I need some advice here. What kind of wood, sticks, chain or rope, size and dimenions and any other recommendations. I would like to do this by just making a trip to my local hardware store if possible.

I dunno but wouldn't you just want the hardest wood you can find.

I do know you want rope and not links. The size would depend on the size of the piece you want to make.

Just watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 through 4 paying close attention to "Mike."

i would reccomend pressure treated or thomsonized wood. it seems to last longer.

you can buy these if you dont live in the facist state of california, but if you must do it youself I would say go with ash or iron wood. I myself want to find a nice ashwood cane thats leaded towards the bottom.

I made some a while back. I used 1 inch dowel about 12 inch long for each handle, for the link I used 2 screw in eyelets 2 threas close carabiners and some machine chain. I drill pilot holes for the eylets and screwed them in with epoxy. Then I put the whole thing together and wraped the handles in electrical tape.

There nice and can swing aroung but not very practical.

The're fair sturdy and can hold my weight (160 at the time)

[This message has been edited by SofaKingNO3 (edited 12-01-2000).]

i would make some out of good old lightweigh aluminum with a couple of lead balls in the end to add weight, if you got hit with one of thos suckers it would require some serious medical attention

i don't want to hurt anybody with them, i just need to make some - to practice with. i need overall dimensions and suggestions on the best materials to use, inexpensive substitutes, chain/rope length versus stick length etc, and stuff like that.

[This message has been edited by neon (edited 12-09-2000).]

Nunchakus are typically about one foot long and one-and-a-half inches in diameter. Rope/chain length is three to four inches. Ropes are often doubled, i.e. each piece is connected by two pieces of rope close together. Making them with chains is much more difficult, as the chain actually ends in balls set into sockets so it won't twist up.

But really, if you just want to practice I suggest just walking into a martial arts school and finding out if they sell practice nunchakus made of foam rubber and plastic. They're very common, as most instructors won't let students use wooden ones until they get better (for good reason, you hurt yourself a lot!).

-Gravehead, Tae Kwon Do Guru

Why practice with fakes the pain teaches you not to fuck up thats how I rearned to use my whip, lashing yourself is great negative reinforcement.

True... so true, smithee

try using bamboo, it last much longer than most north american woods and brueses the body much better as well. My older cousin (like 24) is really into like martial arts hand to hand and as well weapon fighting and he would practise fighting with sticks and he found that bamboo is much stronger, brueses more, and lasts longer than any other type of wood he had used before. as well bamboo will bend a lot before it snaps if it evens snaps I have seen my cousin bend his bamboo sticks to the point where his hands touched each other.

Bamboo is downright WICKED to beat someone with, because it flexes as you swing it. It's like a whip and a club combined. I couldn't see it as being a good wood for nunchakus for several reasons. You aren't actually whipping with the wood, you're whipping with the rope or chain, so you lose that advantage. It's not very heavy, which is what the nunchakus need to be to hurt someone. As far as durability, it's almost unheard of for nunchakus to break in a fight as long as they're made of something reasonably strong.

Weight isn't a necessity to gain power behind your strikes. It's like with baseball bats- Babe Ruth used to swing something like a 42-oz. bat, while smaller guys (Mays, Williams, Griffey) use much lighter ones, yet they can all crank the ball a mile. The extra speed generated by the bat counteracts the deficiency of the lower weight. Likewise, you lose some (not all) of the whipping action with the bamboo, plus it's lighter than some woods, but the speed with which you can snap that around will leave some serious marks on anyone that gets hit (including you!).

Really, there is no best material for everyone.. the weight needs to feel right to you. The best way to hurt someone with nunchaku is to have one that feels just right to you, because your movement will be smoother and more efficient. Experiment.

but in the case of babe ruth he was using a lever. I believe the point is that its not a leaver due to the string. I would go with lead weighted ash or iron wood.

The weight has more of an effect with a baseball bat, true, but it does impact anything that uses momentum in its strike- such as nunchaku.

my poitn was the opposite. weight tends to have less of an effect it a lever and more in a momentum weapon like nunchakus.

Traditional nunchuku dimensions are respective of the user's anatomy. The chain or rope should be the lenth of the back of the user's hand and the two sticks should be as long as the distance between the elbow and the wrist. But you don't have to do that. You can just make some that you feel comfortable with or buy a set. It would probably be cheeper to buy them. One place that is good for martial arts weapons is MartialArtsMart.com

dude if you wanna get complicated they should be about 12" long and taper from about 3/4" in diameter at the top and taper down to about 1 1/2" at the bottom and use about 4 1/2 inches of 1/2" link chain this chain should be attached to swivels at the small end of the handlesthe swivels should be attached with pins through the handles to hold them secure

if you're going to make practice nunchukau from wood, try something soft and file the edges round. For the actual weapons, plane it into an octagonal shape. The edges and points will concentrate the force and allow the weapon to cut. A final note: do not use chain, it binds, and it's noisy.

-ugu

If you want to make a set of ass whomping nunchakus you have some options. The first thing you have to decide is: "Do I want to kill people or make them wish they were dead." If you want to destroy somebody, go for oak, steel, (if you can handle it), or anything else heavy, solid and hard. If you opt for the latter, I would recommend Sch 40 PVC Pipe. "WHAT?" You may be asking. Here's the thing. PVC 'Chucks are light, fast, durable, cheap and they HURT like nothing you've ever felt before. This is because they are hollow and plastic. The other plus is that you are less likely to cause permanent damage to somebody. The second factor is your binding. String and Rope are light, cheap, and not made of metal, (read: do not show up in metal detectors). Chain bindings are heavy, durable, and hard to build. It's a little more complicated than just running a chain between your handles. You need some kind of ball joint that allows flexion, (similar to your shoulder joint). I'll let you look into that aspect. My personal preference? 1 foot handles made from 3/4" sch 40, bound with braided/woven Spyder Wire. Fast, efficient, cheap, and not metal. = )

the hardest wood in the world is ebony you could get it at a hobby shop or upscail hardwear store