Hello fellow slayers! I've recently been looking into buying a new spectrum GT. From what I've heard, specs chip like crazy. I trust that this is somewhat true, but then I see people doing crazy tap/insta lh tricks on them and am led to believe that they must be pretty durable(for example, stodd's recent "double stodd" edit). I was wondering if you could give me some insight as far as how well they really hold up(can they be daily jammers?). Thanks!
On average, its probably a little more brittle than a solid wood ken. If you avoid high impact tricks, then your chances of not chipping are much higher
While it's not entirely fool proof, getting some hand oils/sweat into them somewhat helps. It "softens" the wood so it's not as brittle. When the cups start to become less sharp and more rounded from playing, this can also help reduce chipping, at least in my experience it has. Basically when it stops being fresh and starts to get darker and dirtier. I've seen people like Ben Herald do crazy tap tricks on his specs and they hold up well, or at least for a longer time than one would expect. Specs will chip eventually, but that's not always a bad thing. Wood glue and a clamp works wonders. That being said, I recommend copping a GT spec. The raw ash tama it comes with plays super well, highly recommend the two
Did someone else mention in the other spectraply thread how they can use oils like Coco oil or whatever to soften it like you said?
I don't know if you guys remember, but the "Harvest Moon" Homegrown dropped over a year ago, and I managed to cop one. Today, it is still one of my main jammers and it was an amazing purchase. I haven't dropped it much, but there are still no chips or crazy dents. It's way too honed and was worth the price tag!
I've had my Cappuccino chip only once thus far. But when paired with a Musou tama, the grip for lunars and LH is phenomenal!
Hi guys! On the topic of spectraply kens, how do Sweets HG spectraply kens hold up? I'm asking because I heard that they chip alot, even more so than GT spectraply kens.
Totally confirmed. I have tested with four seperate kens. 2 oiled and 2 not. Kenditioner and coconut oil make a huge difference with spec kens of all brands. The first thing I do when I get a spec ken is grease it up with my homemade "woodbutter" and it prevents chips and helps to ken wear more evenly around the edges. With that said, I still feel it is a good standard practice to give the specs the respect they are due and play over softer surfaces.
Welp now that you mention this I realized that I have no Kenditioner or any type of wood conditioner...kms
You might want to watch the coconut oil, or any organic based oils, or you could end up with a rancid ken like @Cheech_Sander mentioned here. @Emil Apostol if you haven't already seen it the Shades of Grain thread might have useful info for you. For reference:
Sorry I know this is from over a year ago, but I found the same Kendama new but wasn’t sure if the tag of $110 was good or not? Any info helps thanks!
Yeah wow, that is pretty high. They don't make Sweets specs anymore so there is that but even then $110 is a lot to pay. Is it ken only or tama included? Is is Cushion clear or natty?
If you want a sweets spectra without selling a kidney, go to sweets Romania website and order the mystery homegrown spectra ply, I ordered two last week and it came out to look like 81 dollars after tax and shipping, I live in Arizona in the us so they definitely are doing something right. It took 4 days to get here. Just something to look into. P.s if you're curious I got two next gens, 1 green goblin and the other was a fushcia flash
it can be a bit of a gamble. ive had some for 3 years and they are all good while others dont last as long. its not a solid piece of wood so it does have more places for it to chip. best is to not play over concrete and you should be fine. lots more GT specs coming soon though so stay tuned to the GT ig page for drops
I ended up getting two mystery spectra from Romania and ended up getting the same two u got. With a blue icy gloss Tama and a green icy gloss Tama. Thanks again for the help I love the look and feel of these kens and have replaced the Tamas with a MSweetsPro Tama and ATack magenta fade for some fun/good looking setups