Hands Down Most valuable training tool for knife hand or palm strike
Iron arts training. 
 
Many of today's makawaras are mass produced by Corporations to sell as many as possible.
They try to give a false sense of security to the contemporary martial artist. Many are cheaply made and have padding on the striking area which of course defeats the entire purpose of the tool. Hence they end up in the bin along with other useless mass produced items .
 
Seven Gates austere gear is old school. The purpose of a makawara is to toughen your anatomy in furtherance of your iron arts training. Many of the mass produced ones have fancy leather or cloth coverings with nice looking fasteners that serve absolutely no purpose in hardening the body.
 
I have studied, trained and taught martial arts since 1970. I was introduced to the iron arts in 1975 and built my first makawara then.. When I sold my schools and retired from daily teaching in 2009 I gave the same one I built in 1975 to one of top student/teachers.
These are built tough for decades of true training. There is nothing comfortable in iron arts training... yet the commercial offers try to make it comfortable. If you are seeking true, breaking power, true lethal striking power..true iron arts training... then consider the right tool...
 
These are hand made to the exact same standards as the one that lasted me 34 years.
These are hand built to order. As such leave 3 to 4 days time before shipping.