Making Own Bokken?

[IsahoNaginata]

Hello. How would one go about making a bokken? What are the tools necessary? I admit that I am more interested in making my own kihon yo for naginata practice but I figure the techniques would ultimately be very much the same as far as craftsmanship goes.

[Yowai]

have extensive wooodworing ????skill,,, or else give upu then

i dont even suggest it just buy one
be a nice girl



just buy one

[IsahoNaginata]

Be a nice girl? Okay that wasn't profoundly condescending or anything.

And I do plan on buying one as soon as have the money to do so. But I would also like to have one that I made myself just to be able to pick it up every now and again, practice with it, and say "I made this" and be proud of that fact.

I am pretty decent at carving soft woods like oleander for small things so I guess I could make one without any real difficulty. It would not look good of course but it would approximate the right shape. Oh well.

But "be a nice girl" ? Seriously... was that really necessary?

[Migoto]

Hello,

You may want to check out a post just a couple of weeks ago that we talked about this.

I have made many bokken and have just recently thought about Naginata E-bu for the Naginata club here. The best place to start is the link to a website that was on the other post I mentioned.



As for tools I use a table saw, a belt sander, and a random orbital sander.



I would be more that happy to help in any way. Please start by looking up the old post.

[Migoto]

I want to add that I think making a Naginata E-Bu would be a more efficient use of wood (that is you would have less waste or more parts out of the same amount of wood).



I was thinking about using Purple Heart or Orange Osage. If you are interested I can discuss the reasons behind those ideas.

[ALI G]

have extensive wooodworing ????skill,,, or else give upu then

i dont even suggest it just buy one
be a nice girl
just buy one

Yowaiz haz extensivez woodworking skillz....hez a pro at polishingz hiz woodz.....

[Anicreo]

I tried making my own bokken for exactly the same reasons, the pride of using something you made. However, after completing it, the bokken was, um, less than perfect. It still is good for practicing moves, but I wouldn't really ever bring it into my dojo. Still, there's not really much of a reason not to make your own as long as you won't be hitting things. If you do plan to do that,it might be better to just easier to buy your own, rather than trying to find a piece of wood with the right grain pattern, choice of wood, etc.

[luckyb]

not to sound like a veteran in the forum or anything (I am a veteran in other forums, not this one) but there IS a search function you know:

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2071

(and if you search on google, guess what shows up)

[frederico]

yeah.. and.. be a nice girl.

[phil h]

Be a nice girl? Okay that wasn't profoundly condescending or anything.

And I do plan on buying one as soon as have the money to do so. But I would also like to have one that I made myself just to be able to pick it up every now and again, practice with it, and say "I made this" and be proud of that fact.

I am pretty decent at carving soft woods like oleander for small things so I guess I could make one without any real difficulty. It would not look good of course but it would approximate the right shape. Oh well.

But "be a nice girl" ? Seriously... was that really necessary?

The notion you speak of in wanting to make a bokken or any other training tool for the reasons of satisfaction (personal) that you give is one that should be commended as well as encouraged. My only advice woul be to use the best quality wood you can get hold of, check the dimensons , curve etc. of the bokken, take your time and above all else..........ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE

Phil

[Hai_hai]

The notion you speak of in wanting to make a bokken or any other training tool for the reasons of satisfaction (personal) that you give is one that should be commended as well as encouraged. My only advice woul be to use the best quality wood you can get hold of, check the dimensons , curve etc. of the bokken, take your time and above all else..........ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE

Phil

Asian World of Martial Arts makes a really quality ninja bokken... it's painted black for stealth practicing. Don't forget to purchase a matching ninja suit.

[Musha]

Hi IsahoNaginata,

I bought some Niten ichi ryu oak Bokken a wile ago and I read that you would have to sand then add some linseed oil. When trying to sand even thin Niten ichi bokken I could understand how hard that wood was.

If making a Naginata I would recommend you bought and copied a shop made one. But when you did get the wood I think it would take you a hell of a lot of time to make any thing from it....

Good luck and be sure to take a pic if you do .

[xvikingx]

Hi Emily,

Try and contact Kevin Saxton. He pratices with Nakano sensei in Gardena and Torrance. He has made many kihon-yo naginata and many bokken. He's a really nice guy and I am sure he wouldn't mind giving you some pointers. Also soft woods should be fine, Kevin used one he made from pine for years.

[Genji]

i recently made my own bokken and it sucked (but it was a first try) the balance was way off it you decide to make your own bokken make sure yo uhave time to make a few befor you make one that6 works well

[Old Warrior]

I just got my handmade bokken from wwwbobsbokkens.com. The workmanship is exquisite. While not cheap, as a work of art, alone, it was worth the money.