The cord-wrapped handle is a great idea, offering more of a real sword-like look as well as a firmer grip. My hands tend to get sweaty and slip around a bit with long practice, particularly with the sealed lacquered finish on most bokken. This wrap really helps (though it needed a touch of glue to get it to stay in place). The two-piece guard design is a nice enhancement too. Though you really don't need the guard at all for many applications it is nice looking and appears stronger than the original.

It's still a fairly cheap piece of wood, compared to an ironwood version, but at this price (it was $9.99 when I bought it) you really can't go wrong. A nice enhancement over the basic bokken. I do, however, prefer the natural wood version to this one as it looks pretty bad once you start using it and the color scrapes off. Nevertheless, if you want an inexpensive practice sword this one is recommended...
4 stars

A great bokken at a good price. I do both Ninjutsu and Toyamma Ryu, a katana martial art new to the U.S. that is a combination of Iaido and kenjutsu with a strong emphasis on iaido(drawing and sheathing of the sword) and on the perfection of the cut. It is heavier than most bokken, which I think is a good thing because its closer to the weight of a real katana, and it builds strength in the forearms while practicing. For Toyamma Ryu I use mostly my carbon steel Iaito(unsharpened katana) but still use it when we do kenjutsu techniques like blocking drills bokken to bokken. It doesn't come with a saya(sheath), but I just made one out of thick black plastic from my water well tubing and heated to mold it into more of an oval instead of being circular. I needed a saya, because it is important for drawing in Iaido techniques. For most bokkens you can use those old plastic black golf club tubes that they sell at Dick's Sporting Goods or wherever you can find them, but you have to ask for them. The handle-wrap is durable and a really nice feature. In Ninjutsu all we use is the bokken because we do body movement to avoid the blade which is obv much safer than a metal sword. I've wacked it pretty hard in practice and by accident a few times and it has held up really well and the handle-wrap hasn't moved at all, so I think it is a really nice practice tool that everyone will love. P.S. If you are using this item for Iaido and you decide to make your own saya the paint is gonna scratch off a little bit from rubbing against the saya so you may want to get the natural wood color, not a big deal either way. 4 stars

Overall, it was pretty good, I was a little disappointed in the quality of this sword. There were several cracks in the finish of the sword. Nothing huge, just minor eyesores. 3 stars

I bought this sword and the one with the burgandy finish, I can't be more pleased. The wrap on the handle is a nice Touch; My Guard doesn't really fit that good, but will stay in place (it just jiggles a little when I swing). Also the fact that they have weight to them helps increase the muscles in your wrist and arms. I have hit them together accidentally and they seem to hold up to the blow. Great price for an even greater sword. 4 stars

First, this is not a sparring bokken. It's not solid enough for hitting things on a regular basis, the wood isn't treated so yours, like mine, might have some minor surface cracking, and the tsuba is an ill-fitting piece of plastic with a rubber stopper.

However, this really is an excellent goofing-off sword well worth the price. I originally ordered it for home but liked it so much I kept it at the office and ordered another. It's a good stress reliever to swing that thing around my desk during the day. The cording, a nice touch that most wooden swords don't have, is solid and feels great. I epoxied the tsuba permanently on to mine and I highly recommend doing so to yours; it makes ALL the difference on this product. The weight is nice for practicing swings and the length is perfect.

If you're expecting high-quality training equipment for this price you'll be sorely disappointed. But, if you want something fun to play around with you could do a lot worse than this sword. 5 stars