The new white oak bokken I got only a month ago has developed small splits down the shaft and on the handgrip area. :cry: I've hardly used it in active sparring and then only against some lancewood sticks in a bit of swordplay a couple of weeks ago. Is this normal to experience this with white oak or is it because it hasn't been dried and seasoned properly? It's not varnished, it just seems to have a light coat of paint or something looking like undercoat on it. I was thinking of rubbing it back to bare wood, letting it sit for a week or 5 and dry out a bit then varnishing it with polyurathane. My head instructor is going to have a talk with the supplier about getting it replaced, in the meantime I have a red oak varnished one on order.
thats not cool. ive heard such nice things about white oak. It alomst brings a tear to my eye at eh thought of a weapon dying.
I have heard that when you get a bokken you should sand any coating off and either oil it frequently, or store it in oil when not in use to keep the wood more supple. I'm not sure if this is the problem, but just a thought Who was your supplier?
More expen$e...... <sigh> Well bad luck must run in the family! Last nite during weapons practice, my son managed to break his chucks. :cry: He dropped them while doing a leap and fancy flip & swirl thing he was working on and one of the pieces shattered in half and flew about the dojo nearly hitting myself while I was teaching a bunch of kids. They were only the cheap cord and wood variety but still its a bit rough having to go and replace another weapon at short notice. I will get him a pair of speedchucks instead, they're much nicer to work with anyway. I've never seen them break apart like this though, it was as if they'd been snapped neatly in two just below the cords.
