Tsuka-Maki. Basic ito wrapping tutorial.

[linka711]

how long does the cord has to be??

[Legion719]

Going to wrap the stock of my .22 like this. Bono!



[duran3d]

Oh-oh, what happends when you get to the end?

[q335r49]

I've found that hockey tape folded in half (so the sticky side is in) words great as cheap cloth tape. I've wrapped my hockey stick with this weave. B-) B-)

[elesararwos]

Where did you get your wrapping?

[marshdweller01]

Some viewers are mentioning loose wrapping. An important step to prevent this is to hang the tsukaito with a weight to stretch it a few hours before wrapping. Then pull each turn tight when wrapping, and as the tsukaito fibers tighten, it should stay tight. No double-sided tape!

[rockzone16]

yes! this was easy! thanks man!

[ditto1923]

i got a katana from a close friend and the tie or whatever is gone. i have a really long shoe lace would that work .

:/

[torjones1701]

your video, while showing the basic technique, lacks contrast and resolution, making it more difficult to really see what you're doing. Also, your hands and the tsuka go off-screen making it difficult to follow. The frequent cuts to black screen with text explanations also make it difficult to follow what you're doing.

[robotkop3000]

I am not an expert in ito wrapping but I know 1 thing that's common with everything and that is, when you wrap it up thight enough it holds than times better than glue as long as you make sure you also remain it tight when closing it up :)

Might take some practice but it's way better :)

[Paddymaxson]

Thanks for this, I bought a half decent katana a while back and the wrap came off today, so this is useful.

Could anyone tell me if it's worth maybe putting some double sided tape down the sides of the grip to keep the wrap in place a bit better? There was tape on it already but the glue has expired (it's not sticky and is peeling off)

[KadidaMia]

Thank you for sharing-this is very helpful for beginners. I am wondering-is there a special wrap for Sai? Thanks in advance!

[BlodOgTorden]

Where can I get samegawa?I can't seems to get it anywhere. Thanks.

[TheNanohero17]

how long of an Ito shouled i use for a 12" inch handle? (what's is the right lenth of it"?

[AntsyGamer]

would ribbon work?

[BlodOgTorden]

@AntsyGamer No it wouldn't because it's too fragile.

[Bjdeezy]

Im trying to wrap my tennis handle like this lol.

[shreader327]

No gloves? Congradulations... you just destroyed your ray skin..

[sjcodan]

would this work warping my string-less tennis racket? Its my poor-man's substitute for a bokken

[AvianBlue7]

Thanks for the tutorial. This will help me heaps with wrapping my Katana

[1Dark3Dragon1]

Do you think i could substitute the ito for bias tape? Thankyou for the tutorial, i'm going to try it myself!

[MsGuitarmaniac1]

will flat shoe lace work?thnks

[thx1103n]

i have no problems doing the wrapping part, in fact its quite easy. what i do find hard is the knot on the end of the handle. any pointers?

[Cala171]

The blade of my katana (acquired on eBay) is long due for a good polishing. I have the proper powder ball and rice paper to do it. Any suggestions? (technique) The Ito on mine looks like it's not original..grey with brass..

[sangunarius]

u can also cover the ito in curtain kinds of glue and varnish so it wont come undone. by the way if anyone needs ito done on ur sword i do it for 40 bucks. i also do blade polishing and i can tel you what your sword is worth

[GilNarmor]

@sangunarius I seriously doubt that you can do anything worth "40 bucks" if you can not even use proper spelling and grammar.

[FLAREflare14]

if you say this takes to long think of the apreciation and care you have for your own katana

[superkirbybros]

What kind of wood is that?



[aoimakura]

Gotta say, this is very helpful 8D

[SunTzuLao]

Thanks for posting this man, props... I wanted to make sure I had it right, and I was pretty damn close, except I only twisted once... gonna go back and twist twice.

[Dyyor]

i havent been making wooden katanas long but i found that the nylon of a small breed dog leash works well for this process

[MrRik338]

@Dyyor how do u make ur wooden katana's?

[Dyyor]

@MrRik338 i follow the tutorials done by chioky on deviantart, hes pretty good at making then

i use a 4 foot long plank of poplar, about half an inch thick and 10 inches wide. marking out 2 handle segments 10 inches long and an inch wide and another segment that will be the blade's tang. for the drawing out of the blade itself i measure out half an inch from the tang {thats for the tsuba} and then an inch out from that {for the habaki}

[MrRik338]

@Dyyor oh thats really cool :D im searching him now on deviantart :)

[sercoleg]

thanks

[fipper6]

u s7ux i dont understand anything!!1

[CitizenNomad]

Finally! Thank you for sharing what you know free of charge! I appreciate your efforts very much, keep them coming!

[NocTeRnalSN1peR]

That would be so sick if i could o this with paracord somehow on my GI Tanto.

[NocTeRnalSN1peR]

*do

[shinrei05]

yahoo

[asadapa08]

i wrapped my handle bar like this....

[shurtugal81]

i've been making wooden katanas and i want to wrap the handles like this i already have the wrapping down pretty good i think but i can't find ito cord anywere will shoelaces work?

[jobiwankanobi]

They won't work very well. You can buy ito at many many stores online, and also eBay. Just google 'ito' or 'tsuka ito'.

[ultraphoennix]

@shurtugal81 hahaha yea i think it will work i used shoelases too....

[chivisg007]

@shurtugal81 Awesome i wish i cud learn how to make em who taught you ?

[shurtugal81]

@chivisg007 there are some great tutorials on youtube just search wooden katana a user by the anme of piratecaptain has some awesome tutorials

[mewmaster151]

@shurtugal81 shark or ray skin is best as it naturally the consistancy of high grit sandpaper

[Dragon86ify]

@shurtugal81 man can't u respect the katanas

[ninjalikesweapons]

awsome... thanks!!

[alkaline71]

Thank you, very helpful

[kadaj2172]

I bought a REALLY nice katana last year, it coated almost every penny I had, but the tsuka was wrapped very loose. It bugs me cuz it slides around everywhere. I am thinking about doing this with it. Would it be a good idea for me to?

[jobiwankanobi]

Without practice, it may be difficult to get what you want by doing it yourself. Practice makes perfect, though!

[ManabeRokuro]

@jobiwankanobi Perfect practice makes perfect*

[vincent4500]

@jobiwankanobi How do i actually unravel/unwrap the cotto ito from the fuchi (pommel) once I've got the tsuka off??

[Dannybroadsword1]

a small impliment like a crochet hook or the like would be very useful in the adjustment. also, does anyone know what to do if you want to wrap with two colors instead of the one strip like in the video?

[jobiwankanobi]

I suppose if you wanted to you could fuse or sew two colors of ito together and start the maki in the middle...but I have never seen this done, and it is not at all common.

[fumbimo]

@Dannybroadsword1 easy. you need to cut each color in half and bind the 2 so the seam is in the middle. if the wrap is nylon then you should be able to use a lighter and fuse them together

[Sergheill]

could anyone give me the link to the video/diagram where I could see how the finishing knot is tied with the kashira?

[masterdimsen]

Great tutorial.

I was wrapping my bokken (so my hands wouldnt slip) and halfway through i found out my ito wasnt long enough XD

[hellstoocold]

should the diamond shape be perfect? I can't get it perfect. It's bugging me

[JusticeDragon]

The trick to getting more perfect diamonds is to pull the wrap as tight as possible, then adjust it accordingly.

[chellie6959]

sooo helpful i was looking for something like this all over on google and couldn't find it. so thank you very much :)

[shirounryu]

Thank you for posting! This was very helful and insightful :-D

[shirounryu]

Sorry - that's "helpful" - Doh! :-P

[AzyAC33]

do u do a 90 degree twist?

[Iriatv]

O and what about the cap on top how does it stay on?

[Iriatv]

What do I do when I get to the bottom of the handle, what kind or knot or fold

how come the video does not show the finished produced?

[ind20000]

make sure to alternate which cord is overlapping the other, this way it will hold itself together better if the end knot comes undone.

[xXDarkXx92]

really good tutorial ;) 5 * and fav

[kakashi1578]

so what you dont like halo?

[vortexxman]

My ito unraveled from my bokken, so I tried to do this.This is too hard for me. I'm trying to follow along, but its so complicated, and I just keep getting it tangled. I'll just have to get a new bokken.

[thatpersonagain]

don't give up man, it's worth it.

if you keep getting tangled, try using a tight clamp to hold the ito in place while you sort the ends out. it really is just *2x twist twist* *turn over* *2x twist twist* again, wash rinse repeat :)

if you wanna find out how to tie an end knot, there are some good vids on here, or you can google 'the art of tsukamaki', i'm pretty sure Thomas Buck's page comes up as the first result ;)

[kakashi1578]

whats that sound in the backround? it almost sounds like the warthog engine from halo 3 ROFL!

[sanbonsugi]

Quick note. Learn to tension the Ito thats a big important thing. And no hishigame?

[sanbonsugi]

Not many ways of doing tsukamaki? There's at least 100 different styles of maki I know of...............

[leloodallasmultipass]

beginning with the easiest method, list them.

[SHolmes777]

I wish I had watched this video before I bootleg wrapped my homemade knife.. Thanks..

[RufleX]

hey man what is the material that you use for that....

[jobiwankanobi]

The ito I used for the demonstration is just regular cotton ito from a Cheness, I believe.

[Volkade]

Man this is freakin' difficult when your handle is fixed to the katana, and you're using a ribbon.

(It's a prop, so don't harass the shit out of me)

[jobiwankanobi]

I find it to be easier with a tsuka that is already on the katana. It is more stable and thus can be wrapped more tightly.

And I was using cotton ito, not ribbon.

[JinReiko]

But... you left out the part of finishing the very end piece. That is the one part of wrapping which I cannot master... Could you possible make a video of doing specifically that??? I am CLUELESS

[Trendsfreak]

somebody is cleaning the house, i can hear it :P

[jobiwankanobi]

It's the Air Conditioner. :-)

[sipalred]

Thank you very much for this :)

[Nemesis2e]

So, if you were attempting a Katate-maki wrap, would you just overlap the cords in the middle third instead of "x"ing them?

[jobiwankanobi]

...continued from below^2:

A common measure for how much ito to use: Add 3 to the integer measurement of your tsuka in inches. This is how many feet of ito you should allot for the job. (i.e. 12 inch tsuka-->15ft length of ito).

There are plenty of resources out there that show the many ways to place/wrap menuki.

Already mentioned the hishigami.

Anything else can be found in-depth elsewhere. I had assumed that people would do this on their own... but there it is just in case.

[jobiwankanobi]

...continued from below:

Yes, a tying stand (or even a spring-clamp) helps immensely with tightness and alignment). I was just quickly showing the basic technique [Duh?], for those who have no clue how it works.

Diamonds are out of line because I did the wrap in seconds...literally. Take your time and pay attention, and your diamonds will be fine. (I thought all of this went without saying).

[pinworms70]

You need a tying stand to do itomaki properly. Your diamonds are out of line and you did not mention at all how to properly gauge how much ito to use by measuring against your core. The stand will help you get the proper compression on the tsuka so it will do what it is intended. You also didnt talk about proper placement of menuki and how to wrap the ito around them. Hishigami really help keep your diamonds in proper shape as well.

[jobiwankanobi]

Thanks, smart guy. Why don't you elaborate on the things I left out for the benefit of viewers?

...Nevermind, I will.

[xDrakengardx]

Thanks for this! really helped me in my re-wrapping of my white ito sword after i had to take it off and clean it... gonna have to do it again anyways coz im changing it to black cotton now (the white gets way too dirty too quikly XD)

and for u others, why spend time tightening it to perfection for a demo?

[jobiwankanobi]

kaifinn, I mentioned the hishigami; if you did not notice.  And kcmann, what do you mean it is the wrong technique?

[kaifinn]

there must be some folded paper under the ito. also it must be tighter.

[kcmann4152]

wrong technique to wrap

[medipac1]

thanks m8 I've been looking for a tutorial as I want to do this on my bokken.

5*

fave

[chaos1946]

nice vid it helped alot

[VladPayne]

Great tutorial! You even stressed the moment about exchanging the ends, what usually everyone miss.

[Ronin1246]

doesnt work... i tried it about 50 times on my bokken and not once did it come out like that...

[UlquiorraFanGirl]

Yay! Thanx for the upload^^, this is VERY helpful to me.

[bomboloneallacrema]

man this video helped me a lot! just had to warp a tsuka ito on an old katana

[jojomoor]

is it a plastic handle?

[gemlady8896]

thanks, my tsuka is gunto cerca 39-45 using the common gunto knot, I've been trying to figure out the last three knots by thomas l. buck for the past month now as shown in his website, could you please demonstrate this. or know who I could ask for a demonstration? I'm sure a lot of people would appriciate it too.

[scw1993]

thank you the best out there-ther other vids i couldnt see anything

[bushna2007]

I love the part where he says, "Tsiowdoingeenokonoko".

[peaceowns]

5/5 i did it with Velcro tape(not a great move) but it worked i developed my own technique in which you can use rope or any surface i will try to post a video on it

[taha100]

thnx alot. i've made my own steel katana and i needed to knw how to wrap the handle. obviously i need a rough under layer. they use ray skin in the real ones, but can i use anything like felt perhaps?

[newkou]

Ray skin is the best choice. Its rough and drys to a metal hardness. Search the internet ray skin is readily available.

[peaceowns]

the word for ray skin for katanas and wakisashis is same' if you have trouble finding ray skin try that

[pixelpusher3000]

Thanks!!! I can't wait to try this!

[yegorovich]

Thank you for this ! I`v been looking for a tutorial like this for a week now! have made a custom bokken , and wanted to have a proper handle done,, now I can do that! :D

[sanbonsugi]

Note on a couple things. Next time tension the Ito. As well as using hishigame.

[williamprm]

Hi there, I would suggest using hishigami on all wraps. A tip to keep the wrap REALLY tight as you work your way down is to use elastic bands to hold everything together.

[kabusogotkilled]

finally now i can finish my own samurai sword thanks allot^^

[ReiMonCoH]

Thats kool,,,Thanks!!

[RiderRevolt]

looks tedious...could i just pay a japanese guy to do it?

[pooch18]

you don't need a japanese guy, ask your neighbors :P

[8thsinner]

Nicely done, I especially like the way you didn't explain what omote was. clever.

[seiryotaihou]

yeah ,most people dont know what omote or urate mean.

[ipconfig7]

Now you have the opportunity to educate yourself you twits

[seiryotaihou]

lol katana nerd go fuck a tree.

[Galhefaxinrk]

the art of forging a katana is a very complex procedure, this is one of the processes

[seiryotaihou]

but if the blade is to be hosted in a shirasaya in a shrine.then what?besides tying the tsuka ito is easy.

[zerowildfire]

Let me see....First you say: "lol katana nerd go fuck a tree" Then you say: "but if the blade is to be hosted in a shirasaya in a shrine.then what?besides tying the tsuka ito is easy." Make up your mind, are you be a hater or not? In your second comment you say: "tying the tsuka ito is easy." So either 1: you've done it. 2: you've been curious enough to look it up, and think it's easy. 3: just a fuckwit looking for a fight. Not all Katana blades are housed in a shirasaya.

[seiryotaihou]

1.when i said lol katana nerd go fuck a tree i meant it to ipconfig7 who acted like a bastard

2.ive done tsuka ito before it is easy but boring.

3.i know that not all the blades are hosted in in a shirasaya.thats why i said but if.

4.ive been mentally instable since summer of 08 started.

[deidara09akatsuki]

cool

[deidara09akatsuki]

thank you its very... easy

thanks ^^

[RollenHeith]

very nice video