oniyama
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"Seek freedom and become a slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover your liberty."
Posts: 14
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Post by oniyama on Mar 2, 2005 11:50:12 GMT -5
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Post by OgamiBusho on Mar 2, 2005 14:33:08 GMT -5
The tabi all look very nice, but I'm taken aback by the prices.
Have you thought about making your own? They're really not that hard. For a perfect fit you can wrap your feet in duct tape to make an excellent pattern, just like many women do to make a bodice. The inside curve of the split of the toes can be a bit tricky, but after you've made a few pair it goes pretty quickly.
The same is true for the leather tabi. You can do them on a machine if you use a leather needle, though you'll find you need to turn the flywheel by hand for a the toes. (I use a treadle machine from 1897. MUCH better control.)
Of course, you can always sew them by hand, but leather needles are *incredibly* sharp and you will bleed some.
The nice thing about leather is that the edges don't fray and you can clip off the seam allowance really close to the stitching. I generally leave a tad over 1/16".
For the 'cheater' tabi I wear most often, I just buy a few dozen pair of ankle-high white socks, turn them inside out and sew a quick 'V' to split the toe. Snip the groove, turn them right-side out, and your done. And at the price, who cares if they get nasty? Pitch them out and grab another pair.
Most people seem to shy away from making footwear, but it's really just another project. A few days ago I made a pair of 1350's European turnshoes for the first time (the pointed-toe ones that are worn with a pair of wooden platforms). I saved the lady I made them for $170.
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oniyama
New Member
"Seek freedom and become a slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover your liberty."
Posts: 14
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Post by oniyama on Mar 2, 2005 18:06:15 GMT -5
The tabi all look very nice, but I'm taken aback by the prices. I personally don't think that the prices are so bad, especially considering the time it takes to make tabi. I have actually experimented with it. I have alos made period shoes for myself when I was Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard at the Texas Renaissance Festival. They held up well, looked right and lasted to just about the end of the festival. However, they took a lot of time to make. To my way of thinging, If there is someone making something comparable and can doi it for a reasonable price, I am willing to spend the money. Nowadays, My time is worth more to me than my money. (not that I have copious amounts of either). Take care, John Hidalgo www.texasshinto.orgwww.roundrockbujinkan.com"Seek freedom and become a slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover your liberty." |
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Post by OgamiBusho on Mar 3, 2005 2:06:56 GMT -5
I suppose I come at it from a different perspective. I really *like* making everything, and I work very fast. I am also rather poor, and in my world thirty bucks is real money. So when I can learn all about something, acquire new skills and understanding by making it as well as have fun all at the same time, then I really feel I'm experiencing one of the best things the SCA has to offer. The only thing better than this is to have someone get excited by what I've made and then ask me to teach them how to do it. And if what they've made is better than what I made... well, it's a perfect moment. There's a reason why my living room is regularly carpeted in debris from squires and retainers and random SCA folks working on projects. And why my attic is a leather shop and my garage is a steel and plastics shop and in the summer my backyard is a wood shop. (And why my wife, the lovely La Viscomtesse Akiley, is really cheesed with me most of the time). And, of course, why all of my squires and retainers have better looking stuff than me.  |
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Post by Date Saburou Yukiie on Mar 3, 2005 6:29:11 GMT -5
As Junior Squire to Ogami-sensei, I can vouch for the things he has said.
There is a constant, and I mean constant procession of people squatted in his living room, or traipsing unanounced through his vestibule to head up to the attic to work on stuff. There are about thirty zabuton on his floor that people use to sit on as they work, and boxes of power tools that are constantly being handed around.
We constantly pick each other's brains for methods and skills, and it does get exciting when we get "the fever..."
It always brings me a cheerful smile when I think of how many intelligent people we have surrounded ourselves with...
Of course, now that I come to think of it, I am not sure if Ogami-sensei and the Vicountes Akiley have ever actually been alone together in their own house...
...Hmmmm
Perhaps we go over too often...
Naaaaa.....besides - you should see the amount of work that gets done!!
Date
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Post by Saiaiko on Mar 3, 2005 9:01:17 GMT -5
Oh what the heck, I'll throw my two cents in....
It is great that one can buy some of the more exotic Asian accessories online... God knows I'm a fan of eBay and have been searching for the appropriate size of gasa for my traveling outfit. Here's what I've found: Sometimes you just can't buy what you want. Sometimes you have to make it.
One of the things that I find so attractive about the SCA is the abundance of artisans, large scale or small scale and merchant or not. Part of what makes the SCA so special, and different from most Renaissance Faires and the like, is that much of the fun comes from researching, learning and making. When I dress for an event, and I realize that I have almost completely made everything I am wearing from scratch, it thrills me to death. I feel I have a greater understanding of life during the time of my persona. Now, it should be stated that I am scary in the woodshop, terrified of the table saw, and have been known to impale my finger on a pin and drive it dramatically along a track of bias tape into the stabbing needle of the sewing machine like Indiana Jones in the throes of fight sequence. Sure I could buy a lot of stuff, but I want scars to show my (potential) children. And frankly, here's the best example of why I like to make things:
Heian Fighting Boots:
To Buy - $250 (without deer fur)
To Make - $30 (with deer fur, including arch supports and tread for the bottom) Did I mention the research I did to make sure that not only did these look good, but were actually accurate for my time period, and that the fur came from a great friend who shot the deer, skinned it and tanned the hide with acorns from his backyard? How wickedly cool is that?
I may just be a nerd, but buddhas, I look good (and have more money to buy the brass to make my Tomoe Gozen tiara).
~ Minamoto (Who is having waaaay too much fun with fire and power tools.)
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oniyama
New Member
"Seek freedom and become a slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover your liberty."
Posts: 14
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Post by oniyama on Mar 3, 2005 10:59:04 GMT -5
Folks, please don't get me wrong. I make a lot of stuff as well. I've made more period clothing items than I care to count. In fact below are a couple of pictures of my work. Just about everything in the picture with the exception of the socks and my nephew's shirt and shoes were made by me. I ended up making about 8 of those Yeomen Uniforms. And, yes, they are madder red wool.   My problem is that nowadays I often work 48 to 56 hours a week on top of going to school, teaching a Budo Taijutsu class and taking Aikido. (May soon be adding Kyudo into the mix.) I will likely be making all of my own period clothing for my Japanese kit and probably armor as well. To give you a better idea of where I am coming from consider the following. For quick and dirty math let's say that I my time is worth $10 an hour. (I actually value it much higher but we'll go with that.) Suppose I want a pair of cloth sole indoor tabi. I can get them for about $27 plus shipping and handling. So about $32. They are well made and will last a reasonable amount of time. Now if I decide to make them that will be about $10 for materials, and about 6 hours going out to buy the materials, prewashing the fabric, making a test tabi, incorporating corrections from that test and actual construction. For this exercise let's assume that I found a pattern online and did not have to puchase one (though I have it as part of a Folkwear pattern for Japanese Hapi and Haori). That's $70 in my time and buying materials versus ordering them online and getting them in about 4 to 5 days for about $32. Now I have actually experimented with making tabi. I made some for my nephew a couple of years ago as a test for some leather tabi I was going to make for myself. So I have some idea of the time involved. You can't see them too well but hear is a picture of him wearing them.  At some point I will probably make some cloth tabi for myself just for the experience adn perhaps as an A&S project. However, I view tabi as expendables. They wear out faster than just about anything else in a kit of Japanese period clothing. Besides, for field work where something with reasonable durability and traction (not to mention a solid sole to meet SCA requirements) as well as the approximate right look, the retail purchasable rubber sole tabi are hard to beat. I hope that explains it better. |
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Post by Saiaiko on Mar 4, 2005 9:18:02 GMT -5
Your yeoman outfits for yourself and your nephew are positively gorgeous.
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oniyama
New Member
"Seek freedom and become a slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover your liberty."
Posts: 14
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Post by oniyama on Mar 4, 2005 15:15:56 GMT -5
Your yeoman outfits for yourself and your nephew are positively gorgeous. Thank you! |
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Post by chiaki on May 17, 2005 16:23:26 GMT -5
I found a place in San Jose that has the cheapest tabi I have found. 20 bucks. I love mine. I bought them in 2003 and I got a small hole in them during last year's Lilies Tsunami. www.nbstore.com/tabi.htm |
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qworg
New Member
Posts: 32
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Post by qworg on Jun 20, 2005 6:05:47 GMT -5
Would the steel-toe jikatabi be list legal?
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Post by Please Delete on Jun 20, 2005 6:29:00 GMT -5
Depends on your kingdom and marshals. I talked to our Knight Marshal and MIC for the past weekend's event and he said that his understanding of Atlantian rules (which are very close to Society minimum) for footwear were simply a fully encompassed foot. Ie no sandles, nothing with toes unprotected, and a moderately heavy material (I don't think 'socks' would cut it). This didn't even have to cover the ankle--just the main part of the foot. The steel-toed portion would be good. He was mostly concerned about how it affected your footing on the ground more than anything else.
However, talk to the marshals around your area and ask them.
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