As promised, I have finished the first phase of casting a jiuta bachi in epoxy resin.
Since I have my own blog on jiuta, I don’t want to be redundant by posting the same information here.
To see the process and results of my bachi casting, go to:
I welcome any comments, questions, etc. However, since I don’t believe anyone actually reads my blog, I would prefer you to post your thoughts here instead of my blog. That way I can respond more quickly.
this whole concept is looking great and i like the way you dyed the resin.
Only one thing i’d say though, having had experience in casting and resin, is that you need vents in the mold.
This helps expel excess air bubbles and take them away from the cast piece, if placed carefully you’ll find them a great help.
I also used to vibrate the mold after pouring for a minute or so after pouring and then every five mins for half an hour to get smooth bubble free castings.
Lego is your friend in making mold boxes, oil based clay (plasticene) is about the best stuff to use, i also before pouring cut 2 pieces of mount board to roughly fit the molds to help support them while the elastic bands held the arts together, 4 large keys at the corners and many smaller ones throughout the surface help keep the parts together too.
Hope you don’t think i’m teaching you to suck eggs or anything, am trying to be helpful.
Amanda - your profile pic is a hoot. 
And I think you should teach us how all to suck eggs - somehow that seems totally in the spirit of Bachido to me…
Gary:
since I don’t believe anyone actually reads my blog
Well, now that I know it exists, I’m gonna do just that - so there! {grin} And btw, I absolutely love that bachi colour!
Greg: fyi, your bachi is a 75 (9" L x 5" W blade). The 72 is 8.5" L x 4.875" W blade. (Couldn’t confirm weight because I don’t have a scale at home that can weigh such small items).
I think I need a smaller bachi. I bought mine from a man, and just have his, and it KILLS my pinky. I never see sizes when I look for bachi, though. Linda, do you have sizes at Chords of Canada?
(That being said, I still want to try to make my own bachi, lol - I want it to be pink with flowers in the handle.)
And ya, Amanda, that profile pic made me laugh! It’s awesome. Those are great suggestions that you made. I saw the Lego thing on YouTube. There are some great tutorials there, but they didn’t cover the ingredients as well as Gary did.
owever, most of the tutorials did cover the venting. Amanda, how did you vibrate your mold?
I love your blog Gary! (I tried to add you into my circle, but I couldn’t see how to do it.) Are you going to try to cast another bachi?
Hi Lorraine!
Indeed, bachi come in several different sizes classified as 匁 (monme). The most common size for men is 25匁, and for women it’s 20匁. There is of course, a TON of variation depending on comfort, and the best way when dealing with that is to keep trying until you find one that suits you best! You might be interested in the much smaller bachi that is used by shamisen students at 芸大 (Tokyo University of the Arts - ‘Geidai’) which is a either a size 18匁 for women or 20匁 for men. They are an “off-size”, but I know Kameya sells them as they are a big Nagauta store, but I’m sure either Kyle or Linda could help you further if you want to stay closer to home!
Thank you Joseph for that information! 
Yes, I was using my nagauta bachi on my tsugaru today. It has a MUCH smaller handle, but the blade and the length are the same. Being wood, it also slips a lot less. I prefer the feeling and the weight of the plastic bachi, but the nagauta one is much easier to keep hold of since it’s wood, and slips a lot less. The bachi has a tendency to slip sideways, especially when I sukui. I tried putting non-skid material on the plastic one, but it still slips. It’s just too darn big. But the wood one doesn’t “slip over” the strings as well.
I’m going to get one of Kyle’s cool “faux-bekkou” bachi as soon as I pay off that Michael Korr’s purse I just bought, lol! (It’s a chick thing.)
The nice thing about those is it looks as if you can make the handle smaller if you need to - Kyle posted a video where he sanded his handle down a bit so that it fit more comfortably in his hand.
I carved a groove in my cheap plastic bachi, and that really seems to help! See “Reinventing the Bachi”, I put the photos in that thread.
And I think you should teach us how all to suck eggs - somehow that seems totally in the spirit of Bachido to me…
Sounds like a great idea for another Bachido instructional course!
I’m going to get one of Kyle’s cool “faux-bekkou” bachi as soon as I pay off that Michael Korr’s purse I just bought, lol! (It’s a chick thing.)
Call it bachi case with a strap and I’ll be satisfied. 
The nice thing about those is it looks as if you can make the handle smaller if you need to - Kyle posted a video where he sanded his handle down a bit so that it fit more comfortably in his hand.
Ooh! That’s actually a picture, but I actually did take a lot of footage when I did that. Must assemble it into a Bachido Article soon!
Linda, do you have sizes at Chords of Canada?
Hi Lorraine - Chords Canada generally stocks a few sizes of the jiuta (plastic) and the nagauta (both plastic and wood) bachi. For the Tsugaru bachi, we generally stock only the basic plastic one and the default size of the “faux bekkou” one. However, we are always happy to special/custom order anything you want if it’s not something Chords has in stock.
So, are you going to post a pic of your “grooved” plastic bachi?
However, we are always happy to special/custom order anything you want if it’s not something Chords has in stock.
Aa~~~nd… the Bachido Store is also super happy to special order anything as well! 
(Sorry Linda, can you blame me? 
)
Ooo, competition, I like it! ;D
Linda, I posted the photos over in the “Reinventing the Bachi” thread, so that all the ideas for that would be centralized.
Next time, I will make the groove smaller. I outlined my whole pinky, and that wasn’t necessary - all that’s needed is a groove, and maybe a slightly deeper “bed” for the knuckle to rest in so that it doesn’t slip forward.
Aa~~~nd… the Bachido Store is also super happy to special order anything as well!
(Sorry Linda, can you blame me?
Ooo, competition, I like it! ;D
Kyle and Lorraine - Now, now. Hey, I was simply answering a question that had been addressed to me. Kyle, I certainly don’t “blame” you, it’s your site, fer Pete’s sake! And Lorraine/everyone, absolutely no competition here, I would hope the world is large enough for there to be choices and a little something for everyone…
Linda, I posted the photos over in the “Reinventing the Bachi” thread
Thanks, I actually saw it just before I got to this thread. Looks good, I’d love to try playing with your grooved bachi.
Actually, Linda, no, there isn’t any competition, because I saw some stuff over at Chord’s that I like too, and the nice thing about the shamisen community is that we stick together, don’t we? Oh, don’t worry, LOL - I’ll be spreading the on-line shopping love around, and I’ve already given lists to my family for my birthday in 3 months.
Re: the Bachi Groove (hrm, I see a song title in there somewhere!), don’t forget that I’m a beginner, and also just barely got my grip sort of right last week (Thanks again, Kyle!) - but I’ve got to say, as a beginner, the groove REALLY helped a LOT.
Please find a cheap bachi to try it on, and go slowly. I’d hate to find out that someone ruined their good bachi because of me. 