Found an old bokken online for cheap, it has a small moldy scent and various superficial scratches, any ideas of how to restore?
Bleach to kill the mold, paint & varnish stripper to strip the wood. Or if you want to cheap out just sand it, which you might want to do anywayThen stain desired finish and seal
>>2888968Bleach? Had not considered it but guess it makes more sense than vinegar, diluted or just straight onto it? As per the sanding, yeah ill just remove the varnish with the sanding and reapply after
>>2888966>various superficial scratchesIaidoka here. Do check whether any of those hides an actual crack before hitting stuff with that thing.Because we both know you ARE gonna hit stuff with that thing.If there's any crack, fix the hell out of it before even swinging the bokken. Cracks along the grain you can fix with wood glue - it will be as strong as the rest of the wood. Cracks across the grain can also be fixed with wood glue, but the fix will NOT be strong enough to stand abuse (remember, the glue is stronger than what naturally holds the wood fibers together, but not as strong as the fibers themselves). And by the looks of OP pic, it seems to BE one such a failure point in your bokken (to the left of the image, in the handle transition) - maybe the reason it was sold online cheaply.
>>2889072Was thinking to fill the cracks with epoxy resin, the kind that comes in small tubes and doesnt need uv resin, would wood glue be better? Also, figured it had issues but as I am just starting i thought itd make sense to buy it instead of a new one
>>2888966I bought a polyurethane katana from coldsteel.It even has a tsuba and very close weight and balance to a real katana.Highly recommended.Doesn't shatter and can be used for sparring.Yours looks cracked in a bad way unfortunately.
>>2889136you need to reinforce cracks properly with dowels or metal rods/screws alongside your epoxy resin. probably your strongest option that's cheap enough is going to be either devcon 2ton or acraglas
>>2888966Steam the dents out, let properly dry, light sanding + oil+wax
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>>2889072A great amount were along the grain unless I didnt properly check. I filled them and now im left wondering whether to varnish it or leave it as is. I dont have much woodworking experience so no clue what to do next
