This beauty arrived today, and I have spent some time with it since to put it through its paces. It is absolutely everything I hoped for, and then some!!! It is immediately worthy of respect. The relationship begins even while it is in the plastic bag in the box. You pull this bokken out in its plastic, and feel the sturdiness and weight, see the beauty, and know you have a worthy training weapon that will not let you down.
It also put me through my paces. Before you can wield this bokken, you must earn its respect. When you unbox this bokken, you are immediately faced with getting the tsuba and the retaining ring onto the blade, and three do not ever look like they are going to go on. BUT!!! A resourceful owner will figure out a way to get them to transform into 1 beautiful bokken with tsuba. The way I chose was to don leather gloves, and sprinkle a tiny bit of corn starch powder on the blade. First the tsuba, which went on without corn starch, but did benefit greatly from heavy gloves and the pressure nearest the blade. After it is in place, it will retain a very slight give, which could be done away with by using epoxy at the base, but I am unwilling to risk marring the beauty by dribbles of epoxy. The retaining ring required the corn starch, determination, and eventually tiny taps all around it with a hammer, taking care to use as little force as was necessary to get it to slide into place. Do not hit the blade, not that it will notice if you do. Patience is a virtue.
And now I have something much more beautiful than I was expecting. The "cordwork" on the handgrip is extremely well molded, in beautiful detail, and there is more texturing in the spaces between the cordwork. All in all, this gets a 10 for beauty, and in my opinion a 10 for everything else. Getting the tsuba (hand guard) and retaining ring on made this weapon my own.
The balance is what I had hoped for based on other reviews--the bokken is weighted toward the blade, which gives extra confidence when sparring and practicing. I have 2 very fine wooden bokkens, made by a craftsman and costing much much more than this, and this, but for the thinner tsuba, gives as good a workout, without the unwillingness to damage them in any way. I'm not sure they *can* be damaged in any way, but Cold Steel Bokken 92BKKC is a very, very strong training sword, giving the feel of something very genuine. I will train with this for a very long time, and will update this review if I notice any weaknesses in it. ((And, yes, I gave this a beautiful, worthy name.))
I feel that my hands are not sufficiently calloused to use this bokken long without developing hot spots or even blisters, so I plan to wear leather gloves when working with this. Just ordinary leather gloves will do--no need for fancy, padded ones, although fencing gloves are a good alternative. I chose ordinary because they were not so glaringly white. I have 1 fencing glove, which does not lend itself to training with both hands. I think I will purchase another of this bokken, so I can work with one in each hand.
| Brand | Cold Steel |
|---|---|
| Blade Length | 30 Inches |
| Handle Material | Polypropylene,Steel |
| Blade Material | polypropylene |
| Style | Bokken |
| Item Weight | 0.6 Kilograms |
| Product Dimensions | 42"L x 3"W |
| Hand Orientation | Ambidextrous |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00705442013341 |
| Manufacturer | Cold Steel |
| UPC | 705442013341 |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 47 x 3.4 x 1.2 inches |
| Package Weight | 0.66 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 42 x 3 x 1 inches |
| Brand Name | Cold Steel |
| Warranty Description | Knives & Blades: We stand behind our products 100%. We subject them to the highest standards in the industry and strive to make each as perfect as possible. We warrant that this product is free of defects in workmanship and materials. This warranty does not cover normal wear and tear, resharpening, damage caused by misuse, lack of normal maintenance, or disassembly. Remember, anything can break or fail if subject to sufficient abuse. So please do not use this product inappropriately. No knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver or prybar. Non Blades: We stand behind our products 100%. We subject them to the highest standards in the industry and strive to make each as perfect as possible. We warrant that this product is free of defects in workmanship and materials. This warranty does not cover normal wear and tear, damage caused by misuse, lack of normal maintenance, or disassembly. Remember, anything can break or fail if subject to sufficient abuse. So please do not use this product inappropriately. |
| Model Name | Bokken |
| Color | Bokken |
| Material | Other |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Part Number | 92BKKC |
| Model Year | 2015 |
| Size | One Size |
| Sport Type | outdoors |
