Hey yall, like most people here I am pretty obsessed with this culture and have been steadily collecting, playing with different brands of kendamas. There are some companies(still operating or defunct) that produce relatively obscure products which I hope to share and review here (in this thread), I am in no way affiliated to any of the brands here, just a regular consumer sharing the love for hobby. Let me know what you guys think of it and if you have any particular brand you've been curious about and want to know more let me know I might just have it! Haha. Likewise please feel free to share any uncommon brands you have! Starting off is the funk kendama from 44rpm. Good news is it is still available for purchase here: http://44rpmshop.com/collections/frontpage/products/the-funk-kendama and here: https://shop.yoyoexpert.com/products/funk-kendama-by-44rpm?variant=28126803080 Ken: First of, this ken is really chunky and the spike sounds are phenomenal, ahaha, I did a kenparison (pun totally intended) with the generation 1 homegrown and the difference is apparent. The thicker and robust shape creates a completely different play experience and it feels extremely solid in hand. Tama: Silk, smooth paint, not rubber. Not entirely grippy but can hold lighthouse lunars, it seemingly loses tack after prolonged play. It feels like a semi-broken in natty. You can also tell that a lot of thought was put into the lovely hand printed burlap packaging- I don't recommend bringing it around as it's leaves behind dusty flakes. Lastly, its a full maple kendama, that has an extremely unique shape designed by the wizard Takeshi Kamisato.. and all the goodies and everything for 25USD(not inclusive shipping). GET OUT~! Possibly one of the more underrated kendamas about. Do consider getting one if you ken afford it!
The Funk is pretty sweet. Very unorthodox shape, unique all around! I haven't met the dudes who run 44rpm in person, but everyone says they're the best, and Takeshi is the man! Okay my turn: There is a model of TK-16 out there that is painted green by Kawasaki! Apparently it was a source of conflict, as the JKA was upset that Kawasaki took a competition approved ken, and put their paint on it (so technically it was no longer JKA-approved, despite having the seal). GLOKEN used to have some up for sale, I'm not sure if they do anymore though. I have one in my collection, but I can't recall exactly where I got it from...
Not really that obscure, but a friend of our team started his own company a while ago for the hell of it. It is/was called KRAES Kendama, and I have a bunch of them. Not really sure what happened to the company, the details are a bit unclear. They are really fun to have though. They did this thing where they would burn a number on the back of them according to the batch. I think they ended up doing 5 batches or so. It was kinda of a cool idea, because it was an easy way to track how O.G. the model was - or rather would have become had the company continued.
Right, my turn! Takeshi Kamisato handcrats some of the dopest kendamas in existence, and gifts them to certain individuals. One such piece is gifted to Akira Tajima, with a cupstacked (bearing inside) base cup, allowing him to do his signature trick, "Clutch"! Here's the link to said kendama. https://instagram.com/p/6XFk8Dpv5h/
This kendama 'speldama' from KROM x spelexperten is pretty famous here in Sweden and Denmark. But how many have this who's not from Scandinavia? I'm not sure if KROM sold it on their website when they released it. But I do know that spelexperten still has it in stock.
I've been wanting a Funk just bcs Takeshi was involved with it... Based on this review I'm making that my next purchase. Thanks!
Yea! I think this will be my fifth time there now. This year we have our own booth for the Terra pill too! (Instead of a combo booth with KenUSA) Definitely excited to visit NYC again. Here's another obscure kendama: This one was given to me as a gift, from a local shredder named Ethan. It was made by a guy from interior BC, apparently he was hired to make a bunch of kendamas for a kids camp. Weird and chunky shape, but it's cool that it was handmade in Canada! It's very light weight, made from New Zealand totara wood.
I just landed in Tokyo last night. One of these days I hope to make it to the show. Have a good one in NYC.
Absolutely got to agree with you on that one! I also own a Funk and they are very fun to jam! Super, super chunky shape - very different from any other dama I own. The maple on it makes it so clacky and awesome! Plus the color way is awesome and unique too.
Nice, not too obscure though I saw a post on insta about Sweets being double pro now! Crazy he's on the play team too
Here's another obscure kendama i found at Japan, in 2015, during my stay with Takahiko Hasegawa (a.k.a. Taka) of Spingear. A Krom Kendama Deluxe "Yoyodama"!
The Shin Fuji Soft Catch aka Shin Fuji Fuzzy Ball aka Shin Fuzzy. The tama is flocked, making it feel like velvet in texture. It's super fun to jam, but it's more like a novelty in my collection. I only know 2 other people who have one, but they don't really jam Kendama anymore. I haven't seen anyone else with this Kendama in almost 2 years!
It looks so soft and cuddly! I want to be its friend. LOL. Probably will be even more rare/obscurity/interesting item when Shin Fuji gets discontinued and harder to cop.