When performing moon circles, space walks, etc, the the uneven weight of tama vs. ken will cause the motions to "wobble." When performing a lunar, tama weight is essentially out of the question, but tama texture is helpful. Weight distribution within ken is the question. It is "easier" when the sarado is heavier or equal to the sword/spike part of ken (top heavy or balanced). You will have to pry them apart to weigh them. It's "easier" because when the ken is doing the balancing act, it will be less likely to tip back toward the bottom cup due to less mass being affected by gravity. A simple seesaw effect. As for lighthouses, it is "easier" when the spike/sword part of ken is heavier or equal to the sarado (bottom cup heavy or balanced). It is considered "easier" because the ken is less likely to tip over when adjusting after the landing. Of course a sticky tama helps, but is not necessary. So a "good" all-around kendama has weight equally distributed. Sarado + Spike = Tama Besides weight the other factors include ken shape design (sarado length, cups' rim width, cup diameter/depth, spike length and width), tama tackiness, tama bevel size, and production quality. I hope this helped. I have a Kaizen 2.0 Maple: Tama: 67.58g Ken: 75.20g (sarado: 37.05g & spike: 38.15g)
ive got a collection to try now. im jamming on alex smith and dave mateo damas and a viking, once its time to move on, ill need to pick a few more from my stash that has specific qualities
I second the opinion. A TK-16 Master was my first "real" kendama and that original one was given to our shop as their first demo kendama. It served for years before being retired.