Those that have played nattys. What's your thought on beeswax? Does it wear off? Thought I saw this covered in here, but can't find the thread now. Wondering if this question should be a separate thread.
I love painted damas. Cushion is great for lunars, and silk is an all around great dama for me. I don't really jam natties. Maybe one or two. The natties I have are slippery for me. But a lot of people say your natural hand sweats help the tama get tackier, I guess, but my hands don't sweat, lol. But I've found that GT raw ash tamas are pretty grippy.
I tried beeswaxing once, on a zebrano kaizen. I put a LOT on, and it got crazy sticky. Eventually it wore down and was nice, then slowly fading. Reapply works well. I tried it on another maple craft 2.0, but I didn't put a lot on and it didn't make a big difference. I could've put more but i was just experimenting.
@Aloysius_hung_ Covering in beeswax does feel a bit odd but not overly sticky to touch. It does wear down quite quickly but leaves slightly more grip than when completely natty IMO. I have applied the beeswax thinly and then warmed the tama with a hair dryer before. This helps the wax impregnate into the wood a little and makes the grain stand out quite nicely, and still have a nice tack.
I just started a couple months ago and it's great to have a natty once tricks start to get easier on the kendama usa silk paint, I feel like their silk breaks in really well to have some icyness to it after a while. The natty I lace on is a ash craft slim and the grain in the wood makes lighthouse a bit easier I believe, it has some huge grooves in its grain on the cups and near the tama hole, it's my go to for cup tricks for sure
Mmm... I think it really just depends on how much you apply. If you put a THICK coating on, then the tama will basically just feel like a ball of beeswax in your hand. There is definitely a happy medium, it seems.
I use to only be about that natty life but recently I have gotten some painted Tamas that have just been breaking in to nicely it's crazy. It's like they were made for me, they have the perfect amount of tack but not too much. @SouthpawTRK gave me a CWCS absinthe and it was crazy off the chain right away and it totally changed the way I looked at paint. Thanks again man
What do you prefer natty or painted tamas? Which one has the most pros/cons? Is there a difference in skill level of the slayers who use them? What is more durable/lasts longer? What wears in better? And which specific natty tama or painted tama is the best in its catagory?
I prefer painted, slightly over natty tamas. I suppose both have about equal pros/cons? Natties feel better after breaking them in, and it keeps getting better. Painted tamas have grip out of the box, and the feeling may change after time. Regardless of painted/natty, the actual thing that makes all the difference is you, the player. Painted tamas last slightly longer, since there’s an extra layer of protection to the tama. But they look fugly when all the paint wears off. (Refer to the second paragraph on breaking in.) This is the equivalent of asking which shop sells better fried chicken. I like Texas Chicken (or Church’s Chicken, as it’s called in the US), but you may like Kentucky Fried Chicken better. All a matter of personal preference and taste.
I prefer the look of a natty tama. There's elegance in the grain. There is simplicity in the sharp contrast of wood burn. There is skill in spliced and glued wood species. It's truly an art. One needs to bond and build a relationship with a natty tama, causing them to wear for the better rather than wear out. Paint is fun, though!! That sticky icky just grabs at the cups and lights up your day every time.
I use to be a natty purist but for a while now I have almost exclusively boughten painted kens, mainly because companies like Sweets, KROM, and DWI have been pumping out bangers with Amazing paint that arent too expensive. I think my next couple purchases will be back on the natty train again. Eyeballing another KROM deluxe red oak
I tend to prefer natty tamas. While I love playing with painted tamas as well (silk and sticky paints are great for lacing balance tricks, while slick TK or Standard Ozora paint gives me a satisfying challenge to play with), paints wear off. Natty tamas are absolute beasts for me, especially in the extremely humid weather in the Philippines. Also, unlike painted tamas, just rub a bit of your hand oils and sweat into the tama and you "reset" the tack, which is great to do especially if you're a slayer on a budget.
Really depends for me, I drift back and forth though I will admit I really have become a wood nut. I like playing different woods just because they're different. It seems that wood to wood plays against each other with more variation than a given wood to paint. By that I mean I notice a lot less difference between the feel of Birch/Beech/Maple ken against painted tama; Hickory ken with a natty Ash tama on the other hand. . .
BUMP! On this thread, I once said that I prefer natties, but I take exception with Sweets Paint, especially their in-house paint formulas (Pro-Clear, Atack, Cushion, Phase 1). Currently seshing a Pro Clear tama x Prime Ken setup and it is already one of my favorite setups of all time.
Exactly. GT Raw ash is insane! I love any natty that has been manufactured by RWB, example: Crafts and GTs. the wood feels so raw and natural, and has a little natural fuzziness from being raw wood, that it hones all of the tricks that n00bs (no hate) feel that they need sticky paints to lace on. lighthouses, lunars, and any combo with flips or whatever is easily doable on a natty or sticky. I practice about equally on natties and sticky paints, and I am currently loving ANY natty, but my favorite paints currently are the Krom LOL Clear and all SourMash's paints.