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.
