Any resources on the proper way to pack an armor into its box?

[fleetinbeing]

                           Previous owner did a decent job when it was shipped to me but its moving day soon and I want to be as careful as possible.        Key question is whether to place the dou upside down or not. If yes it simplifies packing, but it also puts the weight all on those two shoulder panels connected to the back of the dou.  i wouldnt want them to bend if fthe truck went over a bump.               

Edited April 16 by fleetinbeing

[uwe]

No, don’t place the dō upside down!

[fleetinbeing]

      1 hour ago, uwe said:  No, don’t place the dō upside down!     That was my gut feeling as well, but then how do youn handle the plates hanging off of it?  You cant just set it down on top of them, and they dont fold easily around the inside or the outside.  At first i folded them up around the outside with a layer of padding above and below, but the resulting Dou package didnt fit in the armor box even by itself. It was too wide. But putting them on the inside doesnt really work either.    

[Bugyotsuji]

Normally the do is placed in upside-down, and the kusazuri hung inside, but this may be in order for the armor to fit inside the box, and not necessarily to protect the watakami shoulder pieces while travelling. (We also see examples of the kusazuri/gessan tied up in individual bunches with string.)

 

If this was my armor, I would not use the armor box for the house move. (Within Japan?)

[fleetinbeing]

I guess i will be using the armor box for just the dou alone and a separate cardboard box for everything else.

 

The armor box then is itself packed in a padded cardboard box.

[Bugyotsuji]

All the pieces of an armour set were usually placed into individual soft cotton/hemp/linen bags, each with designation kanji on the outside.

E.g. 脛宛 Sune-ate.

 

But with all the materials available today we can protect things better. I remember Mr Morisaki once telling me that bubble-wrap is not good however, as it can trap moisture and can foster rust, etc. "Everything needs to breathe", he explained, while showing me some of that typical Jaanese wrapping paper. (He also disapproved of modern mothballs, and said that to protect against insect activity, dried togarashi peppers were usually placed inside an armour box.)

[Baka Gaijin]

I don't use bubble wrap for anything coming in contact with a painted surface anymore as it can,  as Piers states above.

 

I use a product called Celair, but that may just be a UK brand name (Viking Direct)

 

If really pushed, then I wrap with several layers of acid free tissue followed by bubble wrap.

 

In all cases, this is only for transportation and not for long term storage.