Breaking above the tama sometimes means the string hole has a burr. It will sometimes also cause a bearing equipped rig to bind and the bearing doesn't work as efficiently. Usually you can take a toothpick and work the hole without the string in it to make sure it's clear but sometimes if it's a continuing problem you'll need to get a hole-sized or slightly smaller drill bit and with your hand only, not a drill, slowly clear out the hole. Also sometimes people are calling satin strings "silk" and they're not the same. Here are some real silk strings.
I personally don't like the really soft sulf strings. I prefer the Kendama USA strings. Like @Ben Lowe , I am more interested in the length. I tend to rock a 3-4 finger length. You can never go wrong with a dama mod too.
Bump! Here's a thought: String length makes other tricks easier while making others harder at the same time. A super long, 5-8 finger string makes juggles much easier, but at the cost of your pull up/ swing up tricks. String tricks as well as well suffer from this string length. On the other hand, traditional 2 fingers is much easier to manage but juggles suck on a 2 finger-length string dama. Personally, I like to keep it at 2-3 fingers since I don't juggle much anyway, and if I do decide to pursue the grind, it shouldn't be at the cost of the rest of my repertoire.
I wouldn't mind a Krom POP Kidding aside, I got lucky on this one lol. I use the search function as much as I can before starting a new thread, but sometimes nothing comes up even if there are already existing threads that answer my question and/or have opened up the dialogue.
You are telling that Grain theory replacement strings are ken labs ? Love them In a matter of lenght, I play with 3-4 fingers for juggles and spacewalks, but here is a story : Yesterday we organized an event in France and I met kids whi tied to string together to have a longer one, the juglles/ late were obviously laced but with not any style Is the string lenght a criteria for KWC/ MkO dama check ?
Having some form of standardization is good, but the governing body behind said standardization should also consider moving with the times (bigger ken sizes, for example).
There are usually tradeoffs to that, like spacewalks are crazy slow and needs a lotta effort to throw, and you need to pull up harder to spike or swing in. I think there are really no issues with string length in comps, the real issues are when you cheat like handing damas, adjusting string, etc etc, and act like it’s prefectly fine to do so in a comp.
This may be an ancient topic, but I’m curious to hear what you guys think about finding the best strings. Is there a standard for what is to expected from premium string? How do new age nylon and classic silk compare to each other? Is three fingers of string the preferred length to accomplish the majority of known tricks? How long does a string take to wear out and how do you know when to replace it? Do you like to leave adjustable knots or do you tighten them to be permanent? Super glue the permanent knots? Thanks for the input on any of this or any other side of strings you could think of.
There is a thread on this already, located here : ] Lots of good reading there. See you in that thread! @azleonhart come do that mod thing you do. To answer your questions: There isn't a standard for what's expected. Nylon vs Silk is all preferences. I've switch back and forth and still use both but prefer nylon. Three fingers is kinda the long string standard for most, but a lot of people use closer to 2 and some use as much as 4+ for juggle heavy styles. Strings last a very long time. To be safe replace when it starts to fray, or when you want a new color. Adjustable or permanent is up to you. I use a double overhand on the ken side and a slipknot on the tama end. Never glued a knot, never heard of someone doing it. Ken-Lab (Sold through GT) make the best strings IMO.
@cpthangover, your request has been approved. [mod mode, activate!] Merged both threads for @xplodit ’s viewing pleasure.
So you play stringless, cool? Got a link to a video of your stringless play? Always looking for some interesting moves.