Decided to try my hand at making my own bachi.
I’m going with celluloid + Cherry wood for a sakura look to it. if anyone could, i’d very much appreciate a small picture or clip showing how much flex should be in the bachi blade, as i’ve only ever owned a wooden one.
Still unsure also as to how i’m going to attach the handle to the blade. but that’s something i’ll figure out when i get to it!
EDIT: i pressed post WAAY to early. had to add the rest of my post.
i hope documenting my process might help anyone who is tempted to make one themself. and also get myself some answers to things 
Please ignore all the weird scratches in my desk. i really should get one of those rubber mats instead of doing all these little projects on the bare desk.
to note: here I have traced around the bachi onto the sheet by scratching it in. as pencil didn’t seem to cut it. And I’ve been slowly cutting sections out to get the shape.
Today’s update, finished the blade. Kept sanding the blade until it had a good feeling flex to it. not sure where it’d be considered. but it has a tiny bit more than my maple bachi. it’s around 2.4mm thick.
Next update will be me working on the cherry wood grips for the handle. As it’s my birthday today i’ve not had time to start on the handle yet ^^"
First half of the handle is made, a bit rough still but i’ll touch it up after. i’m using very limited tools so things are taking quite long. not to mention all the cuts and scratches on my hand
Ill post a video of my faux bekko bachi flex in a bit. Out of curiousity, what tools are you using for the handle?
being how limited the tools i own are, ive been using a tamiya hobby saw, and the blade of a hand planer almost like a chisel. i have very little woodworking experience i should add. so its no surprise its not that good looking so far.
Probably my final update for the actual progress, i used glue to hold the handle in place to the celluloid blade. nothing fancy. this is a case of someone with nearly 0 skill making a usable bachi with next to no tools. i gotta sand this a bunch still but its holding. gave it a test and seems fine. thanks to kyle for replying to my email about how much flex a bekko bachi has. i seem to have this one in the right ball park. all it needs is a bunch of sanding and i think it will look at least half-okay. ^^
Yeah i was going to say you probably just need some sandpaper. Its easier to control the amount of material you’re removing while slowly getting the ideal shape you’re going for. Not to mention you can get a smooth finish when you’re done.
Now I’m interested in how celluloid works for a bachi
I did a lot of looking around. And saw some places saying it warped, or was “too flexible” etc. So i assume that was because of how thin it was. I got some 3mm thick sheet and sanded it roughly to around 2mm (the blades tip goes to 1.9~) with the part inside the handle being a bit thicker around 2.4. Thanks to Kyle showing me a pic in an e-mail of his bekko bachi flexing I can say mine is roughly around the same, maybe SLIGHTLY more. I gave it a couple tests and it feels quite nice to use. long term i’ll be able to see if there is a warp. But hopefully it’ll hold well enough. still gonna slowly work on sanding it once my fingers heal up from all these little cuts and scratches i got. I should not be allowed around sharp objects 
Last update: After a bunch of sanding, although not perfect and pretty. I managed to get a lot of the roughness away from it. its comfortable enough in the hand. comparable to my maple bachi I used for its template. and playing some of the very few songs i can play a couple of times. I can say it feels quite nice. It feels like it has more flex than my maple bachi, but not a ridiculous amount. The blade’s tip is about 2mm. and it tapers out to about 2.5 by the base of the blade/part inside the handle. hopefully this extra thickness compared to other bachi will negate the supposed tendency for warping that i heard celluloid can have. aside from various grits of sandpaper. the only other tools i used for this project are as follows
Tamiya thin blade craft saw.
A small flat planer’s blade (not the planer itself. just the removed blade.
and a single G-clamp.
If someone with my absolute miniscule knowledge of any form of woodworking, and my severe lack of tools can make a what I assume is a functional, but not necessarily “Pretty” bachi. Anyone reading this probably can! so if anyone reading this is seeing the big price tag on those more expensive bachi out there and looking for an alternative. maybe this little thread I’ve made will help.
