Cold SteelCold Steel Training Dagger Polypropylene Handle with Blunt

This beauty arrived today, and I have spent some time with it since to put it through its paces. It is absolutely everything I hoped for, and then some!!! It is immediately worthy of respect. The relationship begins even while it is in the plastic bag in the box. You pull this bokken out in its plastic, and feel the sturdiness and weight, see the beauty, and know you have a worthy training weapon that will not let you down.It also put me through my paces. Before you can wield this bokken, you must earn its respect. When you unbox this bokken, you are immediately faced with getting the tsuba and the retaining ring onto the blade, and three do not ever look like they are going to go on. BUT!!! A resourceful owner will figure out a way to get them to transform into 1 beautiful bokken with tsuba. The way I chose was to don leather gloves, and sprinkle a tiny bit of corn starch powder on the blade. First the tsuba, which went on without corn starch, but did benefit greatly from heavy gloves and the pressure nearest the blade. After it is in place, it will retain a very slight give, which could be done away with by using epoxy at the base, but I am unwilling to risk marring the beauty by dribbles of epoxy. The retaining ring required the corn starch, determination, and eventually tiny taps all around it with a hammer, taking care to use as little force as was necessary to get it to slide into place. Do not hit the blade, not that it will notice if you do. Patience is a virtue.And now I have something much more beautiful than I was expecting. The "cordwork" on the handgrip is extremely well molded, in beautiful detail, and there is more texturing in the spaces between the cordwork. All in all, this gets a 10 for beauty, and in my opinion a 10 for everything else. Getting the tsuba (hand guard) and retaining ring on made this weapon my own.The balance is what I had hoped for based on other reviews--the bokken is weighted toward the blade, which gives extra confidence when sparring and practicing. I have 2 very fine wooden bokkens, made by a craftsman and costing much much more than this, and this, but for the thinner tsuba, gives as good a workout, without the unwillingness to damage them in any way. I'm not sure they *can* be damaged in any way, but Cold Steel Bokken 92BKKC is a very, very strong training sword, giving the feel of something very genuine. I will train with this for a very long time, and will update this review if I notice any weaknesses in it. ((And, yes, I gave this a beautiful, worthy name.))I feel that my hands are not sufficiently calloused to use this bokken long without developing hot spots or even blisters, so I plan to wear leather gloves when working with this. Just ordinary leather gloves will do--no need for fancy, padded ones, although fencing gloves are a good alternative. I chose ordinary because they were not so glaringly white. I have 1 fencing glove, which does not lend itself to training with both hands. I think I will purchase another of this bokken, so I can work with one in each hand.

Bought this for sword training practice. A bit lighter than a steel katana but still a good solid weight and feel. This unit seems to be stout and not as prone to breaking as some other units. The blunt roundness of the "edge" is good for practice on a BOB dummy as unless you are really striking hard will not hurt the BOB, or any other item that would be cut by a sharp edge. But, then again, swords are not baseball bats, they are a blade and meant for more of a sweeping cutting motion, not impact. Also can make a nice personal defense weapon to keep in your car with out getting hassled for keeping a "weapon" in you vehicle.

Very high quality, good length and awesome for casual sword workouts. I added this to my home gym in my garage and will do overhead swings as warm up/cool down/volume work, great fun workout for upper back mobility and keeping your shoulder girdle loose if you're an office worker like me.I'd recommend looking up some basic youtube videos on how to do (semi) proper technique and then swing away, just make sure you have a high enough ceiling/are far enough from walls, as I accidentally poked a hole in some drywall with the tip being a bit too enthusiastic.Disclaimer, I have never hit anything with this sword (at least not on purpose) so I can't comment on if it will hold up if you try and us it for sparing or something similar.

I recently purchased the bokken style sword, and I couldn't be more thrilled with my purchase. This product deserves a solid 5-star rating!First and foremost, the build quality of this polypropylene bokken is exceptional. It feels robust and sturdy, ensuring that it will withstand extensive training and use. The durability of this training sword is a significant plus, and it's evident that a lot of effort was put into crafting this top-notch product.One of the standout features of this bokken is how great it feels in your hand. The grip is comfortable and provides a secure hold, allowing for precise control during training sessions. The weight and size are well-balanced, giving it an authentic feel that adds to the overall experience. It's important to note that the balance is slightly away from the guard, but it doesn't detract significantly from the product's performance.In a nut shell, without a doubt, this is a fantastic training sword. It's perfect for honing your skills and techniques, and it's sure to enhance your martial arts practice. I couldn't be happier with my purchase, and I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a high-quality training sword.

As a training sword, it's nicely designed and weighted, feels very solid to strike with. Slightly longer than a normal Katana, but not by a noticeable amount at first glance. Assembly for Tsuba is simple and easy. The only things I didn't like were the handle and the guard.Hilt - Too thin and is rough to the touch. (Even with my thin, small paws, the hilt feels like it'll slip from my grasp and won't brace properly upon impact, while also uncomfortable for prolonged usage)Tsuba - Too wide. Style is nice, but it protrudes too much in comparison to other practice weapons and even authentic sword designs.Now if the seller would like to take a suggestion, I'd recommend this: a Scabbard! This practice item would be nice with a sheath that could help with training in drawing and sheathing the weapon. Even with the faults I listed, I'd still say it's good for practice.