Ito (handle wrap)

just two questions about ito. first off: what is the diffrence between "battle wrap" and normal wrap? Second: what is an appropriate color for ito. I have coices between black, green, blue, and red

thanx for the help,
james

Hmm. I've seen references to a hira-maki (?) style wrap for battle, which was described as a simply spiral wrap, no criss-cross and elaborate folding. Don't know how common that was or in which particular timeframe/location it did get used. The 'standard' we've gotten used to isn't really. It's just the way things are done now (mostly). There were a lot of styles, lots of variation over the years.

Color will be based on two things: school/teacher preference first, and then personal pref.

Chuck

in that case, what color would you choose? I think black is safe, but dark blue seems more of a stylish kind of thing.

Love this colour scheme; brown ito, black same.

http://www.bugei.com/product_825_detailed.htm
http://www.bugei.com/product_823_detailed.htm
http://iaido.tozando.com/iaito/ka111.html
http://iaido.tozando.com/iaito/ka108.html

Complicated? Nahhh! Fold here, tuck there, paste this...

http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm

Me? Lemme see, one of my ken has black cotton tsukaito, the other has a tetron (I think) wrap in a very dark blue. My wife's ken and iaito are both black, IIRC.

Used to have an iaito with a dark gold wrap and brown saya. The tsukaito weathered nicely to a rich dark brown over the years. Twas a pretty thing, that.

My only reccys would be avoid anything too light in color, as sweat and oils from your hands will stain it. Saw a beautiful iaito once with a sort of ivory tsukaito, and two great dirty smudges where the owner's hands went.

I'm partial to dark blues, rich browns if I have a choice.

Chuck

Here's some example pics of normal and battle wrap.
http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/hndl.htm

You usually can't go wrong with brown or blue (preferably towards the darker side) and black.

I have one black ito wrapped Iaito and one Navy blue ito wrapped Iaito.

But yes, one should first ask their sensei what are appropriate colors for the style and rank they are in before making a decision within the sensei's suggestions/regulations.

wonderful! Wonderful! I like the dark blue that last legend has so that's my choice over either white or black same. what do you prefer...white or black same?

Just a question....why does it matter what others prefer?

There is no functional difference between the colors of the tsuka ito (except for how quickly it looks dirty) or the same so our preferences really have no bearing on yours.

Go with what Chuck said, find out if your sensei/dojo/style has any guidelines then choose what YOU like within those guides.

Just for the record I like dark brown tsuka ito over black same....but that's just me

Bronson

I like good 'ol white same with black ito. Though sometimes I like the navy blue ito more. Brown ito still looks good to me.

I'm not into black same as much. Seems like everyone else loves black same though.

As for same: I always though the darker same made the sword look kinda like those toy ninjato ...

cg

well thanx for the opinions. I finally made my choice: the classic white same, black ito. Safe, and looks like sensei's (which looks awesome anyway!) I think i'll get my wakizashi wrapped in blue, though.

James Matarrese wrote: I think i'll get my wakizashi wrapped in blue, though.

Double check with your Sensei to make sure it's ok that they don't match.

Bronson

Bronson Diffin wrote: Double check with your Sensei to make sure it's ok that they don't match. Bronson

wow! can't believe I didn't think of that!

Uh, what exactly is ito? by the sound of it its some kind of handle wrap. and samurai kenshin, WHAT are you doing with a live sword anyhow?!

Burt Masem wrote: Uh, what exactly is ito? by the sound of it its some kind of handle wrap. and samurai kenshin, WHAT are you doing with a live sword anyhow?!

Ito is "ribbon" more or less. Tsukaito is the "full" name of any ribbon made and/or used to wrap tsuka (handles). Silk, cotton, leather, doeskin, etc. The best stuff (in silk to cotton at least) is woven especially for the purpose of handle wrapping. The weave and fiber needs to be particularly resistant to stretching and other distortions since that will introduce looseness in wraps over time.

Nick Pittson wrote: Love this colour scheme; brown ito, black same. http://www.bugei.com/product_825_detailed.htm http://www.bugei.com/product_823_detailed.htm http://iaido.tozando.com/iaito/ka111.html http://iaido.tozando.com/iaito/ka108.html Complicated? Nahhh! Fold here, tuck there, paste this... http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm

No more complicated that a good randori. Just throw each guy in turn...

<looks up from making rice into glue-like paste>

Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess....

<grind, grind, grind>

From what i've seen. The brighter colors get dirty pretty fast and start to look fugly. I'd go with dark.

I'm not gonna buy this new blade, just stick with the old iaito for a few more years