sai that suits

[nickb123]

Hey everyone, just asking for a bit of help. I've decided to try and move up the sai chain and ditch my cheapo sai and purchase some shureido ones. Thing is I'm really picky and I've looked on many sites and can't find ones that fit my preferences. First off I like round sai which seems to be much less popular judging by the sites I've viewed that always sell octagonal ones. Next I want a chrome colour, not natural, and would like 19.5 or 20 inch. The bit I'm most unclear about is the handle wraps. What colours do shureido do? I'd love a dark blue, but I doubt they do that lol. If someone could clear up the matters, or possibly direct me to a site, I'd be really grateful. Thanks!

[mattys]

1. Shureido doesn't make round sai.

 

2. There are the purple and the black wraps, but you'd be hard pressed to get one specific to your prefrence, it's really a hoping thing.

[harleyt26]

http://shureidousa.com/kobudo/sai.html There are some fairly good pics of shureido sai here.The stainless and chrome do come in round(easier to polish I would imagine)I would recommend stainless to avoid chipping the chrome finish.The indigo dye used on some of their sai wraps is a natural dye from okinawa and the countrys national color.Black and indigo are the only colors available,but you could always rewrap them yourself.

[nickb123]

Thanks for the help but the ones on your link say octagonal (but I'm sure round shureido sai exist as I was under the impression traditional sai were round). But thanks for your tip on stainless instead of chrome cause before now I was unsure which to get

[Shorin Ryuu]

If cost is not a consideration, you may want to take the plunge and look at some of these:

 

http://www.weaponsconnection.com

 

Just give the guy a call or email him (I recommend calling, that way he can answer any questions you have).

 

I have a pair of shureido sai, but I handled two or three different pair of the sai made by weaponsconnection and found the balance of it to be intriguing (but I don't get mine for another 2 months, as they are all handmade to order, not pre-made). I have seen one of the Okinawan masters pictured on his website do a kata using a pair of those sai.