Kmise for Binding/Supplies?

Brett S.

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Building some soprano ukes, staying pretty much true to the Martin (not sure which model).

Was disappointed to see the HazMat charge for celluloid binding, ouch.

Found this on Amazon and paid express shipping. Turns out it comes from Hong Kong.

21 pieces of binding and 2 truss rods for about $80 total. Anyone else buy from Kmise?
 
I've been tempted to buy from them. How is the binding? Good stuff??
 
I guess I can't really say yet? What would make it bad? :) I'm still pretty new to all this.
 
Yes the hazmat charge on shipping celluloid bindings is shocking. Luckily I live near LMI and can drive down to Windsor to pick the stuff up if I want to use tortoiseshell celluloid... I have bought the stuff off the net from China but not sure if it came from the company you cited. The stuff I received was as good a quality as the LMI stuff. However, the Chinese stuff was shipped through the mail without a hazmat designation which is technically illegal. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, try setting a piece of it on fire.
 
I started buying Chinese binding/purfling off eBay because of the color options. One source is The Pure Store, though I suspect that the celluloid all comes from the same factory. The colors can add a lot of zing to a uke.

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There is an irony in the USA having a Hazmat charge on Cellulose, for many many years the USA was the worlds largest manufacturer of cellulose based chemicals.

I worked for one such company producing cellulose for six years and never got an extra pay for workingbwith a hazardous material.
 
I used to work at the Australian National Film and Sound Archive. The old film stocks were stored in an explosives vault.
Of course the old Celulose Nitrate film was more explosive than Celulose acetate which became the standard later but even that was transferred to safety film as soon as possible.
 
I've bought from Chinese suppliers including Kmise, and the quality is fine.

Sadly, they focus on "shiny", so your uke could end up looking like Liberace on stage if you're not careful in your choices. Traditional stuff like tortoiseshell celluloid is hard to find.
 
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Building some soprano ukes, staying pretty much true to the Martin (not sure which model).

Was disappointed to see the HazMat charge for celluloid binding, ouch.

Found this on Amazon and paid express shipping. Turns out it comes from Hong Kong.

21 pieces of binding and 2 truss rods for about $80 total. Anyone else buy from Kmise?

Truss rod in a soprano ?
 
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