Good Quality
Good quality wood for practice. It is a bit thicker, but that would makes it quite strong enough to withstand a few hard clashes. The only minor problem is that of the plastic/rubber hand guard at the handle which tends to come off loose, but its a minor inconvenience which I have seen in other similar ones too. Overall, good to practice around with, and learn new tricks as well. Feels quite comfortable in hands, and also gives u the feel of an old style way of practicing.

IT DOSENT MATTER!!!
i do VERY hard training with mine, been doing so for 15 years and i have used mine that i have had from day one of my training and still do, i have yes bought others, and made some as well, it really dose not matter one bit if it is cheep over a expensive one it is how you take care of it that matters i have had a $50 dollar Japanese White Oak Bokken shatter on me when training that was made to take the abuse and was hand selected and made, free of knots and well balanced and made by a company that has been making bokkens since before world war one, and my sensei even says as well that it really dose not matter how cheep or how expensive the bokken is but a matter of the woods quality to begin with, sanding the whole thing helps yes but is not needed, merphies oil/soap once every 4 weeks and let dry for one week is all that is needed, keeps the wood from warping and drying out and you dont have to sand all of it except the handle and even then it is not fully needed, the one i have had since the start of my training has been used and abused IN TRAINING and never broken splintered or cracked, we use live blades that have broken long before training was done in cutting exorcizer's of SIMPLE THINGS LIKE BAMBOO, IF your really worried about anything happening to your bokken or afraid of the quality of the wood AT ALL BEFORE YOU BUY IT then GET A COLD STEEL BOKKEN, and they hold up to even their own live blades with minor scratches if any, they mimic the shape of a bokken and the feel of one almost exact and you DO NOT have to treat them in any way. BUT if it was me then i would prefer to be able to look at mine in person if i could before i ever bought it to make sure that it was free of knots and dose not warp in any way. If any one thinks they know it all about swords and bokkens at all your wrong cause no one knows everything about them or anything, i know i do not know all there is myself all i know is what i have been tough from the start of my training, and that is a SWORD ( or a bokken )IS AN EXTENSION OF YOUR BODY AND SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS IT WAS MADE TO BE USED, and it is a matter of what feels right to you no one else, in then end what i am saying is what works for me might not work for some one else, buying it offline is yes great for those that do not have the ability to get them in there area, but it dose not really help you choose, it is more chosen for you and might not have the feel of what you really want it to feel like, and this is true of even swords and knives that are bought, i give this a 4 out of 5 cause i know nothing is perfect and nothing should be perfect, feel it out and know in the end it dose not matter it is more how it feels to you when using it and also what your doing with it as well, hard training, or beating things up that it was never meant to be used on, and i do and will admit A BOKKEN IS NOT A TOY they can cause serious injury EVEN DEATH to any living thing and should not be put in the hands of a child as a toy at any time OR ANY ONE THAT IS NOT WANTING TO LEARN HOW TO USE THEM CORRECTLY AND THAT IS OF SOUND MIND, if any one wants to learn how to use a sword then know that there are schools and dojos that do teach them how to use them, but most do not take children under the age of 18.

I ordered two of these for swordfighting
I am 14.
Well to start my review is that i do not know martial arts and I was using these to swordfight with my brother. These are very strong wood and they smell nice too. They are strong and durable but the second one we ordered(we ordred them for swordfighing) snapped after our 4th fight becuase it had a wood knot and a soft spot in it. Mine didnt have any problems and was fully solid. They can replace it which we are gona do so if you order them, you should if you are a kid like me and wana swordfight. Remember if you do order it makesure you look for any knots or softspots or have your parent do that before you fight.

The handguard was easy to get on (with some spit) and if you use some bat tape to keep the handgoard down and for some grip it helps alot. By the way they are as shiny as they look.

Remember im just a kid who ordered these for some fun sword fighting

Great value/Great workout!
This is a very nice bokken! Nice weight, shape, size and it's very sturdy.
My training focus is in MMA and grappling. I bought this sword to have FUN and add some variety to my workouts (I purchased the Forza Samurai workout book along with it). I don't plan on sparring or hitting any trees or rocks so I expect my bokken to last me a long, long time.
I've heard that the white rubber stopper that goes over the handguard is hard to slip in place--my solution: Vaseline (it works great!).

Great Bokken!
This bokken is great. It is made of really sturdy hardwood and barely ever gets dents in it. Whether you are looking for a bokken to fight with or just one for show, this one is perfect for the job.