What should i pay for Ito Wrapping?

BePrepared

BePrepared

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
4,441
I'm considering having a katana re-wrapped with leather ito, and i don't know who to go to or what it should cost.
 
Go to Randy Black, he is one of the best tuskamaki practitioners I have seen in the US. It will probably cost somewhere around $300.00, but may be significantly less, really depends upon what he has to do.

katanarb@cox.net

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Street Samurai1978 said:
You could try Fred Lohman's site. Never had any problem with them and they do great work.

http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/hndl.htm
Click to expand...

Lohman charges more and takes longer. Fred farms out the work, so you never know exactly who is doing it. Randy is the heat, he did three pieces for me in about 6 weeks, the work was exceptional and the prices were exceedingly reasonable.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I emailed Randy Black, and I talked with a guy who owns Cottontail Customs. No reply from Randy yet, but the other guy said he could do the wrap including supplies and shipping for $125 and he could lacquer my existing same black for an extra $20... does that sound reasonable?

he said doing something like this wouldn't be any problem

Black%20leather%20&%20Same;.jpg
 
Never heard of cottontail but I can attest to Randy Black. His sole occupation for many years has been koshirae, that is all he does. Its not a hobby or a side job, its what he does. Great guy to talk to and work with. I would wait to hear back from him before pulling the trigger anywhere else.
 
JewelryMaker said:
Never heard of cottontail but I can attest to Randy Black. His sole occupation for many years has been koshirae, that is all he does. Its not a hobby or a side job, its what he does. Great guy to talk to and work with. I would wait to hear back from him before pulling the trigger anywhere else.
Click to expand...

Josh had posted here at BF some months ago and even shared an example of rework. That one a Kris Cutkery project. The original poster of this thread had actually asked him much the same inquiry on having leather ito done. "Frank The Bunny" has posted a good bit more on Sword Buyer's Guide and seems to have had a popular following, although he has had his own complications with time, money, etc. If he iis back up doing projects, he is worthy from what I have seen. There is a tutorial he hd posted at SBG at one point. This is not someone that has said "oh ya, I can do a quick wrap in 15 minutes".

I am not really a Japanese enthusiast at all but appreciate good work. I am not very fond though of black on black but it works for some. I would say the work is underpriced and might be a reason he had ended up in the soup over the past year.

What the heck, go for it. It is not like a commission for a Howard Clrak fitment or even a higher classed production sword. IN the end, worth about what one spends on upgrading any production sword.

Cheers

GC
 
I have given some thought of going with Brown leather ito and black same. The original ito is brown so it would be closer to the original color scheme, but still awesome and unique
 
BePrepared said:
I have given some thought of going with Brown leather ito and black same. The original ito is brown so it would be closer to the original color scheme, but still awesome and unique
Click to expand...

Brown ito over black same' is quite common. Unique would be something like yellow or sky blue ito over red same...not to say that would look good, it would be garish as a mofo, but it would be unique.

Depending upon what matters to you, cost is relative. With the wrapping that I like, diamonds of good shape and proportion with tight wrapping that will not most likely move in the future is important to me, and that is why Randy Black was recommended. I have some pieces that have actually been re-wrapped 3 times because the so-called professionals could not get it right, Randy nailed it the first time on all three pieces, he did work that would have been what I would have liked to be able to do, with a better turnaround and less hassle than ANYONE that I have ever worked with.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top