DaveT

Nice hata, you will need a pole that has a t-joint at the top. Slide the pole up through the hem, then the top one through the loops. If you don't have a pole they are easy to make, bamboo, copper pipe and some silver solder.

I think this will be useful for anyone who is trying to obtain odoshi outside of Japan. Custom made, authentic weave. The Odoshi Project Silk odoshi has a special weave, the strands are compacted tightly together, yet the depth is very thin. This weave prevents the braid from stretching and allows it to be fed through the small holes in the armour plates. Using alternatives like synthetic rayon or cotton will never delivery the same results. During the lacing process the braid is wetted with water and pressed into shape, cross knots become flat, the tips of the strands adopt a triangular appearance. Once dry the silk retains the shape. Synthetics expel the water making it impossible to create the same finish. Cotten braid is also not acceptable as the fibres fray and become fluffy after being fed repeatedly through the holes of the armour. It has to be silk, and it has to be the correct weave. For years the only place to obtain odoshi was from Japan. As a restorer I could never pre-empt what commissions were going to turn up, or how much odoshi I should stock. Exchange rates, order levels, delivery times, communication issues and availability were becoming increasing problematic. Therefore in 2014 I decided to take on board a venture to produce odoshi in the UK. This was a massive and challenging undertaking for me as I knew absolutely nothing about the process. For months I researched braiding machines on the net, youtube, talked to suppliers and manufacturers. By complete luck I stumbled upon the right contact who could custom make the machines and provide the training. I also fell on my feet when sourcing the raw silk. One of Japan’s leading silk manufacturers were impressed with my ambition that they agreed to supply me with pre-dyed silk in authentic colours. In 2016 I was able to produce the first ever odoshi outside of Japan, made from authentic Japanese silk and weaved to exactly the same specifaction.

Curtain tassel should do the trick.

Hi Rob, the rope is made from combined silk yarn. The tickness depends entirely on who made it. Older ones are very thick and heavy. Silk is rather expensive these days so reproductions are a lot thinner. When I say reproductions I am not including the ones made for display suits, these use cotton from china.

It's nearly completely inaccurate. 80/20 Apologies, but I don't have the free time at the moment to correct them all.

Typical late edo officials gusoku, these always have a mogami dou. The myochin must have secured the contract for these. Tetsu sabiji hachi/mengu/dou and sangu as standard. Very good armours to collect.

Brian, Errors become legend I'm afraid. Dangerous stuff. Like when I hear someone say Ta-suba, or Kart-Tanna or they think a wakizashi is a tanto. Ian and myself are putting together a free publication that will act as an introduction to armour. As you can imagine it is rather time consuming. This forum and the samurai armour fourm is packed with useful katchu information and some very knowledgeable people. A newbie only needs to ask a question here. I'm cuttrently learning about nihonto, so for me this is the first place that I come too to research. I would be disheartened to discover that the content was incorrect here. We have a katchu forum, and we direct all of our members here for Nihonto. Ian Bottomley is held in very high esteem by the katchu community due to his knowledge and proven track record as a author/historian and curator. The PDF attached to this thread is incorrect, it really adds little value. I'm sure that no one has the time to edit and correct all the mistakes of someone elses outdated work. When the new publication is completed I will send you the pdf links to that both forums have it up.

It's not deception in anyway Brian. It was made to resemble a suji kabuto by design. This is very normal. tetsu was not always avalable, or if it was it was expensive, so armour was made from nerigawa, the Iwai were well know for using it as their preferred material.

Uwa sugake

Where nerigawa was employed to create a simple hachi dome the outer had to me mocked up to resemble a tetsu form. Urushi is a tree sap that cannot be painted on to create such a finish. The artist would first have to create the suji, possibly with nerigawa strips, secure these in place with kokuso, then apply a series of special grounds mixed from volcanic clays and stone, sabi. Each layer would be ground back and treated with urushi. Only the fine surface ciats would be pure urushi. The photo posted above reflects the damage caused by shrinkage of the nerigawa. As the base has deformed the layers have cracked and delaminated. As a study item this truly reflects the hidden and amazing work that goes into making the upper surface. If anyone has questions about this process please feel free to ask and I will do my best to explain in further detail. There are also many examples of this for study on the Samurai Armour Forum

Luc, I'm only seeing one kaga feature on the roku-no-ita with the inome.

I was honoured to meet Zenon at the Samurai Legacy 1 in Italy, by all accounts he was one of the best. I have seen his work in Toronto on a kabuto, his matt urushi was beyond perfect.

I have seen the work of many restorers from europe who's standard is outstanding. I also restore katchu full time to a very high standard. I've worked on many fantastic items from saotome to bamen, and was trained by a Japanese professional teacher. Here's some of my work.

With image one I think I can offer an opinion. The sode were not originally made for the armour and were most probably added later during it's re-lacing. Thats why there is not a No-kan present. If you look at the top of the agemaki bow it is opened wider and strung around the gattari, therefore its adapted. The straps coming from the sode make use of the kanamono nothing more. Looks nice, but is fabricated to an extent.

Urushi dries to a gloss. But that can be controlled. There is a process of applying layers which involve polishing, each time a layer is applied the polishing compounds become finer. The finial coats are wiped on and off and polished with powder. These final stages produce a mirror like gloss. Matt or a dulled finish is common to most armours and was preferred, the bright gloss ones have just received the extra final steps. As Ian B has said, if you read Sakakibara Kozan. Older armours have been exposed to UV, this damages the surface and creates micro-pits which allow dirt to anchor too. When you polish old urushi you basically remove the dirt and the original finish will come up, thats why old armours can appear to look new. Sometimes you see a discolouration between the exposed to sunlight areas. Always check behind the lacing. Another thing to note is that many late edo period items only had a very thin layer of urushi applied, black urushi is still slightly translucent and when the upper layers are damaged you can see through them which creates a misty brown.

Restoration costs would be around £2,000.00 There is a lot of damage on the items, missing parts and mis-matched menpo. All can be put right. One tip about collecting katchu is to buy items in the best condition that you can. The issue now is that the armour will continue to degrade. Before After.

My 2 cents worth. When the item belongs to someone else I will undertake the work as instructed. A restorers goal is to preserve as much of the original as possible, but to ensure that the finished item will remain robust enough to last for years to come. This can be divided to three stages: Preservation Preservation work includes cleaning, repairing and consolidation of urushi lacquer. Restoration Where damage has exceeded any preservation process and requires restoration. This includes for example, rebuilding damaged lacquer using only traditional techniques and materials. Replacement When an item has parts that are either missing or too badly damaged to repair, and must be replaced. This is the case with silk lacing and the silks used on armoured sleeves and thigh guards. Often with helmets, the original liners and cords are missing. As to artifical patina, yes that is often the requirement as the item needs to fit in with the other components. Otherwise it's going to look like your car went through a mud bath and you only cleaned one door panel. As Eric says it will stand out like a sore thumb otherwise. I do take the time to talk about each item with the owners and offer my best opinion, but ultimately the customer is paying for a service. About the restorers. There are no professional qualifications for Japanese armour restoration. As restorers we have to either gleam some tips from each other or discover them by trail and error. The best restorers are the ones that have been able to handle hundreds of parts of armours in all stages of destruction in order to understand the methods used. I will match and replace parts of armours that require it. If I do that for an item that I'm offering for sale I provide full disclosure. I'm rather proud of the work, and have nothing to hide. Learning how to restore using traditional materials is a life long task, but understanding how to make something look older is just as complicated. Some restorers will not artificially age an item simply because they don't know how to. As to fakery, well come on, we see amazing fakes in some of the best collections. There are people that will do this in every art stream. I'll end on the paradox. Restored armour is dulled down to look older, old armour is cleaned up to look brighter. The art is to create the middle ground between the two.

I'm 100% pro NMB. I mainly posted to the now closed Toraba forum as I felt that NMB was more pro Nihonto and accommodated katchu in one cramped location. When Eric approached me to open The Samurai Armour Forum I didn't want to re-create the Toraba model, or draw members away from NMB. Katchu is a vast subject and we know very little about it, the forum allows multiple threads and subject matter together with a private secure section for the members to be able to showcase their treasures. The forum has one clear goal, to further the knowledge and understanding of Samurai Armour. The forum belongs to its members and they decide on what threads and topics are listed. The membership is composed of collectors, re enactors, enthusiasts and dealers. To date there has never been a single in-house cat fight, everything has been positive and constructive. There have been exclusive meetings and visits arranged to collections and museums and papers produced from the collective knowledge. Translations commissioned on valuable Japanese armour source books and so on. Never in my lifetime would I have envisaged such a wealth of valuable information and resource to accumulate in one location. So all I can say is that everyone is welcome, and its not an exclusive club. We have two fantastic forums available to us, and they can interact, and should interact. Lets support both forums and get more people into old swords, guns and armour! Dave

zero to fifty isn't telling lies is it I wonder who he used to do his restoration work

UV filtered glass, good thinking batman. Truth is that all armour will fall to bits when the odoshi-ge and silk blows, its a ticking time bomb.

Justin, what will cause real damage to your armour is the light source behind it. UV will damage the urushi surface and dull it, and the odoshi-ge will fade and begin to weaken. The window is an issue. My armours are kept a a darkened room with zero natural daylight. No heating.

I have it thanks.

The inclusion of kanji would be a real asset, unfortunately I don't speak or write Japanese. Ian is more knowledgeable on this matter. If there is a board member who would like to contribute to providing the kanji I will being more than happy to revise the publication. We are currently working on a new armour related publication that will be released in March called the Katchu Digest. Again this will be free to download.

Sure, its a free publication for all to share, to more the merrier. Ian and myself are very happy that's it's being used. Please send me your email.