Kevin, our woodworker extraordinaire, constructed our superlative new weapons rack, which you’ll find hanging opposite the shomen. It’s a wonderful gift that Kevin has given us, and Sensei wanted to express her gratitude.

Some awesome features: As you can see from the image, it can hold tanto, bokken, jo, and shinai. (Really the only weapon it can’t hold is Mike’s monster suburi bokken.)

Most ingenious, however, is the mechanism which connects the rack to the wall. Rather than a visible screw or other fastening device, Kevin has created an angled wood “ledge” which allows the rack to slide in place atop a matching piece. It is this piece which is fastened to the wall, thereby hiding the screws from view. Pretty spiffy!

We love it. Thank you, Kevin.