i puchased one sword about a week ago, took a week to come with the 2.95 shipping, when it came, the package revealed that it weighed 3.0 lbs. so as another person suggested each sword may differ in weight or apperance. anyhow the sword feels like it is a good work out. and its very strong, ive tried making full strength blows into solid rock, and the sword looks fine. i also tried using the sword as a support, and sittin on it, and it didnt break. so i believe that its very durable. close inspection reveals that the finish had 1 or 2 small spots in it both are less than a centimeter, and arent easily noticed.



i gave a four star rating because its not the nicest bokken ive ever seen. certainly not as nice as a japanese oak cosmetically. and the tsuba looks fine, but again, not as nice as others ive seen. but the price is VERY reasonable, and any beginer would find this to be a GREAT deal.  Permalink

This was the cheapest yet best quality bokken I could find so I bought it, some people were saying something about this being light, it may very well be light but its an average weight for a shinken, about 1020 grams actually a lot of shinsakuto I've handled are lighter then this at around 900 grams or even 800, don't listen to the people talking about this being too light or talk about 3-4 pound swords, that's ridiculous maybe 3 pounds but 4 pounds is the limit, unless its ridiculously too big, noto would be made far more simplified if a sword weighed that much, there would be too much vibration and it would be impossible to keep the sword stable, meaning you would most likely take the saya out of your obi every time you resheath the sword, swordsmanship has very little to do with physical strength and far more to do with control and proper movement of the whole body.



Its nice for the price but I've seen far better bokuto and at a far higher price making this the better buy but maybe not the best quality.  Permalink

I originally purchased a White Oak Bokken (very good quality) so I decided to purchase 3 Red Oak Bokken. These bokken are tremendously priced and will make for good practice swords but would not hold up against a well made bokken because there are small defects in the selection and craftmanship of the swords. Two of them had the grain running diagonally through the blade and one had a small gouge where the handle typically is located. I can sand out and potentially fill the small gouge but the other factors can't be fixed. The weight of these swords seem very similar to a real Katana. Maybe a little (very little) bit heavier. If you are wondering if the quality of the red oak bokken is the same as the white oak bokken... it is not. I own a white oak bokken from Karate Depot and will continue to purchase white oak bokken from Karate Depot.  Permalink

Cheap, effective, and heavy. Good way to build some strength. The coating wears off pretty quick, but if you're worried about looks then get a more expensive bokken. Regardless, the blade is very symmetrical and well made for the price.  Permalink

I bought 2 of these with the thoughts we'd expand our class to include sword training as I had received my masters cert in swords recently. Well, everyone watching a couple of us doing some very basic sword training with these are amazed and excited at the opportunity that is coming soon in our martial arts class. (Tae Kwon Do, but we are including a lot of Kung Fu, Judo, Akido, and other mixed martial arts...) I'll be buying these in bulk soon as a gift to the class and to the students so that they can learn sword play in our dojang... (free)   Permalink

The bokken is sturdy and so far has taken plenty of hard hits with only superficial damage to the finish. Note, the one issue I had was the difficulty of putting the hand guard on. The hand guards are not cut to fit very well and required a significant amount of filing the inside hole before it could be forced on.

While that was annoying, it is something I can live with because I'd rather it be too tight than not tight enough.   Permalink

I was searching the web for some foam covered Nunchaku for training and came across Karate Depot. I wasn't specifcally looking for a Bokken but after seeing the prices, free shipping and quality of products here Karate Depot I decided to purchase a Bokken. My shipment was shipped quickly just received it today. I am very impressed with the Bokken I received very nice weapon and overly impressed with Karate Depot products and service. When I need martial arts equipment in the future this is the first place I am going to shop. Thanks Karate Depot you Rock!!  Permalink

I was searching the web for some foam covered Nunchaku for training and came across Karate Depot. I wasn't specifcally looking for a Bokken but after seeing the prices, free shipping and quality of products here Karate Depot I decided to purchase a Bokken. My shipment was shipped quickly just received it today. I am very impressed with the Bokken I received very nice weapon and overly impressed with Karate Depot products and service. When I need martial arts equipment in the future this is the first place I am going to shop. Thanks Karate Depot you Rock!!  Permalink

Honestly this is a very good bokken. The picture does it no justice, as it looks a lot cleaner and deeper in the color of the wood. Seems very durable and sturdy. I cannot stop looking at the thing either, it just looks so clean cut. I have to say shipping was quite a pain though since I had to wait about 3 weeks in my case BUT the product definitely does not disappoint.   Permalink

I got of the same Bokken and I'm quite impressed with it, overall the weight is nice and I have a good handle of it when I swing it. Perfect for praticing at home, if you want a Bokken for other things these ones may not be it.

there are only 3 things about my Bokken I did not like, 1: not from Japan, 2: the guard does not fit one of them (slides right down the blade and off the handle!) 3: the handle had a chunk of wood taken off the handle but was glued back on.  Permalink

This was a great buy, and really helped in my training. It's strong and durable, and the price is great too.  Permalink

I am a student in Aikido and Karate. This bokken is great for practicing techniques and drills. If you are looking for a strong bokken to do kendo or other things that require striking hard objects I would suggest investing in a white oak bokken.   Permalink

Ordered Monday and received Thursday. Good quality, excellent balance, quite useable at force. Going to put a post in the yard to save the bark on the trees.   Permalink

My bokken arrived 3 days early. When I first saw the package I remembered other comments and braced myself for something very unsightly. Some people claim white oaks are cosmetically better. When I saw my bokken, I was blown away! It was very cosmetically sound. I personally can't testify to the durability, but other people have "dealt full strength blows into solid rock and the sword still looks fine" Well deserving of a 5 star rating.  Permalink

it came in mint condition and holds up great and looks great i clashed it against my other bokken and it held up with no marks or indents same as when i hit it on a tree. there is one minor problem though that you should expect from all finished bokken the finish comes off just a little bit in some places, but it still looks good and works like a champ.   Permalink

I just received my bokken today and it blew me away. I am hoping to develop my sword handling skills with this bokken. I received it earlier then i had expected too. I also like the weight and feel of the sword. Karate Depot can expect me to buy more bokkens and other high quality items.  Permalink

I received my bokken in very short order and I was very pleased with the speed of delivery and of course the $2.95 shipping. My only negative input is that the swords did not come wrapped or padded inside the box beyond the thin plastic wrap over the swords themselves. There were a couple of minor cosmetic dings on the tips and blades I associated with shipping. Beyond that I am quite happy with these items they are solid, sturdy wood swords and more than functional for my use. I cannot attest to the durability of these as I am not using them for contact sparring but instead for Iado training in environments where a live blade would be dangerous. There are solid in construction and the wood grain is beautiful. The tsuba is a bit cheesey but that is to be expected. All in all a wonderful product. Very affordable and with all items I have purchased from Karate Depot of high quality and an excellent value. I recommend these to any and all who are looking for affordable training swords.  Permalink

I received my bokken in very short order and I was very pleased with the speed of delivery and of course the $2.95 shipping. My only negative input is that the swords did not come wrapped or padded inside the box beyond the thin plastic wrap over the swords themselves. There were a couple of minor cosmetic dings on the tips and blades I associated with shipping. Beyond that I am quite happy with these items they are solid, sturdy wood swords and more than functional for my use. I cannot attest to the durability of these as I am not using them for contact sparring but instead for Iado training in environments where a live blade would be dangerous. There are solid in construction and the wood grain is beautiful. The tsuba is a bit cheesey but that is to be expected. All in all a wonderful product. Very affordable and with all items I have purchased from Karate Depot of high quality and an excellent value. I recommend these to any and all who are looking for affordable training swords.  Permalink

wether wooden, or steel. A swords a sword, and this one is no exception. Its smooth, and the grain follows throughout the bokken, I imagine, like a finger print. when you own one of these bokken, which you may, the price is reasonable, plenty of good reviews, and you can trust that it will reach you; appreciate it. because you use it right, its a once in a lifetime experience. love your sword. its not a plaything, and it never was
-Awsome  Permalink

Matthew from Karate Depot was generous enough to send me a set of red oak and white oak bokken to do a compare and contrast between the two. That has been a topic of discussion amongst bokken users for probably forever. Typically what you see are red oak “economy” models, with the white oak models ranging from anywhere as low as $40 dollars and as much as $300, depending on who is selling it to you and how it is made. In the past, I considered red oak models as “beaters” to thrash until they shatter, and an inexpensive option for beginning students to use until they decided to pull the trigger and go white oak.

I'm not going to go into the history and construction of bokken. I will however, detail my own use of the bokken, and the role that I think red oak and white oak models come into play. Later, I will detail my user review of the products I received from Karate Depot. At my dojo, we use the bokken to practice Aiki Ken, the kenjutsu art and primary expression of Aiki Budo, or Aikido. Aiki Ken works on several attributes: distance, angle and position, timing, extension, focus, and striking to vital areas. In even the most rigorous partner practice, there is very little contact with the bokken. This is because Aiki Ken expresses the taijutsu, or empty hand art of Aikido. In Aikido, we cannot clash directly with the power of an opponent. We have to move in a manner that either blends with the attack, redirects it, or forestalls the attack from the beginning. We don't block an attack, whether it be from a weapon or empty hand strike. So, we don't move directly against the opponent's sword. This is both ineffective and unrealistic. It is not effective since a real attack with a weapon is very fast, and you do not know how your enemy will attack you. If you wait and try to block, you will simply be a tempo behind in the encounter. Your opponent will already control the encounter. It is not realistic because in an actual encounter, you should not be blocking anything, but cutting an opponent. O'Sensei said “Seeing me before him, the enemy attacks, but by that time I am already standing safely behind him.” This means that you have already moved and cut him down from a safe position without blocking the strike.

This leads to me to concern about such comments as “...after a few sparring sessions, the bokken cracked.” I feel this sort of practice, banging bokken against bokken, can only be viewed as dubious play of young children, and not the serious sword practice of any classical Bujutsu or Budo. In one account, the famous Miyamoto Musashi defeated Muso Gonnosuke with a slender branch. The quality of body movement should be practiced to not be struck by a weapon or fist, not standing in one place and clashing against the force of another. Any tool, improperly used, will break. The shinken, or live blade, was never used in this manner. Parries were always deflecting and glancing motions. Really, this movements were attempts to cut at an enemy's vital points, and they appear to be parries due to variances in the timing of the enemy's response. No effort should be made in blocking any attack. Cutting the enemy down strongly is the what the sword is for. The Art of War states that shields are for enduring a hard time; weapons are for attaining victory. Musashi expounds on this when he says that anytime that you touch an opponent, it should be to kill them. He said that defensive moves like blocking are like putting swords in the ground around you to make a fence, and then standing behind them, believing yourself to be fortified. He says that the real essence of combat should be that were you standing near a wooden fence, you should pull a fence post from the ground and kill the enemy with it. So nowhere in these ideas does the idea of blocking an attack occur. With this in mind, red oak or white oak is not the issue, where as training to be able to cut down an enemy at will is the true concern.

I am going to give the bokken a full workout this week and tell you all about it. So far I am very happy with the product.  Permalink

Great for practicing strikes and also just getting the feel for how a real sword weights and how it moves.


The plastic tsuba took a while to come, but it finally did.  Permalink

Ordered 2 of the bokkens recently. Karate Depot provided fast shipping and the products look great. I would give them four stars, but the product was not exactly what I ordered. One of the swords came in and was red oak (just as the order said). The other one which came in claimed to be red oak, but after looking at for just a minute it was clear it was mahogany. It is still a fine sword, just not what I ordered. I don't know if Karate Depot is the maker of the product or just the distributer, but they should check their products before selling them as something else.  Permalink

Very nice weapon for practicing with. My forms have improved. I have been wondering what the inscription means on the peace that seperates the handle from the blade peace. Anybody know?  Permalink

A high quality and well made bokken. I have had mine for around two or three years and it is still in nearly perfect condition.  Permalink

I've made several of my own in the past, mostly for looks. This is the first one I bought and I am very pleased with it.
It is a bit heavier then a sword the same size but that is good to strengthen your muscles. The grip is constructed well and I really like that the hilt is removable. The only thing I didn't care for was the machine made feel/sand marks. But, I am picky as I make my own and I make them very smooth. But, for what its worth (a stick you hit other sticks with) it's AWESOME!  Permalink

Very nicely made Red Oak Bokken. I work out with this sword almost every day. It is well balenced and handleds well. I highely recomend
this to anyone intestred in sword pratice. I also purchased a 6' Red Oak Bo and am very happy with it. Thak you for such nich items.
Jim Tipton, 2nd degree black belt OODA RUE NINJITSU.  Permalink

My friend bought two of these swords while we were working at a summer camp. Upon first inspection, one of them was a very nice, solid, red oak, while the other was a tattered brown, with many knots in the wood and what seemed to be a brown wood-like filler. The blade was very low quiality and broke right in half after about an hour of use. Its best use was in the bonfire though.   Permalink

weight is great and it can take a lot of pain I love it and what makes it even better on top of that is the price. it would be perfect if it had a better handle so that way you can go top speed with out being afraid of it go flying.   Permalink