Hello All,
This is John from TAK (the company mentioned in this thread). I saw a lot of traffic come in from your site so I thought I would give you my thoughts on the subject.
All of our production knives and swords are made from 3/8" polycarbonate. Short swords and long knives that are up to 25" in length have sufficient "stiffness" to be used in full contact situations. Between 25" and 32", there starts to be a little whip action that happens back and forth along the flats. Some people find this acceptable but I tend to shy away from making them as production models since some do not like the feel of it. Above 32", I do not recommend using polycarbonate. It is strong enough but there is a noticable "whip" effect side to side. The cutting edge stays stiff up to 60".
Our blades are primarially designed for moderate sparring with minimal protective gear or full contact with full protective gear.
On larger trainers like the tomahawks and bowies, we use a shock absorbing material in the handle base. Training on a pell, this really helps the "ringing" effect that comes back into the handle. Live (sharp) blades typically do not have this issue since the blade "sinks" into the wood. Trainers on the other hand "bounce" off the surface and the shock is much more pronounced.
The sticks are not made from polycarbonate. They are made from an extruded polymer with a 1/2" bore in the center to reduce the weight to the equivalent of rattan.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me at
info@TAKknife.com
Best Regards,
John
