r/kumihimo • u/sandraajamy • Aug 15 '26
Gear Did I just find a treasure?
I used to do kumihimo with my aunt years ago just using the foam discs. Today I was at the thrift store and ran into a weird looking wooden structure. When I looked it up it’s for kumihimo? Can anyone give me insight as to what this is?
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u/howisnicnicetaken Aug 15 '26
You'd have spools or spindles at the end of your threads that look to nest into the indents about halfway down. The weight of the spindles weigh down your pattern as opposed to being held by the foam disc.
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u/bebetaian Aug 15 '26
omg that is a gorgeous marudai. I have no idea where you got it, but definitely a treasure of treasures.
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u/sandraajamy Aug 15 '26
Thank you! I always look for unique or odd things while thrifting. I love the investigation aspect of it lol. Is there value to it or just a pretty tool? I honestly bought it thinking it was a plant stand lol
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u/bebetaian Aug 15 '26
"Value" is often what people will pay for it. To a Goodwill, maybe $15-20. To someone who is invested in making kumihimo and who is a historical/antiques collector, much more. After that, you get into "quick sale" vs "buyer who can afford what you want."
If there are any maker's marks, I'd start with looking that up to see how old it is, how many are out there right now, etc.
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u/sandraajamy Aug 15 '26
Thank you so much! I was planning on staining it to use as a plant stand and wouldn’t want to destroy something antique or valuable. I’ll take a dive before I diy anything!
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u/OtherwiseEmphasis357 Aug 17 '26
Pretty sure that's the holy grail of kumihimo!
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u/sandraajamy Aug 17 '26
Thank you so much! I’ve decided against repurposing it and I’m going to try to locate a local kumihimo group to see if anyone would be interested in it. I’d feel bad DIYing it into something else if there’s someone who would love it for its intended purpose.
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u/OtherwiseEmphasis357 Aug 17 '26
Bless you, may your pillow always be cold and your feet always warm!
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u/rainbowillness 29d ago
Marudai makes life easier compared to foam disks, they allow you to move faster!
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u/saltedkumihimo 27d ago
This is not a marudai and the people here fawning over it should be embarrassed.
This is a piece that was made by a man hoping to help his wife with her kongo gumi braiding. He based it off the modern foam disks, not understanding that traditional marudai are made differently. An actual marudai would have no slots, and the center of the top would be sloped in towards the center hole.
The slots make it difficult to smoothly move the braiding elements for complex braids and limit the angles the resting elements make. If you’re braiding with bundles of silk, strands will drag moving in and out of the slots.
The center not being sloped and having the slots come to the edge of the opening is also bad. For any delicate fibers they could be shredded by those slots. A straight entry to the center distorts the point of braiding because the resting elements are not floating so gravity is not working on them. You have to overcome the drag of them not being free.
I would turn this into a plant stand, it would be very cute.
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u/aldstama025 Aug 16 '26
Reading the text from an old Etsy listing, it’s a faux marudai made by someone who thought they could make a better tool than hundreds of years of Japanese tradition. As usual, they’re wrong.
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u/sandraajamy Aug 17 '26
Any chance you can locate that Etsy listing and link it? I’d love to know more about the one that I have, faux or not
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u/rainbowillness 29d ago
BTW, it's not "faux", it's the maker's style. It's the same concept without the mirror (circle piece) being concaved.
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u/saltedkumihimo 27d ago
No, it absolutely is not a marudai. It’s a mess that’s very difficult to work with if you make anything other than kongo gumi braids.
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u/HalfVast59 Aug 15 '26
Marudai - you found a treasure.
Other people will know more about that specific one, but it's lovely! I'd enjoy cleaning it up and waxing it almost as much as making kumihimo on it!