What is important when buying a Bokken?

[Taku-Shimazu]

Konnichiwa,

 

What is important about buying a Bokken?

 

Is the blade the most important component?

 

The Blade? Handle? Tsube? Case?

[Yabyahoo]

I think you have to know for sure that it's good quality wood and stuff...

[Taku-Shimazu]

What type of wood is best?

 

Japanese Mahogany?

 

And also, How long do they last before they are broken from use, 1 year?

[cathal]

I think when buying a bokken you have to make sure it is made of hardwood, has the same length as a katana, and is properly weighted. If the weight is off you'll find yourself trying to adapt to the real weight of the sword, which can throw off some of your muscle memory.

[Davison]

I've had my bokken for 12 yrs now and I practice with regularlly and I have never had a problem with it as far as it breaking on me. You would have to hit something pretty hard in order to break one of those and I would have to say that if your hitting another bokken that hard, you should probably tone it down a little, there is no reason to practice against someone that hard .

[Taku-Shimazu]

I say this because I have had a Bokken for about 9 years and it is in bad shape, but I got it when I was quite young so I didn't really look at stats much, just the looks but now I am older and wiser I want your opinion on this one;

 

Red oak bokken for adults. Total length 40 inches. Comes with a vinyl case.

 

It has a hand guard, this is tsube? (A sword is not my first weapon).

[cathal]

Yes, that is the handguard. On the katana, directly above it is the Seppa, and directly below the tsuba is the Fuchigane.

[Grenadier]

I stole this link from this forum's archives:

 

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/bokuto.htm

 

Quite informative.

 

Also, for wood selection:

 

http://www.crane-mountain.com/page6.html

 

If anything, you should send Crane Mountain an e-mail, asking about your needs, and wants. Pam's great to deal with, and knows her stuff.

[Grenadier]

Red oak bokken for adults. Total length 40 inches. Comes with a vinyl case.

 

Red oak is a bit too generic of a term here. There are so many species of red oak, that vary greatly in terms of grain tightness, strength, etc.

 

Some red oak is pretty darn good, such as the stuff that Shureido uses in some of their red oak weapons. A lot of red oak isn't too good at all, especially the generic stuff that you see in discount catalogs.

[Taku-Shimazu]

Thank you for feedback, My Bokken has arrived and it isa little different than what I expected (For the better).

I will train with it long and hard to fully understand it though, I have to get used to its weighting.