Sandata Crafts Weapons Review, Part 1

[Alexander Chin]

Sandata Crafts Weapons Review, Part 1

(Editor’s notes: SFI was approached by J.M. Taylor of Sandata Crafts (http://www.sandatacrafts.com/) to do a review of some of his company’s weapons. This first part deals with Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) weapons as reviewed by Restita DeJesus, a martial arts teacher and practitioner of FMA. Part 2, will cover the Japanese Martial Arts weapons as evaluated by Erik Tracy.

Sandata Crafts specializes in the use of plantation-grown kamagong, or Philippine Iron Wood/Ebony. They will also carve weapons from bahi or Palm Wood, mahogany, and several other Filipino hardwoods. While not as dense, heavy or hard as true Ironwood (lignum vitae), kamagong , is a very solid tropical hardwood with beautiful figuring.

Per J.M., the bahi is even harder than the kamagong, but, over time, suffers from surface “checking” or fine cracks. This effect is purely cosmetic and does not affect the structural integrity of the weapon. A bahi jo which was sent me several months ago has not shown any signs of this effect. He also notes that it is difficult to obtain wide pieces of bahi, so it is not possible to make certain weapons.)

Recently, I’ve acquired some training swords and knives from “Sandata Crafts”, a company specializing in wooden training weapons for Filipino Martial Arts. As an FMA practitioner, I’ve handled these weapons for the past few weeks, and would like to post my observations and opinions on the 3 long training swords, and the 3 training knives.

First off, the craftsmanship is indeed amazing with these weapons. Each weapon is hand carved by Master Limpin at Sandata Crafts. Primarily made with kamagong (a type of Philippine ebony), these weapons have a brilliant finish without the use of lacquers or finishes...just a “coat of wax”, as the company says. “Exquisite” is the word for these weapons. Unfortunately, my pictures do not do them justice. You have to see them to appreciate them.

(Per J.M., Master Limpin does not advise removing the wax and oiling the weapons. He says, if the weapon loses its shine, simply wax it again and buff with a cloth after 10 minutes. However, he says you could remove the wax and oil if you really want to. He suggests using a 600-1000 sandpaper when removing the wax.

Master Limpin uses natural, transparent (white or red/brown), waterproof wax and recommends products like Flexon and Johnson’s wax for maintaining the weapons. For those who desire, unwaxed weapons are also available upon request.

Please note that the weapon descriptions are followed by the overall length and weight.)

These weapons were used throughout a 2-week course of Eskrima drills and tactical practice, with a lot of contact. We weren’t “nice” to them just because they were made from an exotic wood. My teacher, (Master Christopher Petrilli), my Biz partner (Guro Sherril Johnson) and I wanted to see just how much these beauties could take. A few of the blades did take some damage, though.

Let’s start….

Kris Sword (25 ¾ inches, 1 lb.)

Great size and shape. In Sinawalli drills (weapon exercises, usually with a partner) and “free-flow” exercises, I found that the balance of this particular training blade to be a tad bit tip-heavy for me…. it didn’t seem to “flow” very well with my cutting lines, but was very strong feeling in the thrusting lines. I had my business partner, Sherril Johnson, handle the blade through drills and asked what she thought about it…she also found the balance to be a bit thrown to the tip. Our students and another respected teacher of FMA handled this Kris as well, and found it to be “very good (tactile feeling) in the hand”, and “fun to work with”. With that said, it confirmed the notion that I was indeed “just being picky”. I tend to like my sticks, swords, and daggers with a little different “balance” than other people…. eh, what can I say?
After much inspection and handling, it is obvious that this sword (as well as all the other weapons) was made for “practical” use. The woodwork was shaped so as to give and take strong hits. And believe me, this Kris took a lot of hits during drills and on the Tire-Dummy (a mannequin-type dummy made entirely of tires)! Unfortunately, this Kris fractured after a series of about 5 REALLY HARD hits against another sword (see “Arnis swords” below). Other than that, his kris would be a great addition to any FMA practitioner’s weapons gear.

[Alexander Chin]

Kris Dagger (13 ¾ inches, 7 oz.)

This dagger felt really good during training exercises. Nice balance, and flowed well in single-dagger use and “Stick and dagger” drills. Great feel, in cut and thrust, both in standard and reverse grip.

[Alexander Chin]

Dagger, regular (12 ¼ inches, 6 oz.)

This particular dagger is part of Sandata crafts “”other weapons category”, instead of the usual “Filipino weapons” category. I really liked this dagger…it also had a nice balance for tip, cut & thrust lines. I adopted this dagger into my gear-bag!

[Alexander Chin]

Arnis swords (Sword #1, 26 inches, 15 oz.) (Sword #2, 25 ¾ inches, 13 oz.)

I had two of these swords to play with, but I was unsure as to if the two swords were the same model (with subtle handcrafting differences), or if I had two different models. One sword had a slightly wider handle and blade (sword #1) and was a little heavier than the other (sword #2). Sword #1 was also a bit longer and was balanced closer to the handle area, making it seem to flow better in the cut-lines, although the handle was a little bit large for my (small) hand. Sword #2 performed well also (tad bit of a smaller grip). Unfortunately, these swords cracked during practice, also (one of them cracking at about 6 really HARD hits, and the other cracking at 4.)

[Alexander Chin]

Garrote (26 inches, 15 oz.)

This was my personal favorite. I really like the feel of this weapon and its tracking, during drills. Alas, the Garrote also suffered damage…a couple of hairline cracks down the length of the weapon.

[Alexander Chin]

Now, please keep in mind, that it was not our intention to damage these weapons! (I’m sad that some of them suffered fractures and cracks). None of the swords “broke”…just fractured or cracked. Master Petrilli and Guro Sherril have some snappy HARD strikes, so it’s no wonder that the weapons took some damage. However, for general, everyday training, (medium to semi-heavy contact) I’d recommend these beautiful weapons to any FMA practitioner.

(After contacting J.M. about the weapon fractures, he apologized for a miscommunication. Apparently Master Limpin had intended these review samples for forms practice, NOT hard contact. He says that for hard contact/sparring the weapons are made thicker and more substantial.

If a weapon sustains superficial cracks (not all the way through) or dings during use, Master Limpin makes the following repair suggestions:

Sand the crack with a 240-280 sand paper. Then, take the sawdust left over from the sanding and put it in the crack. Apply a clear, quick drying super glue to the crack. Wait until it is dry, then sand the area with a 600-1000 sandpaper, or you can use a machine buffer if you have one.

Scratches or slight dings can simply be sanded with 600-1000 sand paper.

[Massimo Maddaloni]

I recently purchased one bokken, one tanto and one dagger from SandataCraft. First of all Mr. O’Taylor is an exquisite person. He is very understanding and willing to meet any reasonable customer’s request (he may be willing to meet any UNreasonable one, but I didn’t test him on that). My bokken was customized with a 12/29 inches handle/blade, the handle has an intricate engraving on both sides (it’s kinda fancy but I like to see it standing out when placed in one of the weapons rack on the wall of the dojo).
The beauty of the wood is truly breathtaking: there are many shades of brown as well as green and anthracite hues. The grain is close and compact. The engraving is amazing and it feels very smooth in the hands. The carving shows a superior attention to details. The curvature increases toward the monouchi, the handle is nicely tapered, and the tip is solid and smoothly dome-shaped to deflect those rare impacts, which too often chip the tips. The bokken is heavy and it feels very similar to a real katana, as stated in their website. The point of balance is about 5 inches from the guard. I took my bokken to the dojo and, while I didn’t do any crash test, I tested it by rigorous training. The bokken withstood “training” impacts against real white Japanese oak and high-quality hickory and placed noticeable indents in a couple of other woods one of which is supposed to be extremely resilient. The bokken was delivered with a free, sturdy nylon case featuring an adjustable shoulder strap. I am an easy-going customer and I wont’ complain about that …
The tanto and the dagger parallel the quality of the bokken. They feel solid and balanced, something you can really do some work with.
These are BY FAR the best weapons I have ever owned and seen.
Regards
Massimo Maddaloni