Weapon Care Adivce (Wooden)
Hi, All
Just passing on some tips to make your wooden weapons last longer and take a bit more of a beating. These are tips that multiple sensi’s have recommended and a few bits i’ve picked up myself.
- You get what you pay for
A few times in classes i’ve seen people buy cheap Hanbo’s, and Jo’s of the interent. Then when it comes to using them to do kata forms where there is contact they snap in half. Really a weapon such as a jo should not cost under £15.
2. Sand down the outer coat
Alot of wooden weapons come covered in a cheap varnish yet they have an uneven surface that makes it easy to get splinters. Sand the weapon down till its smooth and get the cheap varnish layer off for the next step. One sensi adviced me to use coarse paper first then fine paper after.
3. After sanding coat the weapon in Teak Oil
Teak Oil is avalible at any DIY shop as it is usually used to condition furniture. However it does a good job of toughing up weapons too. After sanding down the weapon apply teak oil to a cloth and rub it into the wood till its covered and soaked in nicely. Then leave to dry, some adive hear is to cut triangles out of loo rolls and place the weapon on that so as to not stain anything.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3
After the teak oil has dried, sand off the outer coat again and re-apply the oil. This way it soaks better into the wood again rather than just coating the outside more. The advice I have been given is to do a minimum of 3 coats and a maximum of 7 in one sitting.
5. Buy a weapons case
They come in all shapes and sizes and varry in prices, ideally get one with some sort of padding inside. The reason for buying a weapons case is it protects the weapon from getting any uncessary damage when taking them to and from your case. The odd bump and scrape can shorten the weapons life uncessarly and a bag or case last for a long time.
6. Red vs White Oak
Often people ask whats the difference between a red oak and a white oak weapon. Often its the price (white oak being pricey) but in my experience its usually the red oak weapons that break first. So aswell as looking nicer I would go for a white oak weapon on the grounds that they seem stronger.
Hope this helps people out in some way,
James
Jiu Jitsu / SUMA
My first store-bought boken was red oak. Really, it was a thing of beauty and I used it proudly for a couple of years before I had to shelve it (moved to another country and it was a bit too big to take). When I finally dug the thing out of storage some years later it was horribly warped. I couldn’t throw it away so I kept the thing in my pile of random stuff that I hope to use someday. When my son was finally old enough to need a boken, I sawed the it off below the warp then sanded and stained the left-overs. In the end I had a short sword perfect for a kid or an adult’s waki-zashi. Also, I was able to take the tip and form it into a very nice tanto.
You’re right about white oak being the stronger but I had no expectations that my son would be doing serious kumitachi when he was six so the slightly less impact resistant wood was fine. Both pieces were lovely and I can still claim to have part of my first boken twenty years later. Even though it has evolved a bit!
e.
Hi,
Its true that well made red oak equipment can last ages, We find in Jiu Jitsu that the bo’s are made far better than the the hanbo’s so have got into the habit of buying a bo and cutting it in half to make hanbo’s. Recycling old weapons could make an interesting post.
James