Okay so I slathered my GT with some Ken butter, loved the look..but I’m not loving the play. I feel like it’s taking an exceptionally long time to break in my dama, it’s still insanely slippery and I even bought it used. I’ve been doing everything to break it, rubbing the tama, slathering it with sweat, anything I can think of and it’s been my main jammer for about 3 months. Is the break in time really just THAT long, or did the Ken butter halt the progress? Anyone else have the same issue???
@Q Miller-Edwards Trying to keep related topics together so yours has been merged here. To your question, what version of Ken Butter did you use and what is the wood to which you applied it? In some cases wood and wood finisher dependent it does take longer to break in. Usually higher wax content and/or tight grained wood can add to the slipperiness.
Thank you for the merge! I searched and couldn’t find! But I used Kenitioner, the version that’s in a stick on a Ben Herald americano mod, to be honest I can’t remeber what kind of wood that is
Regardless, I was thinking about sanding the tama or using rubbing alcohol in an attempt to just start from scratch, do you recommend?
No worries. If it's in a stick not a paste then it possibly has a higher wax content in general. If you check the first post I talk about using heat to get the finisher to soak into the wood better. I've tried hair dryers, heat guns, and just a plain toaster but like the toaster best. USE THIS METHOD AT YOUR OWN RISK. UPDATE: You posted again as I was writing. I'd stay away from sanding but a chemical wood finish stripper might work but I'd probably start with heat.
I just use the Clark’s butcher block conditioner u recommend and it works great. The lemon and orange smell fades away but comes back when played with or warmed up. But the grain and wood feelers nice and protected and not oily at all. It wasn’t even oily at first just smooth and makes the grain pop. The wood does dry eventually but it holds the dark colour from the conditioner and helps the mend not get dirty from your hands. It’s a great product and only 15$ for a big jar 10oz. I recemend it. It’s freat and has the same stuff as the regular kenditioner(mineral oil, bees wax, Canarba wax. All food grade safe and won’t decay) And Howard’s butcher block conditioner is also really good(and has the same ingredients) to just a bit more liquidy and has more of a oily finish(which brings out the grain more but it more oily at first) it gets rubbed off but still has a dry finish and wet look also after a while. **(and someone said to use the Howard’s feed and wax don’t use that it’s a polish where the butcher block conditioner isn’t. Trust me on this one). But Clark’s is a better kenditioner in my option than Howard’s. It’s thicker and seales it better but isn’t waxy just more protected and not as oily. The Howard’s has more grain pop but more oil finish. Panic u use mineral oil first then u use Clark’s butcher block kenditioner it should be a real nice finish(it says that’s how to use it on the bottle but I haven’t needed it or tryed it) the regular wax Clark’s finish is good enough with one layer. I’ve been playing with the same one for 2 weeks now and no change. Just better grain and if anything is like how it use to be and more wood feel. And it sounds dense too cause the Poors are sealed. There is a before and after pic of one I’m my kendamas I’ll post more when I get a bran new Ken. This one was dirty lol. But still turned out great. But yeah all the best and hope this helps anyone who is looking for a good kenditioner. I was doing a lot of research on this and goenkendama helped a lot with all his research. All the best everyone and Dama on Ps check out my YouTube channel - Lucas Canadian Kendama Instagram - Lucas Canadian Kendama Twitter - @SchwarzLucas
@Lucas Canadian Kendama glad this helped out. So far for availability, price, and function Clark's is hard to beat but I'm still looking to put it on a few more varieties of wood for comparison.
Yeah it’s a Clark’s is great product and you get lots of it. I also tried Howard butcher block container it’s ok but more oily then waxy just for a heads up if u wanna experiment with that. And thanks again for the help. Hope other find what they are looking for also. All the best and dama on And here’s some more pics of Clark’s after I conditioned my kendamas. Enjoy and dama on
Thanks for posting the shots and heads-up about the Howard's butcher block treatment. Sometimes it's good to have something that's just a bit less waxy for tight grained woods that don't let the finisher soak in as well. One reminder, if you're planning on gluing your tip do it before the finisher since it won't soak into the wood as well after the finisher has been applied.
Not that familiar with it but my understanding is that it dries hard. Except as mentioned, most of the finishes mentioned here still leave a "wood" finish rather than a slick varnished or "plasticy" feel. "Myth #2 Tung Oil dries in the air by evaporation. Nope. Tung oil definitely gets hard, but it doesn’t happen by evaporation. Chemists classify oils as “non-drying”, “semi-drying”, and “drying”. The word “drying” is misleading because the oils don’t really “dry” or evaporate; they “harden” or cure. The most commonly known drying oils in woodworking are tung and linseed oil. They polymerize or solidify by a chemical process that requires oxygen (from the air) to create cross-linked compounds that make the oil get hard little by little, until it is completely hard all the way through."
I use Butcher Block Conditioner by Howard. I got it from Lowe’s and it was crazy cheap and I love it. It has food grade mineral oils, vitamin E, beeswax, and carnauba wax. It was only 10 bucks. This is a before and after of a sweets prime.
Hey guys, planning on using a beeswaxed natty beech tama for 28 tricks later. How do these normally break in? Hoping for a bit more grip than a natty but not too much!
@g00dr0 We had a related thread so yours was merged. As for your question it will depend on the bees wax that you have and how you apply it. I haven't really seen a natty get tacky/sticky from using it but then I generally apply heat to get it to seep into the pores. I have read that there was a bees wax offered by Kenhole (I think it was them) that claimed to make tama sticky but have never tried it and think that it might have been something like a light adhesive that you had to reapply often like rosin on a baseball bat or tennis racket handle. I'd imagine that the wax is left as a residue on the wood's surface that the ken is reacting with rather than wax integrated into the pores of the wood. It also depends on the wood. Different woods absorb and react with waxes/finishers differently (see first post). Tight grained woods like Maple the wax tends to ride on top of the wood and make it a bit more slippery in my opinion. For those woods I usually go with a finisher with higher oil content but then I'm not really expecting an improvement in grip. Mostly finishers (waxes/oils) are for appearance, darken grain and protect a bit from dirt, and to help keep the wood from drying out as quickly. TL;dr don't expect miracles from bees wax as it relates to tacky/stickiness. However if you are playing a natty for 28TL you'll definitely notice an improvement in skill by the end of the month if you stay with it; playing with sticky paint afterwards will feel like cheating. Natties are awesome.
Thanks for this bud. I'm not sure how the tama was treated...i bought it already waxed. Its the DA-O Honeymoon if that means anything to you! But defo gonna stay with it for 28T later...hoping to level up my game. Maybe i'll do a before and after photo