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Christian Henry Tobler
Location: Oxford, CT Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 704
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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 Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Christian,
Unfortunately, soaking with a hose isn't good enough. They need to be fully submerged for several hours, depending on thickness. As a general rule, they need to be soaked overnight.
From personal experience: Don't use your bathtub! They can stain, and they leave the bathroom smelling like wet grass... and because of that, I haven't used tatami in a while. But I know some people use plastic trashcans filled with water to set the rolls upright. I've also thought that a cheap "kiddie" pool would work well, provided you tie the mats to a weight to keep them from floating to the top.
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Jessica Finley
Industry Professional
Location: Topeka, Kansas Joined: 29 Dec 2003
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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I can attest to leaving your house smelling like wet grass! I found it somewhat pleasant, but it definately could be overwhelming.
The trash can is a great idea!
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Michael Edelson
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Personally I like the smell of soaking tatami. 
But if you can't find someting long enough, you could soak them for two nights...have one side sticking out and then flip them. I've done that lots of times and I haven't noticed any difference between that and soaking the whole thing in a tub.
New York Historical Fencing Association
www.newyorklongsword.com
Byakkokan Dojo
http://newyorkbattodo.com/
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael Edelson wrote: | Personally I like the smell of soaking tatami.
But if you can't find someting long enough, you could soak them for two nights...have one side sticking out and then flip them. I've done that lots of times and I haven't noticed any difference between that and soaking the whole thing in a tub. |
Huh, that's interesting. I didn't know you could do that. I assumed that other side drying out would make the target inconsistent.
You learn something new everyday.
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Michael Edelson
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | | Michael Edelson wrote: | Personally I like the smell of soaking tatami.
But if you can't find someting long enough, you could soak them for two nights...have one side sticking out and then flip them. I've done that lots of times and I haven't noticed any difference between that and soaking the whole thing in a tub. |
Huh, that's interesting. I didn't know you could do that. I assumed that other side drying out would make the target inconsistent.
You learn something new everyday. |
It very well may...just because I don't notice a difference doesn't mean it's not there. Like my wife says...I'm not very sensitive.
In all seriousness, you can put a garbage bag over the ends sticking out to minimize drying...I also like to flip them back over to the frist side a couple of hours before I take them out.
New York Historical Fencing Association
www.newyorklongsword.com
Byakkokan Dojo
http://newyorkbattodo.com/
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Michael Ahrens
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | | Michael Edelson wrote: | Personally I like the smell of soaking tatami.
But if you can't find someting long enough, you could soak them for two nights...have one side sticking out and then flip them. I've done that lots of times and I haven't noticed any difference between that and soaking the whole thing in a tub. |
Huh, that's interesting. I didn't know you could do that. I assumed that other side drying out would make the target inconsistent.
You learn something new everyday. |
Bill
Having cute Mike's twice soaked mats, i did not experince any difficulties. what he neglected to say was that after soaking the mats he packed them in plastic bags for transport to our auxilary training facility. perhaps the moisture was redistributed during the transport. however they cut very well.
the other Mike
Mike Ahrens
http://www.selohaar.org/
Staten Island German Martial Arts (S.I.G.M.A.)
http://www.sigmanewyork.webs.com/
Member of the 1st Universal Church of St. John Cantius Garand, Reformed (Gas Port)
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind.
| Michael Ahrens wrote: | | Having cute Mike's twice soaked mats, |
I just felt like quoting that because your typo calls him "cute Mike". Don't edit that!
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Michael Edelson
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind.
| Michael Ahrens wrote: | | Having cute Mike's twice soaked mats, |
I just felt like quoting that because your typo calls him "cute Mike". Don't edit that! |
I don't see the problem. I am cute.
In the interest of clarity, however, the mats Mike cut were actually soaked in my bathtub (no staining, nice smell).
When I lived in Maryland in the late 90s our bathtub was also the shower, so I couldn't use that. I bought trash cans, but they weren't long enough, so I did the flip trick. If my roomates were out of town, I used the bathtub.
New York Historical Fencing Association
www.newyorklongsword.com
Byakkokan Dojo
http://newyorkbattodo.com/
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Scott Hanson
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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The smell always reminds me of green tea..
Anyways, I use a cheap plastic storage bin and weight them down with some old bits of concrete tile across the top.
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Greg Griggs
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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I use a 39 gallon plastic trash container as it's just the right size. Like Scott said - they will float, so you have to use something to hold them down. Used the tub first time we tried it, and oooohhhhhh, was I glad the little woman was out of town that weekend; OUCH, bad stains that took a lot of cleaning! 
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
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Mike Harris
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| Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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I have had good luck soaking rolled mats in one of the large square trash cans with the hinged lid. Not sure of the size, just the biggest one they had at the local Lowes/Home Depot.
I roll my mats around 1-inch hardwood dowels to simulate thigh or upper arm bones. After the trash can is filled with water, the mats can be completely submerged with the protruding dowels sticking up, then the lid closed against the ends of the dowels. A bungee cord or C-clamp is used to secure the lid closed. This contains the smell and prevents any spillage, so there's no mess or smell to bother "she who must be obeyed" or her friends. 
One caveat: the water should be emptied immediately after using the mats. I made the mistake of leaving the water in the trash can for a number of days, hot summer days. Smelled like a trash can full of small dead animals when I got back to it. 
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Jason Dingledine
Location: Aurora, Ohio Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Posts: 219
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| Posted: Fri 02 Nov, 2007 4:48 am Post subject: Re: Soaking Tatami |
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| Christian Henry Tobler wrote: | Greetings all,
We're about to do some test-cutting as a part of next Selohaar gathering on Saturday. How are folks soaking their tatami after rolling them? I can't seem to find a long enough trough to use...is soaking with a hose sufficient?
All the best,
Christian |
Hey Christian,
Rubbermade makes a number of storage totes that are long enough to accomodate even the overly-long mats from Bugei. I've used these on a number of occasions, and you can fit a large number of mats in them. The advantage is that the mats are horizontal and are less prone to "bobbing" out of the water. Just snap the lid down and put some sort of weight on it and you are good to go. If you have a SUV, you can even transport like this if you drain the excess water out prior to loading.
The onces I have are a grey/tan color on the bottom, with a green lid.
Jason Dingledine
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Michael Ahrens
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| Posted: Fri 02 Nov, 2007 5:03 am Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind.
| Michael Ahrens wrote: | | Having cute Mike's twice soaked mats, |
I just felt like quoting that because your typo calls him "cute Mike". Don't edit that! |
Bill
wow i must say how sorry i am for that very serious typo. Michael is always yelling at me about my typing and spelling.
i wonder why he is not upset about this one. My very bad typing skills can really be seen over at NYHFA. they are pathetic.
by the wat i can't spell either.
The other Mike from New York
Mike Ahrens
http://www.selohaar.org/
Staten Island German Martial Arts (S.I.G.M.A.)
http://www.sigmanewyork.webs.com/
Member of the 1st Universal Church of St. John Cantius Garand, Reformed (Gas Port)
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Christian Henry Tobler
Location: Oxford, CT Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 704
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Angus Trim
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| Posted: Fri 02 Nov, 2007 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Christian Henry Tobler wrote: | My thanks to everyone, *cute* or otherwise, for the help!
And, I'll be seeing some of you tomorrow...
All the best,
Christian |
The trash can thing works, as stated above, and you don't have to worry too much about drying out once turned over, because they have that "wicking abillity". The moisture will wick up into the already damp side..........
swords are fun
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Curt Cummins
Location: Portland, OR Joined: 03 May 2007
Posts: 63
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| Posted: Sat 03 Nov, 2007 7:33 am Post subject: |
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Make a open rectangular frame with scrap wood and line it with black or clear roll plastic. I've used this method at work for temporary water containment. It's cheap and works great.
CC
Ye braggarts and awe be a'skeered and awa, frae Brandoch Daha
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This is a standard topic