Since the majority of the material we use is wood it only stands to reason that you should know something about how we select proper woods for training tools.
In selecting a species for making a practice tool there are several considerations that must be met satisfactorily. We need to look at strength, flexibility, crush resistance, and aesthetics, meaning grain and other decorative techniques we use. We examine moisture content as well because this has something to do with all three of the factors previously mentioned and the weight of the material..
Aesthetic value is over shadowed by the practicality of the tool itself. In other words, if the tool is basic and gets the job done then it is a good tool to use. We prefer keeping things simple. However many people want training tools that look good too. So we put a little more work into them and embellish them with a few things such as a tsuba, cord wrapping, etc. And a fine finish. We do not use lacquer or varnish for finishing. However when you receive a Budo Weapons training tool you will find that no finishing is needed. This also helps to realize the reality in training and how these different things affect it as well. But this is not the most important thing to me in creating a fine training tool. It is merely icing on the cake, so to speak.
When we select a species of wood we look particularly at three things to start with. Strength, how strong is this species? How are it's fibers constructed? Is it typically and open grain or is it a tight grain?
With the way trees are grown today a lot of strength is lost in woods because they grown very fast. Thusly leaving quite a void in the tightness of grain. This does not correlate into strength. Because the fibers of the tree are encouraged to grow quickly this can result in certain species of woods to have what we call an open grain. A tight grain is a necessity in the strength of a piece of wood. It is this structure that can dictate just how dense the fibers are in any given piece. Therefore when we hand select each piece we look for a species that is known to have a tight grain to begin with, it must be a straight grain, and we look at it to be sure that the piece we are selecting has been cut from as close to the heart of the tree as possible. The heartwood of a tree, we find, is the strongest and has the tightest grain. Strength is a combination of the "absolute" strength of your wood and the "relative" strength of your weapon compared to your partner's.
Next consider flexibility. A long training tool such as a 6 foot Bo staff or a Bokken must have some give to it. What can happen if there is no flexibility is that upon heavy shock contact the weapon can shatter. This is not a good thing. A shattering weapon can hurt you, it can hurt your training partner, and others training near you by sending pieces, splinters or slivers hurtling through the air.
Next look at crush resistance. How well will the wood withstand a blow from another weapon? Will it dent deeply? This is also an important factor because crush resistance means that the weapons wood fibers will not allow deep penetration by another object into it's core by breaking it's fibers. If this happens the weapon will break or crack. The following chart demonstrates some of these figures:
With all these factors in mind we have settled on three species of woods that we use exclusively in the making of the training tools that we offer. White Oak, Purpleheart, and Brazilian Ipe. Please keep in mind that Japanese Kashi (white oak) is very difficult to get in the USA so we have found it necessary to use North American White Oak, hence the reason for the stringent methods we use to select the pieces we use. Purple heart used to be a unique exotic wood but not so much anymore. It's pretty easy to come by. We use it because it offers somewhat better flexibility and strength than oak or hickory and mainly because we have been asked for it. Ipe is a Brazilian hardwood, sometimes called Brazilian ironwood, that has been imported to the USA for the replacement of pressure treated pine decking. It is an extremely dense wood. So much so that it will not float when you put it in water. We wouldn't make a boat out of it but it sure does make a good stick!! It is rich brown in color that machines out to a beautiful satiny finish.
We will make tools from other woods of your choice if they are available at reasonable cost. These are by request ONLY and do carry a small upcharge for customization.
We have settled on these three because they exhibit the qualities that we wish to see in the tools that we make. These three are for my 'ready made' tools for sale. If you have a custom item you would like and don't see it here please email me info@budoweapons.com.
We hope you found this page informative and that it gave you some insight on just how concerned we are with the quality that goes into every piece we sell.
