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tatsujin
10th January 2001, 11:27
Hi and thanks for reading this.

I'm thinking of buying a new bokken and bo staff. I've had a bo staff, made of japanese red oak. However during one on one kata training, it snapped in two. I'm thinking of buying a new set in white oak, how's the quality of that wood?

Thanks in advance

Joseph Svinth
10th January 2001, 12:06
For a discussion of wood, try Kim Taylor's article at http://ejmas.com/tin/tinart_taylor_1100.htm

ghp
19th January 2001, 05:54
Fredrik,

To answer simply: White oak good; red oak bad.

Red oak is very porous. I've seen experiments where a slice of red oak is placed in water and a person blows through it as though a straw. The results were similar: air bubbles eminated from the end beneath the water.

Same experiment with a similiar size and cut of white oak: no air bubbles.

White oak good; red oak bad.

I've broken about 3 red oak bokuto --- but I've never seen a broken white oak bokuto in 30 years of training (not saying it *cannot* happen, mind you).

Regards,
Guy

James Lynn
23rd January 2001, 00:46
Originally posted by tatsujin
Hi and thanks for reading this.

I'm thinking of buying a new bokken and bo staff. I've had a bo staff, made of japanese red oak. However during one on one kata training, it snapped in two. I'm thinking of buying a new set in white oak, how's the quality of that wood?

Thanks in advance
White, Red and Pin Oak have poor crush resistance due to porous grain and not suitable for high impact practice. You will do better with hickory or an exotic hardwood.

Soulend
23rd January 2001, 02:41
Hickory, persimmon, ironwood, and walnut are extremely good. However, white oak seems to work just fine, and if it ever does break, it is inexpensive to replace.

tatsujin
23rd January 2001, 09:46
:smilejapa Thank you all for your very good advice. I'm gonna go with the white oak, it seems strong and affordable.

Train hard!
Fredrik Boström :nin:

HanashiBugeisha
26th January 2001, 02:22
When I first started training I had a very inexpensive red oak bokuto. That piece did not last long at all against a Japanese white oak bokuto.

I agree with Guy. The white oak (particularly Japanese white oak) seems to hold up very, very well. I also have a bokuto made of impact grade hickory. While this one does seem to dent a bit more than my white oak, from what I understand the grain structure of this wood is sort of interleaved...almost insuring it will be difficult to break.

As for exotic hardwoods....use caution. Many are great for solo practice...but do the brittle nature of many exotic hardwoods, I would advise caution. Some actually seem to shatter when impacting another bokuto or even when dropped on a hard surface.