Random Madness Blog

Stage 2 of building a Bokken involved realising that Bokken are built a certain way for a reason. They are not built using an axe to shape a piece of wood.

I have now started to remake a Bokken using the actual build a Bokken instructions.

Instructions can be found here.

Firstly I had to fell an old tree from my friends garden. When I say fell an old tree I do not mean a 400 year old Oak or something.

I felled an Elder which was standing deadwood. So it didn’t need to season after I have cut it.

Then I had to plank the trunk. Planking is quite easy but only once you know what you are doing and only if you have the appropriate tools

I put my trunk through the rip saw and ended up with the planks I needed.

After reading the Bokken instructions, my planks were cut to be the appropriate size. 1 inch x 1 1/2 inches x 49 inches.

Today I put my wood into clamps and by tomorrow I will have the wood glued and bent to the appropriate shape and size

Working on the principle that I can have the planing and routing done tomorrow I will have an almost complete Bokken by tomorrow night

Leaving the wood in clamps overnight seemed to ensure that it was glued properly. Once reomved from the clamps I was left with this.

Using a sharp router cutter I was able to shape the edges of the Bokken. This was to give both a nice shape for the grip and also for the blade front and back

Routing the back edge of the blade was done using a 45 degree router cutter. Be careful to only use this cutter on the back of the blade and not the grip

Rough cut the tip of the Bokken and then shape using a method that suits you. The tip of my bokken was done with a combination of router, hand saw, Belt sander and sandpaper.

Sand the entire Bokken, removing any rough edges or lumps. Then Varnish to desired effect

A finished Bokken, it is nicely weighted, turns and cuts very well. All in all a nice training sword.

I’ve been trying to find a sensible way of making a bokken for a while now and happened upon some wood that had been felled from my friends garden last week.

I’ve stripped the bark and will shape the majority of the bokken using an axe, then finish the shaping with a knife and sandpaper. We shall see what happens.

I know that this isn’t really the way that you make a Bokken. Most bokken seem to be made by glueing and shaping wood over some assending pegs but I like using an axe, especially if it has a purpose.

Set apart from the realms or reality. Full of dreams and shattered ideas. Children in the haunted forest, haunted by all of those that went before with no cries for revolution. No shouts of despair as we were towed away. No questions to be ask, no protests, just lies hidden by deeper seeded things. Human Nature and all that entails, human freedoms crushed by the notion of human nature. Separated and alone, shaking in the corner, no friends to be found in this global village. Hidden identities, happy to express yourself with your cloak and dagger. Too scared to face the consequences of your actions. Who are these fools? Happy in there mundane of existence. Maybe it doesn’t bother you, but it should. There is no reason for these foul stains of reality……Why do you find yourself in these places?. Somewhere near Thompsons edge. This is a strange place, full of creeps and creatures that I cannot distinguish from the empty black of the night. That’s it! The emptiness is where these things can be found. Somewhere at the centre of the void. Just bodies purely for mass and not for use. Safety in numbers and all that. Scary dreams caused by this foul place. Why now, more than ever!

There are others here, clinging on to those dreams. Somewhere past the edge when all we have is each other. Nothing to be done now but dive. Up periscope! Aye aye captain. and down we go again. Further than we ever dreamed, no way back. Only forward hoping that we can break the mould. Throw off these shackles of depression. Faster now, faster, blurring and whirring away. Maybe we can stop, maybe we can apply the brakes. No brakes at this speed, no way back!! Only an escape. Away from these fools, how did I ever think that these were the creatures to travel with. Clawing at each others flesh, all for attention. what are these things? Into the torpedo tubes as something sparks in peripheral view, staring straight ahead, eyes locked with the all so familiar thousand yard stare. Smoking now, lit up just to keep my head attached. Something to ground me, something to drown out this god awful chatter. What is he doing? Why is he here? What’s he doing in the tube.

The sequence begins, subtle changes in pressure, creaking noises, and then screams when they realise what I have done. Whoosh!! And I’m away, free and clear but gasping for breath. How long can you live in the underwater swamps of the void. Unprotected, Trapped, by this lunacy. Screams for blood. And cries for help. Don’t look, just keep going! He’s the Hunter, I hear whoops of joy!! And then drowned out by the screaming. The soil soaks up the blood as is runs towards me, is this the dark?, the river of death?

But we run!! We always run, away from this madness. Living again to drown another day.