A stapler is all it takes. Vivin Sutte, the made-in-Japan floating sutte you can repair and keep using
No special tools required.
A torn sutte cloth can be re-wrapped with scissors, a needle, thread, a lighter — and a stapler. KEYSTONE evangelist Kubo walks through the whole procedure twice, on a lead sutte and on a Vivin Sutte. The Vivin Sutte is built with a tightly bound cotton wrap under the outer cloth. The cloth wears out first and the cotton stays — which is why it can be repaired with household tools alone. A made-in-Japan floating sutte, supplied to fishermen since 1999, made at the factory in Arita.
VIVIN SUTTE ｜ MADE IN ARITA SINCE 1999
Vivin Sutte
The cloth tears; the cotton stays. A floating sutte you repair and keep using.
| Normal cloth | Metallic cloth | |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes | 2.0–6.0 (7 sizes) | 2.0–6.0 (7 sizes) |
| Base colours | 2 | 2 |
| Cloth colours | 16 | Metallic |
| Hooks | TV2 (standard) / R2 (to order) | TV2 (standard) / R2 (to order) |
| Per pack | 2 | 2 |
7 sizes × 2 base colours × 16 cloth colours — a range that has answered regional preferences for over 20 years
See Vivin Sutte See repair cloth Buy at the online shop
A made-in-Japan floating sutte supplied mainly to fishing cooperatives since 1999. A torn cloth can be re-wrapped with tools found at home. Repair cloth is sold in the Handmade Parts section of the KEYSTONE Direct Shop.
Vivin Sutte, and re-wrapping the cloth
The Vivin Sutte is a made-in-Japan floating sutte supplied to fishermen since 1999. When the outer cloth tears, it can be re-wrapped by the procedure KEYSTONE evangelist Kubo lays out. “Can a torn cloth be repaired?” — a question asked for fifteen years or so, finally answered. Repair was always possible, but it needs special tools. For a fisherman re-wrapping hundreds or thousands a year they are worth owning; for an angler with a few dozen a year they are not. What it takes is only scissors, a sewing needle, thread, a lighter and a stapler — tools found anywhere. A size-20 lead sutte in All Black is re-wrapped in red cloth, and a size-3 Vivin Sutte: two ways through. The Vivin Sutte has cotton wrapped under the outer cloth, and the cloth wears out first. The cotton is left in place and reused as it is. Re-wrapping the cotton needs the special tools, so that is the dividing line between what you can and cannot fix yourself. Because it is built that way, the Vivin Sutte can be repaired with household tools and kept in use.
Field Data
- Country
- Japan
- Region
- Saga
- Lure
- Vivin Sutte
- Method
- Ika-metal
- Angler
- Kubo
The stapler and the blue flame
The key to the method is the stapler. Once the cloth is wrapped, tack it at a few points before sewing: four on a size-20 lead sutte, three on a size-3 Vivin Sutte. Pull it tight and tack it firmly near the hooks and at the base of the swivel, and staple about 1mm in from the edge rather than right on it. The job the special tools did was “hold the cloth in the right place while you sew”, and the stapler takes over just that part. It looks as though sewing skill is needed, but the hard part is really the positioning. Once that is fixed, all that is left is to sew in an S-pattern.
To finish, a lighter flame is applied — the blue part, not the red. A red flame scorches; the blue flame is brought slowly to the spot to be tidied, a little at a time, with pauses. It melts and seals the edge of the synthetic cloth, and a rough seam is largely absorbed at this stage. “Not perfect, but for a repair this is clean enough” — this final smoothing is what puts a first-timer's work at a usable standard.
As Kubo himself says, some inside the company felt “perhaps we should not do this”. A company that makes and sells the product would be teaching people how to repair it and keep using it. It was published anyway, because having people use a product for a long time is also a joy for the company that makes it. The binding strength of the cotton, and the fact that replacing the cloth alone is enough — these are things only the maker can say.
The Products
Vivin Sutte
A made-in-Japan floating sutte, still made by traditional blow moulding. Uneven wall thickness collapses under water pressure and makes the sutte useless, so producing floating sutte with little variation is an extremely difficult technique. KEYSTONE has insisted on domestic production and blow moulding since its founding, with a thick-walled body rated to 200m. Under the outer cloth is cotton that is tightly bound and does not come apart, compared with others. Seven sizes from 2.0 to 6.0, two base colours, sixteen cloth colours. The standard hook is the TV2 — the traditional thread-wound spec that preserves the buoyancy balance — and the R2 can be ordered for direct-tied rigs and other uses that need durability.The decisive difference in the catch comes from a consistent, thick-walled body of domestic quality and the buoyancy of a constant internal pressure.
The cloth wears out first, and the cotton inside almost never needs replacing. In Kubo's procedure too the cotton is left in place and reused. Re-wrapping the cotton needs the special tools, so that is the dividing line for what you can fix yourself. Sew through the cotton beneath and the binding gets stronger still. The breadth of the range, built up since 1999 to answer fishermen whose preferences differ by region, rests on the assumption that a sutte is repaired and used for a long time.
Repair cloth
100mm × 1200mm, cut to suit the jig. Five colourways: red/white, red/blue, red/green, red/yellow and pink/white.
Stocked at our direct shop under Handmade Parts. It was added in response to repeated requests. One length covers several jigs, so cut it to size as you go. The same shelf carries spikes (KS10, KS06 and others).
KS Lead Sutte
A lead body wrapped in cloth. This time a size 20 in all black is re-wrapped in red.
There is more than sentiment behind not binning one over a torn cloth. Lead is not a metal you can simply drop in the rubbish. Disposal takes effort, which makes being able to keep one in service worth that much more.
From the Workshop in Arita
"Of course we would like you to buy new ones. At the same time, we want them used for a long time. Having them used for a long time is, for a company that makes things, its own reward." That is Kubo — and the reason this method was published despite the objections inside the company.
How well the wadding holds, and the fact that replacing only the cloth is enough, are things only the maker can tell you. These jigs are built in our workshop in Arita, Saga — and this is knowledge published so they stay in use one day longer.
MADE TODAY IN ARITA
The procedure above is what this video records: KEYSTONE evangelist Kubo re-wraps the outer cloth from start to finish, two ways — a size 20 lead sutte and a size 3 Vivin Sutte. Tacking with a stapler, the S-shaped stitching, smoothing with the blue flame. Late in the video he also explains why a company that makes them is teaching how to keep using them.
If it will not play, watch it on YouTube.
