buki?

Best,
Ron

For the antiques roadshow types, that would be a "genuine hand-rubbed patina."

Cordially,

Erick Mead

slightly off topic but not to far, i have just started using a jo in my training is there anywhere on line that shows the moves so i can practice.

thanks

It depends on what school you are in. I would ask your Sensei what Jo katas you do and go from there. It is not the same everywhere.