Everybody seems to understand the 1-10 grading scale for kendamas, but do we all agree? This is a clear 0/10 We all obviously know a 10/10 fresh setup, but what about all of the grey area in between? I’m interested to hear the thoughts of the DS community on this one. What makes an 8/10 not as good as a 9/10. Is there really anything between 0/10 and 5/10 or are those all just 0? Please share examples.
A 10/10 is any fresh, out of the box kendama from a reputable company. A 0/10 is a fresh, out of the box kendama that has the name "KALEB" somewhere on the ken.
0/10: Destroyed / unplayable 1/10: Obliterated, but with a ton of superglue it could be fixed. 2/10: Pretty destroyed, no base cup because of chips, flat spike 3/10: almost no base cup, flat spike 4/10: Still almost no basecup, but there still may be some hanging on 5/10: lots of cup chips, flat spike, but still easily playable 6/10: A couple of chips, spike is almost flat 7/10: beat cups, little to no chips, dull spike 8/10: No chips in the cups, beat cups and medium worn spike 9/10: ZERO chips, sharp spike, 100% usable 10/10: Completely unused
If we come up with a scale with example photos that would make a really handy reference in the DS Exchange. For example, how would this one be rated? (unseen, spike is sharp but considerably shorter than stock)
It shouldn’t matter what ken or how bad the ken is, this has been going on for centuries, literally flat spike sharp spike, chips no chips, short string long string it doesn’t matter you should lace any trick on any kendama
I think perhaps this is more an exercise to help with the determination/quantification of a kendama's condition for resale purposes not really about playability specifically.
it doesn’t say much about resale purpose , Only condition and if it’s about the condition of a ken it’s most likely to lace not to resale because no ones gonna buy a beat up ken even if it’s terra or Mugen, either new or why try to buy a used kendama if you’re trying to level up.
I'd probably put that red TK posted above around a 4-5 since it was still being played at our shop and could still do lighthouses. I can't find the photo but there was a completely rimless base cup that the guy was still playing so that's what in my mind for 2-3 maybe with a 0 being a "parts" kendama and a 1 being broken but repairable. As for how to rank kendama spike wear I think maybe spike length might be more a consideration than whether it's flat or not. Some people play with dull spikes but since a fresh spike length is around 4-4.5cm then one of 3cm would have more of an effect on play I think. So how would you guys rate this one? No base cup chips and spike is stock length and shape but the tama has been definitely shows wear. How about these: Trying to come up with 10 easily agreed upon levels of "usedness" is pretty tough I think. This is going to take some work.
See it all the time at my job. People will over value items they own because they've become accustomed to owning it. To me, a 9/10 is lightly used, maybe a few hours out into it. 8/10 the cups and spike are showing slight wear. 7 would be moderate wear to cups and spike. 6/10 is were it gets dicey. Could be chipped, could have totally flat spike. Honestly won't buy a used kendama that's under 8/10 condition. Especially when they're so readily available in today's market. But that's what I get for managing a resale store. Picky.
From what I can see in the pics I’d say first pic 6/10, 2nd 3/10, 3rd left to right 5/10, 6/10, 9/10.
The "cheapchic" pic isn't mine but I don't have any trashed basecup kendama here in Tokyo, the red TK is actually in Manila along with other representatives that might fill out this scale. The ones at our shop really get a workout and might be able to fill in the gaps in the range. If we're still working this out when I get there next month I'll post up a few of them. Would you guys say that the condition of the basecup>spike>paint in assessing the rank or a different order? Would sarado height also play a part i.e. really been jammed down on the ken?
I’m usually not very critical about the paint, but the important things to me are no chipped cups (especially base), decent spike, and no jammed down sarado. I’m super picky about the sarado being overly forced down the ken. It makes gunslingers impossible for my big hands, so a jammed sarado is a definite no go.
That is not true, some tricks can literally be impossible on some damas. im pretty sure you missed the point of this post. its about condition, not how much you like the dama.