bokken question

Hi. I'm a total neophyte, and don't wish to misrepresent myself: I have minimal martial arts experience, and none within the past 10 years.

However, I love the Japanese blade. I far prefer my high carbon Japanese cooking knives to my German stainless, for instance. (watanabeblade.com, standard kitchen set, very reasonably priced and still wicked sharp after nearly a year of constant home use).

Anyway, I want to purchase a bokken or two for asthetic reasons. I love the shape of the blade, but can't afford to have an actual sword around my toddlers.

Are they all alike, or will some look and feel more 'real' than others? I couldn't find the information i want cruising past fightingarts columns...My inclination is to get one from karate depot. I also saw one with a wooden scabbard somewhere that looked neat.

Figured I'd ask you all before purchasing, thanks in advance for your patience with a newbie.

Mark Fisch

Hey hey!
I have minimal martial arts experience too, but I've bought a few bokkens in my time. From what I've seen, bokkens of the same brand can be made of different types of wood, which leads me to believe that some brands buy the cheapest stuff they can (pine, maple, etc.). Make sure the bokken you buy is made of a hardwood, such as red oak, and make sure it isn't too heavy for you. These are the only real guidelines I can offer, aside from NOT buying those black padded bokkens you find some places. My friend was merely swining at air and it broke in two. Anywho, good luck to ya!

You may want to consider purchasing a bokken from the following places:

http://swordstore.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/02/4wep-1bok.html

http://bugei.com/subcategory_31.htm

http://www.tozaiimports.com/subcategory_5.htm

Then see about finding a legitimate sensei/dojo to join to train you how to use one.

go for red or white oak, and make sure it's vertical grain.
v-grain mean's the grain flows in the same direction. it's vastly higher quality, and more expensive too.

but it's worth it.

Thank you all for the advice. Since they are to be ornamental, I took the cheap route: a 'hardwood' (looked like red oak to me, $10.95) and white oak $14.95) from the karate depot. I'll let you all know what I think.

Mark

There is nothing quite like making your own though... I have made 2 out of spotted gum (hardwood) that was left over from building our deck. They turned out quite beautifully.

All you need is some hardword timber, some carpentry files, sandpaper, and lots of elbow grease. It takes about 3-5 hours to make one, depending on the length.