Do you lick your bevel? If you do what do you believe it does for you? What do you think of the practice? Bonus question: Do you think it comes with hygiene issues? (Asked because of the seeming abundance of the post-NAKO maladies including one pretty serious strep issue that included a trip to the hospital.)
I always wash my mouth out afterwards, so I don't consider it that much of a big deal. It raises the grain in the bevel, which makes stalls easier.
I grabbed a couple of kendama within arms reach to check and it seems to be the edge/rim of the bevel rather than the ramp that contacts the stall points. I imagine different kendama will fit differently but that's what I saw on the quick check of the ones here. If that's the case with many brands I wonder if it's really as effective as some think or maybe it's a placebo. Maybe it also has to do with older tama having a "rollover" edge from all the beating up they take and it's the wetting of that area that's what is beneficial. This is a brand new kendama so the tama hole edges are sharp. These are well played tama with a rolled edge. If you run your finger up the bevel you'll feel a bit of a ridge/hook where the rim has been rolled over.
I lick heavily. I'm sure it's not super sanitary but it is so damn helpful. Tbh I've licked my big cup on a natty to help with loons as well
I generally don't lick my bevel. But, if I'm filming a trick and am taking too long to get it down I'll lick the bevel, as it plain and simple makes it easier to land stall and stilt tricks etc. In that sense to me it seems like cheating, however I don't really care at the same time if someone were to do it against me in some sort of competition. I'm not American so don't really know much about baseball but it seems like the kendama equivalent of a Spitball. Also I didn't vote because as I said above I do sometimes lick the bevel. And yes the hygiene of it is questionable.
Licking the bevel is without a doubt helpful if you are going for stalls. The raising of the grain is nominal IMO but more so adds friction due to the softening of the wood. If im going for a difficult stall line, im licking the bevel. But its not a make out session with the tama, so a quick tap to the middle of my tongue generally does just fine. Also, I cant correlate ever being sick from licking the bev... but I typically keep the dama off the ground where germs would be coming in contact with the tama.
I'm wondering if the wood itself might be a problem. IIRC Padauk and Purpleheart both tend to "weep" I wonder if they are poisonous or allergenic.
I'm sure I remember seeing Chelsea May Perez say that she got hives/ rash on her arm from playing purple heart or some other exotic wood 'dama once.
You know if he'd just munched a candy cane (going off the holiday background) his saliva would be pretty sugar heavy. Might make for a pretty sticky coating for his E-N-T-I-R-E kendama.