I saw a vid on yt that seemed pretty helpful. I think three coats, and after each coat you blow dry it.
Depending on how much of the solution is beeswax and how much, and whatever else, is in there you'll probably be good just working it into the wood letting it dry and hitting it again. Wipe off the excess and then just play. Again depending on the actual cocktail of ingredients you may have to reapply every once in a while.
Question: does Beeswax really help kendamas last longer? Thinking of buying a spectraply kendama in the future, and I was thinking that Beeswax could help with the notoriously fragile nature of spectraply kens.
not that I know of, but I think a coconut oiled ken and a beeswaxed tama for a spectraply would slay- and for a long time.
Depends on what you mean by "help kendamas last longer." If you mean does it make the wood stronger/tougher then I'd say it's unlikely. At best it might keep the wood more supple (assuming a dry environment) so that it might dent more than chip. If you mean does it protect from the elements water, grime, sweat from your hands then I'd refer you to furniture and wood working sites that discuss it. From what I've read and personal experience with a fair number of treated kendama I'd say that it helps with grime by helping to seal the pores of the wood but it wears over time and depending on the treatment and wood you may have to retreat the kendama over time. In drier climates it (wax plus the oils in wood finishers) help to keep the wood from drying out but in the Philippines that's not as much of a concern. For me personally I treat the wood because I like the way it looks and that it keeps them from looking as grubby. I've also stained kens for the same reason however and they don't really benefit from the staining treatment other than color AFAIK. Here's a Spectraply kendama setup from Sweets for reference.
As it might be as impossible to grab a Kenditioner for some as it is for me (shipping costs more than the product) I simply use Mineralbased Oils for wooden Kitchencountertops from IKEA. It wonn't smell. It won't stick BUT it will make the grain pop & give the ken a smooth, honed feel the laser on the kamo fades extremely fast which is why you can't really see it on the after as I did play it quite a bit after oiling it (sorry for the crappy pictures) Before After
@Emil Apostol: @goenKendama nailed the response. I’ve created my own mix of mineral oil and bees wax. You seem to be mindful of your kens, so I would recommend you do it. It’ll be a fun experimentation without much risk. A simple batch will cover lots of kens and several layers. You’ll see after the simplicity of creating your own, you can share the wealth with friends and such. It wears away from the very surface, but you can expect what made it into the pores will stay at the microscopic level.
resurrecting this thread as I recently shellacked a kendama that I had custom painted. Shellac is cool because 1. it comes from a freaking bug and 2. you can get it in an aerosol can for even application. I simply spun the tama on a throwaway string and sprayed away with my free hand (using respirator and goggles) End result was a darker, slightly orange tint, with some nice stickiness. I'll edit this post with a pic later
If any of you were wondering how various woods look after using a wood finisher on them check out this thread: Shades of Grain Shout out to @Congarranza and @amagad for their recipes listed there as well.
Thanks for the vote of confidence. You might also find this thread of interest Kendama Comparisons though it needs updating with next gen kendama. It would be great to see a really good wiki about kendama but which one Damapedia.org or Kendama Wiki or some other site?
Not really diy, but cool. You can pick up something called feed-n-wax from Home Depot or your local Hardware store. It’s only like $10 and a big bottle. The results look pretty great. Conditions the wood and prevents oils from your hands to get on the wood. From what I have read, people recommend it and the “kendition” on the kendama lasts long. I have never tried it so use at your own risk. Pics via u/triggerscold on r/kendama.
Seems super legit Seems super legit tho. I’m just trying to find the secret recipie to help my damn lunars ... i just don’t think the cheap kendamas I’m getting are worth a pop or maybe it’s just me ... although the sweets dot burst paints alright
@MacCole999 as mentioned above check out Shades of Grain for more wood finisher info. Some waxes will make certain woods pretty slick which won't help your lunars at all.