Tameshigiri Series: Rolling the mats

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In the previous installment of the Tameshigiri Series, we showed how we made the post for holding a rolled-up tatami mat for cutting. In this installment, we will detail rolling the mat, binding of it, and preparing it for soaking prior to FirstCut.

Tatami

The tatami mats we got were new and came in a bundle of twenty five. They have a pretty strong grassy-odor to them, but that did eventually dissipate (yes…it smelled like a hay barn until it did). We found it best to put it in the basement or some out of the way place and let it air out for a few days.

Tatami omote is the layer which is use for the outer most surface of the tatami mat. As we will be using the mats for cutting practice, price and not quality of the weave was our main concern.

Rolling

The idea of rolling up a mat for cutting is simple enough and it is not like the process is rocket science. Still, a bundle of mats unbundled is not just in the way, but REALLY in the way 🙂

There are videos online about how to do it, but we have developed our own method which we feel are superior. The steps are summarized here:

1. Place a 1/2″ PVC pipe on one end;
2. Hold the edge of mat against the pipe and start rolling;
3. Take care to roll evenly so the edges line up as well as possible;
4. Keeping the roll tight on each revolution, roll until the end;
5. With the pipe still in, bind the roll with twine;
6. Pull out the PVC pipe when binding is complete.

NOTE: To even up the two ends after binding, we took the roll and dropped it on one edge onto a flat surface. There was just enough slack for the ends to shift and even up.

Binding

For binding the roll, we used twine made of jute. Jute is low stretch, biodegradable, and compostable. This type of rope is ideal for all-weather outdoor use and will securely hold the tatami roll through storage, soaking, and cutting.

Each roll required five twine rings in order to properly bind it. The first ring is placed in the middle of the roll, then one at each end, and finished with one in between the middle ring and the end ring. We didn’t precisely measured the placement but did them by eye, and found it sufficient.

A properly rolled and bound tatami mat will stay together after being cut. With five bindings, it is possible to cut a rolled up mat four times without any of the cut bundles unraveling. We saved a piece from the first roll we had and it is still intact thirteen years later 🙂

FinalThoughts

Rolling up the twenty five mats took about four hours when done by one person…roughly ten minutes per roll from start to finish. Binding and tying the knots took about 60-70% of the time. We could have used rubber bands, but jute twine just felt more “respectful.”

The next in the series will be about getting everything ready and taking the FirstCut!

Links to items mentioned:

• Tameshigiri cutting mats
• Jute twine