My Beautiful Iaito :)
Click here to see the rest of the photos on Flickr
It has been about 17 months, but my iaito from Aoi Budogu finally came in. Here is a quick rundown of what I went through in order to get it.
I had originally ordered the iaito back in April of 2008, not too long after I started Iaido at the Northern Kentucky club. My original order was a custom-made Specialized Jidai Koshirae iaito. My sensei recommended the store due to some good experiences, and I was willing to wait the 9 to 14 weeks for it to be made and delivered. I took the plunge at that time...then I waited...then I didn't hear anything. What I didn't know at the time was that this would only be the beginning of a long sequence of events.
I sent them emails over the next several months to find out what was going on and all I got a lot of excuses. At first, they weren't sure with what was going on with the supplier, but were afraid to rush them or they might cut off contact prematurely. Later on, they found out that the person making the iaito was sick so there were some delays which was also made longer due to the fact that there are only a handful of people taking care of a lot of orders. Later on, they said they were making trips to Japan to check on the iaito and explore the possibility of getting some premade ones as an alternative for those that had to wait for so long. But, even then, things weren't exactly moving anywhere.
This whole time, I had been updating my sensei, Jim Atkins, about the situation. Eventually, once things weren't getting done, he got involved, which started around the start of the summer. He hosted the Iaido nationals in Cincinnati a few years ago and had them as one of the vendors there, so anything he says, incidentally, carries more weight than what I could apply. For all I know, this could have just been some coincidence but it seemed as though Aoi wasn't being just all talk and actually showing some signs of progress and some actual answers to what was going on. A few weeks ago, they finally got around to getting the premade iaito and allowing those that were still waiting to choose from what they had.
While I was waiting, I ordered a substitute iaito from Ebogu, so I wanted to choose something that was of better quality than the one I was using and the one that I planned to order. After looking at the various ones they had, I chose the Sazanami Koshirae iaito. This particular one was a 2.4 shaku (28.6 inches) and 943 grams (2.07 lbs) which makes it heavier and longer than what I had been using. I had to give them another $180 to make up the difference, which included a $50 discount and received an iaito bag (also seen in the Flickr gallery) that is worth about $100 for compensation but I was just happy to finally be able to close this bad chapter in my life.
I actually had my chance to swing it around during practice today. Due to the differences in size, weight and my lack of experience, there is a learning curve that I need to fight through. But I do like the fact that it feels much sturdier than my previous iaito. Technique wise, Jim told me that the extra weight should help me in learning that I need to use my body more, unless I want to tire my arms out and strain my shoulders. So this seems to be a nice way to also go to the next step in my iaito. As for the iaito itself, I am fully impressed with it. The hamon (the pattern seen near the cutting side of the blade) was made very nicely. I really like the fittings and am also pleased with my choice of color for the tsukamaki (wrapping around the handle). Besides, if the experienced people in the club are impressed with the looks and balance of the iaito, then I KNOW it has to be good. As for the bag, I really like it. I got it for free for my troubles and it's worth $105. And major points for the fusa (string to tie the iaito bag closed) being purple.
Personally, I think what I have was worth the wait despite the issues I have been having. I am really excited to be able to use this more and can't wait until I can get a handle on the iaito. I really do thank Jim Atkins for helping me get it after all this time. As for ordering from them again, they are going to have to rebuild a good track record for a long time before I can feel comfortable again. And then, I really hope they have some sort of plan in place, just in case something like this happens again. I can't blame them for the iaito itself since the manufacturing process is out of their hands, but it would have been nice if they had opened up some options if it seemed like the wait would be too long beyond the advertised time and update their website accordingly. They are also some nice people and relatively quick with answering emails, but some more concrete answers and a plan they could stick to would have gone a LONG way with customer satisfaction.
Well, if you haven't done so already, feel free to take a look at the gallery for the rest of the photos. I hope you like them.
I had originally ordered the iaito back in April of 2008, not too long after I started Iaido at the Northern Kentucky club. My original order was a custom-made Specialized Jidai Koshirae iaito. My sensei recommended the store due to some good experiences, and I was willing to wait the 9 to 14 weeks for it to be made and delivered. I took the plunge at that time...then I waited...then I didn't hear anything. What I didn't know at the time was that this would only be the beginning of a long sequence of events.
I sent them emails over the next several months to find out what was going on and all I got a lot of excuses. At first, they weren't sure with what was going on with the supplier, but were afraid to rush them or they might cut off contact prematurely. Later on, they found out that the person making the iaito was sick so there were some delays which was also made longer due to the fact that there are only a handful of people taking care of a lot of orders. Later on, they said they were making trips to Japan to check on the iaito and explore the possibility of getting some premade ones as an alternative for those that had to wait for so long. But, even then, things weren't exactly moving anywhere.
This whole time, I had been updating my sensei, Jim Atkins, about the situation. Eventually, once things weren't getting done, he got involved, which started around the start of the summer. He hosted the Iaido nationals in Cincinnati a few years ago and had them as one of the vendors there, so anything he says, incidentally, carries more weight than what I could apply. For all I know, this could have just been some coincidence but it seemed as though Aoi wasn't being just all talk and actually showing some signs of progress and some actual answers to what was going on. A few weeks ago, they finally got around to getting the premade iaito and allowing those that were still waiting to choose from what they had.
While I was waiting, I ordered a substitute iaito from Ebogu, so I wanted to choose something that was of better quality than the one I was using and the one that I planned to order. After looking at the various ones they had, I chose the Sazanami Koshirae iaito. This particular one was a 2.4 shaku (28.6 inches) and 943 grams (2.07 lbs) which makes it heavier and longer than what I had been using. I had to give them another $180 to make up the difference, which included a $50 discount and received an iaito bag (also seen in the Flickr gallery) that is worth about $100 for compensation but I was just happy to finally be able to close this bad chapter in my life.
I actually had my chance to swing it around during practice today. Due to the differences in size, weight and my lack of experience, there is a learning curve that I need to fight through. But I do like the fact that it feels much sturdier than my previous iaito. Technique wise, Jim told me that the extra weight should help me in learning that I need to use my body more, unless I want to tire my arms out and strain my shoulders. So this seems to be a nice way to also go to the next step in my iaito. As for the iaito itself, I am fully impressed with it. The hamon (the pattern seen near the cutting side of the blade) was made very nicely. I really like the fittings and am also pleased with my choice of color for the tsukamaki (wrapping around the handle). Besides, if the experienced people in the club are impressed with the looks and balance of the iaito, then I KNOW it has to be good. As for the bag, I really like it. I got it for free for my troubles and it's worth $105. And major points for the fusa (string to tie the iaito bag closed) being purple.
Personally, I think what I have was worth the wait despite the issues I have been having. I am really excited to be able to use this more and can't wait until I can get a handle on the iaito. I really do thank Jim Atkins for helping me get it after all this time. As for ordering from them again, they are going to have to rebuild a good track record for a long time before I can feel comfortable again. And then, I really hope they have some sort of plan in place, just in case something like this happens again. I can't blame them for the iaito itself since the manufacturing process is out of their hands, but it would have been nice if they had opened up some options if it seemed like the wait would be too long beyond the advertised time and update their website accordingly. They are also some nice people and relatively quick with answering emails, but some more concrete answers and a plan they could stick to would have gone a LONG way with customer satisfaction.
Well, if you haven't done so already, feel free to take a look at the gallery for the rest of the photos. I hope you like them.
Posts
