Martial crafts

[Prince_Alarming]

Heya, I thought I'd start a thread to talk about homemade training equipment. We've probably all done it, especially when we were kids and couldn't afford the real stuff. But I believe it can be an avenue of interest in martial arts that is rewarding and productive. In particular, I'd like to make myself a bokken so I can be sure I'm not flat siding the pell when I do my various lone-nutter sword stuff. Does anyone have any advice, or preferred dimensions? I'm thinking some sort of pine as it's readily available, and quite flexible. Does a bokken need to be flexible?

I've used various stuff over the years, for a long time my favourite was an A-frame my dad built when I was a kid, which comes in handy for bagwork and pullups. I recently gave it a thick coat of hammerite to stop it going rusty, probably in the nick of time. You have to jump a bit to do pullups on it, but at least that means you can be sure you have plenty of legroom. The other cool toy I have is a duffel bag that my grandad had when he was in the RAF.

 

[Flying Crane]

I’m not sure pine would be a good choice, I think it may splinter quickly and not last, but the splinters can be dangerous as well. I’ve made wooden training swords from hickory here in the States because it is tough and durable (often used for axe and maul handles), and when it breaks, the grain tends to hold together so dangerous splinters don’t go flying off. In the UK, isn’t ash a preferred wood?

 

[Prince_Alarming]

yyyyyy... eah, but the ash trees have all got ash dieback. It's a serious problem, and there's no strength in the wood once the fungus has had its way. Maybe something tougher like blackthorn?

 

[Flying Crane]

yyyyyy... eah, but the ash trees have all got ash dieback. It's a serious problem, and there's no strength in the wood once the fungus has had its way. Maybe something tougher like blackthorn?

Ah, that’s unfortunate. I’ve heard blackthorn is tough, don’t they make shillelaghs from it? I don’t really know anything about the properties of that wood, but it could be worth looking into.

I’ve added a layer of leather to the blades on mine, to extend the life when doing contact training. Just glued it on with heavy epoxy. It also adds some weight so the end result is closer to the weight of a real weapon. But eventually they will wear out if used enough with contact.

I can post pictures, you are welcome to use my designs if you like them. but I am traveling for the weekend so won’t get to it for a few days.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

oooh yes please, a design would be awesome. I have an old leather jacket I can cannibalise for the leather.

 

[Flying Crane]

oooh yes please, a design would be awesome. I have an old leather jacket I can cannibalise for the leather.

I’m not sure an old leather jacket would be the best source. I picked up heavier, shoe sole leather from a supplier. Thick stuff.

If you want to get really into a project, it’s my understanding that the Chinese used to make sword scabbards from wood, but then wrap it with strips of silk and apply 30-40 layers of lacquer. Apparently the end result is nearly hard as stone and the scabbard makes for a good bludgeon in the second hand. I’ve sometimes considered trying that with a wooden sword.

 

[Buka]

There were a couple of carpenters in my dojo. They used to make the greatest stretch racks for the gym I’ve ever seen.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Made a couple Escima sticks out if oak

 

[Flying Crane]

oooh yes please, a design would be awesome. I have an old leather jacket I can cannibalise for the leather.

I shaped it from a single strip of hickory, using a belt sander. The guard is a piece of thick leather with the center cut out to fit at the top of the grip, and epoxied into place. The finish is several applications of linseed oil followed by several applications of teak oil. Then the heavy leather strip is epoxied into place, using wood clamps. Very simple design.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

Cool! Seems eminently doable, thank you

 

[Flying Crane]

This is another one, before the leather was added to the blade. I had a slightly thinner leather so the guard was made my gluing two layers together. While these are meant to replicate a Chinese saber, very minor shape alterations could turn it into a double edged sword, or something that could represent either/both as desired.