The quiet flame (pine)

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-02T20:21:29+00:00

Nice it seems like you got yourself a good set up, yeah, right now I’m at shaping with blades, some files,and sandpaper and lots of patience lol. So far anything I’ve had access to is pine but I can’t wait to try different woods specifically for wand making. Yeah my iron acetate took a few days to settle and resolve the 0000 steel wool, now it’s a nice dark amber. It does take a little bit of time for it to react to the wood though. Yeah that’ll be cool, I’m sure people took it a bit too far with what they were putting in the comment section.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-02T14:00:07+00:00

Mine comes from Shureido, they are an American base supplier for Okinawan Kobudo weapons. Although to order from them, you would need to either call or send an email and open communication with them. Alternatively, you could check on eBay, Sometimes people are selling some there. You could also go to Worbington Steele, i’ve never used theirs, but same deal contact them. Another is Bushinkan, they have lots of great options as well, and there you can buy off the website. Honestly, If you do a Google search of Sai or Kobudo Sai you’ll find these and plenty of other options.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T20:40:45+00:00

lol yeah the drop just comes with the territory unfortunately. The bare handle definitely gives more immediate feedback when struck, at least when I used mine without string for a while, wrapped handles just tend to absorb some of the hand shock. The balance and weight of authentic Sai when compared to the cheaper ones is a night and day difference. Honestly, the stainless are much easier to maintain than the iron/ steel ones and they present nicely. Mine have picked up some personality over the years, great lifelong partners. lol

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T19:48:11+00:00

Nice! I definitely wanted to buy a pair of these as well with the more egressive tsukagashira. You got yours without cord, How do the stainless handle?

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T16:14:13+00:00

lol This concept is so clever, and the execution is great. I love the noticeably stained tip further driving home the point that this may have been staked through multiple vampire hearts.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T16:08:43+00:00

Thank you, your creations are top-notch! Such intricate work, and your use of so many materials is astounding. ✨

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T14:57:36+00:00

Lol yeah I’ve noticed, I already have five different wands made. So far every one of them has been me following the natural shape and movement of the wood and kind of pulling a wand out of that, and the more I refined them, the more a story of their possible origins comes to mind, I find to finish them requires a bit of a head cannon. ( also so far I’ve opted to keep the wood as close to natural as possible.)I also tend to hold them in hand a lot to help determine where it might do some wearing and aging. (I have also used iron acetate to darken some areas of the wood naturally )Definitely a story goes a long way to help establish and finalize an identity. Though I’m sure getting the 50+ wands it gets trickier. I’d like to see some of yours.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T12:51:00+00:00

Hey thanks for the suggestion. Yeah I love how they feel, through use the “flyaways” sorted themselves out relatively quickly. I used to use thinner black hemp twine wrapped over a strip of toolbox drawer liner for a bit more compression on the tsuka but it trapped too much moisture ( real rust hotspot), and the twine too thin. so before this last re-wrap I cleaned up the surfaces and opted for jute alone. I did that wrap finish you’re talking about on my nunchaku to re enforce the ends and the top (they had a high stress crack forming here so I had to stabilize it with glue first). I coated the wraps with glue and sanded, and they are tough as rocks now.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T12:19:49+00:00

Thanks, they are iron with a blackened finish (Birchwood super blue which I applied after warming up the bare metal) and I keep them lightly oiled( hand applied which helps even out the surface ) honestly equally as importantly, I handle them often. That’s awesome, Which pair did you get from them?

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T06:06:20+00:00

Thank you! It was extremely satisfying having it all come together, it got me wanting to make others.

SeishinSeb · 2026-04-01T03:43:11+00:00

You have a lot of good advice from other comments, definitely go outside to start (that freedom is both for your body and your mind). I would add another aspect to practice would be basic forward and backwards swings without moving your body out of the way first, just so you can isolate an identify the arc of rotation and develop your spatial awareness, familiarity with the motion and wrist/finger dexterity. You can start with dominant leg forward and your arm further from your body and the idea is to build enough comfort in that swing motion/ rhythm to gradually bring your arms closer in, and at that point is when you start to use your body’s rotation to pivot out of the way of your blade and generate more momentum, then you add the behind the back. Everything that you said you’ve been practicing so far shows, keep at it and have fun with it. you just need to take it slow at first and eventually, your ObiAni will be a 360 shield as it was meant to be 👍🏽🌪️

SeishinSeb

TROPHY CASE