Where to buy a good and affordable bokken?

Bokuto can be tricky to buy online since you don't get to inspect the grain and choose the exact one you get.
In the past my dojo has ordered the standard Japanese white oak ones from SDK and now orders the standard white ones from e-bogu. We switched from SDK to e-bogu for the lower price.
Comparatively, the SDK are a little bit slimmer with slightly more crisp lines defining the mune and shinogi.
Ours see frequent light to medium contact in MJER kumitachi, occasional medium contact in MSR jo, and medium to heavy contact in OHIR kenjutsu. They tend to reliably last anywhere from 18-24 months under these conditions. Sometimes longer.
We inspect them all on arrival and have only ever sent one e-bogu back from not having the right grain pattern. None of them have had an obvious defect like you described.
Honestly, if you use it under qualified instruction and it was rotten inside I'd say that definitely constitutes a defect and would be very surprised if they weren't willing to replace it.

P.S.: It was from e-bogu right? How long ago did you purchase it? I just took a look their site and it looks like they're selling the regular white oak bokuto for $20. I remember them costing more so now I'm wondering if they've switched to an even cheaper (and possibly lower quality) model.

A fellow student has an ironwood bukuto that I think she bought here,its kinda thin,but very nice and tough.
www.imperialcoinc.com/Shared/Ip-302.html

To add aljttle to.what stickem.says.
There are several types of hickory and some arent really suitable for these applications.The species used by Kingfisher(according to their site) are specially chosen for MA contact weapons.It should actually be above tool handle grade,since its a different application.
Pretty much the same with "ironwoods".More than one species,so some will be better than others.

I dont do much at all to mine,I will occasionally wipe it with a little lynseed oil.

I bought mine from tozando
Their bokkenshop site

It has a really nice feel to it and feels more natural.
Also they got the grain on mine right~
I actually sleep beside it because that's how comfortable it is (Or it's just my paranoia)
I also used to bring it to my classes after i was robbed on knife-point

Other than that I broke two kamagong bokkens~ and this bokken simply won't relent to the uhh
Mishaps against the ceiling and floor (Although that can also be attributed to me hitting them less over time)

Depends on the type of wood really.But basically you want tight and fairly straight grain with no knots and no irregularities.

Ideally the grain will run with the length of the item as well.

Below is my review for the bokkens I bought at Ninecircles USA. I think they will be my only vendor for any wooden weapons. I bought 2 bokkens, a jo and a weapon bag with them. All very good quality and nicely priced.

The thing that sets this apart is that the vendor himself is a kenjutsu purist. He had been practicing in Japan for 16 years he told me, and the way he talked assured me that he was speaking the truth.

He did say that while they were japanese white oak, they were actually commercial white oak fast-grown, since the original white oak have been used for construction and far too expensive for weapons. I really admire such honesty.

"I practice Kenjutsu and have been looking for a good bokken for a while. I have come across all kinds of bokkens, many of which made me wonder why I'm still alive. They would splinter at light contact, have ugly curve or very bad balance. I almost gave up searching for a "standard" bokken and was about to spend 100$ on a custom made one.

I'm so lucky I found this site.

When I saw "white oak bokken" my cynicism immediately kicked in. At this price how can you expect a real japanese white oak bokken? And does this actually look as pretty as it is shown. Most importantly, would it survive half a swing.

So I contacted the vendor. He was very knowledgeable, courteous, and most importantly, honest with customers. The last one was the deal sealer for me, as it's hard these days to find a seller who actually cares about his customer. So I paid the $ and crossed my fingers.

This standard bokken was my 2nd purchase, after the Kukishinden one, which was identical saved that it had a longer handle.

It arrived in 2 days, wrapped and packaged carefully. I was really surprised at the quality. The curve was elegant, the balance was near-perfect with the Tsuba on, and the wood grain is very consistent. The wood has a very very smooth feel, and very solid. I was certain the moment I started doing some basic menuchi that this was a quality weapon. It handles very well, not feeling heavy or unwieldy at any part, and not wobbly like some shinai/polysteryl Cold Steel sword. I went through 2 hours of training with this and not feel any bad soreness at all.

Now the most important part: is it functional, or just for show/kata practice. I let my friend have my Kukishinden bokken, while I took this one. We went about sparring medium contact for an hour and a half. There were some points where we would smash the swords with lots of force to try some new applied katas. We came back with bruised fingers and sore arms, but the swords barely took any damage! There were small dents here and there, but that's to be expected.

Overall I was amazed and very happy with the purchase. I don't expect this to last a year, but it may well could. When it finally break I'll be more than happy to order several new ones.

The only thing I would like to know is if the swords have been oiled before being shipped though.