How to care for your kendo gloves

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Mr. Tsuyuki Mikiya, president of Musashibo "Kensen," a cleaning service specializing in kendo armor.

This time, we asked about how to care for the kote, which is probably the dirtiest part of kendo equipment.

The stinkiest strategy

──Of all the protective gear, I think the ones that need to be washed the most are the gloves...

Tsuyuki: " That's right. It's definitely a kote."

──What is the most important thing to pay attention to when washing your hands?

Tsuyuki: " The biggest problem is that the leather on your hands becomes rough and stiff.

My washing method involves adding oil to the towels, so they become very soft as I use them.

Kote are made from tanned leather, but tanning leather means that it is subject to deterioration.

It's originally very oily, but as it's tanned over and over with water, it gradually deteriorates.

If you massage it, or place a wooden mold in it and hit the inside and outside of your hand, it will become much softer and easier to use than before washing.

Tsuyuki: " Of course, you can just massage it with your hands.

After washing, it feels a little tighter. It tends to get hard, especially once the oil is removed.

So in our case, we add oil later."

──Does this mean when using deerskin?

Tsuyuki: That's true. But it's the same with Clarino, you add oil.

Then, after using it two or three times, it starts to feel really good."

──Is it a good idea for ordinary people to add oil after washing their hair?

Tsuyuki: " It would be better to add some, but I don't think there's anything commercially available."

──Is there something that fits the glove?

Tsuyuki: " That's right. If I had to say, the ingredients would be similar to the non-smooth conditioner you use when washing your hair.

Conditioners and the like contain silicone, so this could be a substitute. What we use is refined animal sebum, which we dissolve in water and add.

This makes the leather smoother. Leather retains moisture to a certain extent, and this is what is meant to be maintained.

When all that is gone, the leather becomes hard."

Is that a chemical product?

Tsuyuki: It's the same. Even if it's made with Clarino, if you add a little oil it becomes moist and soft.

It's the same with fabric, but it's not 100% dry; the fabric itself has a humidity level of around 10%, so I think it's best to do your best to make it similar to that situation."

Surprisingly easy! Small hand cleaning

Tsuyuki: " You dilute the soap by about twice as much and then spritz it on the front and back of your hands."

Is it like a spray?

Tsuyuki: " I think a spray bottle would be fine.

You spray it on the dirty area with something like a spray bottle, or if it's a small handbag, you can use a washbasin or bucket, but just spray it on as is."

──Is it okay to apply it immediately after spraying it?

Tsuyuki: " That's right, spray it on and wait about a minute, and once the soapy water has soaked in, put it in a bucket or something.

After that, when we wash, we'll probably only leave it on for five to ten minutes."

--Oh, so it won't take an hour or two?

Tsuyuki: " I don't wear it.

When you put your hands in water, the air inside will bubble up and come out. When that stops, that means the water has spread throughout the body."

──So it's spreading.

Tsuyuki: Yes. You leave it on until it penetrates.

After that, I apply soap to the smooth side of a kitchen sponge, lather it up well, just like when washing dishes, and then put it in the small hand towel and start washing."

──Gently?

Tsuyuki: " Exactly. I wash it gently. It gets pretty clean just by doing that. It's not like it has soy sauce or any other sauce on it, it's just sweat, sebum, and salt.

Sebum is an oil, so soap will help lift it. Also, salt will be removed by rinsing with plenty of water.

So, use a cut sponge to wash deep into your palms, and gently scrub the inside of your hands with a brush like a toothbrush.

Well, you can't overdo it either. If you don't have enough soap when washing the inside of your hands, spray some more neutral soapy water on them and give them a good scrubbing brush.

When washing the outside, simply lather up a sponge and gently rub it over the surface to remove all the dirt.

If you scrub with the rough side of a sponge, that area will become whitened, lose its color, and become fuzzy due to friction.

It gets fuzzy, so that area becomes white. And of course, the color fades. So I wash it gently."

--So the indigo will fall off?

Tsuyuki: " That's right. Of course, a little bit of indigo will come out when you put it in water, but it usually doesn't come out enough to fade the color, so you can wash it for a short time.

Once the oil and dirt have been removed, rinse the sweaty area thoroughly with water or a shower. The more water you use, the faster the sweat will be washed away, so rinse thoroughly.

If you neglect to do this, even a small amount of sweat or sebum will remain and cause odor, so make sure to rinse it off thoroughly.

That alone will make it look much cleaner.

The water volume is already very high and increasing rapidly."

--So that no spots are left behind?

Tsuyuki: " That's right. Just rinse it thoroughly with lots of water and the smell should go away."

──So, what happened after that?

Tsuyuki: " Put the rinse-type product I mentioned earlier into a bucket or washbasin again and leave it on for 2-3 minutes.

However, this time there is already water in it, so it will penetrate quickly.

So, after taking it out of the water, I thought it would be best to at least dehydrate it."

──After applying something like a conditioner, do you rinse it off with water?

Tsuyuki: " That's true, but just give it a very light wash.

If you are dehydrating at home, place a towel or plastic bottle inside the pouch to prevent it from losing its shape, and then wrap the entire pouch in a towel.

Tsuyuki: " Then I put it in the washing machine, but drum-type machines aren't very good. Upright machines are better.

In a fully automatic washing machine, the spin cycle is sufficient, and it only takes less than a minute.

If you take too long, you will unnecessarily crush the fibers, so it's enough if you can get it to the point where the water stops dripping after about a minute."

──I'm learning a lot.

Tsuyuki: " Also, it dries pretty quickly even when left to air dry. I think it will be dry in just a day."

──Where do you dry it?

Tsuyuki: " Place it in the shade, and if possible, use a fan or air blower. The more air there is, the faster it will dry. The degree of dryness depends on how much dry air you expose it to, so keep blowing air on it."

──Why is drying in the sun not a good idea?

Tsuyuki: " It's probably ultraviolet light."

──Does it cause deterioration?

Tsuyuki: " Not only does it deteriorate, but the color also fades due to ultraviolet rays.

If you don't dry it in the sun for dozens of hours, it's probably fine for a short time, but I think it's better to dry it in the shade. Is it safer to dry it in the shade?"

--I'm starting to feel like I can do it myself.

Tsuyuki: " Yes, you can.

Also, in the case of Kote... I'll dehydrate it, and then... Oh, that's right."

The secret to cleaning your hands is to be gentle

This time, we will explain how to care for your hands.

Click here for the explanatory video → First half of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpE9fdiL3tE

When you think it's dirty, you might be tempted to scrub it hard or leave it in the cleaning solution for a long time, but

Surprisingly, the secret was to wash gently for a short time.

Besides washing and drying, what else is important?

Next time, we will continue to share how to care for your hands.

Stay tuned!!

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