types of wood for bokken

[Please visit our sponsor:]

[Shipley]

Way back when I found a nifty web site describing the advantages/disadvantages of different woods used for making bokken. That was a good five years ago and I'm not having any luck finding it again. Does anybody know what happened to this information, or have any insights? I'm not looking for "we all use japanese/white oak" or "Bujin uses hickory", but a more involved discussion, ie don't use ebony, it is very strong but is prone to shattering under shock load (that's about the only thing I remember from the web site a while ago). Any thoughts out there?

Many thanks,

Paul

[Pete]

Have a look on Aikido FAQ!! I am pretty sure there is a section there about How To Make a Bokken, and if I remember correctly, it covers the advantages and disadvantages of quite a few woods!!

Pete

[Tony Peters]

try this site

http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/cat_bokuto.htm

Personally I use what I can get my hands on however I have had two jo's shatter, on actually in my hands, no I'm not superman there was a flaw in the wood, it is now a nice handbo/tanjo. Hickory is nice so is walnut though not for contact weapons curently I'm crafting a kusarigama from Wenge gorgeous wood, a royal b*^%$ to work though try a wood that interests you. I have a boken I made from Ifit (a western pacific hardwood similar to Phillipean Ifelle that is almost alive

[dbgard]

type one...hikari
type two...hokori

Now on a less abstract note,I'd like to give some props (proper respect) to some of my aikido sensei...

Saotome Shihan..thanks for reminding me that sensei are human too "Sensei has to pee too!!!!" 8D.

P. Saotome Sensei..thanks for being a great wife to our Shihan, and for helping me feel relaxed among so many prominent, advanced aikidoka. That smile on your face really kept me feeling comfortable 8).

"Doc" Jones..thanks for delivering atemi to my underarm nerve plex with just the right power to free the blocked ki without causing any pain. 8).

Hooker Sensei..Thanks for joking with me when I stepped off the mat at the FSU seminar to drink some water and catch my breath. If you would have yelled at me, I probably would have never set foot in a dojo again. 8D.

Messores Sensei..I didn't know who you were til after the Orlando seminar, but thanks for being patient with a humble 5th kyu! 8).

Merkle Sensei..Thanks for teaching me the importance of maintaining a beginners heart, in spite of the fact that you have every technique near perfect. 8).

Shihan's primary Uke..How in the hell did you react that quickly to Mitsugi Shihan's swiftness? 8O.

Li'ldim (whatever your name is sempai..8P.

Evans Sensei..Your advice to lose our attachment with life and death (i.e. lose our fear of death I think you mean) saved my life. You are my first Aikido Sensei, and I'm proud to say you're a damn good one at that. 8).

Secret little alien Sensei..You truly are a Tengu Warrior I think, Ten thousand thanks to your guidance and comedy. 8D.

Tobin Sensei..I don't think I've ever met a man at so much peace with himself. Stay that way friend ! If Leslie attacks yokomenuchi, be gentle with the shihonage 8D.

Rene Sensei..RELAXED CALMNESS DAMMIT!! 8D.
-----------------------

Joking around with each other, we feel as though we are all part of a family -- one big happy family if you wish to call it that. There is no room in the dojo for roughness of technique, for the techniques can be very harmful if abused. There is, thankfully, room in the dojo for lighthearted, alert, joyful, no-mindedness.

Sankyo very much and I'll be preparing some new haikus,
Drew

[akiy]

The owner of Kingfisher Woodworks (http://www.kingfisherwoodworks.com) (James G?) had an article in Aikido Today Magazine in, if I remember correctly, May of 1999 regarding a discussion on a whole plethora of wood that he's used.

My personal preference is Japanese white oak.

-- Jun

[dbgard]

Holiday Sensei..Your Seminar was fabulous. I understand what Saotome means about when he was to attack O'Sensei, and in his place stood a formidable mountain. I still do that jo kata you taught us, well, at least the parts I can remember..THANKS !! Sorry the reimbursement took so long. It takes a live blade to cut throught the red tape sometimes 8) I hope you finally received it) 8).

Page Sensei..Possibly the most dynamic Sensei I've ever learned from, always ready to react, becuse ego doesn't cloud your mind. Thanks. 8)

haiku time:

Sensei and Shihan
Satori no Bonsai
Irimi via SU

[Shipley]

Thanks for all of your replies, I've found more than I believed possible! Drew, could you please clarify what you meant in your post? The first two lines seemed to be about woods, but I wasn't sure what you meant.

Thanks again,

Paul

[dbgard]

Hokori=Pride in Japanese
Hikari=Light in Japanese (katagana or whatever it's called)

Does it really matter which type of wood the weapons are made of? Yes I think a little, the sword needs to be sturdy but I can guarantee you that any bokken or jo you order from Bujin is going to be of excellent quality. If you would rather not mail order and/or do not live in Boulder CO, then find a martial arts equipment dealer you trust, pound the sword on your forehead a couple times, and you're good to go.

The important thing to determine is--once you have a ken and jo (or a Fred and Ethel) what do these "weapons" mean to you as symbols. Here is what they mean to me in a synopsis:

These weapons of nature were given 'ki' by the trees. The trees were given 'ki' by the Creator. Therefore, whether the trees are Japanese, American, or even if a bokken and jo just happened to erupt from Mt. Erebus in Antarctica 8D, they are gifts. These gifts serve as a constant reminder to me of ushiro waza, the sixth sense--that invisible yet omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent Creator who kindly made heaven a place on earth.

On a more superficial, relaxed note...

Take care of your bokken/jo/wakizash/tanto, and they will take care of you 8).

---Drew

[Shipley]

Oh, I see. I actually have a lovely Bujin bokken and a very serviceable jo, I was just interested in making them (for friends as gifts) as woodworking is a hobby of mine.

[akiy]

I know a lot of people like Bu Jin Design's bokken, but I find them a bit too club-like for my small hands, even the "small" size.

The bokken I most often use are two I bought from Kiyota Company in Baltimore, MD. One is what he called the "Hombu" style and doesn't have much of a sori. The other, I believe, is a really light-weight Yagyu Shinkage-ryu style bokken which is nice for "quick" work and also for two-sword practice.

The best thing people can do in choosing weapons is to hold them in their hands before buying them.

To bring things back on-topic, I actually do think that the material of the weapon matters. If you're going to be doing kumitachi and kumijo, it's inevitable that your weapons will get hit. I've seen cheap bokken splinter easily before which may lead to injuries.

-- Jun

[Nick]

The substance of your weapon does matter. We can barely begin to compare skill to O-sensei, so we have to rely on our natural and artificial weapons. Tell me, what do you think would happen if you struck at someone with a paper sword, and they parried with a Nagasone Kotetsu blade? IMO, until you reach a critical point in your training, you'd either run or die.

-Nick
---
Correct me because I'm wrong.

[AikiTom]

I guess it would be redundant to say that dbgard is misguided...(He didn't get enough attention from his parents when he was little - so be forewarned! Your kids will turn out like this if you keep them locked in a closet! :) )
Yes, it does matter.
There's actually a more-science-than- you-want-article on this, Paul, in a recent "Aikido Today." The hardest, believe it or not, is osage wood, which is extremely common in the Midwest known as "osage orange" or "hedge" trees. Grows very straight and is used for fence posts by farmers. However, don't know where you could buy it.
What's unique about osage is that it's very hard, but also has a good "spring" resilience to it.
Ebony and related woods are actually
a bit down on the hardenss list.
I have a really nice jo that's still going strong after 8 years that I got from bujin - it's made of kurumi wood, and is a laminate which gives extra strength. It has a nice feel to it - strong, yet light, sort of has its own spirit!
Jun, tell me a little about that Yagyu bokken- sounds interesting.

[Edited by AikiTom on July 9, 2000 at 08:38pm]

[jdsingleton]

AikiTom wrote:
There's actually a more-science-than- you-want-article on this, Paul, in a recent "Aikido Today." The hardest, believe it or not, is osage wood, which is extremely common in the Midwest known as "osage orange" or "hedge" trees. Grows very straight and is used for fence posts by farmers. However, don't know where you could buy it.
What's unique about osage is that it's very hard, but also has a good "spring" resilience to it.

Someone makes them. I saw one two weeks ago at ASU's Summer Camp in Washington, D.C. I didn't get a chance to ask the aikidoka where he had gotten it. I suppose I could track him down, since I think he trains at Aikido Shobukan Dojo.

Jim Singleton

[Tony Peters]

jdsingleton wrote:
[QUOTE]
Someone makes them. I saw one two weeks ago at ASU's Summer Camp in Washington, D.C. I didn't get a chance to ask the aikidoka where he had gotten it. I suppose I could track him down, since I think he trains at Aikido Shobukan Dojo.

Jim Singleton

I know that Osage orange is one of the woods Unka Kim offers...it is quite a bright yellow when it is brand new, I've heard that it fades to a brown/yellow over time.

[karl grignon]

I also got interested in making my personnal bokken.I first sarted with purpleheart ,very easy to work,get a beautiful finish and just shows impact marks.Also tried osage orange,very hard to work,hard to find a nice piece,beautiful finish.My personnal favorite is cocobolo easy to work ,come in nice strait piece beautiful finish.I know bad english ,but i'm french.
Good luck

[akiy]

AikiTom wrote:
I guess it would be redundant to say that dbgard is misguided...(He didn't get enough attention from his parents when he was little - so be forewarned! Your kids will turn out like this if you keep them locked in a closet! :) )

I just wanted to pipe up and ask that people keep the personal barbs, whether serious or tongue-in-cheek, to a minimum here. The tone on these Forums has been getting a little bit disrespectful in my own eyes. I'd like to ask people to treat everyone as though they were a fellow member in your dojo in the presence of your teacher.

Sorry about the lecture...

There's actually a more-science-than- you-want-article on this, Paul, in a recent "Aikido Today."
Are you talking about the "Woods for Training Weapons" article by James Goedkoop (of Kingfisher Woodworks (http://www.kingfisherwoodworks.com)) in the May/June 1999 issue? It's a good article.

I have a really nice jo that's still going strong after 8 years that I got from bujin - it's made of kurumi wood, and is a laminate which gives extra strength. It has a nice feel to it - strong, yet light, sort of has its own spirit!

Kurumi is walnut, right? These days, Bu Jin Design (http://www.bujindesign.com) uses hickory for all of their weapons, if I remember correctly.

Jun, tell me a little about that Yagyu bokken- sounds interesting.
It's a really light bokken that I like to use for "quick" stuff or when I do two-sword practice (which is mighty rare, I'll admit). It's basically the same size as a "normal" bokken, only thinner. It has a slight sori in the blade, but not a whole lot. It often gets "crushed" by the heavier bokken that people use, though.

I currently have three or four bokken of various weights -- a light one (mentioned above), a medium-weight one, and a heavier-weight one with a hand guard (tsuba). I sometimes ask my partner what "weight" bokken they're using during kumitachi so I can get the "right" weight from my weapons bag.

-- Jun

[AikiTom]

Thanks! All good points.

[Nick]

Jun-

thanks for stepping in to stop the beginning flame war. I can imagine that in trying to tone things down, I just threw more wood on the fire (or flame, if you will).

-Nick

[Horselord]

Try to find a type of wood called Purple Heart. My sensei, who is a wood worker by trade, makes all our weapons, bokken, jo, tanto, and he uses a wood called purple heart. It is extreamly hard and tough, but light as well. I'm not sure where he gets it from. It is easy to maintain as well, just polish with mineral oil about once a month. Hope you can get your hands on some. Good luck!

All the best.
Horselord

[George S. Ledyard]

Kingfisher is indeed the place to go for info. ph. 802 295 9908
The article James G. did for ATM was fantastic. They shold offer reprints. One of the main factors to consider is the proper relationship of the different factors. A weapon should be hard, have flexibility, and be stable. the hard weapons tend to be a bit brittle. I would not spend a lot of money on a beautiful hardwood bokken that you are going to use in hard practice. Purple heart is a good material for heavy bokken but I think in a jo it is a bit too brittle. The white oak weapons from kiyota company are real workhorses and they offer the most extensive set of designs apart from the custom makers. but the white oak is not stable over time. As the vibration from repeated impact effects the cell structure it breaks down resulting in a spot that you can't sand down to solid wood. For most of you this isn't much of a problem as this takes a long time to occur for the average user. But I run through a bokken each year when I am using white oak.

I am currently enamored with Kingfisher's "Impact Grade Hickory" It has fine hardness (a bit lower than some of the tropical hardwoods)but has great resilience and is very stable. According to the tests Kingfisher ran on the different materials this was one of the most stable of the woods. I have been giving mine a workover and it keeps on cooking. Definitely more stable than the white oak but a bit pricier. You can save money on these if you don't insist on getting wood that is uniform in color (I prefer wood grain myself).

Hope this helps.

[George S. Ledyard]

dbgard wrote:
type one...hikari
type two...hokori

Now on a less abstract note ......
Sankyo very much and I'll be preparing some new haikus,
Drew

I admit to being a bit baffled. The topic was I beieve woods appropriate for weapons. Isn't this post a fair bit off topic. I am sure all these teachers would be flattered but postings like this should be in another part of the forum.

[George S. Ledyard]

dbgard wrote:
Hokori=Pride in Japanese
Hikari=Light in Japanese (katagana or whatever it's called)

Does it really matter which type of wood the weapons are made of? ...
The important thing to determine is--once you have a ken and jo (or a Fred and Ethel) what do these "weapons" mean to you as symbols.
Here is what they mean to me in a synopsis:
These weapons of nature were given 'ki' by the trees. The trees were given 'ki' by the Creator. Therefore, whether the trees are Japanese, American, or even if a bokken and jo just happened to erupt from Mt. Erebus in Antarctica 8D, they are gifts. These gifts serve as a constant reminder to me of ushiro waza, the sixth sense--that invisible yet omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent Creator who kindly made heaven a place on earth.

On a more superficial, relaxed note...

Take care of your bokken/jo/wakizash/tanto, and they will take care of you 8).

---Drew
OK AikiTom got chewed out for responding too personally. But I am getting drawn in myself here. I don't care what type of weapon you have and how you care for it, invest your ki in it, "feel" its connection with the great Oneness and the universal path of light etc. It may be a gift from God but if it isn't the right wood and design for the type of practice you do it's going to break. Then you have a broken gift from God. At $60 to $100 a crack you can run through a lot of God's gifts if you don't know what to look for which is precisely what I thought the original; intent of this thread was about. Let's not let enthusiasm for the art and our teachers take us too far into La La Land. Just my preference. Hope this isn't too disrespectful Jun. I usually try to behave.

[Edited by George S. Ledyard on July 19, 2000 at 11:07pm]

[Nick]

dbgard wrote:

Now on a less abstract note,I'd like to give some props (proper respect) to some of my aikido sensei...

Saotome Shihan..thanks for reminding me that sensei are human too "Sensei has to pee too!!!!" 8D.

P. Saotome Sensei..thanks for being a great wife to our Shihan, and for helping me feel relaxed among so many prominent, advanced aikidoka. That smile on your face really kept me feeling comfortable 8).

"Doc" Jones..thanks for delivering atemi to my underarm nerve plex with just the right power to free the blocked ki without causing any pain. 8).

Hooker Sensei..Thanks for joking with me when I stepped off the mat at the FSU seminar to drink some water and catch my breath. If you would have yelled at me, I probably would have never set foot in a dojo again. 8D.

Messores Sensei..I didn't know who you were til after the Orlando seminar, but thanks for being patient with a humble 5th kyu! 8).

Merkle Sensei..Thanks for teaching me the importance of maintaining a beginners heart, in spite of the fact that you have every technique near perfect. 8).

Shihan's primary Uke..How in the hell did you react that quickly to Mitsugi Shihan's swiftness? 8O.

Li'ldim (whatever your name is sempai..8P.

Evans Sensei..Your advice to lose our attachment with life and death (i.e. lose our fear of death I think you mean) saved my life. You are my first Aikido Sensei, and I'm proud to say you're a damn good one at that. 8).

Secret little alien Sensei..You truly are a Tengu Warrior I think, Ten thousand thanks to your guidance and comedy. 8D.

Tobin Sensei..I don't think I've ever met a man at so much peace with himself. Stay that way friend ! If Leslie attacks yokomenuchi, be gentle with the shihonage 8D.

Rene Sensei..RELAXED CALMNESS DAMMIT!! 8D.


While we're talking about off-topic... enough said...

-Nick

[Tony Peters]

I finally finished the KusariGama that I was working on, it looks gorgeous, the grain is incredible. I'm probably going to make a shoto out of this wood as well. For those that are considering weapons building I discovered that Wenge sawdust and me do not get along(it makes my skin itch) many hardwoods contain resin's that can be irritating and/or cause an alergic reaction so beware. Impact grade Hickory is nice but I personally can't stand the feel of hickory

[akiy]

Tony, you'll have to send us a picture of your new kusarigama, huh?

-- Jun

[Niadh]

I Have been making Bokken and Jo staffs to sell for about 2 years now. I discovered Ipe or Pau Lope wood a few years ago and am quite satisfied with it. It has a good specific density (weight) and seems to withstand impact well. Unfortunately the article in ATM did not cover this wood, but when I contacted the author he stated that he had had good results with it, but had not tested enough samples for a good cross section. The IPE Boken barely show contact, but it is a very hard wood and takes extra time to work. I like working with Ash, and maple, hickory is pretty good. I have had a few requests for non contact bokken out of Cherry. This is a nice wood to work with and makes for a quick, light bokken, but is not suitabkle for conact. Please conatact me with any questions.
Niadh

[George S. Ledyard]

One aspect of the wood question that all of us need to consider is the source of these woods. A number of the woods that we find both strong enough for real training and aesthetically pleasing are fairly rare tropical hardwoods.

I think that we need to excercise some level of consciousness that these woods are from the tropical rainforests which are essentially endangered. It is harder and harder to find these woods precisely because there is less and less of it. That's why a bokken can cost over $100. The problem is that we are affluent enough to cough up that kind of money so the trees are continually being cut down. As much as we like many of these woods we have to ask if it's really ok to keep the market afloat for these increasingly rare tree products.

[Nick]

I agree. I prefer to use oak or maple, which as far as i know are not tropical, but still make nice bokken.

-Nick

[Niadh]

This is indeed a valid comment, however depleting native forests is no less murdering trees thatn rinforset depletion. That being said, I am a carpenter with great respect for the wood with which I work. I like IPE in part because it is a plantation grown wood. Granted that the plantations were once forest, however not buying the plantation grown woods will not make the plantation back into a forest. Sorry folks, it does not seem to work that way. Now the question arises as to how responsible the plantation owners are to the land, trees, etc. Ok, How responsible are we in our own everyday lives? It is very easy to pick one aspect of life and say "here I will be conciously responsible" and yuet ignore the aspects in whci we are not.

[Tony Peters]

/i]
This is indeed a valid comment, however depleting native forests is no less murdering trees thatn rinforset depletion. That being said, I am a carpenter with great respect for the wood with which I work. I like IPE in part because it is a plantation grown wood. Granted that the plantations were once forest, however not buying the plantation grown woods will not make the plantation back into a forest. Sorry folks, it does not seem to work that way. Now the question arises as to how responsible the plantation owners are to the land, trees, etc. Ok, How responsible are we in our own everyday lives? It is very easy to pick one aspect of life and say "here I will be conciously responsible" and yuet ignore the aspects in whci we are not.

[/QUOTE]


For many woods it is indeed illegal to harvest the "live trees. The chunk of Ifit that I have was taken from a deadfall. That is the only legal way to get Ifit on Guam. I had a devil of a time taking it off island when I left. There are Rosewoods that are not even legal to take deadfall. I think (though I'm not sure) that Lignum Vitae is this way. If one deals with a reputable lumberyard you will find that there are many hardwoods that you can come by that are geat to work. I got my Wenge from a little place out in the hinterlands of Mass. (no I don't know how to find my way back to it) that is quite famous for its Teak and Phillipean Mahogany. I just went to look but the price per boardfoot on the Wenge was way to good to pass up, something like $5.40 a foot. I still have a bunch of it and I will craft many other things with it. Here in hawaii Koa is grown plantation style and one must get permission to cut any of the OLD trees (usually not given unless it's for artisic purposes). I also have some Virginia Black Walnut that was cut fom my Granddads farm some 25 years ago, I am very carefull of what I do with that (so far just a subrito). Many of the other tropical woods that I aquired have come from being in the right place at the right time when trees were being felled. This same method can be used stateside. Hell even the "prunings" from the trees in your own yard can be used (I have some Pear and Applewood from my parents yard that I have been comished to make tanto's out of once it seasons) Pay attention to grain and enjoy the feel of your new toy, don't fret if it dents and if it breaks? well you learned something from it anyway.

[Edited by Tony Peters on July 21, 2000 at 11:40pm]

[jblack]

For wood and how to make a bokken check out Kim Taylor's pages.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/bokuto.htm

A lot of good information.

Be of good cheer,

Jeff Black

[JO]

A quick ecological note on the difference between a temporate forest and a tropical rain forest. If you clearcut a northern forest, chances are a forest will grow back eventually, clearcut a tropical rain forest and you may vever see anything resembling it again because the soil is so poor not much will grow back. That said, it is still important to consider the management of the forests that are the source of ones material, whether it is the structure of your house, the paper of your books or the hardwood of your bokken (not exactly a major market compared to the two previous). Saying it is all the same so it doesn't matter makes one a bad consumer. We probably all need to start paying a little more attention to how we spend our money.

[Shipley]

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to give such informative answers to my question. I'm looking forward to researching some of the woods that you have mentioned, and will do my best to not impact sensitive ecosystems if that is possible (it is hard to imagine using any wood without some impact somewhere).

The bokken that I use (the one that I am making is for my wife who has had to stop aikido for the next couple of months until our twins are born) is hickory (Bujin) and has stood up to several years of use nicely, but it is difficult to get hickory of that quality. I'll look into the high impact hickory that has been brought up. I have used purpleheart in a few projects recently and enjoyed the feel of working it, so it is good to hear that it holds up well to use. I'll look into some of the more exotic woods that you all have mentioned, they sound very interesting.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to help me out!

Paul

[ScottyC]

Shipley wrote:
Way back when I found a nifty web site describing the advantages/disadvantages of different woods used for making bokken. That was a good five years ago and I'm not having any luck finding it again. Does anybody know what happened to this information, or have any insights? I'm not looking for "we all use japanese/white oak" or "Bujin uses hickory", but a more involved discussion, ie don't use ebony, it is very strong but is prone to shattering under shock load (that's about the only thing I remember from the web site a while ago). Any thoughts out there?

Many thanks,

Paul


Trying to pull this thread back to the original topic... Perhaps you're referring to Kim Taylor's site. He has an excellent listing of various woods and their respective advantages and disadvantages.

You can find it at http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/bokuto.htm

Good luck!

Scott

[sori-head]

I still have the first bokken and jo that I made 8 or 9 years ago. They're both soft maple, nicely dented but sound.

Subsequently I made most of the weapons now residing in the weapons racks as at the dojo as well. Not all of the weapons after those first two have fared well. After shattering during class some of them made nice tanto, some of them made BTU's.

I still make weapons, but after a somewhat dangerous learning curve I've learned that, gee, not everyone behaves with their weapons the same way I do! So, mine are all of laminated construction now.

If you're making weapons for others, remember that you cannot dictate how they will practice with them. Choose a strong, tightly grained wood and_look carefully_at the grain direction. Get 4' of straight grain for jo and, for bokken choose pieces with curved grain direction--wood whose grain curvature most nearly follows that of the weapon. A weapon will usually fail along the line of its grain. Try to accomodate that weakness at the lumber yard.

Have fun, though! Making your own weapons is akin to darning your gi with needle, thread and patience rather than patching it with duct tape (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

[Guest5678]

sori-head wrote:
I still have the first bokken and jo that I made 8 or 9 years ago. They're both soft maple, nicely dented but sound.

Subsequently I made most of the weapons now residing in the weapons racks as at the dojo as well. Not all of the weapons after those first two have fared well. After shattering during class some of them made nice tanto, some of them made BTU's.

I still make weapons, but after a somewhat dangerous learning curve I've learned that, gee, not everyone behaves with their weapons the same way I do! So, mine are all of laminated construction now.

If you're making weapons for others, remember that you cannot dictate how they will practice with them. Choose a strong, tightly grained wood and_look carefully_at the grain direction. Get 4' of straight grain for jo and, for bokken choose pieces with curved grain direction--wood whose grain curvature most nearly follows that of the weapon. A weapon will usually fail along the line of its grain. Try to accomodate that weakness at the lumber yard.

Have fun, though! Making your own weapons is akin to darning your gi with needle, thread and patience rather than patching it with duct tape (not that there's anything wrong with that!).



Good post! I (wood) just add to ensure that the grain runout does not occur on the HA (or edge) of the bokken.........

Regards,

Mongo