No, Billy, Sanke is right, the term was meant to be "bu". It's a measurement of length, one tenth of a sun, which is one tenth of a shaku (which is about a foot), leaving one bu as about 3mm as stated.
For a bo, I'll only use the best white oak from Japan - I take no chances. But for a hanbo, I've been using the same dowel rod from Walmart for the past 10 years. Sand it down a little bit, and get some sweat and oil into the wood, it'll take a beating.
You list your rank as this: first degree balt black shodan
First of all, what's a "balt"? Did you mean "belt"?
Why would a ninja use any rank at all, considering that at the time Kano developed the belt system, Ninja's were pretty much extinct, and historically never used it?
Who awarded you that rank?
Do you have a photo or scan of the actual certificate that shows you earned the rank?
Who taught you?
Did you learn from an actual person, in person?
Or, did you learn from video and books?
These are very simple questions, none of which should be a problem when they have over 20 years experience like you claim.