BUSHIZO TV "Kensen" Secret Techniques #04 & #05 How to Care for Kendo Kote (Kote)!

How to care for your kendo gloves

Click here for the explanatory video → #04 How to care for your kendo gloves!

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Mikiya Tsuyuki, president of Musashibo "Kensen," a specialized cleaning service for 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...

TsuyukiThat's right. It's completely a gauntlet."

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

TsuyukiThe 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.

TsuyukiOf course, you can also loosen it up 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?

TsuyukiThat'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?

TsuyukiIt would be better to add it, but I don't think there's anything commercially available."

──Is there something that fits the glove?

TsuyukiThat'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?

TsuyukiIt's the same. Even if it's made of Clarino, adding a little oil makes it 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

TsuyukiYou 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?

TsuyukiI 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?

TsuyukiYes, spray it on the surface, 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?

TsuyukiI 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.

TsuyukiYes. 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 I wash dishes, and then put it in the small hand container and start washing."

──Gently?

TsuyukiYes. Just wash it gently. It will be pretty clean just by doing that. It's not because 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.

Because it gets fuzzy, that area becomes white. Of course, the color fades too. So I wash it gently."

--So the indigo will fall off?

TsuyukiYes, 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 cause the color to fade, 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?

TsuyukiThat's right. Just rinse it with plenty of water and the smell will probably go away."

──So, what happened after that?

TsuyukiApply the rinse-type product I mentioned earlier to a bucket or basin again and leave it for 2 or 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?

TsuyukiYes, 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.

TsuyukiThen you put it in the washing machine, but a drum type isn't very good. A vertical type is 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.

TsuyukiAlso, it dries pretty quickly even when air-dried. I think it will dry in just a day.

──Where do you dry it?

TsuyukiI put it in the shade, and if possible, I use a fan or a blower. The more air there is, the faster it dries. The dryness depends on how much dry air I expose it to, so I make sure to expose it to as much air as possible.

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

TsuyukiIt's probably ultraviolet light after all."

──Does it cause deterioration?

TsuyukiNot only will it deteriorate, but the color will also fade 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.

TsuyukiYes, 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.

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.

looking forward to! !

Precautions when drying

Click here for the explanatory video →#05 How to care for your kendo gloves! (Continued)

This is the fifth in a series of interviews with Mikiya Tsuyuki, president of Musashibo "Kensen," a specialized cleaning service for kendo armor.

Last time, we asked you about how to care for your kendo gloves, and this is a continuation of that.

TsuyukiAnd, that's right. When you dry leather with heat, the wet parts of the leather will shrink rapidly.

Once that happens, anything that has shriveled up due to the heat will never recover.

The handle (of the glove the customer brought) looked like something a child would own, so I asked him, "What did you do?" and he said, "It was wet, so I dried it with a hair dryer."

If you expose it to too much hot air, it will get too tight. It might be good if you want to shrink it, though.

Deerskin has a spongy texture, and once this spongy texture hardens, it cannot be restored to its original shape.

No matter how much oil or oiling agent you add, it won't go back to normal. Hot air is a big no-no. It's okay for fabric, but when it comes to leather, hot air is a big no-no."

──Would it be okay to dry it under a fan?

TsuyukiYes, once it shrinks, it won't expand again, so just use normal wind. As long as the wind is the same temperature as the air, it's fine."

--Sometimes after using it four or five times, the smell comes back. In that case, should I wash it again myself?

TsuyukiYou can wash it, but how was it stored?”

--How do you store it? Ah... I leave it in my armor bag...

TsuyukiThe main reason for odor is that sweat itself does not smell, but if it is left as water, an odor will develop.

Why hand-stitched armor doesn't smell

TsuyukiThere are some old hand-sewn armor pieces here, like the one in the middle, that don't smell. They don't really have that typical kendo sweat smell."

TsuyukiI guess the cotton inside is packed tightly, so it absorbs sweat well.

And then it seems to spit out again before it gets full.

So, old, or rather, thick, hand-stitched armor doesn't have much of a smell. They all have the same smell, the smell of indigo, leather, and cotton.

Even if it's extremely dirty, it doesn't seem to smell much."

──Does that mean the amount of core material is different from now?

TsuyukiYes, it's different. And also the amount of cotton wool."

Tips for making your hands last longer

This interview revealed some key points for making your Kote last longer.

First,Leather is inherently prone to deterioration, so be sure to replenish it with oil after washing.For the average person, you can use a moisturizing hair conditioner or mink oil instead.

next,Never dry with heatThe heat from a hair dryer or stove will cause the leather to shrink, and once it has shrunk, it will never return to its original size. The basic rule is to let it air dry at room temperature.

そ し て,The cause of the odor is the proliferation of bacteria due to sweat being left unattendedTherefore, it is important not to leave your gear in the bag and to dry it thoroughly.

In the next episode, we will continue to explain how to care for your face mask. Please look forward to it!