brown eyes

just received today. It's definitely thicker and MUCH heavier than I am used to in the dojo, but I knew that when I was ordering - thought it would be good for practicing at home and building up my strength. it was even heavier than i thought it would be though, that extra thickness really does make a big difference.

I could live with it being thick and heavy though.

The clincher for me was, when I got the cellophane off and was able to run my hand down it I noticed a big knot in the middle that has a crack about 3" going through it. the wood isn't completely split or anything, but it is a definite crack, and a distraction when handling the jo. if it weren't for the crack it would be a very beautiful piece. if it were a bit thinner, it would be perfect. if it weren't so costly to return, I probably would. I'll probably just end up keeping this and dealing with it though.
  

i didn't have high expectations of this one for the low cost, but it is a great bokken. straight, no warping (i ordered one from amazon that i returned because it was so warped). good weight to it. nice and smooth, nice grain to the wood with no knots.

the handle seems a bit shorter than what i am used to in the dojo, but not a huge deal.