Kingfisher WoodWorks LLC

Warranty and Maintenance

 

Care and Adjustments of Appalachian/Impact Grade Hickory Weapons
Bokken
Jo
Hanbo
Trekking Pole

 

 
 
Standard items from the Kingfisher catalog or inventory may be returned for any reason within 30 days in unused condition for full credit but items made on a special order or custom basis are not returnable for full credit. Items with inscriptons or other customizations are only returnable if proven defective. Kingfisher warrants materials and workmanship consistent with the manufacturer's recommendations, product descriptions and care instructions stated below. Please save your invoice and these instructions.

 

 

Maintenance: There are several options for maintaining the finish on your natural hickory wood weapon. One of the most important reasons for a finish is to slow down the exchange of atmospheric moisture but also to keep the wood clean and smooth. There are two options for maintaining and enhancing this finish. One is oil and the other is wax. I would not recommend using a surface treatment like varnish or polyurethane.

Oil Finish: The existing finish can be improved by regular handling of the weapon and routine reapplication of suitable oil finish. Oil finishes give a feeling of control but also allow the wood to slide somewhat through the hand which is especially important for Jo and staff techniques. In the Kingfisher shop, we use Teak oil almost exclusively. Other common choices for oil finishes are Tung oil, Boiled Linseed oil, and commercially available mixtures like Watco Danish Oil. Teak oil and Watco Danish Oil are preferred because the mixtures have a low viscosity and will penetrate the wood more easily. When applying oil, rub in a thin coat. Wait 15 min. Remove and excess and let this dry overnight. Finally, buff out with a cloth.

Oil finishes can be found at some local hardware stores and woodworking supply stores or can be ordered online:

Briwax Woodcare Products

Woodworkers Supply Inc

Woodworker Supply Inc- Watco (we use this last one - Watco Teak oil)

Wax Finish: A wax finish can be applied over an oil finish after the oil has dried. This combination of treatments is commonly used for premium furniture. Wax affords some protection and gives a beautiful shining glossy look; It also gives a "grippier" texture than oil. Wax is easy to apply. Using it on a martial art weapon is a purely personal preference: For some, it will give an ideal tactile feel but others will find it too sticky - especially if the user sweats and the salts of the body break down the wax, it can develop a gritty feeling. Various wax finishes are available at woodworking and hardware stores. They are all combinations of carnauba or beeswax -Moser's is good but there are several others.

Contact In Paired Practice: Due to its unique cellular structure, Appalachian hickory is the toughest and most resilient material available for wooden martial art practice equipment. While most martial artists using wooden swords and staffs do not engage in abusively heavy impact training (and hikers using the Kingfisher Hiking Stick would rarely engage in continual impact exercises), there are some important considerations for those of you engaged in paired practice. There are two considerations - shock strength and dent resistance. In most materials, extreme hardness is associated with brittleness. Hickory, while amongst the hardest domestic American woods, is not as hard as some tropical woods. It has, however, a much higher shock strength than practically any wood and so it is not surprising that some harder species, with higher density and hardness, would superficially appear to be stronger but actually have a much lower overall shock strength. The advantage of a very hard (but brittle) weapon would be its resistance to denting but the drawback is its lower shock strength.

The key consideration when comparing Appalachian Hickory with tropical and exotic woods, including Japanese White Oak, (which gets brittle over time) is that there is nothing that can improve the shock strength of a hard but brittle weapon but there is a procedure to increase the surface hardness of an incredibly tough wood like Appalachian Hickory by using a tempering or work hardening method during the early life of the weapon - a kind of "break in" period. This is known as "Running in ".

Method of "Running in a New Weapon": Preparing a bokken or jo for heavy impact takes some time, patience and control. Consider the outer layer of wood when the weapon is used paired practice: If the weapon is used uncontrolled and too aggressively at first - especially against very hard materials - there is potential for more noticeable denting. On the other hand, if it is subjected to slowly increasing impact energies, the surface becomes progressively compressed and thereby hardened with continuous striking. If the weapon is used with precision and restraint until the impact areas have been uniformly "hammered," as in the forging of steel, it will become a tempered weapon. Over time, instead of having concentrated dents in isolated areas of heavy contact, it will have a much more subtle patina, only noticeable upon close inspection, of an even compaction and the surface will be hard and tough. This is the condition to be sought. Often the weapon of an experienced practitioner will achieve this state naturally. This is because at a high level of skill, the weapon is used in such a controlled method, using the entire length, that the whole surface is evenly worked. Interestingly, a method of tempering wood is used routinely for willow wood cricket bats. Practitioners use a special mallet to carefully hammer in the surface to an even compressed surface. If a mallet or hammer is used on a bokken or jo, Kingfisher suggests using the side of a cylinder shaped object of about 2 1/2 diameter and a weight of about1 1/2 -2 lb. (like a carver's mallet). The round side will create even impact areas and the surface can be carefully worked. The entire surface should be hammered out with light impacts, then, it should be gone over with slightly greater impacts and so on!

An informative article and very good read on the practical considerations of wood striking wood can be seen at this link: Kim Taylor's "Bokken Bashing". The main lesson from this humorous but accurate essay is that all wood can be damaged if hit hard enough. This is especially true of weapons that have not been broken in properly. Your Kingfisher sword or staff, made of the very best Impact Grade Hickory is unlikely to fail in any case, but the user is cautioned to exercise good judgment and replace the weapon if obvious damage is evident.

Moisture and Warpage: Try to minimize this product's exposure to large changes in humidity; for example, don't leave it in the hot sun, don't rest it near a hot woodstove, don't lay it down in wet grass etc. All wood is subject to constant cyclical exchange of atmospheric moisture which tends to expand and contract the fibers. This exchange is responsible for movement and can result in warpage, especially when long slender items like this are shipped to areas with different climactic conditions. Warpage is usually permanent in hardwoods. Kingfisher Appalachian Hickory, however, has a unique cellular structure that allows for relatively easy straightening. Sight down the weapon, rest one end on the floor as shown and over bend in the opposite direction of the warpage. Note: if you find that moderate pressure is not enough to straighten the weapon, use more leverage and check for straightness again- repeat if necessary. Do not worry, you will not break the hickory! Sometimes it takes a large force to over-bend the weapon and relieve internal stresses in the wood that cause the warp. If you use other methods to bend the wood (like wedging it in a tree crotch or standing on it, just make sure that the ends are constrained in a relatively soft support, like pine wood blocks so that you don't unnecessarily dent the wood at pressure points.

When we adjust wood here in the shop, we often use a rather stout vise (with soft pine wood jaws) to hold the end of the bokken and then simply over bend the bokken in the opposite direction as the warp. Since you will probably not have access to a heavy woodworking vise, it might take a little bit of imagination to find a rigid fixture that will hold the sword. One thing to remember is to find soft wood pads or something similar to firmly hold one end while applying the bending force. Any firmly anchored hold will work. We have an area in the shop with a hole in the foundation that we've lined with soft wood pads and we can easily slide the end of the bokken down into the hole to the desired depth and apply straightening force. Another idea is a crotch in a tree. Another idea is to set the bokken sideways on 2 large wooden blocks supporting each end and then kneel on the bokken with a springing action to over bend. - I'm sure you get the idea! Remember that you will need to over bend to a greater degree than the warp - take a look by sighting down the weapon and checking and repeat if necessary or re- adjust if you've bent it too far. Contact Kingfisher if you have difficulty. We'll be happy to adjust it here and we will replace the weapon if it cannot be straightened.

derek bergee sighting down jo  
Here, shop assistant and mechanical engineer Derek Bergee sights down Jo staff to determine straightness
We use various methods of holding the weapon: Note the softwood pine inserts into this convenient hole in the foundation. Derek uses his body leverage to bend this thick Iwama bokken. The wood can be bent at a considerable deflection.
  derek bergee straightening bokken
derek bergee in workshop  
Here, Derek demonstrates how to adjust a bend occurring towards one end of a Jo. This bender is made with a couple of 2 x 4's bolted to the wood base of a heavy machine.

 

 
This thick wooden sword requires adjustment
derek bergee sights down iwama bokken

 

tree crotch method of straightening bokken
Here, the bokken is over bent close to one end to adjust a warp. You probably won't need to bend at such an extreme angle. If you over bend, it is easy to readjust in the other direction without harming the wood. The unique cellular structure of Appalachian hickory allows for this kind of adjustment for warp without any loss of strength.