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Custom-Made Sparring Grade Swords And Knives
Click pictures to see larger image
Wooden swords are most commonly seen as Japanese bokken and have been used for centuries as safer and less costly alternatives for training. In Western sword arts they were called “wasters”. If strong enough for contact they are thick and heavy, dangerous in their own right. If light, like many replica Chinese weapons, they are suitable for little more than forms or shadow play.
Modern
plastics eliminate these limitations.
High density and consistent internal structure allow blades to be cut
thinner and lighter than wood while retaining sufficient strength for sparring contact.
All
my materials are carefully chosen for weight, density and appearance, but most
importantly they are chosen for toughness.
These are not lightweight injection molded plastics, which can have
variations in density and strength, but are made from solid billets of plastic
that are extruded under pressure, increasing the density, hardness and
consistency. This is how diamonds and
steel become stronger too. The result
is a superior material for machining into any shape.
Training
with blades opens a different dimension for those used to sticks. The right plastics bridge the gap between
wood and metal and will be more durable for sparring than either.
These
are samples of sparring-grade training blades, carved by hand from half-inch
thick solid billets of high-impact plastic using techniques that bring out
lustre and grain equal to any hardwood.
Contrary to most people’s impressions from cheaply made toys, plastic
can be finely crafted, conforming exquisitely to the vision of the artist. It is used commonly around the world to
emulate rare materials ranging from mother-of-pearl to ivory and hardwood.
People
always assume my hand-made swords and knives are wood when handling and examining
them, and many will even argue in disbelief after being told the truth (and the
same goes for my wood-grain finished Panther II sticks). I’ve heard every guess from kamangong and
mahogany to Brazilian ironwood, and those voicing such opinions include famous
martial artists and professional woodworkers.
I’m reminded of ebony, a dense black wood prized for walking sticks and
guitar fretboards.
I
use these swords regularly when sparring with my advanced students. Here is a clip sparring
with the two talwar swords. As
intense as this gets, these swords have less mass in the tips than plain
sticks, which being round, also have a small contact area. The thinner the blade, the lighter (and
better balanced for speed) but less raw impact, which compensates somewhat for
the thinner surface. How thick or thin
an edge is a choice that can be made for each individual sword.
In
contrast to the many wood training
knives I’ve seen splintered and cracked over the years, like this 16”
kamagong bolo that didn’t even make it through one class, I’ve never known a
single one of my training blades to break. These swords thus continue my
legacy, which began with my introduction of the original high-impact plastic
sticks, of being the first to introduce new, unique and functional products to
the martial arts community.
To
improve production, I spent hundreds of dollars to build a pin-router so I can
work from templates that I make myself, allowing me to reproduce shapes of
actual swords and knives. Every piece
is then hand-finished through a process of filing, sanding and buffing, then
each is stamped with its own individual serial number.
Custom
practice swords are a specialty item; cheap wooden swords are either ordinary
Japanese bokken or cheap lightweight Chinese daos or gim that won’t stand up to
impact training. My prices are in line
with the few quality wooden swords I’ve seen for the Filipino martial art
community, with one significant difference – you can spar with mine and they’ll
take it!
Here’s
a description
of the process to make these blades.