i’ve been wanting to change the leather loops (chichigawa) on my Do since my first exam last year when i almost had a wardrobe malfunction. luckily it was at the end of the test before one of the loops came loose.
i put it off because it seemed to be such a chore, but after doing it once, it’s really not so bad.
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- Loosen the Do himo
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- Remove Do himo
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- Loosen ends of Do chichigawa, you might need a pair of needle nose pliers
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- Remove Do chichigawa
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- Do without chichigawa
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- Old and new chichigawa
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- Make a loop (fold chichigawa in half)
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- Slip chichigawa into hole
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- View from other side of Do
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- Flatten ends of chichigawa, suede (rough) side out
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- Begin folding ends
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- One end over the other, smooth side out
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- Overlapping each end
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- Until it looks like a pinwheel
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- Tighten each end one by one, you may need pliers
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- Snip ends, but not too short
note: the ends of the loop are held in by tension. it is important that you tighten each of the four ends separately and that you leave enough of the ends after trimming so that they do not slip out of the knot.
i got my replacement chichigawa at ebogu.com which comes with tapered/precut ends.