Sweet bokken handle wrap

[David T. MacNeill]

We use a pair of inexpensive Boker Magnum bokkens made of acacia wood. They’re fine for bokkens, but the plastic tsuba and shoeleace ito wrapping are annoyingly loosey goosey. My aikido-trained wife prefers bare wood bokkens, but I need a solid handle with a bit of cushion. So I spent seven bucks on a Gamma “Hi-Tech Gel” tennis racket wrap which turns out to be EXACTLY the right length for this bokken’s 9.75” handle. You have to wrap it with zero overlap to make it, but it does make it with about an 3/4” to spare — just enough to trim at an angle for a clean termination at the tsuba. Feels great, so I thought I’d share. I added extra security to the tsuba with two strips of gaffers tape and the whole thing feels really solid.