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My Homemade Steel Tonfas (Okinawan Nightsticks/Side-Handle Batons)

These are the steel tonfas I made in around the beginning of January. I like them a lot, and I have used them repeatedly ever since. VERY tough, dents wood and crushes plastic with ease, I once used these in an all-out kumite (sparring match) with my friend who wields a Musashi-brand shirasaya sword, and these tonfas suffer no apparent damage.

This project was inspired by two things. One is by the super bad@ss steel tonfas I found on a martial arts website, and two is by the anime Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (which I am greatly a fan of) because one of the main characters, Hibari Kyoya, uses steel tonfas in battle (so I was like, hey! I could make those!).

Hope you like them! If many people comments on this, I will post a full I'ble of it (maybe :-P)

57 comments

1-40 of 57

May 6, 2011. 4:59 PMhakeye says:

just dont walk around with them you will get arrested unless you have a liscense or do a sport(like karate,kung-fu .etc).I know Cuse i have REAL ONES

Oct 28, 2010. 9:19 AMShadow13! says:

Very nice. I have read several of your instructables and I am quite impressed with all of them. I wish I had the material and tools to do the stuff you do.

Aug 22, 2010. 5:22 AMNeovenetar says:

do you think those tonfa that convert into nunchucks are as strong as these?

Aug 22, 2010. 10:57 AMCamisado (author) says:

Honestly, no.

Aug 11, 2010. 10:17 AMNeovenetar says:

did you weld them together yeah?

Aug 12, 2010. 8:25 AMCamisado (author) says:

Yep.

Feb 20, 2010. 11:40 PMHibari Kyoya says:

Wow no comments in a while o.o Well anyway man i love them and i'd really love to get a pair :D Actually... Hibari Kyoya inspired me to get a pair of these and i want to learn to use them like him :D. Know any place i can get them?

And again Amazing :D

Apr 23, 2010. 7:41 PMCamisado (author) says:

Thanks for the compliment! And you can get a pair of these online, but the pair they sell online is made out of stainless steel and is not as strong and damage-resilient as my pair.

May 4, 2010. 1:28 PMx50rider says:

actully in heat treated or high grade stainless is way harder

May 5, 2010. 6:24 PMCamisado (author) says:

You're entitled to your own opinion. Personally I don't believe a word you just said. If you have some proof to back up your claims, please do show me and prove me wrong.

May 20, 2010. 7:12 PMDanish M1Garand says:

Look at the blade of a Bucket Loader or any other earthmoving equipment. You weld on stainless to keep it from wearing out. If mild steel wore better and was tougher we would weld that to the bucket as it is a third the cost.

Sweet Tonfas.

Aug 10, 2010. 3:29 PMbarambogie says:

LOL. They don't weld stainless on buck loaders, they just look polished and unrusted because they are always wearing away from use. Good reasoning though. |||| And x50rider said, "actully in heat treated or high grade stainless is way harder" ...it's true that some heat treated stainless is harder than some regular steel, but there are lots of types of steel out there, with various properties. Most stainless steel is not heat treated and is relatively soft. http://www.matweb.com/ |||| Per dollar you can get much harder and stronger carbon steel than stainless. And hardness is not the only important property, too hard and it will be brittle, like a tool steel drill bit.

Jun 20, 2010. 7:37 PMCamisado (author) says:

While that might be true, I once attacked a piece of bamboo with a stainless steel knife I purchased online and did the same thing with a high-carbon knife for the heck of it. The high carbon knife didn't suffer any apparent damage while the stainless steel knife got little chips here and there. But what do I know, you might be right, personally I don't really care that much. And thank you very much for the compliment.

May 9, 2010. 5:56 PMwrksnfx says:

They are AWESOME.

Just don't get caught carrying them because they are illegal to carry them unless your a law enforcement officer.

Jun 20, 2010. 7:34 PMCamisado (author) says:

Not illegal in my country.

Mar 2, 2010. 3:08 PMAztof says:

Very nice! I'm going to make a pair of my own, but out of pipe. i have tested and found that steel pipe filled with that expanding foam stuff that comes in a can absorbs and distributes shock quite nicely, but good for you for making real strrl weapons yourself. 4/5

Apr 23, 2010. 7:47 PMCamisado (author) says:

Thanks for the compliment. If you end up making one, do post a pic here.

Mar 18, 2010. 9:46 PMphoenix12 says:

Dude that's awsome.

Apr 23, 2010. 7:42 PMCamisado (author) says:

Thanks man.

Oct 26, 2009. 8:51 PMR1Ch0 says:

what type of metal did you use?
and what method of welding did you use?
they look pretty good, nice work.

Nov 14, 2009. 1:39 AMCamisado (author) says:

High carbon steel, not an expert on welding, so I guess normal welding? I dunno. Thanks for the compliment!

Aug 2, 2009. 1:51 PMKnexspecialist says:

Hey, these are brilliant 5* and subbed.

(P.S. I know we got off on the wrong foot on my knex slideshow but I also like home made non-k'nex weapons so I hope we can put that behind us)

Aug 3, 2009. 2:28 AMCamisado (author) says:

Thank you very much! Both for the 5 stars and the subscription!

Oh yeah, you're the guy that makes the K'nex First Tsurugi, right? It's Ok, we didn't really got off on the wrong foot per se, I've had worse starts with a lot of other people. Thanks again for subscribing me and I hope we can be friends.

Aug 3, 2009. 3:50 AMKnexspecialist says:

Thanks, I too hope we can be friends (:

Jul 21, 2009. 6:11 PMgeodez says:

i read a funny story about nightsticks once.

Jul 22, 2009. 2:27 AMCamisado (author) says:

Good for you. Did you like the Tonfas?

Jul 22, 2009. 7:55 AMgeodez says:

yeah, they are cool.

Jul 23, 2009. 2:54 AMCamisado (author) says:

Thanks.

Jul 23, 2009. 7:45 AMgeodez says:

you are welcome.

May 30, 2009. 1:35 PMrecipito says:

post a tutorial! where did you get the metal?

May 30, 2009. 5:46 PMCamisado (author) says:

A tutorial? Sure, but don't get your hopes up..... Where did I get the steel? From a blacksmith living nearby.... (He didn't made these, I made them, I just got the steel from him.)

May 6, 2009. 1:31 PMWolfsburg says:

Doesn't all that weight make them a bit slower?

May 7, 2009. 3:39 AMCamisado (author) says:

They're not heavy at all, and even if they are, it really won't affect the overall performance of a tonfa-class weapon.