Hi Jerry,

I had an osage orange bokken. I liked the feel of it in my hand, has a very tight grain, very dense wood. I understand from the maker that it is very difficult to work with, so finishing it may be a bit of a task. It did not last as long as I would have liked, it got hit on an angle that compromised the grain and it developed a nice split down the length of the blade. Overall it is a lovely piece of wood to swing, but high impact practice may not be a great idea. As far as full impact practice, I'm sticking to white oak and hickery.