Anyone else wear out their spikes super fast? I got a sweets prime about a week ago and the tip is already smushed in so hard. This has happened to me with pretty much every kendama I've owned. I thought it was normal until I started to notice in edits that even people with the most jacked up tamas still had near perfect spikes. Maybe I'm overthinking it but I don't see why mine should always wear so fast, especially if I'm not doing yanks and stuff.
It might be that your tama is way heavier than the ken or their spikes are glued. Using superglue on your spike can help it last a bit longer. In my experience, a lighter tama on a heavier ken won't wear out the spike as quickly as having the weights switched. One last thing to consider are that they might have switched the jacked-up tama onto a fresh ken. I've seen Nick Gallagher use a seshed V7 Limewire tama on a fresh Next Gen HG ken in a few of his Instagram stories. Either way, the most common reason is that your tama is heavier than your ken by a good amount, but it's perfectly normal for it to happen. To prevent it, use some superglue on the spike. If you leave it smushed, it gets SUUUPER honed for borders.
@James Hoang has it right, except for one thing: it isn't really the weight that matters, its the wood hardness. Generally, heavier does mean harder, but this isn't always true! If you superglue your spike tip, it will harden and last longer (but destroy your tama way more).
So if I wanted to tell the difference between a maple and birch ken through play, I could just sesh them and see which spike lasts longer, right?
I play with the ken a bit so the spike dulls slightly, and then superglue it. This means the tama won't get wrecked as quicky (which happens if you superglue it right out of the box).
Rather than super glue I've been using a 2 part epoxy that has really added life to the spikes I've tried it on. (Or alternatively. . . don't miss so much. (j/k I just couldn't resist )) Check here for more info: Preferred Glue Glue Tip yes/no? Gluing the spike: alternatives to super glue? Too many variables to accurately gauge that way; density and strength of each wood sample, type of tricks done during the sample period, velocity of impacts, number of misses. . . Probably easier just to check a Janka Scale chart and get a rough idea of hardness and not worry too much about it.
Yea, but remember the tama matters too. A hardwood like ebony will destroy a beech tama, but if your tama is made of concrete, the ebony spike is going to get wrecked. Within each wood species there will be a range of hardnesses / densities too. If nothing else, you can do a 'fingernail test'. Try sticking your fingernail into the middle of the bottom cup, and then do the same to the bottom of the tama (prob works better with a natty tama, but I think it'll work on a painted one too in principle). Whichever one is easier to dent will prob degrade more quickly.
I’m relatively beginner as well ... but it seems wood type is the main contributor. Like beech seems to wear significantly faster than maple or ash. Maple being my favorite feeling, sounding, wearing. Haven’t tried bamboo yet, seems like those should last forever. The few beech ones I had that wore fast I sanded to a tip again and glued, thought it might be weird to jam but it isn’t. Something about a really honed tama turns me on.