Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I'm looking to buy a sturdy bokken for everday practice/training. Would anyone reccomend purple heart wood for such a bokken? Also can anyone explain to me who/what NF is in the world of bokken? "NF signature series" to be more specific. Thanks in advance.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

don't know anything about nf

I do battodo (swordsmanship) along with aikido. I have a purple heart wood bokuto(much nicer sword). It is excellent as a bokuto for training in kata, however, it does NOT make a good impact sword (mostly because of the cost, 140$ yikes! don't want to be hitting it against anything) if you're just looking for something to bash around, I highly recomend japanese white oak or ipe.

Hope this helped.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Tozando bokkens are a decent quality at a reasonable price. Take a look at http://www.tozando.com. Perhaps check out the subsection 'bokkenshop'. They have some rather cool items.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I have a Kingfisher hickory bokken. I've had it for about 10 years now and many a white oak bokken has been broken against it. I recommend his above any others that I've seen. He has gotten so busy lately that he is no longer doing special orders, but he still offers a wide selection.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Just get a cheap $10 red oak bokken at a MA supply store or a flea market.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Forget it. Those things are dangerous. I've seen too many with warped or unsuitable wood. They snap like toothpicks. It's best to invest in something that will last you a long time.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Good site Simon. Another good Australian bokken I would recommend is made by Autarky.

The timber is spotted gum, which has quite a different feel to oak as the timber is more dense. Spotted gum is about another third as resilient as purple heart (in terms of withstanding denting and wear).

Spotted gum is very dense, and is a robust and heavy timber with very good flexibility and impact resistance. It also looks spiffy with a bit of elbow grease (and some wax and oil).

I have a range of bokken, white oak, red oak, and the spotted gum (no cherry or heartwood - yet!). The variety of timber, and the overall look, feel and performance of each is wildly different.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Hah, I just got the girlfriend to purchase a nice one for Valenteins! You know what they say about great minds.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I have no idea what you're talking about. The one I got, cost $8.49, $9.00 total for the Tsuba with it. It's a decently heavy bokken, no warps, and is made out of nice Red Oak. This thing, I very much doubt, would snap like a toothpick. You can also get them from places like Century martial arts.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Ah yes... the good ol' stinking wattle :p

Should be a very nice bokken though.... many of the Australian hard woods have excellent flexibility, resilience and durability...

I believe gidgee and spotted gum have almost identical densities...

Gidgee is more often used for craft type work, so it should present a much nicer looking bokken ;)

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

During the first three weeks that I was using my Kingfisher hickory bokken for contact work I broke three red oak bokken with it. I'm think I'm going to start putting notches in the handle for every bokken I break with it :D

Bronson

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Every red oak bokken that has come into our dojo for sword work has been broken with the exception of 1. And most of them were by me. We've only had 1 white oak bokken break. Which was also done by me. (i broke them with my own white oak bokken.) Every red oak bokken i've owned has brokken (three total) within the first four months of work. In one instance, the body snapped into a really sharp point and flew off nearly hitting someone.

Our sword classes do some pretty intense parry / blocking drills. I don't really know what kind of aikiken stuff you do. Maybe your red oak is just fine. But i usually end up getting couple hundred pretty hard impacts on mine per week. :uch:

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I don't study Aikido, I study Kali.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I have had a good deal of cheaper flea market bokken that have broken or whatnot in the past but recently I purchased a Japanese white oak Iwama Style bokken that I like a lot...go for a lot of stuff...you could always go Iron or Dymandwood though....:D

Bryce

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Buy a bokken made out of polycarbonate (if they make them) or hickory then, if you're afraid of it breaking. We barely ever block...

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

I have one of the polycarbonate bokken, the balance isn't right, but you aren't going to break it, I've tried.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

For what it's worth- the exotic woods like purpleheart, ironwood or ebony look real nice and can be pricy.
Keep in mind tho, that each one of those trees come from the rainforst/ south and central american jungles which are disappearing at too fast a pace.
The austrailian ironwood types( gidgee?widgee?) are most likely nice, but i suspect also on the verge of endangerment-
Lignum Vitae(ironwood) is on the endangered species list.
We have here in the us some stuff called osage orange which is tough and has a reall nice color to it.
if you can find osage orange in 6/4 or 5/4 stock in 48 inch lengths, you're in business.
Seidokai has directions how to build your own bukato- good luck!
Bruce

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

For all around general use I prefer a red oak bokken. With minimal upkeep they hold up well. This is assuming there is a lot of bokken on bokken practice. Otherwise a purpleheart bokken is fine. It is a very nice wood. It is a heavier wood and considerably more expensive. Its expense keeps most from using it for contact use but it does hold up well either way. For a very nice looking bokken for use in contact practice or kata try blood wood. Very durable and not to badly priced. The key is to shop around.

Re: Purchasing a Bokken.
 

Red and White Oak bokken seem to be fairly inexpensive but quite durable. Try to get a heavier make so that your training can be more intense and so that you can better use the lighter swords.