Paul
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Post by Paul on Jan 17, 2015 3:40:28 GMT
Hi all ive been toying with the idea of purchasing some pretty high end wooden weapons, in particular an Enhanced Jo & Bokken from Kingfisher Woodworks www.kingfisherwoodworks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=kf&Category_Code=Enh
As far as wooden weapons goes these are on the higher end of cost and its going to be some time before Ill be allowed to buy them but in anycase I thought id start the decision process.
Just wondering if anyone here has had any experience with them or knowledge of them and can share there thoughts? I've got a number of questions I'm working through;
- Is the Enhanced wood all its supposed to be or is it a bit of a gimmick?
- Jo, I'm pretty set on the 1" diameter and the 58" length, being 6'3.5" this seems to sit perfectly to my armpit (no shoes on) which is the suggested length www.kingfisherwoodworks.com/#joinformation
- The Bokken however I'm a bit conflicted with. There are 3 I'm interested in (I've found out that all the bokkens are available in the enhanced wood); www.kingfisherwoodworks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=kf&Category_Code=catbokken
- Aikiken Large (this is the closest one to what was used in the move The Last Samurai) - Aikiken Medium (The Aiki Medium & Shinto are essentially the same with the only difference being the tip) - Shinto
My intention for these is for Display, Practice and I guess potentially home defence.
Thoughts & comments are welcome and appreciated
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Jan 17, 2015 3:50:02 GMT
I've bought a few things from Kingfisher before made from white oak. While they are kind of expensive, I think they're definitely worth the $. I can attest that they're very well made, and have nothing but good things to say about them - they've held up very well in the few years I've had them. As for the "enhanced" line, I've never owned one, so can't offer any kind of advice on them. Maybe someone else has some experience with them. Anyway, the white oak stuff they offer is awesome.
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Jan 17, 2015 3:59:08 GMT
I've bought a few things from Kingfisher before made from white oak. While they are kind of expensive, I think they're definitely worth the $. I can attest that they're very well made, and have nothing but good things to say about them - they've held up very well in the few years I've had them. As for the "enhanced" line, I've never owned one, so can't offer any kind of advice on them. Maybe someone else has some experience with them. Anyway, the white oak stuff they offer is awesome.
Thanks, yes I get the impression from their site the they take a lot of pride in their work and quality is a top priority.
I could be wrong but I think now that they only use hickory, haw many years ago did you get yours?
Cheers
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Jan 17, 2015 13:23:50 GMT
I got my Yagyu bokken, Iwama bokken, and jo from them back in 2009 for my birthday I think... still look and feel great after using them since then in my JSA/JMA classes.
Edit: I was looking through their site and noticed, like you said, they only make their wooden weapons out of Apalachian hickory now... I guess I'll have to search for my receipt from them, seeing as I thought I bought a white oak set... the two bokken and jo all have the same wood color (creamy white) and density of the wood is very dense, but they don't look like what they're offering now.
2nd Edit: After searching through my email accounts, I did not find any reference to bokken, Kingfisher, or anything similar other than saying "thank you" to my wife in Dec 2008 for agreeing that the bokken was great.
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Jan 17, 2015 19:05:09 GMT
I know I'm probably coming off as ignorant, but while their stuff does look pretty fancy (if a bit odd to a non JSA practitioner,) I guess it's just hard for me to justify spending $365 on a stick. I'm sure it's good quality and stuff, but... Geez. I've made my own training weapons out of red oak (a little hard, but held up fine) for the martial arts class I was in and it just cost the price of the wood and about 1.5-2 hours per "weapon." The only issue I ever had with them was when the grain of one of the weapons (an o-wak length bokken) didn't quite follow the shape of the "blade" and it broke. I was ok with it because it was a scrap piece I had left over from making a few other things and I knew it was a little off.
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Jan 17, 2015 19:36:06 GMT
You're not coming off as ignorant, just "thrifty" and "self sufficient" I've used different "brands" over the years for varying amounts, starting at your avg. $10 bokken all the way up to what Kingfisher sell theirs for... as with Iaito/shinken, or their Euro counterparts, sometimes $ does matter, especially if you don't have woodworking tools at your disposal The low cost variety tends to have very fibrous wood and are rather light, not as dense or as heavy as the more expensive stuff, and usually lasts an avg student maybe a year before it'll start splintering/breaking with kumitachi... it's similar to compare say a $5 Chinese knife to a mid-tech $500+ knife like a Hinderer/Strider/Will Moon, or compare an $80 eBay katana to a Bugei katana - huge difference in handling, etc.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Jan 17, 2015 20:41:39 GMT
I had a wakizashi bokken from KC that was beautiful and made of a very strong wood. Their katana sized bokken are on sale for $60 right now. I removed a handle made from the same wood from one of their pinuti swords and it was like trying to break apart stone or metal, very tough. The weight on the wak felt substantial but well balanced. KC Bokken (the link will bring you to the site and the Bokken is under training weapons) -Josh Shipping weight is not actual weight
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Jan 17, 2015 21:42:59 GMT
Sei Do Kai also offers really decent stuff... you have to contact them though for a price quote. The last time I bought from them, it wasn't as expensive as Kingfisher.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2015 14:47:01 GMT
I know I'm probably coming off as ignorant, but while their stuff does look pretty fancy (if a bit odd to a non JSA practitioner,) I guess it's just hard for me to justify spending $365 on a stick. I'm sure it's good quality and stuff, but... Geez. I've made my own training weapons out of red oak (a little hard, but held up fine) for the martial arts class I was in and it just cost the price of the wood and about 1.5-2 hours per "weapon." The only issue I ever had with them was when the grain of one of the weapons (an o-wak length bokken) didn't quite follow the shape of the "blade" and it broke. I was ok with it because it was a scrap piece I had left over from making a few other things and I knew it was a little off. I don't see that as ignorant at all, and pretty much agree with you on this. It is a nice bokken, quite a nice one, but it's a bokken. Use it a couple of times with others and sand out the dings and splinters, and aside from the insription on the 'kashira' end you wouldn't be able to tell who made it. You probably wouldn't have that problem doing solo work, but there's really no need for 'enhancement' at that point unless you wanted to smash up a pell or something. If you really want something nice and are willing to pay for it, go for it. SDK supplies bokken are fine, and Mr. Taylor is a cool dude. If I don't find anything I like on my upcoming trip, he'll be the one I write to for the next bokken.
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Post by jc225 on Apr 26, 2019 12:53:53 GMT
Hey Paul,
I was wondering if you finally purchased your Kingfisher wooden weapons? I know this is an older post but I thought I would jump in and give my two cents on the topic. I currently own the Enhanced Kenjutsu bokken and Aikido jo and they are incredible. The Kenjutsu bokken is 43" long with a 13" tsuka and the jo is 54" long with a 1" diameter. You had asked if the enhancement process was a gimmick and I wanted to let you know that is not. I practice Aikido but selected the Kenjutsu bokken for my practice because of the sweep and curve of the weapon and the beautiful katana image after it is created by Mr. Goedkoop and the Kingfisher staff. I did initially have some concern about the Kenjutsu bokkens ability to withstand often paired practice because of the same reason I selected it. The sweeping beauty and curve of the weapon and the natural taper made me a little nervous because I certainly didn't want to damage it or worse yet break it. Now we certainly don't mindlessly smash the weapons together However unintentional harder blow's and aggressive practice of course does happen but Brad quickly eased my mind when placing my order. He explained the enhancement process of course does not make the weapons indestructible (of course there is no such thing no matter what the weapon is made of) but it would certainly give it a strength and damage resistance that would far outlast those that did not receive the enhancement process. Brad explained that because of the density of the weapon after enhancement normal practice would result in no denting, it's weight would be increased 20%-30% and it would in fact sink in water. So as you can see and certainly feel, the enhancement process does change the weapon. Believe me, I know that it's an investment but I certainly would do it all over again and I think once you have experienced these incredible pieces of art, you will never look back and wonder if you made the right decision. Like yourself, it took quite a long time for me to gather the funds to purchase these but again, it was worth every penny and all the time waiting for them.
Hope this helps and good luck.
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