The Korean traditional style has two predominant ring types, the female (Amgakji) and this, the male or Sugakji. In use, the thumb is kept relatively straight, vaguely like the Manchu, however unlike the Manchu a tapered strip of leather or a wedge (available here) is pulled through the back of the ring to tighten fit. The string is placed at the base of the "male" protrusion from the side of the ring, and the index finger curled over to hold it. Release is accomplished by simply relaxing the hand.

This is a fantastic, and very much under-appreciated style of ring. It is easy to use, rugged, and has huge load bearing surfaces to distribute force over the thumb making it very comfortable. We love this design so much, we actually created two variants: short and long. The length is a reference to the male “protrusion” in the front. The subtle differences change things like loading ratios between index finger and thumb. The long variant (at rear) has a lip to keep the string away from the thumb, and applies slightly more load to the index finger. The short variant (at front) does away with this little lip, allowing the string to be placed further rearward, the thumb to bear more of the load, and the male part to be shorter while still providing adequate purchase for the index finger. This in turn reduces string drive on release.

We size all our rings on a virtually continuous spectrum for a perfect fit. No longer do you have to live with set sizes made for a hypothetical thumb. Measuring your thumb accurately though is still difficult, which is why we strongly recommend our customers use one of our Ring Sizers and order a set of three closely sized rings. More information can be found by clicking the Sizing Information link on the banner at the bottom of the the page. Please note the Sugakji is sized with the expectation that the user will add a tapered leather loop or equivalent, elongated compared to our other styles.