Shureido Red Oak?

[karatekaBR86]

Hello... From my expirience in some kendo, and bo-jutsu, white oak has always out-preformed re doak in contact sparring...Now, I payed 95 dollars for a purple-heart bo, and (supposedly it is way stronger than evergreen oak like red, white) but when browsing a shureido site, I noticed they charge the same amount for a red oak bo!...Is there something really good about their red oak?

 

ps- I know the dif between jap red oak, and processed red oak...But still...Why so expensive?

[CloudDragon]

IMHO, it's like buying the Mercedes of equipment, sure a Chevette will get you there, but it just isn't the same...

 

As far as exotic wood for contact training, I would rather break a $20 staff over a $100 staff any day, regardless of how long I had it.

[harleyt26]

I have found that the asian red oak is a much stronger red oak than the species available in the U.S..I am not sure about other redoaks from other countries.I have several bos but my favorites after my shureido are my hickory then my purple heart.Hickory has a very smooth almost waxy feel,purple heart feels very similar to the shureido red oak.I have broke several $20 bos also and have found the better bo a good investment,but I am in kobudo to stay.If I was not sure about my comittment to the art it may not have been the better choice,but once you have become used to the better quality weapons you will find that the lesser ones are just not acceptable.A good quality bo has a very different finish than the $20 type.A good bo will have been turned down on a lathe one small layer at a time allowing for warpage between cuts,once turned and sanded then steel wooled to the proper size and texture then a oil finish is applyed to protect the wood and prevent drying the wood out the finsh needs to be reapplyed occasionaly to prevent the wood from drying.The cheaper bo are generally just given a varnish or polyurethane coat that seals the wood and prevents moisture from getting in allowing the wood to dry,rot,warp and eventualy break. Tom Hodges

[CloudDragon]

Totally agree with you about the finishes of cheaper bo. I stripped mine down as soon as I got it and did the steel wool, sanding and tung oil, and with regular cleaning and rare sanding I have found that the finish is similar to the waxy finish that you speak of. I personally don't do alot of contact sparring (one or two classes a month) and I find that a $20 dollar bo will last about 2 or 3 years on average with my current one being the exception at 5 years.

[Sauzin]

Well, here's my experience.

 

Shureido red oak is very high quality. The grain is tighter and denser then what you will see with the $20 variety bo (usually these are from century). Though the red oak you get from Shureido is good, it's still red oak. This means that with age it will get brittle. Proper oiling helps but old Shureido weapons chip very easily. But in my experience it is on par with Japanese white oak in terms of impact resistance. Purpleheart is the superior wood. In my experience it has a very different feel from red oak. It’s hard to explain exactly but the tighter almost invisible grain of purple heart makes it feel very solid, quick, and silvery. Red oak isn't quite as lively but breaths well and feels very natural in your hands.

 

In my opinion, when you buy a Shureido weapon you are paying for unparalleled balance, workmanship, and quality control. The wood is good, but the craft used in making the weapons are the best bar none. Shureido is what is known as reference quality. They are what everyone else uses to define what a weapon should be.