Sorry for the weird wording, but this is the best way I could put it. Kendamas, though they are of the same shape, aren't of equal quality. One example is with KUSA and their current Shifts. Yes, the 30 dollar Shifts and the 70 dollar Craft Shifts may be of the same shape, but one is of a much higher quality than the other. Another example: OG kaizens. Not a lot of people liked the Old Kaizens, but for some reason, the Wyatt Bray Champ mod is universally loved by kendama players even if it is a Kaizen shape. Sorry if this doesn't make sense lol, but in your opinion, given a certain kendama shape, what is its best "incarnation" ? In terms of wood used/ tama paint/ etc.
Next gen HG as a reincarnation of a prime. It comes in so many different wood combos and is American made. I have a maple ken that has lasted me for over a year of seshing
Here's one: Best incarnation of a Slaydawg, in my opinion, is the 6-Year BDay. Balance hole, maple wood, and a one-of-a-kind design.
I agree! Maple/rosewood ken + Ash tama makes for all the goodness. Tbh I wasn't too impressed with the basic Sol Shape pastels, but I bet the KD mod feels awesome!
Lol question: Best Jarod Porter pro mod? I know his mod is unique in that it has so many "incarnations". Bamboo Jarods are my favorite!
@Wendy Nugroho The shape is no different than the current JKA-approved Ozora shape. The paint formula was different though, it used some sort of leaded paint. The paint was OK in Japan, but not approved for use in the USA. There was a recall on kendamas sold in the US as a result (this was in... 2009?), and so Ozora changed their paint formula up after that. I think shin fuji was also affected, so the idea that 'the lead made the paint good' is kinda bogus, shin fuji kendamas certainly didn't have awesome paint at that time lol.
Lead base paint for starters. They had to change that to meet US safety standards. There's a lot of general info in the JKA Kendamas thread too.
Quick duckduckgo search and the top result: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2009/w...endamaspot-due-to-violation-of-lead-paint-ban
@htimSxelA Interesting that it was specific colors not all. "The red and green balls on the Oozora and only the red balls on the Shin Fuji are included in the recall."
woah! very useful information! thanks a lot for the history lesson. i really need to read more about this.
wait, i think i remember a glimpse about this issue. if I'm not mistaken i was talking with someone in instagram about this. but does the lead paint really affect the playability?
As per the reason for recall, I was thinking that people may get sick if they lick the bevel (or any ingestion or contact with the lead for that matter), but people say that OG ozoras were tacky by JKA standards.
Don't know if bevel licking was a thing back then but I believe that the worry was that chipped paint could be consumed by kids. More like tacky in for that generation of kendama. Though I don't have an OG my understanding is that it is nothing like current sticky or even the "Premium" paint of current Ozora.
I don't think the lead really matters, it was just incidental. Like I said above, some Shin Fuji models were affected, and Shin Fuji had terrible paint at the time. Very slick and chippy. The OG ozora paint was awesome though, for the time at least.