I use lemon oil. They are absolutely amazing. I use guitar oil tho (Taylor lemon oil) They make the grain pop and it gets oh so soft.
well i got a couple. for short spikes, pushing your sarado lower makes space to look like you have a long spike. if you can't press it down, try thinning the sword by sanding it. it may loosen the the sarado a bit but it you sand it good & press it down exactly to the point where it is tight. for instant flat spikes(for borders), just get it sand. remember, it's up to you in which point your spike should be flat, especially if you still wanna do spikes. you could make a flat tip but the shape if the spike is the same so you could do a good bb & still good for spiking. for tama tracking, i use small rubber bands that is used for tying your hair. wrap it to the tama. it also add a wee bit of tack since the tracking you put is rubber. this is only for solid paints & natties others are common like keeping fresh spikes by glueing the tip, etc.
jk, but I don't know if it counts as a hack, but whenever my tama gets dirty (this was before I knew about sweat), I would take some toilet paper, run it under some water, and then dry it and the tama usually gets tacky if there's paint or a bit more grip if it's a natty.
Okay two new hacks I've been experimenting with. When the sarado is falling down a little too low I've been using LunaTac putty to keep it in place (because I have so much of it lying around haha). I take of the sarado, wrap some putty around the hold area on the sword, then JAM that sarado back on. Peel away any excess putty and you're good to go. Lasts a really long time but isn't permanent at all. Second hack I've been messing with lately is roughing up (using a course sandpaper or file) or even cutting small notches into the top of the Spike where the tama rests when doing a bird. Put your tama in bird position and see that tiny spot where the tama meets the spike. If you can add grip there, birds and stilts stay on so well. I even went as far as going to the skate shop and buying clear grip tape to see if sticking some there helped...it didn't but was worth a shot. Clear grip tape on the rims (like where a SlayBand would go) though is crazy feeling. Try it.
I left it in a backpack and some how it got wet and I think it's dirt but some how with it being wet as well it like stained it @Congarranza Ya I love my S2 as well!
Sounds like it got into the pores of the wood. Not to worry, keep jamming it! Maple has some pretty tight pores, so the wood should be fine. If you want to live on the wild side, you can try to rub it with an alcohol wipe (I recommend 90% alcholol to break down the grime). I don't recommend sanding it since it has gotten wet and the thin dirt particles made it into the wood.
Getting a kendama wet will cause the grain to open up, making the dama 'grippier' but also softening it up a bit, so it will dent up faster. Don't ever soak a ken, but the reality is that they're made of wood, and wood can get a little wet without adverse affects. Wait for it to dry out completely before you get back to jamming.
I know there are ways to relieve weight from the ken, but what about the tama? Any tips on making the tama lighter barring sanding it down and making it smaller?
Other than turning it into the kendama equivalent of a Pickleball maybe much smaller holes drilled with a long bit to go all the way through the tama in one pass would work. Don't know what that would do to the durability though. If you were worried about the Swiss cheese appearance you could always hit the surface hole with Plastic Wood to cover the void.
I didnt think about that. Kind of wanting to keep at least the outer integrity of the tama intact. Was thinking of maybe drilling inside the tama hole to relieve weight. I have a GT birch tama that's too heavy to match with most of my kens. If I had a scale I could give the exact weight but I dont, but it is heavier than my nihon ash slaydawg tama.