Cold SteelTraining Dagger Polypropylene Handle with Blunt

I was asked to review and although I can't speak on the real dagger, both the poly training hand and a half sword and training dagger far exceed the quality of the hand and a half sword. These are a lot of fun but may be a bit awkward and heavy for serious training.

Dog caught blade in her mouth when I tried to swing at sister (did not swing very hard, dog used it as a chew toy until I backed off)

Great practice Ju-Jutsu weapon

This beauty arrived today, and I have spent some time with it since to put it through its paces. It is absolutely everything I hoped for, and then some!!! It is immediately worthy of respect. The relationship begins even while it is in the plastic bag in the box. You pull this bokken out in its plastic, and feel the sturdiness and weight, see the beauty, and know you have a worthy training weapon that will not let you down.It also put me through my paces. Before you can wield this bokken, you must earn its respect. When you unbox this bokken, you are immediately faced with getting the tsuba and the retaining ring onto the blade, and three do not ever look like they are going to go on. BUT!!! A resourceful owner will figure out a way to get them to transform into 1 beautiful bokken with tsuba. The way I chose was to don leather gloves, and sprinkle a tiny bit of corn starch powder on the blade. First the tsuba, which went on without corn starch, but did benefit greatly from heavy gloves and the pressure nearest the blade. After it is in place, it will retain a very slight give, which could be done away with by using epoxy at the base, but I am unwilling to risk marring the beauty by dribbles of epoxy. The retaining ring required the corn starch, determination, and eventually tiny taps all around it with a hammer, taking care to use as little force as was necessary to get it to slide into place. Do not hit the blade, not that it will notice if you do. Patience is a virtue.And now I have something much more beautiful than I was expecting. The "cordwork" on the handgrip is extremely well molded, in beautiful detail, and there is more texturing in the spaces between the cordwork. All in all, this gets a 10 for beauty, and in my opinion a 10 for everything else. Getting the tsuba (hand guard) and retaining ring on made this weapon my own.The balance is what I had hoped for based on other reviews--the bokken is weighted toward the blade, which gives extra confidence when sparring and practicing. I have 2 very fine wooden bokkens, made by a craftsman and costing much much more than this, and this, but for the thinner tsuba, gives as good a workout, without the unwillingness to damage them in any way. I'm not sure they *can* be damaged in any way, but Cold Steel Bokken 92BKKC is a very, very strong training sword, giving the feel of something very genuine. I will train with this for a very long time, and will update this review if I notice any weaknesses in it. ((And, yes, I gave this a beautiful, worthy name.))I feel that my hands are not sufficiently calloused to use this bokken long without developing hot spots or even blisters, so I plan to wear leather gloves when working with this. Just ordinary leather gloves will do--no need for fancy, padded ones, although fencing gloves are a good alternative. I chose ordinary because they were not so glaringly white. I have 1 fencing glove, which does not lend itself to training with both hands. I think I will purchase another of this bokken, so I can work with one in each hand.

After some practice, the sword feels perfect for a beginner, yes, it's much heavier (thicker) than what a steel trainer would be, but there is value in learner with a synthetic sword asost folk lack the strength to actually swing the blade over and over again.For durability, I'd say it's okay, I haven't tried to hit anything yet, but I garner a guess that that it cqn withstand a good amount of abuse.My only complaint is that the little band required to secure the hilt to the blade can come off loose bit by bit if you swing the blade too hard, too many times in a single day of practice, if I don't constantly refit it after every practice, I'm quite sure that the hilt will go flying off and hit the cat...Good for beginners, shorter than I expected, and enough space in the handle to learn Fiore.

Over the last three or so decades I have broken many bokken. Polyprolene seems like the solution but every bokken I have found has been too thin and weak for any serious practice. The Cold Steel polypropylene is the exception and, hopefully, the last bokken I will ever need. I am not sure why some people are having trouble with the tsuba and retainer; they are fairly standard these days. Slide the tsuba into place, place the rubber retaining ring on the blade making sure the “flat” edge is facing the tsuba, place the bokken so it is vertical, handle end resting against the ground or a sturdy table and press the retaining ring into place. DO NOT LUBRICATE THE BLADE OR USE GRAPHITE, CORN STARCH, ETC! Some of this will remain trapped under the retaining ring and only make it slide away from the tsuba more quickly (it is not uncommon for the rubber ring to slide away a tiny bit at a time with use, just press it back into place). The “wrap pattern” on the handle is not only attractive it provides an excellent grip, which was a concern since some polypropylene and kydex handles get slick and hard to retain.My only complaint about this bokken is that polypropylene, although more durable, is lighter than a good hardwood and the bokken is a bit lighter than I would prefer. All in all, though, this is a quality piece I look forward to using for many years. Although the handle is much longer, the blade is a similar length to my liuyedao (willow leaf knife) so I am considering buying a second and cutting down the handle. For single hand use. I guess that makes this one the second-to-last bokken I will ever need!

A mi hijo le encantó.burna calidad y el material es recistente a golpes. Mi hijo la usa mucho y muy fuerte cuando juega. Y no se a roto. Buena compra

Great super sturdy and great for cosplaying and using as a stage prop and for training