Customer Rating:      Summary: Great purchase! Comment: It was a worthy purchase on these two bokkens. The price was great and it sure beats using a makeshift stick. There was a free gift included as well--- something that remained in the martial arts vain.
Thanks!
Customer Rating:      Summary: a pokin' with the bokken! Comment: I am 12 years old, and I like the two bokkens I got for my birthday. They are nice and solid and are good to practice with before you get a real sword. I reccomend that you get this product if you want a good practice sword.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Nicely Done Comment: The moment i saw the box for these in my portch i was extatic, and when i got them out they were more than i expected. they fit comfortably in your hands and are the weight is as good as could be asked.
They accuelly come with one painted and one natrual stained, they are American Oak (witch is easily told by the natural one)
As for use, i havnt had a chance to try them with a partner yet, but they seem solidly built and tight grained, they should be able to handle coming into contact with eachother easily.
one downside is that the package comes with ALOT of packing peanuts, but otherwise no complaints
Customer Rating:      Summary: Perfect for me Comment: I just got these swords today, and already I love them. They feel even weighted compared to my steel katanas, and from what I see they seem sturdy enough to last a long time. Only complaint was putting the rubber slip to the plastic tsuba took longer then I wanted. Also, the shipping was faster than estimated, which is a big plus.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Not Suitable For Tachiuchi (partner practice) Comment: This bokken feels heavier than my Japanese white oak bokken. It simulates the weight of a live blade katana made for tameshigiri (test cutting) more accurately. The sticker on the wrapping says it's "red oak" but I'm not sure if it's American red oak, Japanese red oak, or other. The description on here says it's just a generic hardwood. It's beautiful because it's highly figured but it's not suitable for all swordsmanship practice. It would be a nice display piece without the tsuba (hand guard). The tsuba is ugly and mine is bent so it's rippled around the edge.
I'd recommend it for solo cutting/kata practice but not for partner practice where it would have contact with another bokken, due to the grain of the wood not following the curve of the "blade" and/or knots (both of which create weak spots). For partner practice, I'd recommend a Japanese red oak (aka kashi) bokken at the very least or a Japanese white oak (shiro kashi) bokken which is more durable than Japanese red oak but is more expensive.
Even though bokken are safer than live blades, if they are swung with enough force they can break bones or cause internal bleeding (hence the warning in the description), so be careful. Think of them as skinny baseball bats and treat them as if they were live blades.
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