Something I’ve been doing lately is when my Mok Gum is starting to crack or splinter in an area I take a lit candle and drip and smooth some wax into and around the area(also works for big divits). I let the wax cool and then wave a flame over it for a few seconds and smooth it over with my finger to pull off the excess and then rub the sword down with a paper towel or rag to pull off the extra wax and smooth it out very nice. Unless you look very closely you cannot tell there is any wax on the sword and it is smooth enough to not hinder any exercises of drawing the mok gum.

I started to notice today that it is feeling a little bit heavier, and I thought that his might be a good way to add a little bit of weight to the wooden sword while keeping its appearance and balance in tact. What is everyone’s thoughts or experiences with this? This is just as much a statement of something I discovered as asking for more advice and info on it. Feel free to jump in on any angle.

Might be easier to get a sword made from a heavier wood.

But wax is very likely cheaper than a new mok gom, so if it works, go for it and tell us the results.

There are a few things I've done to some of my mokgums in the past.

First thing I noticed was when you use the same mokgum for a few years, sweat from your hand is absorbed by the mokgum and it gets heavier and denser.

Other things I and some of mystudents did was tape whole length of mokgum with sports tape, drill the core and fill it with lead.

The best way though was to get a heavier mokgum as Aaron suggests. Ebony is the best but compressed oak is not bad, considering the price.

Or a gakum is always nice....