Kabuki Strength Power Bar – Black Oxide

Kabuki Strength Black Oxide Power Bar

The Kabuki Strength Black Oxide Power Bar is one of the best powerlifting bars on the market – one of three finish options from Kabuki.

It offers a mountainous knurl with a great grip and without a sharp bite. Its black oxide coating provides excellent texture and overall feel.

This is a premium bar and a premium price.

Check out all the details below:

Features & Highlights

• Black Oxide – Black Oxide is one of my personal favorite finishes due to its excellent feel in the hands and how well it takes chalk. Surface rust will eventually show up on a black oxide surface, so just keep this in mind. Oil will help mitigate oxidation, but it won’t prevent it. This bar sits between the bright zinc and electroless nickel options from Kabuki in terms of price.
• Aggressive Knurling – This bar has an aggressive knurl that isn’t overly sharp thanks to it’s almost smoothed out mountain peaks. This bar offers one of the highest points-per-square-inch ratios I’ve ever seen, and because of that, it also reduces some of the bite. This bar makes for a great PR bar or just an all-around daily driver. Some users find the black oxide to offer a better grip than the electroless nickel version. In my experience, black oxide is certainly one of the best… often not requiring chalk at all.
• 29mm Shaft – The 29mm shaft on the Kabuki Black Oxide Power Bar is consistent with IPF standards. It creates a very rigid shaft ideal for the big 3 power lifts. 
• IPF Knurl Marks – This bar offers single powerlifting knurl marks spec’d to IPF requirements.
• Tensile Strength – The 250k+ PSI tensile strength of the Kabuki Power Bar is the highest of any power bar currently on the market.
• Grooved Sleeves – The grooved sleeves will tend to keep the plates on the bar better than a smooth sleeve when not using collars, but they will also be louder. The sleeves are also finished in black oxide.
• Bushings – The bar offers a bushing rotation system, which is expected with a power bar.
• Center Knurl – This bar includes a center knurl in the same knurl pattern as the rest of the bar. In the center of the center knurl is a vertical smooth line for easy identification when lining up under the bar.

What They’re Saying at Kabuki Strength

The Kabuki Strength Black Oxide Power Bar receives very positive feedback from users. With a 4.9/5 average rating at kabukistrength.net, here are some of the things people have said:

Positive

• “The black oxide finish is amazing! The knurling is perfectly aggressive! Looking forward to many years of abusing the hell out of it! Well done Kabuki Strength team!”
• “Hands down the kabuki power bar is the best barbell Iv ever laid hands on. I am so happy I ended up purchasing a kabuki bar. I purchased back in the pre sale, this bar was well worth the wait. The black oxide finish is badass, I will be purchasing a squat bar here shortly. You guys are geniuses.”
• “This bar is incredible! best knurling I have ever laid hands on…throw your chalk away.
  Simply the best customer service on the planet.”
• “I received my power bar a few weeks ago and I can honestly say that I have never held a better barbell, whether it be weightlifting or powerlifting, in my life. The knurl is incredibly well made and I’ve never once had to apply chalk when using the barbell, even when my hands get a bit sweaty. Minimal whip, if any, in my squats which have ranged in the mid 500s since receiving the bar, which is a great benefit for weightlifters who want to be able to squat maximally without having to fight the whip on the way up.
  Bottom line, you cannot go wrong. This barbell is my favorite piece of equipment and will outlast me as well as my lifting career. My kids will one day say the same.
  If you’re thinking about buying this barbell, stop thinking and pull the trigger.
  YOU WON’T REGRET IT!”
• “We now have 2 Kabuki power bars in our faciity. These are mixed with power bars from other brands but they stand out from our others in so many ways. We have a black oxide and a zinc one. They are both unmatched in quality and as we replace our other bars throughout the years they will be replaced with kabuki products!”

Critical

• “First off the KPB’s knurling is as good as the others have stated and feels unlike any other bar I have ever used. Alll the stick of a Texas Power Bar Or OPB but at the same time being much more comfortable and less likely to rip your hands on heavy deadlifts. It’s obviously incredibly stiff as well. I have never lifted with a thousand dollar Eleiko or Ivanko power bar but I would be surprised if they were any better than the Kabuki in terms of overall performance. My only problem was that the Black Oxide finish on the shaft upon receiving my bar was horrendousl. It was very dull and more of a dark grey with streaks of black in it on the smooth parts. The black oxide bars advertised in the pictures are flawless and for a bar that cost about as much as my Rogue Power Rack I expected mine to be the same or at least close to it. Its as if Kabuki completely butchered the black oxide treatment on my bar and said aww F-it, he probably wont care. I would usually knock off 2 stars because of something like this but because the KPB has knurling is that is so exceptional and unique I will still give it 4 stars but only after highly suggesting choosing a finish other than black oxide just In the case that my bar happens not the only one with this problem. My KPB is pretty much equivalent to a brand new Mclaren with a paint job from Maaco. This is a shame because if not for that this honestly would of been one of the easiest 5 star reviews I have ever given in my life.”

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has reviewed the Electroless Nickel version of this bar. You can read the full review here or you can view the synopsis below.

[letsreview postid=”3557″]

The Kabuki Power Bar was a winner in the Garage Gym Lab 2022 Best Barbell Awards.

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Kabuki Strength Black Oxide Power Bar.